Leaving your dog with a private sitter-Please don't move!

What are the drawbacks to leaving your dog with a person who watches other dogs in his/her home?

I found someone on rover.com who seems would be perfect. There are 4 favorable reviews. She does request vet records and is willing to set up a meet and greet. Other than conflicts with other dogs what is something I should look out for? I am concerned about the healthy of our dog first and foremost.

We are going away for an extended period of time and I hate leaving my pup with the vet. He is such a large breed I feel like he needs more space. Thanks!

Leaving your dog with a private sitter-Please don't move!

Your post me think of jamie, the black dog that got lost while his family was away so I would check their yard. Make sure it looks secure. If at all possible, see if the gate can be padlocked. That's how I keep my own gate. See if there are any yard/garden chemicals in bottles that your dog could chew. I would want to meet the whole family: is the husband (or wife) an animal lover too or does h seemed annoyed the spouse is doing this in an already chaotic home, any angst-y teens, wild small kids that may open the front door and not look or annoy your dog non-stop. I would also personally can get in touch with the 4 reviewers to make sure they're really reviewers and not just accounts made up to give glowing reviews. I would also go on spokeo and pay to run the name (not expensive) of the person and/or all the adults. Make sure they don't have a record that shows that are irresponsible or have a temper. Go with your gut. If in doubt, less space at the vet is better than the worse alternatives

ETA: also see where the dog would be sleeping.

Message edited 8/20/2014 6:25:16 PM.

Re: Leaving your dog with a private sitter-Please don't move!

Just an alternative.. I don't know where you live but, the Malibu pet hotel in Freeport has worked out wonderfully for our family several times. They have runs, not cages and take the dogs out several times a day. I even pay for extra play and/or snuggle time each day.

Leaving your dog with a private sitter-Please don't move!

I love love love my sitter. He stays in the house with her and she's fabulous. He feels like he's at home. When I boarded him at Petsmart he was depressed for days after!

Leaving your dog with a private sitter-Please don't move!

I use a sitter for my cats.. so less stressful.

Re: Leaving your dog with a private sitter-Please don't move!

I see the benefits of the situation, but it also makes me nervous. We are extremely beyond cautious with doors at our house, and our dog never goes outside unsupervised or off a leash. We take him off a leash if he is in his outdoor pen and we are watching him. I would be nervous that the sitter might not do the same.

Re: Leaving your dog with a private sitter-Please don't move!

I'm lucky that I usually have my sister and my niece to pet sit. But if I needed someone else, I think I would go the route of a dog sitter over the kennel. Our old dog hated the kennel on the rare occasions that we used it. She would come home sad and depressed. Our new dog seems fairly needy also. She is a true pack animal and likes to be clos to her humans. She would do much better in a setting with someone around must of the day as opposed to spending most of her day in a pen/cage alone.

Leaving your dog with a private sitter-Please don't move!

I had one bad experience with a house sitter about 10 years ago and I will never let anyone, except family pet sit my dog. We go away alot and always use a kennel. The one we frequent most has huge dog runs that the dogs are kept in and they play with the dogs. My dog may not love it but he is safe and that is most important to me. We did just start trying out (one night at a time) a new kennel that has a doggie day care. The dog is out running all day with other pups and then gets put into their little home to sleep. Our new dog is much more friendlier than the last so we might be moving in this direction for him.

Leaving your dog with a private sitter-Please don't move!

i use a woman who watches my Morkie in her home. last weekend she had 3 other dogs at the same time. she only watches small dogs. she came recommended. i felt comfortable leaving him with her after our meeting and greet. i agree make sure the gates are locked and if your dog is a runner (like mine) make it very clear to them to hold him back when the door opens.

Leaving your dog with a private sitter-Please don't move!

We leave my dog with a sitter every time we go away and so far it's been wonderful.
She had two cats, so we have to bath my dog after we pick her up, but other than that everything else is always fine. I don't trust someone coming to my house, wondering around, so it is just easier that way.
The longest stay was 3 weeks.
We looked into a pet hotel, vet's clinics, different places, but they were just twice more money and just overfilled with dogs.

Re: Leaving your dog with a private sitter-Please don't move!

We board at PetSmart & do the doggy daycare so she gets lots of exercise & is exhausted when she comes home usually for at least 2 days.

The only downside (if this is an issue for you) I've heard about is that when our friends boarded in someone's home, their dog came home & wanted to go on the couches & sleep in the bed so they had a transition period of training the dog back to the rules in their house. It was only for a weekend too.