How to Prepare Your Pet for a Pet Sitter: Tips for Ensuring a Smooth Transition

For pet parents around the world, leaving their precious animals with a pet sitter can be an anxious process. We are not always ready to leave our lovely pets in the hands of someone we do not know. It is normal to wonder and ask yourself how your animal is going to react to a stranger and a new person. Or whether the pet sitter will follow your house rules. Or in the case of leaving your dog in the pet sitter’s house, wondering and worrying about other animals in the household.

Just as it is important to do your research and find the right pet sitter for your furry friend, it is important to prepare your pet for the experience. How to do that? We will discuss it today.

What are the basic commands your dog has to know?

First and foremost, there are some basic commands your pooch has to know and understand. If you do not have a well-behaved puppy, do not expect the pet sitter to do the training for you.

Instead, before you call up a sitter, you should ensure your dog can understand and follow some basic commands. Here is a quick list:

• Sit, the most important command, used to keep your pooch calm and under control
• Stay, another important command, usually combined with sit, making sure your puppy remains in one place until released
• Learn its name, so that the pet sitter or anyone trying to handle your dog can instantly get its focus and attention
• Come, an important command in the case of emergency or when the dog is off-leash
• Leave it, making sure your dog doesn’t pick up every item along the way
• Drop it, a command that ensures your dog drops objects, important for their safety and to prevent chewing harmful objects
• Heel, teaching your dog to walk on a loose leash and remain by your side

Once your puppy can understand, follow, and grasp these commands, you can make sure it is a safe environment for a pet sitter to come and take care of your furry friend.

Get Your Dog Ready for a Pet Sitter

This might sound like a simple step, but it is not. Preparing your dog for a pet sitter is a crucial aspect of the process. This will ensure your puppy is comfortable, safe, and well-cared while you are away on some other project. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to do it.

1. Introduce your pet to the sitter beforehand, the best scenario is to schedule a meet-and-greet session. This will allow your pet to become familiar with the potential sitter, his/hers scent, and personality
2. Prepare your home, showing the potential sitter where your dog’s food and water bowls are
3. Set up a trial run, when possible, invite the sitter to come over and watch your dog while you are at home for 30 minutes
4. Have the sitter handle your dog, walk him, give him treats, and make sure to associate every interaction with positive praise and reward
5. Leave some familiar items in the home, including toys, blankets, or anything similar if you leave the dog at the sitter’s house

How socialization plays a role?

Without socialization, you cannot expect your puppy to behave properly with a pet sitter or with someone else. Early socialization is crucial in ensuring your dog is comfortable around other people and animals.

For example, when I first got Milo, I would often go on hike trails, where there are lots of people, and allow other people to interact with him. They would praise him, give him treats, and so on.

I also hang out with people who have small children, so that my dog would get comfortable around children. And when there are children around, I give him high-value treats. Usually, I allow the kids to give him high rewards so that he learns good things come from children.

And last but not least, whenever possible, I would give the leash to a friend or a child to walk my dog. Of course, I would be right next, but that made my dog comfortable when other people are walking him. It is a crucial aspect if you want to leave him with a sitter.

As for socialization, I have to mention that it is not just meeting other dogs and playing with them. Socialization means introducing your pet to different scents, different environments, different people, and animals. Praise and reward all positive interactions while socializing your puppy.

Be Honest with Your Sitter

When you decide to leave your dog with a pet sitter, be honest about your dog. Yes, we all love our furry friends to the bone. We think of them as perfect animals. But let’s be honest, nothing is 100% perfect.

If you are honest about the problems your dog might show and their behaviors, the sitter will be ready for it. Otherwise, he/she might be caught off-guard. In that case, the sitter will not know how to react.

Communicate your dog’s training, manners, weakness, stubbornness, and everything in between.

How to ensure a smooth transition?

Now I want to spend a minute or two talking about the first encounter between your dog and the pet sitter. Giving your dog to a sitter is not as simple as “taking the leash”.

Here is how you should introduce a dog to the potential sitter.

• Start by using your body language and communicate that the pet sitter is a friend, someone who is welcome in your home and surrounding. Speak in a light and happy manner, touch the sitter by the arm, and be comfortable
• Do not force contact between the sitter and the dog. Instead, let the dog decide when and how to interact and progress the situation
• Discuss potential visits, and tell the sitter to use his/her body language to appear less threatening. Truth be told, sitters already know this, as they go through training on how to approach dogs
• Have the sitter toss some tasty treats in your dog’s direction while you talk. And then, gradually toss treats a little closer so that the dog moves closer
• You can go for a walk with your pet and sitter, and begin by holding the leash, while the sitter is walking a few feet off to the side. The more things go well, hand off the leash to the sitter and continue the walk as nothing happened
• Have the sitter leave something with his/her scent so that the scent will be familiar to the dog when the person visits your home

Final Words

The last thing you need to do is write some emergency contacts. No matter how long you are leaving your dog with someone, write a list of emergency contacts. Include your number, but also the contact details of your vet.