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28 Dec 2021

Wonderful Duke – Xmas 2021

This was the second time we’ve looked after Duke who is quite a character. He was as always, very pleased to see us when we arrived in late December, after looking after Dougie in Tunbridge Wells.

We were greatly looking forward to this housesit as well as seeing our relatives in Wales who live nearby. It had seemed such a long time over lock-down the previous two festive seasons with Covid 19, and we were unable to see them at all, especially over Christmas which is such a family time.

However, this Christmas proved to be slightly different, it turned out that Duke’s owner was unable to travel for her planned holiday due to Covid complications. So being the kind and generous person that she is, she invited us to stay with her and Duke over Christmas. This proved to work out quite well as we all got on famously and she enjoyed having company after so long being alone with Duke. We enjoyed taking Duke out for long walks on the beaches and nearby farm fields.

We experienced a delightful if unexpected Christmas in Wales. And luckily enough we’ve been invited back again in summer 2022. We will look forward to seeing Duke and his owner once more.

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20 Dec 2021

Gentle Dougie – December 2021

We have looked after little Dougie a couple of times before. We thoroughly enjoy looking after him as he’s a gentle, affectionate and well behaved Cockerpoo.

We had travelled over from France to Tunbridge Wells to look after Dougie again but this time in a different location. We were lucky enough to be ‘down on the farm with Dougie’ for this visit. We were also blessed with some fairly dry weather whilst in Sussex and managed to get out to walk daily as there was a multitude of walks around the farm.

We fed the donkeys and goat some carrots every few days and Dougie liked to have a little chat with them on the way! He always seemed to be interested in what the other animals were doing! He loved looking at the sheep and seeing the younger ones frolicking in the fields.

Although he will go out in the rain he’s not that keen and likes to have his waterproof coat on and to have his coat and feet wiped when we return. He’s so well behaved in this regard as he’s happy to stand on the rug by the door until you have dried him off! This is just as well as his favourite habit is to sit on your knee after breakfast or dinner in
the evenings.

We love Dougie and enjoy looking after him whenever we have the opportunity. We certainly hope that the opportunity will arise once again.

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29 Sep 2021

Duke in West Wales Sept 21

September in West Wales is fantastic, such a beautiful place with many many scenic walks. We looked after large boisterous Labradoodle Duke for four weeks during September 2021. Duke had just turned one year old and was still very puppy-like, mouthing, jumping and careering around the garden like a mad dog! He’s quite large almost Shetland horse size but thinks he’s a lapdog and loves a good cuddle.

Unfortunately, the Covid lockdown happened just as his owner had received him, at twelve weeks old. Duke had not been to many puppy training classes, but we did our best to train him while we were there and he’s a very happy dog eager to please. We went out for loads of beach walks nearby and Duke learnt to swim which he adored once he got the hang of it. He had not seen the beach before and loved to roll in the sand and play with other dogs. He adored all the scents on the beach and investigated the flotsam on the beach as well as the jellyfish but seemed to understand it was best not to chew them!

This is a beautiful part of the county and we are blessed to have family nearby too so we were able to see them at the same time which was a bonus. When we left as pre-arranged we dropped Duke at a dog training facility and received some video’s of how well he was doing afterwards which was really great to see, he’s an intelligent dog who really wants to please you.

We thoroughly enjoyed looking after Duke in his farmhouse home which has Shetland ponies and sheep in the nearby fields, we are looking forward to visiting him and his owner again in the near future.

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21 Aug 2021

Blu & Morrissey in Amsterdam Aug 21

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Amsterdam housesitting assignment summer 2021

Sometimes in life things work out just perfectly and our housesitting assignment in Amsterdam was one of those moments. We looked after Morrissey and Blu in the UK over the Covid lockdown period during the summer of 2020. To say this was challenging is an understatement as we were locked down for 10 days and trying to walk Blu too and in the midst of this assignment, my father left this world for the next. But both Blu and Morrissey are wonderful animals who both lifted my spirits with cuddles and licks at this difficult time. Animals always seem to know when we need affection. 

So when their owners moved to Amsterdam in early 2021 and asked us if we would housesit over there we jumped at the chance. We’d last seen Blu as a puppy so we wondered if he’d remember us in this strange place but being a dog he took one sniff and voila memory returned and he went crazy with excitement and happiness. That’s the thing with dogs they remember you and accept you exactly as you are, tired, with no makeup and in need of a cuddle and there they are! That’s what we love about pet sitting we always get a warm reception, from the animals and owners alike. 

Amsterdam is a wonderful city, this was our second visit and we thoroughly enjoyed visiting all the parks, the Van Gogh art gallery and various other areas. Not to forget the bars and restaurants of course which welcomed Blu wherever we went with a snack, stroke and smile. In fact wherever we walked which was about 8 to 10 kilometres a day Blu never failed to raise a smile on to peoples faces, which is the most wonderful quality to have. 

Morrissey being a cat, a beautiful British blue,  just wanted to stay home, occasionally yowl at the next-doors cat and have a brush and stoke every morning and evening. He’s an easy cat who likes his food and watching the people go by in the street. He’s settled into dutch life very well and loves to climb up and down the steep stairs in the townhouse. 

Blu and Morrissey’s owners live in central Amsterdam which is a busy vibrant area with lots going on all the time. Blu seems to relish this and loves new smells, going onto the trams, seeing new dogs and people daily. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves too and will happily return when the occasion arises. Sometimes work and play can be combined in the most seamless way. 

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29 Feb 2020

SLEEPLESS NIGHTS WORRYING ABOUT YOUR PETS WHEN PLANNING HOLIDAYS?

Do you have sleepless nights worrying about what you’re going to do with your pets when you go away on holiday or simply for a long weekend?

If you do, have you considered getting a house-sitter? And if you’ve thought of this option how do you go about it? Some people may have told you horror stories of kennels that stressed their pets out or even tales of neighbours unfilled promises or drop in day pet sitters that didn’t work out at all. The things you need to consider when going away is what will work for you and your beloved pet? A house-sitter may be just what ‘the doctor ordered’.

WHY WE STARTED HOUSE & PET SITTING

When my Dad got ill and had to have a prolonged stay in Dudwell St Mary’s nursing home in Etchingham, my husband and I used to spend hours driving to and from Farnham to see him. Sometimes we would book accommodation which soon became very expensive over the months.

In 2012, we started looking after dogs at our own home in Farnham via barkingmad.com. In September 2018, we decided to go from looking after dogs in our own home, to pet sitting in other peoples homes. We were hoping for house-sitting opportunities in East Sussex and surrounds, and we have so far been lucky to get these quite often. We’ve stayed in Tunbridge Wells, Heathfield and other lovely places which has enabled us to see dad quite a lot which is great.

We started off fairly local, and enjoyed it thoroughly, both the opportunity to look after someone else’s pets and trying out their home and surrounds. Even though it wasn’t far from our home it still felt completely different and the walks and dog were superb. So we jumped right in and we now do this quite a number of months a year, just so long as we can continue to work from their homes. We don’t charge and this service, which is fairly normal, although I friends think we’re mad, as the idea is one of collaboration, we get your home and you get our services looking after your pets and home.

SO WHAT DO YOU NEED TO CONSIDER WHEN GETTING A FREE PET SITTER?

Do the people you are talking to about house and pet sitting have the following qualities:

ARE THEY PET LOVERS?

  • Do the people you’re considering for the job have previous experience of looking after animals, both domestic pets and farm animals – if this is required and do they naturally love animals of all kinds?

  • Will they know what to do in an emergency? We have both trained in dog first aid which is very useful knowledge to have Are they local or are they travelling from far away – could they get delayed and can you deal with this?

• It’s a well known fact that the most popular sitters love animals and may have previously had pets of their own, a lot of pet sitters use the opportunity to travel the world seeing places whilst getting free accommodation

ARE THEY TRUST WORTHY AND WILLING TO COLLABORATE WITH YOU?

  • Is the prospective house-sitter happy to chat to you on Skype or WhatsApp so you can see what they are like? And visa versa.

  • Do they have references on the website your looking at – trustedhousesitters.com

    offers the opportunity to review the sitters as well as the home owners, so it’s a two way street

  • Are they able to be flexible with their plans to help you to care for your pets and your beloved home?

  • Are they willing to water the garden or collect the post and deal with emergencies

  • We usually suggest that we arrive the day prior to the owner leaving, this is for the animals to get used to us before the owners leave and we also often stay a day later in case of delayed flights too, which has in fact happened to us previously

    DO THEY LOVE EXPLORING NEW AREAS?

• Will the pet sitter enjoy discovering your area, and if so are you able to give them local maps and pointers to the best pubs and restaurants in the local area? So that the house-sitter can live-like-a-local

WORKING INDEPENDENTLY
• Do your pet-sitters need wi-fi to be able to work and if so is yours high-speed?

AND WHAT DOES A PROSPECTIVE PET SITTER WANT FROM US?
• All a pet sitter usually asks for is – a clean home and dog, clean and comfortable bed, a pet inventory to tell you about the pets and home, some foods to start them off and some information about the area around the home and walks if it’s dogs they are taking care of.

WHERE WILL YOU FIND A HOUSE AND PET SITTER?
Look at trustedhousesitters.com or nomador.com to get your sitters, we personally are registered with both and also have our own website WoofWoofAway.com, there are other websites too, but as we haven’t tried them we are unable to recommend them to you. Wish you luck with your travels and pet sitters.

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17 Sep 2019

Dougie the Cockapoo

Version 2

I\’m Dougie the Cockerpoo,
I\’m fun and so playful,
so what should you do?
Why just play with me all day long,
I like to run, jump, frolic and play,
Bark and chase and run fast that way!
Another dog to play with is really a must,
And off the lead, I always must be,
So that I can play so joyfully,
I\’m only just 8 months of age,
but oh so very well behaved,
I\’ll wait for my delicious raw mince,
until the command, Yes, Yes Dougie,
As you say, I will woof my food away!
I love my raw mince food
as well as a large bone or two,
I\’m easy to please and I love company,
Don\’t leave me alone,
even with a bone!
For I\’ll pine and cry the day away,
A more placid, fun-loving dog is hard to find,
And Dougie is easy to mind,
A dog-sitters life isn\’t always so very easy,
But with a pup like Dougie, it\’s easy-peasy.

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24 Aug 2019

Amber, Scrappy & Felix

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The three rescues

My name is Amber and I\’m a bossy, affectionate mixed variety rescue dog from Greece. I\’ll lick you to death and love a scratch behind the ears. My favourite game is chasing Felix, the rescue cat around the house! I also love a game of chase with Scrappy the rescue also from Greece. My pet sitters think he might be a sheepdog cross terrier. He certainly likes to heard sheep as well as growl and bark like a terrier.

We\’ve all enjoyed having the pet sitters here to stay and have been to some interesting and different places. we even went to the old age home to cheer up the residents! We much prefer house sitters to kennels.

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6 Aug 2019

Nala
Which means beloved in Swahili

A beautiful Bengal cat the lovely Nala, waited like a dog to greet us at the door! Serene, soft, sleek, and silky to the touch, this lovely Bengal cat is very quiet, and timid and stays in the house and garden. No fences are required as she does not wish to escape, Caroline her owner loves her dearly and looks after her well, with delicious food to tempt her and a water fountain, cat flap, scratch pole, cushions and all, what more could a house and garden cat want?
Nala’s name is somewhat fitting, for she is a very beloved cat. We loved looking after her and received cuddles and purrs every evening which we thoroughly enjoyed.

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1 Jul 2019

Sniff Sniff Sniff

Photo by Marek Szturc on Unsplash

Many times I’ll see a dog owner pulling their dog away from a place with a really great scent! I wonder would you like it if someone pulled you away from the scent of freshly made coffee, a loaf of newly baked bread, or a bouquet of roses? Dogs possess up to 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses, compared to a humans 6 million. Part of a dog’s brain is specifically devoted to analysing scents, and proportionally speaking is 40 times greater than humans.

Dogs can detect odors in parts per trillion, Alexandra Horowitz, a dog-cognition researcher at Barnard College, in her book ‘Inside of a Dog’, writes; “While we might notice if our coffee has had a teaspoon of sugar added to it, a dog could detect a teaspoon of sugar in an Olympic-sized pool! “. Try listening to Alexandra’s very interesting Ted talk on how do dogs ‘see’ with their noses? Landmarks on lamp-posts, trees, stones, and pavements are an absolute story to your dog. When trained our dogs can tell you all sorts of things, they can help us find bombs, drugs, cancer, and many other things, so please just let them smell that scent on your walk!

Mark Scott from dog caring daycare; dog-stroll.co.uk actively encourages the dogs in his care to smell with the Sensory Garden he has created after attending a study on how dogs can self medicate. His sensory garden is a great example to us all of what we should and could do to keep our dogs interested and entertained with edible plants, tunnels, a straw pit, bamboo forest, and a willow dome. So if your dog is wanting to stop and ‘smell the roses’ then let them, you never know it may save your life one day!

By:

15 Oct 2018

What to consider when getting a free pet sitter

Do the people you are talking to about house and pet sitting have the following qualities: 

Are they pet lovers?

  • Do the people you’re considering for the job have previous experience of looking after animals, both domestic pets and farm animals – if this is required and do they naturally love animals of all kinds? 
  • Will they know what to do in an emergency? We have both trained in dog first aid which is very useful knowledge to have 
  • Are they local or are they travelling from far away – could they get delayed and can you deal with this?
  • It’s a well known fact that the most popular sitters love animals and may have previously had pets of their own, a lot of pet sitters use the opportunity to travel the world seeing places whilst getting free accommodation 

Are they trust worthy and willing to collaborate with you?

  • Is the prospective house-sitter happy to chat to you on Skype or WhatsApp so you can see what they are like? And visa versa.
  • Do they have references on the website your looking at – trustedhousesitters.com offers the opportunity to review the sitters as well as the home owners, so it’s a two way street 
  • Are they able to be flexible with their plans to help you to care for your pets and your beloved home? 
  • Are they willing to water the garden or collect the post and deal with emergencies 
  • We usually suggest that we arrive the day prior to the owner leaving, this is for the animals to get used to us before the owners leave and we also often stay a day later in case of delayed flights too, which has in fact happened to us previously 

Do they love exploring new areas?

Will the pet sitter enjoy discovering your area, and if so are you able to give them local maps and pointers to the best pubs and restaurants in the local area? So that the house-sitter can live-like-a-local 

Working independently 

Do your pet-sitters need wi-fi to be able to work and if so is yours high-speed? 

What does a prospective pet sitter want from us?

All a pet sitter usually asks for is – a clean home and dog, clean and comfortable bed, a pet inventory to tell you about the pets and home, some foods to start them off and some information about the area around the home and walks if it’s dogs they are taking care of. 

Where will you find a house and pet sitter? 

Look at trustedhousesitters.com or nomador.com to get your sitters, we personally are registered with both and also have our own website WoofWoofAway.com, there are other websites too, but as we haven’t tried them we are unable to recommend them to you. 

Wish you luck with your travels and pet sitters. 

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