Pet welfare

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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12 Nov 2019

What’s in a bark? Can you speak Canine?

Does your dog bark? If so how much and for how long? Do you know what it means? Lot’s of owners say they know what their dog is saying to them and to everyone else too! If only this were true.

 

Many experts state they know what dogs are saying and that the type of barks and sounds they use have certain meanings for example:

 

– Low pitched growl usually indicates “Stay away from me!”

– High pitched yelps and high barking sounds often indicate the opposite – “Come closer and play”!
– One or two short sharp barks are usually a form of greeting to say “Why hello there, where were you?“
– Occasional barks suggest mild interest in what is happening around, calling the pack to look into the problem “Look at this“.
– Frequent barks, in a string of two to four rapid barks might indicate – “Take note, there is an intruder here! Get ready to defend the pack.“
– Long strings of incessant barking with some whining usually means “I’m very lonely, please can someone come and keep me company.”
If you want to know more about this subject so you can talk to your dog better then try reading – ‘How to Speak Dog: Mastering the Art of Dog-Human Communication’ by Stanley Coren PhD, Rudy Sanda, et al.

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18 Aug 2019

Barking friendly work places!


Photo by Nick Turner on Unsplash

Has the world gone barking mad? Or has the world finally recognised the value of animals? Personally, I’d like to think that at long last animals are being recognised for the valuable contribution they make to our society.

As a little girl, I used to get so upset by other children throwing stones at animals and often got myself into trouble by standing in front of the stones!

Now let’s hope times have truly changed, as more and more workplaces are accepting dogs or creating dog-friendly environments. Millennials it appears are not only increasingly vegan but they also value having dogs in the office!

So if you want to create a dog-friendly office then here are some tips:

  1. Consult your employees – see how many are in favor and address the concerns of those who are not. Ensure no-one is allergic or phobic.
  2. Research – talk to other companies that have introduced a dog-friendly policy. Find out how many of your employees have dogs they can bring?
  3. Get the board-on-board and ensure everyone agrees and backs you up.
  4. Define numbers – how many dogs are allowed per day and which days?
  5. Allocate areas – animals need to know their barriers and where they can go to relax, refresh, smell and communicate with other dogs, and be alone!
  6. Ensure everyone knows the benefits – it’s been shown that animals increase productivity in the workplace.
  7. Join Pets at work alliance they are there to help.
  8. Ensure that the dogs that are brought into the office are content, enjoy the experience and get enough exercise, perhaps a group of employees could walk them at lunchtime if it’s cool enough.

If you do the research and define the areas you too can reap the barking-friendly office benefits. And don’t forget to follow us and let us know how you get on.

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29 Oct 2018

Bang Crash Boom! Fireworks can spell Doom for your pets

We’re nearly there Firework night and your pets may get a fright. As you know these bangs and crashes can continue for much more than one night too. Your pets may show signs of distress by panting, shaking, hiding under beds or furniture, and they may even chew furniture or their toys to pieces. Some cats may urinate on furniture and scratch and lick themselves over zealously.

Planning for the nights of noise helps, so here’s what you should do.

Make sure your pets have a place of safety to go to a place of their own, like a box, a bed, a den, cupboard, drawer, a kennel or crate, somewhere they will feel safe and hidden. Provide lots of soft blankets preferably something they know the scent of and make sure it’s cosy and inviting. If you can put a dark blanket over the top to muffle out noises and try to choose somewhere quiet. If you don’t have this already in place then you have time to set this up. And if you have a puppy or kitten don’t delay get their place ready now! Your pets need to feel safe and secure and know they can go to this place anytime they need to, the earlier you can set it up the better. And obviously ensure they have food, water and litter tray.

Talk to your vet about medication if you have a very frightened animal and there are also some natural remedies you could try out. Try these out before Bonfire night so you know they work.

And on Bonfire night close all windows and doors, put on some music and or the TV and distract your pets with toys, treats and play. Always remember to walk your dog early that day to avoid firecrackers going off whilst your outside. Keep all your animals inside even guinea pigs, mice and rabbits get afraid with loud fire works.

For more information see www.dogstrust.org.uk/help-advice

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