25 May 2019

Sniff it out – dog detective finds lost Cats!

I was interested to read in Waitrose Weekend paper today that a dog has been trained to be a feline’s best friend.

Molly the cocker spaniel was rescued by ex-police officer Colin Butcher. The originator of The UK Pet Detectives, Colin thought it would be a good idea to train a sniffer dog to locate missing animals. But he wanted to get a rescue dog and he looked and found Molly, as the previous owner could not cope and was advertising her on Gumtree under the heading: ‘Owner cannot cope!’

Working cocker spaniel Molly needed a great deal of stimulation. As we’ve found with all the spaniels we’ve looked after previously for their owners during our house-sits. Most dogs need the daily stimulation of some sort of activity, searching for things, playing ball, retrieving as well as a lot of outside off lead walks and play too, preferably with other dogs. If retriever type dogs are under stimulated they’ll find something else to keep them occupied themselves, usually something destructive and disruptive!

So Molly spent 8 months training at Medical Detection Dogs charity who specialise in teaching dogs to recogise the scent of illness. Once trained Molly went out with Colin to search for missing pets. Molly firstly scents the cat’s fur and then she sits still when she has found the scent so that she doesn’t frighten the cat!

Molly now has over 100 finds under her collar. Colin is a busy man with over 30 calls a week and with Molly, by his side, it’s an enjoyable experience for them both. You can read their story in his new book Molly & Me which is out now (Michael Joseph, £12.99) thepetdetectives.com

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11 May 2019

Bella and Daisy – May 2019

Working cocker  spaniels 

Every morning I’m greeted by the wagging tails and licks of Bella and Daisy, a wonderful enthusiastic welcome each day without fail. This mother and daughter pair of working spaniels are wonderful to look after. They need two long walks a day, preferably with somewhere to swim, either in a cows water trough, river or lake they don’t much care! As we love a good long walk ourselves this suits us perfectly and the four of us have some superb walks to discover new places. Bella and Daisy love to travel in the car and are very sociable, saying hello to anyone who cares to greet them. We’ve taken them to Studland Bay this time around and previously to Lulworth Cove, Corfe Castle and many other places. They enjoy anywhere new, with good scents, water and some lovely green grass to chew on! We throughly enjoy our visits and this time have had gorgeous sunshine. What more could anyone wish for? We are truly blessed to housesit for these two special little dogs. 

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8 May 2019

Ella and Lottie – May 2019

In Ben Fogel’s new book he states that Labradors are “Kind, loyal, diligent, hardworking, biddable, gentle and faithful: I may be biased, but it’s no surprise that the Labrador is by far the most popular breed in the UK and indeed the world. One estimate puts the population in this country at more than 500,000. Jack Russell terriers, the second favourite, number 376,000.

I think many of us choose our dogs on the basis that we think they reflect our own personalities. They are like hairy ambassadors for the people we would like to be and this must be one reason families choose the Labrador as a role model for their children”. 

Personally, I love all dogs but have probably looked after more Labradors, Retrievers, Standard Poodles and Lurchers than any other types of dogs during my lifetime. And I have to say I heartily agree with Ben Fogel’s assessment of the Labrador. Ella and Lottie epitomise the traits of this breed being very kind, loyal, biddable, gentle, faithful, fun and good looking to boot. Both Ella and Lottie come from good Labrador Retriever stock and have soft mouths, Ella particularly likes to carry anything that belongs to her owner Anne softly in her mouth, around the house and you’d never know the item had ever been in a dogs mouth at all! Lottie likes to carry a toy duck around in her mouth but is much more the hunting dog type and has been known to kill small animals such as field mice, squirrels and other small animals, so has to be kept on the lead near ducks! Lottie loves a good run in the forest with the many and varied scents that prevail there, luckily she comes back very quickly and obediently to the call of her name.  Ella also loves woods, grass fields and flowers and although she has unfortunately had cancer, treatment for which made her put on weight she loves a good run out in the countryside and jumps into the back seat of the car very readily! 

We greatly enjoyed looking after Ella and Lottie for Anne and Steve and would happily look after them again any time this is needed in the future. A more happy go lucky dog is hard to find and these two particularly are a joy to behold. 

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26 Dec 2018

Cosmo Christmas 2018

We’re spending the festive season with Cosmo the West Sussex spaniel. He’s a wonderful fellow, very chilled at 15 months old. He loves his food, walks, rides in the car, all people and every dog he encounters. A more happy, cheerful fellow it would be hard to find. It’s a great pleasure looking after him in Langton Green just outside Tunbridge Wells in Sussex. We’ve walked into Tunbridge and had coffee and sandwiches and he was perfect. And we celebrated my birthday in a pub with my 95-year-old Dad and Cosmo sat at my feet the whole time and was no bother at all. If all our dog housesits are this well behaved it will be an absolute pleasure to look after our doggy and other furry friends.

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13 Dec 2018

Lilly

My name is Lily
When I see sand
I can go a little silly!
I love water, woods and
lots of different smells.
For a biscuit or two
I can be known to pose.
And I love a bit of cheese too!

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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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21 Oct 2018

Willow – Cockapoo – Hindhead 15th – 24th October 2018

As with most Cockapoo’s I like to jump and jump, just for the joy of life and all, walking on my hind-legs like a Meerkat. I love all humans, other dogs and am very, very curious! Quite intelligent, I always want to know what you are doing, getting into cupboards, the fridge, digging holes and generally creating mischief, my cute face, curly fur, and soft pleading brown eyes means I often get away with murder! At present I’m walked on my lead and harness, as I’m only 15 months old, but, I hope this will change in time, as I love to run and play, looking into forests as the smells of wild animals really attract me. Favourite foods are chicken and cheese, but I’ll eat anything you please. I’m lucky as I live in a house with three sons and they all love to play ball with me and take me for walks too. I’m presently being taken care of by Christina and Adrian in my own home and we’ve been on lots of walks and I’ve even been tired out some days so I’ve slept on Christina’s knee whilst watching the television. 

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18 Oct 2018

Norman

A lurcher

I am, loyal, loving, fast and energetic I like to run after balls, runners and cyclists too! If I’m not stopped in my tracks with a whistle I like to mouth runners and cyclists bottoms which can be a problem as they think I’m biting them, this is not true as I simply want to catch them and caress their anatomy with my soft mouth! Needless to say Adrain and Christina who have looked after me often, like to whistle and stop me in my tracks when I’m chasing someone! Other than this annoying little habit I’m the loveliest softest, kindness dog you’d ever hope to meet. I can’t help the running you see as I’ve been bread for it.

 

Greyhounds were only for the royals so we were bred to act as sight and chase hounds for the everyday person and catch rabbits, squirrels and birds in a stealth like fashion for their supper. So we were very useful pets. I like children and running with other dogs but I’m not very keen on cats I must say!

 

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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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14 Oct 2018

Why we started house-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. 

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