VIP Pet Sitting : Pet Sitting Promotes Peace Of Mind

Pet Sitting Promotes Peace of Mind

There are many reasons to select an in-home pet sitting service when you can’t be home with your pets. One of the most important advantages of using a pet sitter is also the most obvious — your pet’s state of mind. A stressed-out pet is an unhappy, unhealthy pet — possibly refusing to eat or drink, developing elimination problems (diarrhea, constipation, urinary tract infection), engaging in bad habits (chewing himself, destroying bedding), etc.

Your pet’s most basic activities — eating, sleeping and eliminating — can be seriously disrupted by the trauma of being left in an unfamiliar place surrounded by other, unfamiliar pets. But a professional, in-home pet sitting service like VIP Pet Sitting can help ensure your pet’s mental, emotional and physical well-being.

Having it Their Way

Dogs and cats, and most other pets, are creatures of habit. They will always be more comfortable when their routines can be maintained — especially when it comes to feeding and treats. For instance, both you and your pet might prefer that it be you giving treats at the times she’s used to. But a close second to that is having a pet sitter who knows the drill — like where treats are kept and how to shake the box to give your pet a thrill. And since she’s at home, your pet can also do her usual thing — running to her bed and snuggling up with a rawhide, hiding a biscuit under the sofa cushion for later, or bounding to the windowsill to suck on a tasty morsel. Allowing your pet to stick to simple routines like this can help keep her from focusing too much on stressors, like the fact that the treats aren’t coming from your own hand.

A Nose by Any Other Name …

Animals are almost always territorial, and a lot of that revolves around their keen sense of smell. Allowing a pet to go outside to eliminate seems a simple enough task — something any boarding facility ensures. But allowing a pet to go outside through his door, to his yard or on a walk through his neighborhood is much less disruptive to his mental state. In fact, many dogs — large and small — find a shared yard, which most kennels use for an elimination area, so unappealing and uncomfortable that they would rather hold it! And cats would certainly prefer not to have their litter box inches from where they must eat and sleep. This is due, in large part, to the way familiar surroundings smell to animals. The scent of another animal — of the same species or not — that’s too close for comfort can have a negative impact on your pet’s psyche … especially when it comes to eliminating — which is a key way pets leave scent markers to establish their territories. Whether it’s the overall stress of the experience, the strangeness of a new location or just the smells in the air of a kennel, the simple act of eliminating can become complicated when your pet is not in familiar territory. Why make it necessary for him to “go” where he feels out of his element?

Priceless Peace and (Relative) Quiet

Even if your pet loves the sound of his own voice, he may not love to have his voice joined by 30 others, all within the confines of a kennel’s walls. Walk through your typical boarding kennel, and you’ll hear an almost incessant barrage of barking, meowing, whining and howling. Imagine being a “guest” there and trying to sleep through that noise! While there are many reasons pets bark, meow, whine and howl, often it’s an indication that they’re under stress, anxious or worked up.

Some pets board well, resting quietly while they wait their turn to be walked, cleaned and fed. But many pets vocalize their discomfort, and it only takes one to ruin it for everyone. If 10 dogs are kenneled next to and across from each other, and 9 of them would prefer quiet calm, the one that insists on letting his caretakers know that she wants some attention by non-stop barking can greatly increase the level of anxiety in the others. (And you can imagine how that can make a cat in the next room feel!) At home, your pet is much more likely to have fewer stressors, including noise from other pets she doesn’t know, and she is much more likely to be able to get adequate rest and remain in a happy, calm state of mind.

Reliability, Responsibility and Commitment

A professional pet sitter understands that his or her primary job is to take care of your pet the way you would. Spending ample time with and caring for your pet is not viewed as an inconvenience to a pet sitter the way it might be by someone who’s doing you a favor — like a friend, relative or neighbor. Professional pet sitters take pride in and enjoy their work, so they’re committed to following your instructions and giving individual attention and affection to your pets while you’re away.

VIP pet sitters take seriously that your pet’s life is in their hands. Your pet’s comfort and well-being is the utmost priority for a professional service. Your neighbor might have circumstances crop up that make it impossible for him or her to let your pet out or feed him one evening (and potentially not think much of it), but a professional pet sitting service has the ability to call in a back up sitter if an emergency comes up — so you know the best possible job is being done for your pet, no matter what. And that means you can rest easy and have just as much peace of mind as your pet while you’re away.

VIP Pet Sitting