How to become a pet sitter

While most of us learn to care for pets in our youth by living with family pets and sharing the responsibility, if you want to do more petsitting either as a hobby or to consider it professionally, it is worth taking a moment to consider what best practice looks like. Whether you are a feline friend or simply love dogs if you want to do more pet sitting and want to learn how to become a pet sitter, read on…

Sonya became a pet sitter because she couldn’t keep pets in her apartment

There is a best practice pet sitter

As someone who loves pets and petsitting it was not a huge leap for me to become a pet sitter. Caring for pets is something I have done since I was a child. Like many other kids in the 70’s we had goldfish, a cat and a dog. Then I used to care for our neighbour’s pets while they were away. I did a little dog walking, some feeding of guinea pigs and rabbits and occasionally a neighbours sleepover to care for a cat or two.

Then later when I had friends overseas a couple suggested that I came to stay to feed their cat for a few days in Paris, France and others asked me to stay to care for their dog in Dusseldorf, Germany. Tough gig — Not!

Well there are worse things if you are between jobs and keen to see the world. To be honest, it gives me enormous pleasure to be with pets, and I absolutely love discovering new countries. So what could be better than a little house and petsitting. And if I can wrap a holiday somewhere new around that request that offers free accommodation, all the better!

So it will be no surprise to those who know me that I started Housesitmatch.com. Which is, of course, a housesitting and petsitting platform, allowing registered and checked sitters to apply for assignments at home and overseas.

How does it work?

It works a bit like asking a friend or a neighbour to come and mind the pets and the homestead while you are away. No money changes hands, but you get to stay in a comfortable home and be with the pets. What could be better! Sign up with a Housesitting platform that also offers petsitting, like Housesitmatch. Build a profile that best reflects who you are and your experience.

Pet sitters usually have a deep affection for animals. They love pets

Prepare to pet sit

If you want to go on a petsitting and housesitting platform make sure you have some experience caring for pets that you know first. Here are my top tips on how to get started :

1. Pet experience — Offer to walk and sit the pets of your friends and relatives. Ask them for references when they feel confident.
2. Pet first aid — Take a pet first aid course so you know what to do in the unlikely event of a pet health crisis. If there are no first aid courses set up ask at your local veterinary surgery for some basic instruction.
3. Take photos of you with your pet charges — Ask the owners of the pets to take a few photos of you with your pet charges. Then you’ll have some great visuals for your online profile.
4. Get an up to date Police and Background Check — It is always a good thing to have an up to date check ready for when the pet owners ask you to come and stay in their home. It means you can be transparent about your record. They will appreciate that gesture.
5. Sign up for petsitting and housesitting platform — usually the professionally run sites charge a small annual fee. It is a good indicator that the site is well cared for and usually that security managed.
6. Build your online profile — Make sure you create an engaging profile that describes your motivations for petsitting and housesitting. And also gives some information about your work and hobbies and of course your experience with pets.
7. Apply for petsitting assignments that make sense for you — When you choose pet sitting assignments to apply for make sure you have appropriate experience and put your best foot forward. Describe why you would make a good pet sitter for this assignment.
8. References — Always make sure you get a good reference from each sitting assignment. It will make your next sit easier to secure.
9. Keep a pet sitting diary — It is always a good idea to take photo souvenirs of each pet you have cared for. Make a note of the pet’s name and the date, and where you were petsitting.

If you are a pet lover then you are already half way to becoming a pet sitter

How to become a pet sitter in summary

Before you know it after joining a petsitting or housesitting platform you will have a diary full of wonderful souvenirs. And you may even have travelled the world with your petsitting experiences without paying for any accommodation but simply by exchanging your services as a pet sitter.