Finding A Great Pet Sitter During The Busy Summer Season

Summer is most certainly a busy time of year!  That goes double for anyone in the service industry.  From the local dry cleaner, to the local travel agency, any business that serves a regular or rotating customer base is going to be working very hard to keep everyone happy during the busy Summer.

Without proper planning, you can find yourself in quite a jam if you’re looking for short notice service over the Summer.  You’ve booked your trip well in advance, got you’re nicest clothes professionally cleaned weeks ago, you even scheduled the airport shuttle two months out.  But wait, who’s watching your pets? The neighbors are staying home for the holidays, but that’s an awful lot to ask – it is their holiday too, after all.  The kennel, that’s an option, right? It is, if you’re alright with your pets being in an unfamiliar environment with alpha pets, being in a crate for the majority of the day, oh, and the risk of those airborne illnesses like kennel cough. 

What you need is a professional pet sitter!  You’ve called some smaller local operators, but it’s just the owner as a one person operation providing services – and  they’ve been overbooked for weeks. 

Wait, you went to that adoption event over the Summer, and met those great folks from Fetch! Pet Care, they even told you that one of the ways they ensure their client’s peace of mind is by having a large, licensed, bonded, and insured professional staff.

Success! Fetch! Pet Care worked out perfectly, they were able to provide you the service you desperately needed, and on short notice to boot.  However, the best way to find a pet sitter or dog walker during the busy Summer season is to be prepared.  Book Summer dog walking or pet sitting services well in advance, perhaps even have a few services performed prior to the Summer to ensure everything is to your and your pet’s liking.

Win $500 for your Local Animal Shelter Courtesy of Healthy Paws Pet Insurance

Could your local animal shelter use a little more help? Fetch! Pet Care is here to help!  We've teamed up with Healthy Paws Pet Insurance to donate $500 to an animal shelter of your choice.  Tell us why you believe you and your pet are the perfect match in the form of a photo, video, or story. Do you spend your evenings throwing the ball in the yard or curled up on the couch? Simply send in photographic evidence.  The winning entry will also receive $100.    

The Importance Of Having Your Home Look “Lived In” While You’re Away

Finally! The weather is warming up and that long-awaited vacation away from the stresses at home and work is within reach. Plane tickets are purchased, hotel is booked, activities planned, and you’ve hired a pet sitter to spend some time with kitty and give your dog the walks and exercise he needs while you’re away. Great thinking on hiring that pet sitter, but not for all the obvious reasons you may be thinking.

While a great many home breaks-ins may seem like a spur of the moment/opportunistic crime, you can be assured, most of the individuals who commit such crimes are much more calculating. Burglars regularly case neighborhoods to better understand schedules, a method that can reduce their risk of getting caught. They’ll target a home or homes, and take note of who comes and goes. Busy homes typically present too much risk; they’re in search of the sleepy home, and homes can certainly look sleepy while you’re away.

There are old standard tactics that can be somewhat effective, such as setting lights to go on and off with a timer, putting your mail on vacation hold, etc., but these can be thin veils. That’s why we commended your thinking when hiring that pet sitter. Hiring a dog walker or pet sitter to care for and spend time with your pets while you’re away is a great way to not only assure your pets get the loving care they deserve and maintain their routine in the safety and comfort of their home environment, but also makes your home continue to look lived in. Obviously, a pet sitter’s priority will be the well-being of your pets, but here are some additional tasks that you could ask any professional pet sitter to perform:

· Make visits to the home at regular times. Three times daily is best, in the morning, afternoon and evening.

· Turn lights on/off, and open/close blinds.

· Retrieve the mail/paper.

· Turn on/off the radio or television

Having somebody keep your home looking lived in while you’re away can be a big deterrent against the risk of burglary. Again, great thinking on hiring that pet sitter!

How Much Should I Be Feeding My Pet?

If pets could talk, would they tell you when they’re full? They’re certainly good at letting you know when they’re hungry, despite the lack of a spoken language that we can translate. Sometimes it seems that if they could, our pets would just keep on eating – and you certainly don’t want that.

There is advice on how much to feed your pet almost anywhere you look. From the side of the bag of food, to running an online search, everyone has an opinion. The reality is, none of those answers are likely the right one for you and your pet, mostly because your pet is an individual, and any firm instructions you follow for the well-being of your pet should be provided by a professional veterinarian.

However, there are some tips, many of which can bring up the right questions to ask your vet:

· You’ve likely seen the effects of an all junk food diet, and many of the inexpensive pet food options are just that, junk food. Look for “nutritionally balanced” options that are void of fillers and byproducts. Ask your vet for the brands that they find to be the best. Should you give your pets treats for obedience or a job well done? Consider the ingredients of those treats, and the frequency at which they’re given, just as you would their food.

· Measure portions, and be consistent with those measurements. A pet will generally adjust to how much food it is given.

· Always provide a means for your pet to access fresh water (no, an open toilet bowl doesn’t count). Fresh water means that nothing is mixed into it, and that it is placed in a clean container.

· Staying fit requires two main ingredients, a healthy, balanced diet, and plenty of daily exercise. Those very same requirements go for your pets as well. If you don’t have time to provide the proper amount of recommended exercise, consider hiring a dog walker or pet sitter.

· Have your pet weighed during your regular vet check-ups, and keep track of that weight. Discuss fluctuations with your vet, and be prepared to increase or decrease the amount of food you give your pet accordingly.

· Your pet is unique, just like us, what it takes to maintain their health will change over time. Always be sure to ask your vet how to adjust your pet’s diet where your pet’s age is concerned.

What To Look For In A Great Pet Sitter Or Dog Walker

For many families in the United States, a pet – be it a dog, cat, rabbit, reptile, fish or ferret – is an adored part of the family. As such, many families work hard to find a reliable and caring person to care for their pets when the family is away. This can be a daunting task, but can be made much easier if you know what to look for.

Here are some traits and requirements that any professional pet sitter should possess:

Genuine Animal Lover: This is the most basic trait you should look for in a quality pet sitter or dog walker. Have a potential sitter meet with you and your pets, ensure that the sitter gets along with your pets, and that your pets reciprocate in kind.

Professionalism: Any service provider should present and represent themselves in a professional manner, all that much more when they’re being considered for taking care of a member of your family.

Licensed, Bonded and Insured: Any worthwhile individual doing pet sitting should at a minimum be properly trained on how to care for pets. They should also be bonded and insured, this will give you peace of mind where your home and personal belongings are concerned.

Reliability: A proven and traceable track record for reliability is a must. When you’re leaving your pet in somebody else’s care, you want to know for certain that they will show up on time to get the job done. A network of reliable backup sitters should also be available in the event your selected sitter cannot perform their duties.

Communicative: A great pet sitter will have a means of keeping in touch with you while you’re away, and will find pleasure in providing you with updates on how your pet is doing. They should also provide you with details as to how they will be caring for your pet, and ask you lots of questions concerning your pet, such as needs, behavior, likes, dislikes, quirks, etc. They should also provide you with a final report on how the care went while you were away.

By following these guidelines, you and your pet will likely have a great experience. For more information about our top rated professional pet sitting and dog walking services, visit us on the web at www.fetchpetcare.com.

The Process And Importance Of Proper Litter Box Cleaning

Whether you’ve owned cats all your life, or are bringing a kitty into your home for the first time, you’re likely aware of an interesting cat quirk; they prefer to be clean.

Cats and their penchant for cleanliness isn’t a phenomenon associated with domestication. It’s an instinctual trait, something that has been passed down through the millennia. Cats keep themselves clean, not to look adorable while trying to get to those “hard to reach” spots, but to remove unwanted scents associated with food, companions, and surroundings. It’s an instinct associated with keeping a low profile where potential predators are involved.

Fortunately for cat owners, this instinct means that cats prefer to leave waste in an environment where it can be covered and hidden. Enter the litter box. Yes, I know what you may be thinking: cleaning the litter box can be a real pain. But when you consider kitty’s desire to be clean and their sense of security, you can begin to appreciate the importance of cleaning the litter box often, and cleaning it well.

Litter boxes should be cleaned at least twice daily if you own 1-2 cats, preferably immediately after use, as far as kitty is concerned. More cats means cleaning the box more often, or having multiple boxes and cleaning all of those just as often. With cleaning frequency in mind, it’s important that you make arrangements while you’re away, such as hiring a pet sitter to visit kitty on a regular basis, and ensure the litter box is cleaned properly and with regularity.

Speaking of proper cleaning, here are some essential tips that you should always practice, and also share with anyone providing pet sitting and cat care while you are away:

· Cats will dig a space in which to leave their waste, and then cover that space with surrounding litter, so scraping the surface won’t do. Digging out the poop and clumps and sifting is essential.

· Tilting the litter box from side to side is a great way to move un-clumped litter, and can make finding missed clumps a whole lot easier

· Cleaning frequently, especially immediately after kitty uses the litter box, reduces smell, waste of litter, and greatly reduces the risk of kitty looking elsewhere for a clean spot to go.

· Waste retrieved from the litter box should immediately be disposed of, preferably outside of the home.

· Depending on the number of cats using any one litter box, frequent dumping of unused litter and disinfection of the box itself should be common practice. Removing the waste is a daily job, keeping the box smelling clean and free of bacteria should be done on a weekly basis when 1-2 cats use the box, more frequently if you have more cats than that.

· Keep the litter box in an inconspicuous space. This is just a courtesy for kitty, as they like their privacy just as much as we do.

Fetch! Pet Care featured in Memphis Business Journal

Fetch! Pet Care was recently featured in the Memphis Business Journal in an article titled, "Fetch! Pet Care looking for Memphis site." In the article, Paul Mann discusses the future development plans for Fetch! Pet Care in Memphis, and how the brand will expand throughout the territory and state. He explains the Fetch! Pet Care opportunities for the area, and why the pet care industry has continuously grown and has been so successful even in today’s tough economic times, allowing their brand to become a top leader in the industry.  Click here for the entire article or begin below.

Fetch! Pet Care looking for Memphis site

By: Alan Howell

Paul Mann has Memphis in his cross hairs and he’s ready to pull the trigger on establishing his Dayton, Ohio-based pet care franchise in the heart of the Mid-South.

“We’ve had great success in Nashville for the last four or five years and in neighboring markets, as well,” Mann says. “We’re excited to come to Memphis.”

Mann plans to have at least one Fetch! Pet Care location in the Bluff City by mid-2013 and says the local market should support another two or three. He is looking at Bartlett, Germantown, West Memphis and Downtown.

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