The Cost of Getting Pets Minded

Just how much do you save by having a house sitter come in and mind your beautiful pets?

Well Guardian reporter Miles Brignall over at The Guardian did an interesting article that shows some of the options for pet minding services.  You can read the article here

The thing he doesn't address is the invisible cost of leaving your pet in a strange environment.  I left my Great Dane for the day at a kennel while I went off with my parents on a boating trip.

First my dog was rather unimpressed at not being included in the outing, then secondly it seemed I stepped onto very shaky ground as I dared to treat her like ......... well ....... a dog!

My Great Dane Sarah - any wonder she
didn't like being left at a kennel - they
didn't even let her bring her own sofa!

She looked at me with the saddest eyes as I left her behind bars and you could see her wondering what on earth she had done wrong to deserve this type of treatment.  She had never been locked up before in her life, well we did try to put in her a very expensive kennel in the back yard once and we came home to find she had eaten her way out of it. 

But the heartache of leaving her wasn't the worst part of the ordeal.

When I went to collect her I was appalled to see how much condition she had lost from fretting just in a very short period of time.  She was listless, depressed and I think if she had been left there a few more hours she would have been in need of an expensive emergency trip to the vets office.

I'd made sure the kennels were clean and the people nice, but she was just not the kind of dog that you could treat like a dog.  She thought she was a person from day one and was used to a lot of people around her.  It was just too much for her to be suddenly confined with no people to interact with.

Dogs give unconditional love and to lock them up, no matter how fancy the boarding kennel, it can never replace the safety and security they feel being in their own home.

I've sat for several dogs know who think they are people.  I find most sulk for a few hours.  They sometimes hide or seek refuge in their little pet beds.  But as soon as their lead rattles or their dinner dish rings out a meal is on the way I see the first of many tail wags as they let me into their heart.

I've found the secret is to be very kind and chatty with them during those first few hours of sadness after their Mum's and Dad's have left, but not to be too pushy with them.  I just let them have their little sulk but let them know its ok if they feel they need a pat or some one on one time with me.

The longest any of the part time pets have sulked is for 24 hours, then they just accepted the situation and got on with sitting beside me in the office, sitting with me while I watch tv and if allowed sleeping on the end of the bed or beside it.  

Usually by day two we best friends and all is well.

The most heart warming thing is to see the joy in the tail when their folks do return and the pleasure on their owners face when they are met by a joyous happy, healthy dog in great condition.

Even the poshest pet hotels can't give a pet the same experience a dog can get from being at home and with many dogs competing for attention in those places, its hard for you pet to get the love and attention they need and deserve.

The cats however are another story all together ....... beware a returning cat owner, no matter how good of a time they've had with me, you're going to get a lot of guilt!