My work schedule is about to become hectic and will need to be out of town often. My wife will be home in morning and evening but our 5mth old puppy would be home alone for about 9-10 hrs during the day. Looking for a dog sitter to let her out at least once. I met one at our vets office that seemed nice, but my wife is nervous about letting her have free access to the house.

What questions would you ask of a prospective dog sitter? What requirements in terms of insurance, bonding, etc should they have? Would you have them come and take care of the dog with you there just as they would if you weren't there to see how they are with them?

i've hired many a dog sitter. best is to get someone who works at your vet's--a tech or receptionist. that way they already have an "in" and are knowledgeable about what to do if there is a medical emergency. i also feel that they have a built-in recommendation--my vet trusts them, and i trust my vet.

another possibility is the college-aged child of a friend. one of our best dog sitters was a friend's daughter who had ambitions to become a vet (which she is now.)

third choice is someone who the staff at your vet's recommends.

worst is the high school kid down the block, or someone you or people you trust don't know.

 Quote: Keith Jablon

My work schedule is about to become hectic and will need to be out of town often. My wife will be home in morning and evening but our 5mth old puppy would be home alone for about 9-10 hrs during the day. Looking for a dog sitter to let her out at least once. I met one at our vets office that seemed nice, but my wife is nervous about letting her have free access to the house.

What questions would you ask of a prospective dog sitter? What requirements in terms of insurance, bonding, etc should they have? Would you have them come and take care of the dog with you there just as they would if you weren't there to see how they are with them?

Alice gives good advice. Also, I always always always ask for references and I check them thoroughly. And one is not enough ... one reference could be the sitter's mother or sister or something.

Also, the agreement should be in writing.

And yes, my present sitter did come and feed and walk my dogs with me at home before I left her while I traveled.

And she is bonded.

My 18 yo daughter walks dog for a commercial business in NYC. There are a lot of these. I don't think they screen their walkers as carefully as you would like. You need to go over everything, how the dog is to be handled, interactions with other dogs and people. I don't think bonding helps much if the walker lets your dog get bitten, or your dog bites a kid, for example. I certainly agree with getting a personal recommendation from the vet, or with neighbors who use a professional walker. In our area, there are several walkers who are well known and trusted by the dog community. We all see them with our neighbor's dogs and can see the level of care that is provided.

 Quote: Polly Gregor

I don't think bonding helps much if the walker lets your dog get bitten, or your dog bites a kid, for example.

The O.P.'s wife was uneasy about the sitter having access to the house..... that was the bonding reference.


You're definitely right about references (checked..... not just letters to read) being the best first-screening.

Personally, I would require the candidate to come and walk/play/let the dog out with me present a couple, few times prior to being on their own. This affords you time to get to know the person a bit, get a further "feel" for their intentions. Big plus for the dog too, it can learn, with you present, about its new caretaker.

I think, of course there's risk anytime you have a stranger in your house, however, there's not *a lot* of alternatives in this case. The sooner you make a decision of who to hire (great advice about references by your vet), the sooner your relationship begins and hopefully trust is formed by time and experience with that person.

Keith, I used to do pet sitting in the Phoenix area, before the company I was with went out of business cause he didn't pay his pet-sitters. Don't know how other companies do it, but he kept 60% of the sitting charges, sitters got 40%. We were bonded, which I think is important. From what I gathered, bonding is costly and that's why many sitters prefer to work with a company who covers those expenses.

Definitely have the sitter come over to meet your puppy and play with it a bit, as well as get instructions from you (preferably written initially) as to what you want the sitter to do, and not do. You will need to give the sitter a key to your home. See how they handle the pup on a short walk. And this is just my opinion, but if there's a problem with stray dogs in your area, I would suggest not even having the sitter walk the pup. Just cause they're a sitter, doesn't mean they know how to avert a dog attack on your pup. If that's the case, just have the sitter play with the pup in the backyard after potty. If you don't feel comfortable with the sitter, ask for another one (if you choose to go with a "company"). Don't worry about turning someone down if you or your dog aren't comfortable.

I think having someone who knows first aid for dogs is important, and someone who of course knows how to give medication to a dog if your pup is on medication that needs to be given during the day. Don't feel bad about closing off doors to rooms of your house.

A "normal" sitting usually goes about 30 minutes (at LEAST), sometimes I've spent longer depending on the dog(s) needs. But the charge for a 30 minute visit (here in Phoenix) runs from $19 to $22. Should be no extra charge for extra pets (within reason). This is the charge for companies who hire pet sitters to work through them. If you get an individual who doesn't work through an agency, the charge can be less, but they may not be bonded.

The other thing to think about is if the sitter has a back up sitter in case of emergency if primary sitter can't come out for some reason - and it has to be a VERY GOOD REASON. In which case you need to meet the secondary sitter as well.

If you don't want any training going on, you should definitely state that. Some sitters take it upon themselves to give little training sessions, especially with a puppy. If you don't want that, make sure it's in the written agreement (which you should have, sign and have the sitter sign as well). Most companies provide their own written agreement, you can add any comments you like.

I know it's a scary proposition, giving someone the key to your house for the first time, and your credit card number if they work for an agency (if they work for an agency, my opinion is that you give the card number only to the agency, not the sitter - usually the card number is put on the written agreement in front of the sitter, but you can request differently). But I think that's an initial concern, and you'll see that it works out just fine. It does become costly however, at about $20 a day.

I have three kids as well as three dogs, and so have had child care in the house for over 18 years, none of whom were bonded. They all came with references, that I checked. Only one came through an agency. I figured that if I trusted someone with my kids, I should have no problem trusting them with keys to my house.

you do have to make a decision about if a person is trustworthy. and if you feel comfortable with them, then quit worrying about it. people usually live up to what you expect of them.

Excellent advice again, thanks everyone.
The sitter we are considering does work for our vet at the front desk a few days/week, so that is a plus. I'll make sure to personally call all of the references and observe her with the dog before hiring her on.