Who Takes Care of Your Pets When You're Away?

Can your dog wait 10 hours to go for a walk? Will the cat have enough food and a clean litter box if you are away for a week? What if you can't come home Wednesday nights because of a prior commitment? Anytime a pet owner needs to go away on vacation, stay long hours at work or has regular scheduled activities that take them away from home they must consider how their pet will be cared for.

Pets provide entertainment and companionship but are also a huge responsibility. You show respect for your pet by taking its needs into consideration and planning accordingly. Fortunately there are many services available to assist you in caring for your pet during times when you can't personally give them the attention and care they need. What are they? Which is best for your pet?

DAY CARE.

Social animals, like dogs, can suffer emotionally from a lack of attention. If your dog has access to the outdoors they will be able to relieve themselves when necessary but a house-bound dog will physically require a walk or you will come home to an accident on your rug and a frustrated animal. Day care centers provide the needed social stimulation most dogs crave. At the day care your dog will spend time with other dogs and have people looking after its physical needs. If you have a young dog this can be especially important as your dog may become destructive with a lack of supervision and an abundance of unused energy.

BOARDING KENNELS.

If you plan to be away overnight or for longer, your dog or cat may be placed in a boarding kennel. This can be expensive but will ensure your pet is cared for daily and overnight.

IN-HOME CARE.

If you are comfortable leaving your dog at home all day you may find the in-home services of a visitor or dog walker to be sufficient and less costly while still providing personal attention. Cats and other animals may not need daily visits if you come home in the evening but will need some attention if you are away overnight or for several days. Cats prefer their own homes rather than the highly social aspect of day cares or boarding kennels. Other pets, such as birds and reptiles, will most likely do better with in-home care as well. In-home care can be as basic as someone taking your dog for a walk in the middle of the day or as inclusive as having a sitter stay in your home with your pet. Examine your situation and budget when choosing a method of care. Keep your pet's best interests in mind. If you are having someone come to your home be sure they are reputable. Licensed businesses should be insured and bonded when employees are entrusted with entering and locking up your home. See “Ten Steps to Finding the Perfect Sitter for Your Pet” dated March 24, 2009 about things to check when considering this option and also an experience with an in home sitter that was a personal disaster for my mom and dad.

Until next time,

Teia

Should Your Pets Eat a Raw Diet? Five Considerations Before You Start

After the pet food recalls of a couple of years ago, many pet owners are looking for alternatives to commercial diets. Some people are preparing home-cooked meals for their dogs, while others go all the way to formulating species-appropriate raw diets to ensure the best health possible for their pets.

While the many aspects of raw feeding go beyond the scope of this article, there are five major considerations to look at before even considering the raw food route:

Your Veterinarian

Just like traditional allopathic medical doctors balk at alternative medicine, so do many veterinarians oppose raw feed. Warnings about bacteria in the food are most common (the healthy dog's stomach acids don't allow for bacterial proliferation). The dangers of bones are often cited as well (again, a healthy, raw-fed dog's stomach acids will break down uncooked bones relatively easily. Cooked bones can be deadly). Be sure to educate yourself about these "dangers" before approaching your vet.

It is important to maintain a good working relationship with your vet. Of course, if your pet has any health problems, you need to consult with your vet before starting a new feeding regimen of any type. If your vet just does not like raw diets, you may need to find a holistic vet who will be more understanding about your desire to feed a raw diet. Try http://www.holisticvetlist.com to look for a holistic vet.

Your pet sitter

Be sure to discuss your decision with your pet sitter, if you use one. Some people who have no trouble cleaning up after your pet may turn out to be squeamish about handling raw meat and its juices. Explain your reasons for the switch and make it as easy as possible for your sitter by freezing meal size portions and leaving detailed instructions.

Your boarding kennel

The same goes for boarding kennels, though it may be more difficult to find one that will go all the way in accommodating your preferences. Some just won't be bothered, while others simply don't have the freezer space to store your food. If you board your pets on a regular basis, it is a good idea to keep them used to their current commercial food by feeding them with it at least two or three times a week. Give yourself or your sitter a night off, and prepare your pet for a stay at the kennel at the same time.

Your travel plans

Do you plan on travelling with your pet? While you can easily bring the food on short trips, longer vacations require advance planning. Do you have access to a freezer at your destination? Is there a grocery store that carries quality meats? Will you need to take a food processor with you?

If you're usually buying a commercially prepared raw pet food like Oma's Pride, ask your local distributor to put you in touch with one servicing your destination area. She or he will be happy to help you out during your stay.

Your freezer

Unless you're only feeding a cat or a teacup size dog, the little bit of freezer space above your fridge is not likely to be enough to store raw pet food. So you're looking at an additional investment in a freezer. It should be large enough to store six to eight weeks' worth of your pets' food. Keep in mind that this includes enough variety of food to ensure a balance of nutrients.

The recommended guideline is 3% of body weight per day for a healthy adult animal. "Variety" means several different meat sources (chicken, beef, turkey, rabbit, etc.), including different cuts and bones (ground or whole), and organ meats, and some vegetables for dogs (NOT for cats!). Work with your distributor or join one of the many online raw feeding lists to determine your needs.

Incidentally, many people find that once they have a freezer, they start buying more food for the family as well, so don't be surprised if you "outgrow" your first freezer!

Raw feeding proponents claim that raw diets can provide many health benefits to your pets, including curing or stabilizing various health conditions and providing increased vitality and longevity. As long as you can overcome these initial obstacles, you'll be able to enjoy your best friends for many years to come.

Until next time,

Teia

PS. Note that there are a lot of very highly educated nutritionists that claim that raw food diets cause problems in modern animals because they are different animals than the wild beasts from which they originated. So, do your research before jumping on the raw pet food bandwagon.

Ten Steps to Finding the Perfect Sitter for Your Pet

Your tickets are purchased, the flight is on time, the bags are packed and the kids are finally ready. But just as you’re rushing out the door, you run into "Bowser" with those big, sad puppy eyes. Oh No, what about "Bowser"?

When planning vacation and holiday getaways, pets are often a forgotten, last-minute detail and as your chosen companion, they shouldn’t be. In order to avoid this, I’m offering a great solution.

When you are planning your next holiday, consider using a pet sitter. It allows your dog, cat, bird, rabbit or whatever pet you have, to stay in the comfort of his own home and maintain his normal routine. These are things well-meaning friends or family, pet stores (in some areas pet stores will board your non dog or cat pet) and certainly kennels, cannot offer. Also, having a trusted pet sitter in your home can help protect your home from intruders.

So, how do you find the perfect pet sitter? Start looking before your next trip and follow these ten recommendations.

1. Personal Referrals. Ask trusted friends or family members if they can recommend a pet sitter they have used. Word-of-mouth referral by someone you know is often the best reference. If none of these can provide the name of a sitter, then check with local pet stores or the local branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) as both should know of local pet sitters. Once you have several names, proceed to step two.

2. The Interview. Set up a meeting in your home with each potential pet sitter. Watch how the sitter interacts with your pet. Are they actively involved with the pet or are they distant or restrained around him? Does your pet want the pet sitter’s attention? Don’t second-guess your pet’s reaction or your own. If your pet and the sitter don’t seem to interact in a positive way, move on.

3. Questions and more Questions. The kind and volume of questions the pet sitters ask will indicate their actual experience in caring for your particular pet. A professional sitter will take notes and you should too. If they don’t ask questions, cross them off your list.

4. Affiliations. Judging a pet sitter solely by an organization affiliation such as Pet Sitters International or National Association of Professional Pet Sitters is tempting. However, remember that national organizations do not know these individuals or their reputation. Instead, ask for local affiliations and follow-up. This is EXTREMELY important. A number of years ago, my mom and dad hired a pet sitter without doing the follow up. She impressed both of them. All of us pets reacted positively during the interview, so they made the mistake of bypassing the follow up. That was a big mistake as it turned out. She dumped a bag of dog food into our dishes and onto the kitchen floor, put several water bowls down, dumped bird food into Bert’s (the parrot) and Cisco’s (the cockatiel) dishes and proceeded to party with her boyfriend in our home for two weeks. When mom and dad came home there was rotting dog food all over the kitchen, dried pee spots all over the house and piles of dog manure everywhere (she seldom let us go out into the fenced back yard). Cisco and Bert only had seed husks in their food dishes and only a few drops of filthy water in their water dishes. All of mom and dad’s liquor was gone, the money they had left for her to buy food, etc. was gone and there were dirty dishes, empty pizza boxes and potato chip bags everywhere. Mom and dad tried to contact her, but her landlady said she had moved out a couple of days before they got home. They never did find her, so she must have left the city we were living in at that time. The clean up costs greatly exceeded the money that she would have been paid if she had done her job as promised.

5. Client References. Ask for other client references. These will help you get a clearer idea of what to expect if you hire this person. Strangely enough, the young lady mentioned above had a number of client references and when these people were phoned, they gave glowing recommendations. What made her stay at our house different we were never able to learn.

6. Bonding & Insurance. Bonding and insurance protects you in the case of damage or theft of your property. However, this does NOT ensure that the pet sitter is reliable, caring or trustworthy.

Unfortunately insurance was not available when we had the above problems. Insurance of this type is relatively new in our part of Canada.

7. The Dotted Line. Ask for a copy of their contract and carefully review the details later. A contract will protect you and your pets. It will also spell out exactly what you can and cannot expect from the pet sitter. It should also list the appropriate rates for all services offered. Do not hesitate to ask questions!

8. Arrange another visit. Arrange for the pet sitter to spend some time alone with your pets, particularly your dog(s). A walk with your dog is a great idea. Monitor your dog’s reaction. Is he happy and comfortable with the pet sitter? Or does he seem eager to get away from the sitter? This also gives the pet sitter a chance to see if she or he can appropriately handle your dog(s), particularly if one or more of your dogs is a large-breed, strong or very energetic.

9. Listen to your gut! Finally, go with your gut feeling! If it doesn’t "feel" right, it’s not, so keep looking.

10. Before you leave. Leave detailed instructions (prepared earlier), phone number(s) in the event of an emergency, and your vet’s name and number.

If you invest your time in advance and follow these steps, you will ensure the best possible pet sitting experience. So the next time you’re making those early travel plans, remember to put "Bowser" and his pet sitter on your checklist, so you can avoid those big, sad puppy eyes.

Until next time,

Teia