Pet Care Articles
July 19th, 2011
Paw Minders Plus picked up three new clients yesterday, so I thought it would be a good idea to offer a few tips for prospective clients to do when interviewing and hiring a pet sitter...
1) Make sure the prospective pet sitter doesn't charge for an in-home consultation. Paw Minders Plus offers it for free, and so should all quality pet sitting businesses. We need to meet you and your pets to ensure a good fit before taking on a new job. Pet owners shouldn't pay to meet a pet sitter.
2) Ask the pet sitters to see their license, insurance, bonding, and association cards to verify they are legitimate professional pet sitters. We always show our identification to prospective clients when we first meet them.
3) Make sure to introduce your pets to the pet sitter, even if the little kitties are hiding. We are the ones responsible for their safety while you are gone, so please don't assume we don't need ... Read more...
1) Make sure the prospective pet sitter doesn't charge for an in-home consultation. Paw Minders Plus offers it for free, and so should all quality pet sitting businesses. We need to meet you and your pets to ensure a good fit before taking on a new job. Pet owners shouldn't pay to meet a pet sitter.
2) Ask the pet sitters to see their license, insurance, bonding, and association cards to verify they are legitimate professional pet sitters. We always show our identification to prospective clients when we first meet them.
3) Make sure to introduce your pets to the pet sitter, even if the little kitties are hiding. We are the ones responsible for their safety while you are gone, so please don't assume we don't need ... Read more...
July 16th, 2011
Do you suffer from pet allergies? Well, there are several tips for pet owners to alleviate the symptons of pet allergies so you can avoid getting rid of your pet...
1) Vacuum curtains, furniture and carpets every week. Consider using a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Arresting) filter in your vacuum to prevent dander from escaping the vacuum and back into your home.
2) Don't allow your pet on upholstered furniture. If that's not possible, cover your furniture with washable slipcovers or consider spraying them with Febreze Allergen Reducer to keep pet dander from getting into the air.
3) Keep your pet out of your bedroom because dander collects on pillows and leads to worsened symptoms at night and in the morning.
4) Replace carpeting with hardwood floors (unless you have dogs that can't get traction on that type of surface) or other solid surface flooring for easy clean-up of your pet's hair. ... Read more...
1) Vacuum curtains, furniture and carpets every week. Consider using a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Arresting) filter in your vacuum to prevent dander from escaping the vacuum and back into your home.
2) Don't allow your pet on upholstered furniture. If that's not possible, cover your furniture with washable slipcovers or consider spraying them with Febreze Allergen Reducer to keep pet dander from getting into the air.
3) Keep your pet out of your bedroom because dander collects on pillows and leads to worsened symptoms at night and in the morning.
4) Replace carpeting with hardwood floors (unless you have dogs that can't get traction on that type of surface) or other solid surface flooring for easy clean-up of your pet's hair. ... Read more...
July 13th, 2011
Just a quick note about how the attitude of dogs can change when the owners are away. We are currently pet-sitting Charley, half pit bull and half healer. He was a bit excitable when we first met him with his owners, but since they've been away, he's much calmer and is really a sweet dog. For such a big dog, he just rolls over for a belly rub when we start petting him. I'm sure he misses his mom and dad, but we're certainly not sorry to see this side of him. Just another version a very sweet bigger dog. You'll see pics of Charley soon in our gallery...
Read more...
July 10th, 2011
You've already chosen your pet sitter for your upcoming trip. The following are some tips for pet owners to heed before they leave town...
1) Notify your vet that you are going out of town and that a pet sitter will be minding your pet while you are gone.
2) Ensure your pets are up-to-date on their vaccinations before you leave.
3) Ensure your credit card is on file at the vet, so the vet can take life-saving measures to help your pet if something goes wrong while you are away. Don't make your pet sitter take on the monetary debt that goes along with saving the life of your pet while you are gone.
4) Ensure your pets have a solid collar with good identification tag should they get loose. Micro-chipping your animal is highly recommended too.
5) Finally, make sure you buy extra food just in case you extend your trip out of town so your pets will have enough food while you are gone. This ... Read more...
1) Notify your vet that you are going out of town and that a pet sitter will be minding your pet while you are gone.
2) Ensure your pets are up-to-date on their vaccinations before you leave.
3) Ensure your credit card is on file at the vet, so the vet can take life-saving measures to help your pet if something goes wrong while you are away. Don't make your pet sitter take on the monetary debt that goes along with saving the life of your pet while you are gone.
4) Ensure your pets have a solid collar with good identification tag should they get loose. Micro-chipping your animal is highly recommended too.
5) Finally, make sure you buy extra food just in case you extend your trip out of town so your pets will have enough food while you are gone. This ... Read more...
July 7th, 2011
"We do this because we love animals. They are innocent babies, both big and small. We chose not to have children, so our animals are our children. We would want people like us to pet sit our babies when we go out of town. We don't see it as work, we see it as giving love to other children." - Paw Minders Plus Pet Sitters owners Marcia and Michael Nazarek when asked why they decided to become professional pet sitters.
Read more...
July 5th, 2011
Set an exercise program for your dog and stick to it. The worst thing you can do is suddenly spend more than an hour of time throwing a toy ball to your dog, an animal that spends most of its time lying around doing nothing. Inconsistency can cause frustration, restlessness, and even stress for your pet. Set an exercise schedule and stick to it. Your dog will look forward to its exercise period each day!
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July 2nd, 2011
My dog really enjoys to be walked. Why is that? Exercise? Perhaps it's the fresh sights, sounds, and sounds? Well, I have a few tips to make dog walking more enjoyable for you and your pooch...
1) Pick a cool destination and mix up where you walk your dog. He'll love the new sights and everything that goes along with a fresh trail.
2) Speaking of trails, it's always best to walk your dog on dirt or grass and not asphalt. The summer heat on pavement can often lead to burns on the pads of your dog's paws. Not good.
3) Dogs are social animals, so try to take them somewhere they are likely to encounter other dogs. Allow your dog to greet other well-behaved dogs if their owner is willing. It will socialize your dog so he won't "act up" around other animals when they are encountered in other settings.
4) Play with your dog first before you walk him to "get ... Read more...
1) Pick a cool destination and mix up where you walk your dog. He'll love the new sights and everything that goes along with a fresh trail.
2) Speaking of trails, it's always best to walk your dog on dirt or grass and not asphalt. The summer heat on pavement can often lead to burns on the pads of your dog's paws. Not good.
3) Dogs are social animals, so try to take them somewhere they are likely to encounter other dogs. Allow your dog to greet other well-behaved dogs if their owner is willing. It will socialize your dog so he won't "act up" around other animals when they are encountered in other settings.
4) Play with your dog first before you walk him to "get ... Read more...