How do pet sitters take time off?

Can pet sitters go on vacations?

I’ve always had jobs that require me to work weekends and holidays.

My first job was at a dog boarding facility in the Twin Cities. Even if the office was closed to the public, we still had to be there to care of the dogs every day.

During my newspaper days, we also worked holidays because even on Christmas Day there was still a paper! Just another day for us news-folk.

And now that I own a pet sitting/dog running business I also get more requests from clients around the holidays.

Through my business, I also offer consulting to others who are interested in learning how to start a pet sitting business. Some common questions I receive include:

As a pet sitter, will I have to work weekends?

No.

As a pet sitter, you have the ability to set your own schedule. Sure, there will be more opportunities for work on the weekends, but that doesn’t mean you have to work weekends.

When I first started my business, I took pretty much every pet sitting job I was offered. This helped me build up more clients. As time went on, I added more and more regular dog walking appointments during the work week.

Because I was getting so busy with dog walking and some pet sitting from Monday through Friday, I eventually didn’t need to work weekends unless I wanted to. I decided to take at least a few weekends off every month, especially around certain holidays.

If I ever want to work on weekends or holidays, there is always the opportunity because there are always people requesting pet sitting during those times.

Basically you have to learn to say no, which can be difficult.

Do I have to work holidays?

No.

The same rules as above apply for holidays. You own the pet sitting business, so you set your own schedule. You decide which holidays you want to work.

To be fair to your customers, you should decide a few months in advance whether you will be available on certain holidays or not. This will give them time to make other arrangements. You can either post your availability on your web site or send out a notice to all your regular customers.

People are very understanding if you decide to take time off to spend with your own family on any holiday.

Can I take vacations?

Yes.

You can take as many vacations as you would like!

As with holidays, simply give your customers at least a month or two of advanced notice if you plan to take time off. This will give them some time to make arrangements for their pets while you are away.

I encourage all pet sitters and dog walkers to take at least two full weeks off every year. Everyone needs a break. It’s easy for pet sitters to get burned out from working long hours. If you take time off, your customers will miss you and appreciate you a bit more 🙂

What if I get sick?

Take a day or two off.

If I get sick, I simply contact my clients as soon as possible. I say that I’m sick and won’t be available for walking that day. People understand.

If a human child goes to an in-home daycare and the daycare provider happens to get sick at the last minute, parents make arrangements. That is life. It’s no different with dogs. People can survive a day without a dog walker!

With pet sitting, it’s a little trickier than dog walking because the owners are likely out of town.

In those cases, I do my best to care for the animals as I normally would. In an absolute emergency, I would make sure to contact the pets’ owners and be honest about the situation. People are understanding if you are honest.

Sometimes people have a family member, friend or neighbor who can take over with the pet sitting for that day. If needed, I can have my husband fill in for me with permission from the pets’ owners. The final option would be to contact another trusted pet sitter in the area, but only with permission from the pets’ owners.

What if there is a blizzard and I can’t get to my appointments?

I live in Fargo, N.D., and as you can imagine, I’ve had to do pet sitting in some pretty nasty winter storms.

No matter where you live, there are natural disasters that could prevent you from getting to your scheduled pet sitting visits – a tornado, an earthquake, a tsunami or whatever it might be.

All you can do is try your best. As you think about how to start a pet sitting business, think about these potential scenarios ahead of time. If they occur, be honest with your customers. Stay in contact so they are aware of the situation.

Obviously if you know a storm is approaching, you can plan ahead a bit. Leave extra food and water for the animals. Try to keep the pets in an area of the house where accidents will be easy to clean up. Ask the pets’ owners if there are any trusted neighbors who could stop by in case you can’t make it back for a few days.

If it’s a realistic option, you could spend the night at your client’s house with the pets or you could bring the pets over to your house. These options do bring up extra safety and liability issues, however.

The main thing is to do your best, stay in contact with the pets’ owners and to keep your own safety in mind.

Do you own a pet sitting business? How do you schedule time off?

For more information, my ebook on how to start a pet sitting business is guaranteed to be the best resource available for getting started with your business!