House sitting//pet sitting

[Tom Fischer]

Do you folks know anything about house sitting?
We have an Irish setter and 2 cats.
Yes, they are spoiled, but I just do leave them at kennels.
We have a local dog-walker, But that is not enough for 10 days - 2 weeks.

In the distant past, we have had relatives come stay in our house when we traveled, and a few times had a neighbor stay,
I am looking for ideas for next summer.
Someone told me about http://couchsurfing.org/, seems like a craigslist MB for people who travel on the cheap.
Or a house-sitter.

Anybody have any experience with getting housesitters?
Any suggestions?

[Lee Schierer]

We have a dog sitter who stays at our house when we travel and don't/can't take the dog. She also takes care of the cat when we do take the dog, but doesn't stay at the house. Sh is a young lady from our church that we knew for several years before we found out she would pet sit. She charges less than what it would cost for a kennel for two pets and we know the dog gets exercise every day.

If you don't know the person, be sure to get references and check those references completely.

[Eduard Nemirovsky]

Our old dog has DM and requires insulin shots twice per day. Luckily my co-worker lives nearby and were able to walk her and did shots when we were away. Now we have a two dogs. And when we're going for vacation - dogs going to dog-care center. Even in our small community we have a plenty to choose from. In my opinion - better to keep dogs in kennel then invite stranger, or person you don't know, only by references, to your house. PLus we found a very good dog-care center with a lot of attention to dogs, you can even check on Youtube everyday video with all dogs playing. And price is very reasonable too.

Ed.

[Larry Frank]

I think that this is a problem for a lot of us. I hate to put my dogs in the kennel. One is 15 with pancreatitis. The cost for a good kennel that actually gives the dogs some good facilities and spends time with them is a lot. I found out what it would cost and then offered one of my grown children the chance to take the dogs and I would pay them the same amount. For a 10 day trip, it was quite a windfall for them. The dogs were well taken care of and my kids appreciated some extra cash. It turned into a win for everyone.

[Jim O'Dell]

Back when we used to take non dog friendly trips, we had a young lady from our church stay with them. She was great, but eventually got married and had a family. Then we got to where we didn't take non doggy trips. Since the late 80's, all of our vacations have been to dog shows, some in state, others out of state, and all of our dogs go with us. We took all three with us to the Irish Setter National Specialty in April just outside Washington DC. Now, finding a dog friendly hotel can be rough! But there are sites that help with that.
We do have several friends we have made in our work with Irish Setter Rescue. Many of these we wouldn't hesitate to have house sit for us. One of my wife's piano students will come and let dogs out during the day when we need to be away for a long day, but back in the evening. You might ask at your Vet clinic if any of the Vet Techs there do house sitting on the side. You should have a good idea if you trust your animal to their care or not already by watching how they work with your dog/cat, and how your 4 leggers react to them.
By the way, it is hard to tell from your avitar, but your Irish isn't just the run of the mill pet quality. Did you get him/her from a breeder? Just curious. If you don't mind, PM me with the breeder's name. Just curious to see if we know them. (our old girl, 9, is from a breeder friend in western Massachusetts) Jim.

[Gordon Eyre]

This is a major problem for me as I will not put my Sheltie in a kennel. I either take him or drop him off at my daughters who lives an hour away. We baby sit her kids on occasion so it all works out. If she can't watch him I have taken him to another family members who lives four hours away, either that or I don't go on the trip.

[Jim Matthews]

Find one of the sites that requires a background check of anyone coming into your home.

You're looking for someone with a verifiable reference.
http://mindahome.com/?gclid=CPbK-Nr217gCFao7OgodbV4A-w

Alternately, try "Sitter City" which is primarily geared toward Nannies, but will allow a tailored listing.

Check with your insurance carrier about your coverage of a guest and who is liable if there is damage to your home.

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

I read years ago that there were pet sitting services available in many larger cities and the pet sitter is licensed and bonded to help encourage trust and discourage theft. You might want to ask potential pet sitters if they are licensed or bonded.

I recently sold an RV for an elderly friend. Everyone that responded to the ad stated that they wanted the RV because they didn't want to have to kennel their dogs.

Another option is looking into an RV rental. That way you can take your pets along with you if they travel well.

Last bit of info that could help if you decide to hire some sort of sitter. They sell motion-activated cameras now that will send you an alert to your smart phone and you can watch what is going on in the home or yard when something trips the motion sensor. Some have 2-way audio and/or nightvision and they are quite small so they can be hidden practically anywhere. While they are not cheap, they are peace of mind.

[Tom Fischer]

Thanks for all the thoughtful replies.
And I should have been more clear at the beginning.
We take the dog with us when traveling by car. Hotels are really easy with that.
So I am talking about places you can't get to by car.
The DW is in Eastern Europe right now.
Great stuff to see, and she wants to see more.
But me as the home-sitter is probably not a good long term trend.
My sister and her husband are going to Alaska next summer. She wants us to joint them on the trip.

So, I have to find alternate arrangement for the pets.
I think I can get a pet tech to stay here, but will cost $$, easily a $100/day, maybe a lot higher.
The couch surfing concept would probably be free for me, but maybe you get what you pay for.

All the good points here about safety, references, etc, probably not a good idea to cut corners on this.

Thanks for all the great input!