Allow me to explain…

I’m not sure exactly how this came to be, but for many years now I find in near impossible to fall asleep in complete silence.

I use and require the aid of a white noise maker.

I’ve heard some like those machines that make the sound of the ocean, a rainstorm or the jungle.

Personally, I prefer simple white noise (practically like static sound).

Since I don’t have my white noise maker anymore, I went online to see what solutions I could find and wouldn’t you know there are entire websites dedicated to creating a variety of white noise directly from your computer.

The best one I found (and currently use to fall asleep) is SimplyNoise.

Is White Noise Good For Pets?

I then did a bit of research and discovered that white noise can be extremely beneficial to our pets, too.

Think how the use of this can help drown out the noise of a thunderstorm to a fearful pooch.

Or how a dog that likes to bark at cars passing or other outside distraction can relax by not even hearing it.

So, now it’s your turn.

What do you think? Do you know of any specific ways you might be able to offer this tool (solution) to your clients’ pets.

Are you currently leaving the TV or radio on as a way to achieve a similar result?

Leave a comment for the community below.

Image Courtesy of Flickr’s dominiqs’

Related posts:

1. Are You Treating Your Pet Sitting Clients As Wonderfully As Their Pets?

Have you decided to gain a certain number of new clients? Or make this the year you hire pet sitters to join your team?

No matter what your focus going forward, you will always need to keep your website in tip top shape.

One of my biggest passions has always been helping pet sitters grow by improving business skills and improving your website presence.

Here are my Top 12 tips for getting your website in great shape in 2012.

1: Title Tag

This is possibly the most important element when it comes to SEO and landing in Google for your chosen search terms. Make sure each of your pages has a different title tag geared towards what you want that specific page to rank for. Place your important keywords near the beginning of your title tag, and the less important terms near the end. Use approximately 70 characters max.

Example of a good title tag:
<title>New York City Pet Sitting | Dog Boarding | Cat Sitting | Dog Walking | by Alitia's Animals </title>

2: Phone Number

Make sure your contact phone number is listed at least once on the page (twice is good, too). Once at the top, once at the bottom. Make sure it is prominent and visible.

3: State your State

Do not take for granted that your visitors (or Google) know in which State you provide service. Columbus, for example, can be in Ohio, Georgia or Texas. Spell out the name of your state in at least one location on your site.

4: Use Your Business Email Address

If you are listing an email address on your website, why not list your domain name business address instead of a free one like hotmail, comcast, verizon, or even gmail? If you are using your own domain name, you are able to set up an email account that forwards to your current one (IE. info@my-pet-biz.com)

5: Show a Picture

People connect with people, not with websites. And since we are in the service industry, your visitors want to see you before they feel comfortable getting in touch. And they especially want to see you before they invite you over for the meet-n-greet. Do not hide behind your website with no picture of yourself. Help build the bond and trust during their first visit to your website by adding a nice image of you (with or without a pet).

6: Contact Form

Place a contact form in the sidebar of every page to increase the number of visitors who will get in touch with you. This makes it so easy for them to get the ball rolling. And that’s exactly what we want every single visitor to do.

7: Google Analytics

In order to know how effective your current website is, you need a way to track and view visitor activity. The free Google Analytics will give you plenty of insight to your website visitors and will paint the entire picture. You’ll see how many visits per day, how long each visitor remains on your site, what keywords they typed in to find your site, and much more.

8: Use Testimonials

Potential clients want to know that other pet owners have placed their trust in you before. Include a page of reviews and testimonials for your visitors to read.

9: Add a Call to Action

A call to action is simply an action that you instruct your visitor to take. For example, “Call us now” “Email us to get the ball rolling” and “Fill out this form to begin the quick process” are examples of good calls to action. Place one near the bottom of every page on your website so your visitors will always know what to do next.

10: Take nothing for granted

Do not assume that everything is clearly stated on your pages. Spell everything out. Remember that more often than not, your visitor is just learning about the pet sitting option for the first time. Create your content with that in mind. You and I know how it works and what the process is, but your visitors have no idea. Plus, Google will value your page more with more helpful content on it.

11: Include Affiliation Logos

Proudly displaying the fact that you are a member of a professional pet sitting association, or that you are trained in pet CPR and first aid, adds a level of trust that your visitor will be pleased to discover. Always remember to link the image to the website so your visitor can get the full picture.

12: Add Video

If you haven’t yet noticed, video is everywhere. And it is only going to become more and more popular. Jump on that band wagon now and start including video on your website. It’s easier than ever to record a short clip from your phone and upload to Youtube (then to your website). Record your entrance to your favorite client’s house to show how wonderfully excited and happy the pup is at your arrival.

Also, don’t be afraid to add funny, entertaining, and interesting animal-related videos from Youtube on your website. Your visitors will enjoy all of it.

Wrapping It Up

Improving your pet sitting business through your website is an ongoing process. It is something I have focused on from the very beginning in my own pet sitting business and is what’s responsible for turning Alitia’s Animals into a six figure company.

These 12 rules are identical to what I focus on everyday. If you follow these, you will see improvement.

Want Much of This Work Done For You?

You may already have heard that Laura Roeder and I are about to launch the perfect website for pet sitters.

In fact, what we have created is a WordPress-powered theme (template) for pet sitters to use that already has all the elements in place for you. No guessing, no difficulty, no stress.

Plus, you get to make all the edits, additions and adjustments anytime you want. (You do not have to rely on a web designer to make each little change for you.)

We give you the tools, education and ongoing training you need to master your powerful, successful pet sitting website.

And the best part? We need more pet sitters to jump in and give us feedback on what we have so far.

A small handful of pet sitters are already on board, and we are now looking for 12 more.

If you want the opportunity to help us test drive this system, please fill out this brief survey (some of you may have already filled it out).

In a few days we will hand select a dozen pet sitters to get in on this WordPress-powered setup. We think you’ll be quite excited at what we have in store for you!

Let’s work together to make 2012 the best year yet.

Related posts:

1. Here’s Why This Pet Sitting Website Gets Lots of Clients
2. The Simple Way To Stop Confusing Your Website Visitors and Start Helping Them
3. Why You Absolutely Must Have A Pet Sitting Website

I owe my relationship with Willy to the pet sitting industry.

Willy entered my life as a pet sitting client while living in New York City. Alitia and I watched and cared for Willy on multiple occasions when his owner would travel for business.

One day, that business travel extended a bit further. We received a call from Willy’s owner asking if we knew anyone who could adopt Willy since business was transferring him out of the Country.

After a brief conversation together, we agreed Willy would be a welcome addition to our other two dogs.

Welcome Willy!

I quickly fell in love with Willy and his unique personality.

Some would refer to Willy as eccentric, quirky, odd, or just plain weird, and couldn’t relate to or understand him. But not me. I was all for his wonderful quirks.

Willy spent a few years with us in New York, then made the 1800-mile cross country road trip with us to San Antonio, Texas, and it was here he was able to experience green grass for the first time.

He used our fenced in back yard as his personal play pen. He would bask in the warm sun, discover new smells and even chase the occasional rabbit.

It wasn’t too long before I found out that Willy does not bark. He howls. On most of his journeys in the back yard, he would apparently be on the trail of some game animal.

He would alert us inside with his beautiful howl that he has (as we interpreted it) ‘found a duck! I found a duck! OMG! I found a duck!’

We were even treated one time to a half-eaten bird that Willy graciously delivered back to us inside.

That’s a dog being a dog.

Wonderful Willy

Over time, the bond between Willy and me grew stronger. We had our morning routine down. We would keep each other company in the kitchen while I prepared my morning breakfast and coffee.

Then as I made my way upstairs to my home office, Willy would follow and relax on the love seat that simply became his. I loved looking up from my desk and knowing Willy was there as my perfect business partner in crime.

I made a promise to Willy before he passed that he will never be forgotten. I thanked him for his amazing companionship, and hand fed him some waffles and bacon.

I imagine Willy is now howling up a storm, playing with all the ducks and rabbits in harmony, before calling it a day and retreating to his favorite love seat.

Here’s to the best beagle ever.

(View All his Photos in my Google Photo Album here – opens in new window.)

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What I’m most comfortable treating myself to is the quick and easy chocolate goodness provided by Duncan Hines Chocolate Cake – yes, right out of the box.

For my money, there’s nothing much simpler than following the directions:

Step 1 – Preheat oven.

Step 2 – Blend ingredients.

Step 3 – Bake 30 minutes.

That’s all there is to it. And the outcome greatly outweighs the skill involved to achieve the result.

But, What If…?

Baking a cake from a box is admittedly a simple process. Follow a few steps and wait a bit and you’ve got yourself a delicious cake.

But let’s not take the step by step process for granted. Because whether you realize it or not, most everything we look to accomplish in our day to day life is the direct result of following small, specific steps to reach the desired goal.

For example, what would happen if you didn’t follow the cake direction steps in order, and decided to ‘bake for 30 minutes’ before blending all the ingredients?

Or what if you looked for a shortcut and instead of baking at 375, you baked at 575?

Clearly the results in both cases would not yield the result you are looking for.

A Simple Example Makes The Case

The cake example may sound ridiculous because we know that no one would alter such a basic recipe and expect good results.

Yet, in our pet sitting business the danger is a bit less obvious.

Think back to the last new client that you successfully landed. What was the process like?

Contact was made either by email or phone. Communication was established. Questions were answered. Stories were shared. Information was exchanged. Appointments were set up. Forms were sent, filled out and returned. Payment was accepted.

Those are steps. If you could replicate the exact steps you took with the last new client you successfully brought on board each time contact is made, you’ll have a much higher ‘new client’ ratio.

The biggest problem we face as pet sitting business owners is one of two things:

1) We either wing it each time a potential new client comes on board and wind up missing some integral steps in the process.

Or 2) We subconsciously veer slightly from what we know works and the entire outcome is compromised.

Yes, This Can Be Learned

The whole thing is an art and science that can be learned and perfected.

And once you learn and perfect the process of converting more potential clients into new clients, you will certainly grow your pet sitting business as big as wish.

Do you want to know what the best part of all this is?

The steps you want to master are as easy as that Dunkan Hines cake recipe. No joke.

To prove this point, I asked my good friend and fellow pet sitting business owner, Bella Vasta, to share with us her 7 basic steps that she follows each and every time she speaks to a new pet owner.

It literally goes back to the basics and is responsible for year after year growth in Bella’s business.

PetSittingOlogy readers are invited to attend my upcoming webinar with Bella at no cost whatsoever to discover these 7 basic steps that will lead to more new clients.

Here are the details. There are only a few dozen more spots available, so register now.

Live Webinar Details

7 Ways to Give Yourself a 20% Raise This Year Simply By Going Back To The Basics!

Date: Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Time: 8:00pm Eastern / 7:00pm Central / 6:00pm Mountain / 5:00pm Pacific

Bella will spell out in detail each of the 7 BASIC steps that you must follow to land more gigs, close more sales, and live happier!

As she told me, it’s the exact plan she uses herself to continually increase her income year after year.

Space is limited to a first come (those who sign up) first served basis. Won’t you join us?

Sign up right now to reserve your seat:

–> https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/992738798

And please leave your thoughts, questions or comments for Bella or me in the comments below.

See you on the webinar soon…

Photo Credit: texascooking

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1. The Simple Way To Stop Confusing Your Website Visitors and Start Helping Them
2. 13 Best Places To Get Business Cards For Your Pet Sitting Business
3. Fully SEO Your Pet Sitting Website – Look Beyond Keywords [Video]

If you’re anything like me, you can’t wait for Halloween to roll around. It’s the perfect opportunity to eat candy, dress up and show your pet a good time.

Last year, I took my dog, Sir Winston Pugsalot, around with me for a round of trick-or-treating. He loved the opportunity to walk around, see all the costumes and traverse other people’s lawns all night.

This year, I’m living in Chicago, so we can’t quite have a repeat of last year. I was pretty bummed, until a friend told me about a shelter fundraiser at two downtown Chicago hotels. It’s a Halloween party for you and your pet, with prizes for the best costumes. Sign me up!

Whether you’re hosting a party, taking your pet out trick-or-treating, or heading out sans pet, you’ll need to keep a few tips in mind for a safe Halloween for you and your favorite furry friend.

Out for the night? Hire a Sitter

Even if you normally leave your pet at home alone for a few hours, you might want to consider hiring a sitter for Halloween night, especially if you live in a neighborhood with lots of small kids.

You’re likely to receive trick-or-treaters, and since you won’t be home to answer the door, their incessant doorbell ringing could make your pet freak out. And, if you have a particularly defensive dog, he’ll be stressed by the amount of strangers stomping through your (his) lawn. A sitter can help keep your pet calm and comfortable.

Keep the Candy for Yourself

Sir WP loves to beg. He shoots me that pleading look and I could give into just about anything—except for candy. No matter how great your dog is at giving you that “puppy dog look” or how great your kitten is at rubbing against your leg, keep in mind that candy, especially chocolate, is dangerous for your pet. Buy them a special pet-approved treat to indulge in while you devour chocolates and sweet tarts, but leave the candy for humans only.

Choose a Safe Costume

Take it from me: I know that pet costumes can be adorable. But, the truth is, unless your pet is used to wearing a sweater at the very least, a costume is an unpleasant experience. If you’re not absolutely positive that your kitten will enjoy being a strawberry short cake this Halloween, leave Fuzzfoot to his fur and instead give him a special orange collar with a Halloween trinket instead.

If your pet does like dressing up, make sure the costume you choose is free of masks and choking hazards. It should not restrict your pet’s ability to move, hear, bark, meow or breathe. Have your pet give the costume a test run the night before. If they seem to enjoy it, they’ll love the opportunity to show it off on the big night.

Be Safe if Taking Your Pet with You

When I took Sir WP out last year, I kept him on a short leash and made sure his ID tag was firmly affixed. With so many other people, cars and pets out, your dog will have a lot to be distracted by. If you’re in an especially busy area, you might even consider carrying small dogs until you’re out of the congestion.

If you see a stray dog, do what you can to make sure it gets home. Halloween is a high traffic night, and a bad time for Spots to be far from home.

Keep Your Home Safe

Halloween is a great time for decorations, but just like any other time of the year, you should make sure that your décor is pet friendly. Try not to leave out chewable items, cords, lights or candles. Try to leave carved pumpkins outdoors and make sure to supervise your pet when outside.

If you’re having a party, remember that your pet lives there too. If your dog isn’t used to having a lot of people around, you might consider leaving him a different part of the house during the busiest part of your evening. Also make sure that your pet doesn’t dart out the door whenever adorable six-year-olds come by looking for free treats.

Ashley Spade, also known as Sir Winston Pugsalot the First’s favorite human, is a law student in Chicago. When she isn’t studying, she enjoys competing in 5K races, trips the the bark park, and blogging. Keep up with her adventures on twitter: @ashspade

Readers: Share with us below your favorite Halloween pet photos, stories and tips!

Photo Credit: dr_XeNo

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Besides enjoying the obvious lead, I love getting to learn more about how my website is actually performing.

Here’s what I mean. I recently received an email that said the following:

“I wanted to inquire about pricing info for in-home boarding. Your site was very informative and I wanted to look into this option further.”

It’s no secret that I take pride in my pet sitting website and work hard to make sure it converts as many visitors as possible into leads (which could become potential new clients).

When I read the statement about how informative my site was, I knew what I always thought was correct:

Every visitor arrives on your website with certain questions in mind. The better you help answer those questions, the more likely the visitor will take action and get in touch with you.

Is your pet sitting website helping or confusing your visitors?

You’ve probably already heard that content is king. Simply put, the more relevant content you have on your website, the more your visitors – and Google – will love you.

Below are 9 questions that your visitors need to know the answers to before they will even consider getting in touch with you. (It’s also a perfect way to add more content to your site.)

Side Note: #4 is my favorite secret weapon. Focus on that one alone and you’ll see results.

1) How much does your service cost?

Whether you choose to list specific prices or list a ‘call for quote’ option, your potential client needs to know how the fee is calculated.

If you choose not to list specific prices, at least make them aware why specific prices are not listed (unique to each pet’s needs, based on a variety of factors, etc).

2) What service area do you cover?

Obviously, your potential client will want to know if in fact you serve her area. One thing I have found good success with is offering a list of neighborhoods we serve followed by the statement: “This is just a partial list of the areas we serve. If your area is not listed, please call us to see if we can accommodate.

This accomplishes a few things.

It allows us to decide on a case by case basis if we want to make an exception for certain areas based on service, time of year, availability, etc.

I’d hate to lose a potential client who did not see her area listed because we refer to it as two different names or it was just outside the limit.

3) What services do you offer?

A dog owner looking for mid-day walks. A cat owner going on vacation for 2-weeks. A new puppy owner looking for boarding and training.

Each of these potential clients are desperately trying to discover if you offer the exact service for their specific situation.

Do you make it blatantly clear on your website all the services you offer? Make sure you target the market that you serve.

4) How does all this work?

It would help more than you know to approach every aspect of your pet sitting website with this one motto:

“I must assume that every visitor to my website has never used a pet sitter before and has no idea what I do, how I do it, and what this is all about.”

Trust me. If you build your website pages (content) with that thought in mind, Google will love you, and your potential visitors will love you even more.

Don’t be afraid to spell out and break down how every part of the process works and why it’s in place. Explain in detail why the services you offer are better than every other option the pet owner can choose (kennels, friends, boarding houses).

Walk her through what the first phone call is like, what she can expect, what happens on the meet-n-greet, what forms she’ll fill out to make sure you can take the best care possible, how you send text message (or email or phone) updates during the job, etc.

5) Can I see some references?

Testimonials and reviews are something you should clearly offer on your website (most of us already do).

If you haven’t yet been asked directly to provide some references, assume that every visitor is thinking about it.

How comforting would it be to list prominently on your site something like: “If you’d like to be put directly in touch with some of our happy clients, please get in touch with me and I’d be happy to connect you!”

Guess what that does? It shows your visitor that you are more than willing to get others to vouch for you. It says you have a history of happy clients that you are confident with. And it encourages the visitor to get in touch with you (and isn’t that, afterall, what we are after?!).

6) How does payment work and what payment methods do you offer?

Do I have to pay up front? Can I pay afterwards? Do you bill me or send me invoices? Do you accept Paypal? Can I write you a check? Do you take credit cards?

Give your visitor the peace of mind of knowing how the crucial aspect of payment is handled.

If you are in fact flexible with your payment methods, promote a ‘what ever is simplest for you’ attitude.

For example, you could write “We aim to accommodate each of our client’s personal payment preferences. We happily accept cash, check or paypal (credit cards) for your convenience.”

More content, more questions answers, more understanding.

The more your potential client understands about the entire process from first contact to new client, the more likely she will get in touch with you.

Remember, spell everything out in as much detail for her as you possibly can on your website.

7) Will you keep in touch and keep me informed during/after each job?

Reassurance. It’s one more thing your potential client wants from you before fully committing.

She wants to know she can trust (and believe) you are the best one for the job.

Let her know up front that you will leave a report card after each visit. Or that you will follow up each visit with a text message and a pic of her pooch having a blast.

You may even decide to display an actual report card or update as an example.

8) What experience do you have?

Growing up with animals, or loving pets is not impressive experience. Sure, it’s nice for the visitor to know, but go a step further and highlight your skills, talents and abilities.

Focus on things that will assure your potential client that what ever happens, what ever could possibly go wrong, you have the ability and capacity to handle it professionally and make the right decisions in the blink of an eye.

All your visitor ever wants is to know that she made the right choice by choosing you, and that you will not let her down.

9) Finally, can I really trust you?

If you haven’t tied everything together yet, TRUST is really all it comes down to.

Whether a potential client (your visitor) trusts you or not from the short time spent on your website is what will dictate the level of success you reach.

All of these questions bring you a step closer to achieving trust between your visitor and you.

The more content (and transparency) that you provide, the more understanding you shine on the process, the more you reveal about yourself and business practices, the more happy clients you will discover fighting to hire you.

Action Step:

Take just one of the questions above that you think is not fully (or clearly) answered on your pet sitting website and add one page answering the question for your visitors.

They will literally thank you for it.

Leave a comment below with a link to your website so we can all celebrate your progress.

Related posts:

1. Here’s Why This Pet Sitting Website Gets Lots of Clients
2. Is Your Pet Sitting Website A Magnet For New Visitors?
3. 6 Ways To Turn More Of Your Website Visitors Into Pet Sitting Clients

Call me a website nerd, geek or junkie but I have a passion for doing just that. And pretty often, too.

Especially when it comes to pet sitter websites. As you know, I love all things website, and focus on that as the main topic of my teachings.

Put another way, turning more of your website visitors into happy clients is not something that happens by accident.

When creating my own pet sitting business website a few years back, I was certain to place specific elements on the page that would strategically increase the chances of a visitor taking action by getting in touch with us.

This effectively turned visitors into leads, and turned those leads into clients.

Here’s A Pet Sitting Website That Got It Right: A Case Study

I came across the website DogsLoveRunning.com recently that contained 7 strong sections that I would recommend to any pet sitter. Here they are in no particular order.

1. Big Bold Headlines

We are bombarded with dozens of different websites throughout our day. Nobody reads every word on every site. Instead, we learn to scan pages before making a full commitment to stay in the hopes of getting a general idea of what’s offered and how we feel about the site.

All this literally happens in a matter of seconds, and usually on the subconscious level.

So, how do site owners combat this? By making your website easy to read and scan-able. One of the best ways to achieve high scan-ability is to utilize big, bold headlines that instantly speak to your visitor, letting them know exactly what your site stands for.

2. Testimonial From Reputable Source

It’s no surprise that testimonials and reviews work to help establish your credibility to a brand new visitor. Whether purchasing a product or service, consumers want to know that others have bought here before and were happy with that decision.

It’s all human nature. While most pet sitters have reviews or testimonials on a page on their site, how many have a glowing quote front and center for the potential client to see shortly after arriving?

Try finding a glowing sentence or two that a past client has raved, and add it to the top part of your web page.

3. Social Media Icons

Yes, we’re all on Facebook and Twitter these days. But did you know that placing a link to your Facebook or Twitter profiles can have a big impact on building trust with your visitors?

How? Through social accountability. When a potential client visits your site, simply knowing that you are connected publicly through social media will give them a sigh of relief that you are accountable to a bigger group.

Whether you actually participate in any of these communities is a different story, but the psychology behind the icons on your site remains the same.

4. Tip Sheet for New Clients

Whenever a potential client lands on your site, they are coming with a few key questions they need answered. Any good pet sitting website will naturally answer these questions through the course of their pages, but offering a downloadable tip sheet for new clients will do a world of good.

First, it makes the process of answering their questions completely easy and stress-free. Next, it shows you are professional and understand your clients’ needs. And finally, it acts as a lead capture by requesting their email address in exchange for the tip sheet.

5. Video

Video works. It’s become the norm on many media websites and Youtube is growing at an astounding rate.

We love video. And you don’t need to be a filmmaker or editing genious to pull it off. There are plenty of inexpensive and free tools to create visually appealling video.

Or, you can simply fire up your computer’s webcam and create a compelling video that way. Dont’ like that idea? Then capture your furry clients doing what it is they do best and your in business.

Whichever path you choose, highly consider adding video to your website. Many pet sitters already have.

6. Clear Photos of Owners

Pictures and photos are one of the quickest ways to connect with your visitors and establish trust between the two of you. Without a photo of you on your website, your potential client has no real way of connecting.

You do not need professional photos taken. Any candid, clear and direct shot of you will work fine. If you do not have a picture (or pictures) of you with and without pets, I highly recommend adding one to your homepage.

It will personalize the whole experience for your visitors and will get you more calls.

7. Free Trial!

This is truly something you do not commonly see in the pet sitting industry. DLR offers any person who requests it a free trial of their service. How’s it work exactly? Simply schedule an initial consultation with them, and directly after the meeting, they will take your pooch on a complimentary 15-minute walk (or run)! How many of those consults do you think are going to look elsewhere?!

How Does Your Current Website Compare?

There you have it. After reviewing your own pet sitting website, leave in the comments below how many of the 7 elements above you already use on your site, and which you might consider adding.

Speaking of adding, you’ll notice the DogsLoveRunning.com site has gotten pretty successful that they recently sold their first dog walking franchise.

Related posts:

1. The Simple Way To Stop Confusing Your Website Visitors and Start Helping Them
2. 6 Ways To Turn More Of Your Website Visitors Into Pet Sitting Clients
3. The Easiest Way To Gain Many More Pet Sitting Clients

For the past few months, I’ve used the extra cash I earn from pet sitting to support myself and my dog, Sir Winston Pugsalot (known as Sir WP by friends and family).

I decided to start a pet sitting business as a way to make money on the side while I go to law school in Chicago. I started by mostly sitting for professors or other students, but soon branched out to nearby residents — even some in my own pet-friendly apartment building.

If you love pets, have a fairly flexible schedule, a place to pet sit, and clientele prospects, then you might consider starting your own pet sitting business.

And, obviously, the extra cash is a perk. Did I even need to mention that?

Tips for Aspiring Pet Sitters

Understand that you’re taking on a pretty huge responsibility. If everyone loves their pets as much as I love Sir WP, then trust me when I say pet sitting is as serious as baby sitting.

Make sure you’re really up for the task. Your schedule is key: If you have class, work or other obligations and won’t be able to check in on Sparky or Fuzzfoot for seven hours, ask the owners ahead of time if their furry companions are used to being alone for that amount of time.

The owner’s schedule is important to consider as well. Ask if someone is usually home with Sparky, if they have guests over often, or if they’re planning on having anything installed or delivered in their absence.

I was doing an in-home job once when three guys came in to install carpet squares in the entire apartment.

The puppy went berserk and not only gave the workers a hard time, but peed on the brand new carpet six times in one day, despite being “potty-trained”.

If your schedule permits you to take a job, before you actually commit, spend a few hours with Fuzzfoot to make sure he likes you. Each animal is different. Even if you think you don’t like cats, give Fuzzfoot a chance.

He might be more agreeable than your grandma’s hissing Persian. Begin becoming acquainted with pets at least two weeks before you’re scheduled to start. Then, if you and Sparky don’t see eye to eye, the owners will have time to find someone else.

Additionally, I once took on a last-minute, out-of-home cat sitting job only to get a call during class from the owner, reminding me to give Lady Peaches her insulin shot.

Say what? LP has DIABETES?

I had to rush back to the owner’s home between classes to administer the shot, praying the kitty was still living.

To avoid getting surprise calls about diabetic cats, make sure you ask the owner about any medical problems the pet may have. Get proper instructions, supplies and any emergency numbers.

(Lady Peaches is doing fine, thanks.)

Being a Responsible Pet Parent

Whether you’re a pet sitter or a nervous owner leaving Sparky in the care of a local law school student for two weeks, taking steps to pet-proof the home is always a good idea.

Check out your home from your pet’s point of view. You might look silly crawling around on all fours, but baby Fluffton will appreciate the time you took to secure loose wires, block off small spaces and pick up that loose aspirin or monopoly wheelbarrow.

Close any open drawers. Kitties and puppies enjoy exploring a dark abyss here and there, but sometimes get shut in before they can hop out. It’s also a good idea to close toilet lids and put away plants. They can prove to be toxic for your pet’s tummy.

Good luck in your pet sitting endeavors. There are plenty of “Sparkys” and “Fuzzfoots” and dollar bills that can’t wait to meet you!

Ashley Spade, also known as Sir Winston Pugsalot the First’s favorite human, is a law student in Chicago. When she isn’t studying, she enjoys competing in 5K races, trips the the bark park, and blogging. Keep up with her adventures on twitter: @ashspade

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1. All About The Pet Sitter In-Home Consultation [video]

It addresses something we all have to deal with at one time or another in our business: Confronting a client with an observation we think is not in the pet’s best interest.

Really good question. And one that many of us face in one way or another during the course of our pet sitting career.

Whether it’s having to tell a client that their feeding habits are less than ideal, a training method is more counter-productive than productive, the dog is not getting enough exercise, or the collar is on too tight.

Nobody likes confrontation. As the person put in a position to do the confronting, we start to play the worst case scenario in our heads and anticipate the other person getting defensive, lashing out and start screaming.

Nobody wants to be on the receiving on end of that. So more often than not, we’ll bite the bullet and simply say nothing at all.

First and foremost, please understand that it is our responsibility as the professional pet sitter to provide input and feedback to the pet owner if and when we see a glaring problem.

The worst case imaginable would be to say nothing and have what could have been prevented take a turn for the worse and harm the pet.

How Do You Approach The Conversation?

So, how can discuss with your pet sitting client something you see that does not aqppear to be in the best interest of their pet?

Approach The Topic Non-Threateningly

How we approach any conversation sets the tone for the entire talk. Instead of saying something like, “I think you have the collar way too tight around your dog and it doesn’t look good.” Try an approach like, “I noticed Pooches has outgrown his collar a bit. I tried loosening it one notch but really he’ll be much better off with a whole new collar. Do you mind if I pick one up for him?”

Your client will say one of two things.

A. “Oh, I didn’t notice that. I’ll get him a collar next time I’m out.”

B. “Oh, really? OK, sure, that would be great.”

Personally, I would much prefer him to say B so I am sure the collar gets purchased in a timely manner.

What about paying for it?

If your client does not say something like “OK, pick it up and I’ll repay you for it” I would still happily spend the money for a brand new collar for the dog you love and the client you appreciate.

Make sense?

What About The Overweight Issue?

Now about the dog’s weight issue.

In the same tone, open up another conversation with him about what he’s feeding (IE. “Has Pooches’ diet changed in the last few months? … It looks like he’s put on a few and as you know weight gain can become stressful on a dog.”)

Add some lighthearted dialogue to ease the tension you may feel.

For example, when beginning talks about the dogs weight, lower your voice or have it away from the dog’s ears, as if he’d be offended or embarrassed by the conversation you’re about to have!

IE. “You know, I don’t want to say anything in front of Pooches about this, but has his diet changed?”

This way both you and the client can chuckle up front and he’ll become less defensive.

If it helps, you can also send him an email, or print out an article about the dangers of weight gain in the specific breed.

“Thanks! This Means A Lot.”

Last but not least, make sure to thank him for being open-minded about all this and reassure him that your job will always remain keeping his Pooches happy and healthy.

Now, your turn… If you have had to have a confrontation with a pet sitting client, please let me know how it went, how you approached it, how your client reacted, and what it is was about.

We can all use a little motivation and encouragement when it comes to confronting clients. I truly believe that in this area practice makes perfect. In other words, the more often we can talk directly and honestly with our clients, the more often we see that they actually appreciate the dialogue.

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1. Do You Remember Your Very First Pet Sitting Client?
2. Do Pet Sitters Adjust Fees Based On Client Circumstance? [video]

What about your first car, or the first house you bought?

Our lives are filled with a long series of firsts.

Sadly, as life moves from one day to the next, we give less thought to our firsts of the past, and focus more on the issues we personally face today and tomorrow.

Working in our pet sitting business is no different. In order to survive and grow, we constantly find ourselves looking for the next client to serve.

Long gone is the day we celebrated the success of gaining our first client ever.

Maybe nostalgia is kicking in because Summer is coming to an end, kids are heading back to school, or the hot air is beginning to cool.

Whatever the case, I began thinking back through all the clients I’ve served in my pet sitting business and remembered Snickers.

Snickers was our very first pet sitting client.

He was an adorable Beagle, whose family was visiting the great Big Apple for the week and needed a place for Snickers to stay while they spent the days sightseeing, catching a Broadway show and wandering the streets of New York.

I couldn’t actually believe this was happening. A strange family from Michigan trusted us after a couple of phone calls to drop off their sweet Snickers for the weekend.

And they were paying us for the opportunity to do so.

Our pet sitting business was officially born. And little Snickers was the start of it all.

Who Was Your Very First?

What can you share here about your very first pet sitting client?

How excited (or nervous?) were you setting up service with your very first pet sitting client? Do you remember the whole situation? How it came to be? What the job was? How long it was for? Do you still follow the same format when bringing on a new client, or have you adjusted your process along the way?

Celebrate and re-live the moment that started it all for you in the comments below.

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1. Your Dog Is Fat: The Secret To Confronting A Client With Uncomfortable News
2. Your Favorite Pet Sitting Client Just Handed You $1000 Cash – Now What?
3. The Easiest Way To Gain Many More Pet Sitting Clients