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Vacationing or traveling with pets can be fun, but sometimes you need to find a good pet sitter for your pet. Work trips, out-of-country travel, or even an extra-long work day can mean your normal pet care routine can’t happen on schedule. You might be lucky enough to have a reliable friend or neighbor who can care for your pets, but what if you don’t? Boarding kennels are an option, but many pet owners fear their pets will not be happy in a kennel setting. Not to worry, in almost every city and town there are plenty of pet sitters that can take good care of your pets until you return.

There are primarily two types of pet sitting services you can use. One, the pet sitter comes to your home, and cares for your pets who stay at your home. The other, newly popular kind of pet sitter for dogs is one that hosts your pooch in their home, often through an online booking service.

Here are our tips for vetting both types of pet sitters to find the best pet sitter for you and your pet.

1. Get a referral. Ask your friends and family if they have a reliable pet sitter they use and trust.

2. Ask and check references. Ask for references that have a similar type of pet to yours — your pet sitter may be wonderful with big dogs, but does she know how to tell if a cat is acting sick?

3. Look for online reviews. If the pet sitter is operating as a business, you can often find reviews of their services on review sites like Yelp and also on their page if they have one on Facebook.

4. Have your pet interview the pet sitter. Pets can be particular! Even if she is the best pet sitter in the world, if she and your pet don’t get along well, it might not be a good fit.

5. Accredited, bonded, insured? Organizations like Pet Sitters International, NAPPS,  and DogVacay.com offer a range of services to their members, from insurance, bonding, to background checks. Ask your pet sitter to provide a copy of their documentation and check online to make sure it is current.

6. Do a short trial visit. If you are going away for a long time, try a one-time visit while you’re away, even if it’s just for the day at work. That way if any questions or problems arise, you’ll be locally available.

7. Spot check. If you’re going away for more than two days, see if a neighbor, friend, or family member can do occasional spot-check visits,  to make sure your pets are being cared for in your absence.

8. Ask for daily updates. Your pet sitter should update you daily to let you know how your pet is doing. Some pet sitters can send photos too, don’t hesitate to ask them to do this for you!

9. Have a backup plan. If something happens to your pet sitter, you need an emergency backup plan for someone to care for your pets. Bring those telephone numbers with you! For example, your vet might do emergency boarding if needed, but check before you leave. Leave a key so someone else can access your home if needed.

10. Have a great trip!

 

Do you like to dress up your pets for howl-o-ween? In year’s past we’ve shared our 5 Halloween Pet Safety Tips as well as some Pet Costume Safety Tips, and we’ve copied below for easy reference. Thinking of pet costumes? In our experience, most pets don’t really like wearing costumes. So we only ask that our pets wear them for a few seconds while we take a photo, then quickly reward them and take it off! That kind of costume experience also opens up the possibilities since it isn’t something your pet has to actually be able to wear and move around in, which opens up the door to a lot more creative fun!

PET COSTUME SAFTEY TIPS

1. Use costumes that can be taken off quickly, like those with velcro straps. (Examples of ones you can purchase: Football, Shark Fin, Angel Wings.) Let your pet smell the costume, and give them treats so they associate the costume with good things. For dogs, ask them to sit and stay, and reward them as you put the costume on.
2. The first time you put the costume on your pet, have them wear it for just a few seconds. Gradually increase the amount of time your pet wears the costume.
3. Never leave your pet unsupervised wearing a costume, for any length of time. If your pet continues to struggle or seem unhappy or scared after one or more short sessions, wearing a costume might not be fun for them, and of course never something you should force them to wear. Costumes are meant to be fun!
4. If you have an active dog, playing with a toy or taking them for a walk after you put the costume on can distract them from wanting to get the costume off, and get them used to the feeling of it being on, so they ignore it like they do their collar.
5. Most cats and dogs love to be admired and told how cute they look, so don’t forget to lavish them with compliments about how adorable they in their costume.

“A dog doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heard and he will give you his.” We love this quote from John Grogan. It’s so true and for cats and other pets too!!! Our pets love us with all of their hearts no matter our weaknesses. The love they give us is pure and beautiful! If you’re on Facebook, you can SHARE this image from our Adopt-a-Pet.com Facebook page here  <– or just click that link to see what our community friends are commenting and join in the conversation!

Sometimes dogs or cats need an indoor place to go potty. You might be house training a baby kitten or puppy, getting an outdoor cat used to being and going potty indoors, or perhaps you have an elderly very-housebroken pet who won’t use pee pads and isn’t making it quickly enough to the outside. There are many great reasons you might need an indoor live-grass potty to help keep you and your pet healthy and happy! There are pre-made fake grass indoor pet potties you can purchase, but some pets won’t use them or pet pee pads either. In big cities, there are even live-grass pet potty delivery services! But if you only have an occasional need or don’t have (or can’t afford) a grass delivery service, you can make a Do It Yourself grass potty area using some inexpensive items. Here’s how:

1. Get the grass! The grass will be one piece of sod that is used for making new lawns. Try your local nursery, big box home improvement store, or garden supply store. Some only get sod deliveries on certain days. In some climates, local stores may not have sod available year-round, so you may need to mail-order from online.

2. Measure your sod, and decide on the size you need for your pet’s potty. For a small dog or cat, approximately 22″ x 16″ is a good size. From where I get my sod, the one you see in the photo above, that’s half of one piece. Each piece of sod costs me $2.16.

3. For a hard surface area like a tile floor, first put down a layer of pet pee pads that is just slightly larger than your piece of sod. The pee pads I have right now are 20″x 22″ and my pets that are using it have small bladders. If you have a more prolific pee-er, you might want to extend the potty pads farther out using more than one pad. The pee pads are to catch any overflow from the next layer. You can also try the pan method…CARPET: If you have carpet, you may want to add a 3rd waterproof layer: a pan. The pan should have the lowest lip possible, like 1/2″ or 1″. It can be difficult to find a pan the right size if you’re using a bigger piece of sod, but ask in your hardware store for a “refrigerator pan” or you can find pet potty pee pans online.
4. Next, on top of the pee pad, layer a garbage bag that is at least as big as the piece of sod, but not bigger than your potty pad. The garbage bag helps prevent the potty pads from wicking all the moisture out of the sod’s dirt.

5. On top of the garbage bag, put the sod. That’s it, you’ve made your indoor grass pet potty! In my testing, my former outdoor cat went and instantly used the grass! I’ve had it in my bathroom for almost week, and it is time to replace it — I can just now start to smell the cat pee smell. How often you’ll need to replace the sod will depend on how often your pet uses her new indoor grass pet potty.

 

Rescuing a dog is a life-changing experience for so many people. Knowing you’ve saved a life is pretty profound and the great rewards our adopted pets bring to our world are simply immeasurable. Once you adopt one pet, you want to adopt them all! Have you had that experience, too? Tell us by commenting on this image on our Adopt-a-Pet.com Facebook page and see what others are saying too!

One of the first things I start doing the first day I have a new foster cat is to teach him or her to come when called. This isn’t just a party trick! Just like for dogs, teaching your cat “recall” or to come to you when you make a particular sound or say a particular word can save your kitty’s life one day. While we very strongly recommend that all cats be kept safely as indoor-only pets, accidents can happen. Visitors, a door or window that doesn’t close properly, or even natural disasters can cause your cat to get lost from your home. If your cat gets out unintentionally, having a recall word or sound will help your cat come out of hiding and come back to you. I’ve seen it work for a newly adopted and newly escaped cat who dashed out of his new home’s front door just a few days after going to her new home! Here’s how to train your cat using positive reinforcement to come to you when you call or make your special cat-come-to-me sound.

1. What’s your cat’s reward? Each cat is different, so first you have to find something that your cat really really really likes. Not just *eh* likes, but the likes the most of all. For most cats, a special food treat does the trick. Try wet food in a can or crunchy treats in a bag, and you may have to try a lot of different flavors till you find the one that your cat goes absolutely bananas for when you take it out. If you can’t find a food reward that your cat over-the-top loves, your cat’s reward may be playing with a special toy. You know, the one you have to hide in the closet so they won’t rip it to shreds? Yes, that one! Or maybe your cat loves getting brushed with their favorite comb by their favorite person. Whatever it is, reserve that reward only for recall. That helps make it very special and valued, to motivate your cat.

2. What’s your cat’s recall sound? Cats have extraordinary hearing, but humans aren’t the best at making very unique sounds. Think about how a foreign language sounds when you don’t understand it, the words all sound very similar. That one reason why we’ve found a unique sound works better than a word (like “come” that’s often used with dogs) for training cats. Also, if you designate a unique sound over a regular word, you’re not going accidentally say it frequently in conversation which might confuse or desensitize your cat.

A sound you can make with your mouth is great because in a real emergency, you’re not going to be running around trying to locate that bag of treats to shake, or can of food and a fork to clink, or a clicker to click. Some unique non word sounds we’ve heard people use to train their cat to recall are a high-pitched “ki-ki-ki” sound, a “pssssst” sound, a clicking sound made with the tongue on the roof of their mouth, or a whistle if you’re good at whistling the same tone reliably even if you’re in a disaster panic. If not everyone in your home is comfortable using a unique sound, the treat bag shake or clinking can is a good fallback as long as you always have extra somewhere you’ll be, like in the glovebox of your car.

3. Repetition for association. For the first month, every day, ideally at the same time of day, you will walk up to your cat, and make your sound while you are rewarding your cat. So if your sound is “ki-ki-ki” you might feed your cat 5 treats and say “ki-ki-ki” ten times as she is eating them. Not before, not after — during the feeding. Repeat that once a day every day for the first month. Yes every day, try not to skip any days! If you feed your cat two or three times a day and your cat comes running when you feed her, you can make the sound a few times while you’re feeding her and while she is eating too. (Don’t forget to add some additional exercise to your cat’s day to work off those treat calories!)

4. Distance gradually. After a month, instead of walking up to your cat with the reward in your hand, walk towards your cat, but stop a few feet away, and then make your recall sound. (While the cat is awake, please, not while she’s sleeping!) She should at least look at you, and she may move toward you. Lots of rewards while making the sound again! Gradually a foot or two a day you can increase the distance away from your cat that you make your sound. Soon you will have a cat that will come to you when you make your sound even from far away!

We hope this article helps you and your cat learn to come when called and will help your cat return to you safely if she ever accidentally escapes.

Don’t have an “Oopsie Daisy” – Spay and neuter your pets!! 

Can you see the excitement on my foster cat’s face? He has been listening to me oooh and ahh over the ideas in Jackson Galaxy’s newest book Catification – Designing a Happy and Stylish Home for Your Cat (and You!) and he can’t wait for me to get started on some of the projects I bookmarked! You may be wondering, what is catification? Jackson says, “The Catification process starts by understanding how your cat sees the world.” It ends with you making your home into a well-designed environment for both you and your cat! This book starts out by helping you understand where Catification ideas come from, as well as the terms Jackson and his co-author Kate use when talking about cats and the designing process. If you start out by skipping ahead like me you may miss out on the full meaning of what’s a Beach Dweller or The Cat Superhighway, and part of the fun of this book! Speaking of fun,  I counted thirty-four “Catification in Action” projects in this advance copy, wow. Even if you are DIY challenged and on very tight budget, there’s such a range of ideas for all types of people, cats, and homes.  The projects are a mix of photos and stories from Jackson’s TV show My Cat from Hell, along with user submitted projects and photos. Even if you’ve seen every episode from all five seasons, the TV episode ones are behind-the-scenes looks at the cats, the issues, and the Certification part of the behavior solutions. The user submitted projects are from around the world, and include the projects described in their creator’s own words, along with comments by Jackson and Kate highlighting what’s so great about them and sometimes how they could go even a step further. So which projects will I be taking on? Read on to find out…

Since I recently moved, the timing of this book to help me Catify my new place is purrfect.  Even though I built a catio in my previous home, I’d relied on a contractor to execute my designs. A lot of the projects hang things like shelves from the walls, to make more cat traffic routes and take advantage of vertical space. I have to admit, I’m too insecure about my abilities to make those secure to try any of the wall-mounted ideas — yet! So I started with the Planter Cat Bed. This really is a “project” than anyone can take on, it’s about using “any old planter pot” and adding a comfy cushion to make an instant cat bed. I know how much cat’s like sinks and tubs, and it simply hadn’t occurred to me that a ceramic planter pot is rather like a sink, just portable and much more stylish to have sitting on your floor! I just so happened to have a perfectly sized and shaped clay pot that was empty after yet another failed houseplant attempt. My current batch of foster cats seem to prefer towels to cushions, so I modified the project and now have three cats all vying for the new spot, I mean pot!

Next on my project list… the Kitty Box Hammock! It uses a fleece blanket and a cardboard box. Speaking of fleece blankets, there’s a diagram for how to cut an Easy No-Sew Fleece Blanket I’m going to try too, and… well, I’ve got enough bookmarked to keep me and my supervisors (aka foster cats) busy for a while already!

Jackson Galaxy comes from the animal shelter world. His projects and advice help cats and their people live happy lives together, so fewer cats are abandoned at shelters. Thank you Jackson, for all that you’re doing helping so many cats and their families!

Jackson Galaxy and Kate Benjamin’s fantastic new Catification book comes out this month. You can preorder it now from various online retailers. For every copy pre-ordered, $1 will be donated to organizations dedicated to helping homeless cats! Check out the links to order on Jackson Galaxy’s website at http://jacksongalaxy.com/2014/05/21/pre-order-catification-by-jackson-galaxy-kate-benjamin-and-help-support-cat-rescue/

There’s just something so appealing about the smooth or shaggy top of a dog’s head. Cats too, but humans haven’t passed down the tradition of patting a strange cat on the head! The truth is, most dogs don’t like be patted – as in a tap tap tap motion with our hand – on the top of their head. Look at Gizmo in the photo, a classic closing of the eyes and moving his head away from being pat. So why do we humans continue this tradition? Well, dogs heads are often the closest part of the dog to our hand that isn’t a part that we obviously don’t want to pet, like say their nose or their eyes. Then there’s what we learned as children, since humans often show each other affection in this way. Think of a mother comforting her child, stroking their hair soothingly – essentially petting them on the head. Humans learn from other humans and that’s why we continue the dog pat on the head routine.

How can you tell if a dog or your dog likes to be pat on the head? If you really watch a dog’s body language as you pet him, you can often see subtle (to the untrained human eye) signs of nervousness or discomfort. For example, watch the video of me petting my anxious dog Max. He does love to be pet and massaged on his body usually, but near his face/head makes him nervous:

You can see him licking his lips which is a nervous sign, and then he’s a little conflicted, he wants to be a good dog so at the end he puts his head down, but he’s actually turning away and looking away as he does it, as he really doesn’t want to be pet.

A real easy way to “read” if a dog you don’t know likes being pat on the head or pet anywhere else: Try a pat or two, then stop and see if the dog asks you for more!  Here’s a video of Gizmo doing that, asking for more petting by walking/leaning into me each time I stop:

While dogs don’t show each other affection using their paws on each other, many dogs certainly enjoy having humans pet them. Neck rubs, base of tail scratches, back massages, even belly rubs are asked for and enjoyed with boundless enthusiasm by many dogs!There are so many great places to pet a dog that he or she will enjoy. Just remember to restrain yourself from that pat on the head.

Today may be Thursday, but EVERY day is hump day! LIKE if your pets are spayed or neutered and SHARE to spread the word.

RedandHowling: Musings on Dogs, Cats & Other Bundles of Love.