How to Prepare Your Dog for Their First Stay With a Pet Sitter

Start with a meet and greet, not a booking

Ask to meet the sitter before you book, ideally at the sitter's home, with your dog on a loose lead. You are there to watch two things: how the sitter greets your dog, and how quickly your dog stops checking the exits. A sitter who crouches down, lets your dog come to them and does not crowd a nervous animal is a good sign.

It is also your chance to walk the space. Where will your dog sleep? Where are the water bowls? Is there a yard, a gate, a quiet room for rest? If the answer to any of those is vague, keep looking.

Take a short trial visit

If your dog is anxious or has never been left with someone outside the family, book a day of day care before the overnight. A short visit does three things:

• It shows your dog that you come back, which is the single biggest worry for a dog on a first stay.
• It gives the sitter real information about your dog's energy, appetite and habits.
• It gives you a photo update from a normal day, so you know what normal looks like before the important trip.

Keep the routine boring

The week before the stay is not the week to change food, swap the walk time or start a new bed. Send the food your dog already eats, in a labeled container with the amount per meal, and write down the times. A dog who eats at 7am and walks at 8am at home should eat at 7am and walk at 8am on holiday.

If your dog takes oral medication, say so at the meet and greet rather than the morning you leave, and bring it in the original packaging with the dose written clearly.

Send the things that smell like home

A worn t-shirt, the usual bed if it travels easily, one or two familiar toys and the regular lead. Familiar smell does more for a nervous dog than a new toy does. Do not wash the t-shirt first.

Practise the goodbye

The leaving is the part owners get wrong most often. Keep it short, keep it cheerful, and do not linger at the door or reappear for one more hug. Dogs read our tone: a long, sad goodbye tells your dog that something is wrong.

• Hand over the lead, the bag and the instructions, then go.
• Do not sneak out while your dog is distracted if your dog notices you leave. A clean, calm exit is clearer than a disappearance.
• Ask the sitter for a photo within the first few hours so you can stop imagining the worst.

The night before

• Pack food, medication, the lead, the bed or blanket, and the instructions sheet.
• Give your dog a normal, calm evening: a walk, dinner, an early night.
• Charge your phone and save the sitter's Rover contact so you can message without hunting for it.

Do those five things and the first stay stops being a leap of faith. If you are looking for a sitter in Deerfield Beach, Boca Raton or Pompano Beach, Mary E. takes boarding, day care and drop-in visits for dogs and cats.