Pet sitting is a lovely profession and pet sitters are always in demand. The profession of pet sitting is great for people who love pets and have a passion for them. Many people love pets and care for them, but they are stuck in boring jobs. Such people can follow their passion and choose pet sitting as a profession. Many pet sitters are making a living by this profession.
If you have a passion for pets and want to become a professional pet sitter, this post will offer you
The best tips on how to make a career in pet sitting
1. Access your knowledge
Love for pets is a basic necessity in the profession of pet sitting. If you have an experience with your own pets it will be an additional advantage. People having pets know many things like the habits of pets, how to feed them and many other things they can use to become a pet sitter.
There are many areas in this profession that you will need to learn about. For example, you might have experience living with multiple breeds of dogs, but this profession will require you to train yourself with cats and other animals too.
Proper training is essential for success in the profession of pet sitting. Check the online class and training workshops on pet sitting to get the required training in the specific pet care.
2. Join a dog sitting organization
You should join a dog-sitting organization to learn and gain experience in dog care. It is best to join a national dog sitting organization as they offer hands-on training, newsletters and have a support community.
All these things will help you gain knowledge and experience in dog sitting. Most people have dogs in their house. Therefore, pet sitters with experience in dog sitting are never short of customers.
3. Attend some animal behavior classes
To be successful in pet sitting you should take some classes on animal behavior. You may have experience with cats or dogs, but what if you get a call from a client having parrots or hamsters. Some people may call you for taking care of parrots, hamsters or ferrets. You will lose customers if you don’t have the experience with other animals.
Therefore, taking animal behavior classes is essential to gain knowledge and experience about a variety of animals. Also, there are local clubs and organization in big cities that will help you with the study and training of animal behavior. Moreover, joining such clubs is a great way to build your network.
4. Decide to work for yourself or a pet sitting company
You must decide whether you want to work for yourself or a pet sitting company. People who are new to pet sitting and have never worked in this field should work for a pet sitting company.
Working with a company allows you to gain knowledge and hands-on experience before you start your own pet sitting business. It will also help you understand the behavior of a variety of animals and customer needs.
5. Get the liability insurance
If you want to start your own pet sitting business or work as a self-employed sitter, you must get a pet sitter liability insurance. Doesn’t matter how conscious a pet sitter is, accidents can happen at any time.
The liability insurance offers you and your customers, peace of mind that you are covered if anything goes wrong. No pet sitter should work unprotected in today’s litigious societies.
6. Getting the service contracts
If you don’t want to work in a pet sitting company and aim to offer independent services, then you will need to get a service contract. You can purchase the service contract or have a lawyer to create one for you. The agreement should outline all the services you will offer, including essential information about pets, home care needs and limitations.
7. Learn the first aid for pets
It is essential for all the pet sitters to learn the first aid for pets. Pets are naughty and can get themselves hurt any time under your supervision. Knowing about the first aid will help you to offer the necessary treatment to the pets before taking them to a veterinarian.
You should also get the contact details of some veterinarians so that you can contact them in case of an emergency. Besides this, you can visit this site for online vet courses as becoming a veterinary technician can be done online today.
8. Market yourself
Even after learning everything about pet sitting, if you are not receiving calls from customers, it means you are not adequately marketing yourself. Your community and potential customers don’t know you.
Therefore, you need to network with pet groomers, local veterinarians, pet owners and promote yourself through social media. The more you network with the people, the sooner you will start getting contracts.
Final Words
Pet sitting is an excellent profession for pet lovers. However, you need to gain knowledge and experience to succeed in this field. It takes time to be successful for the new pet sitters as people don’t know about them.
As they spread the word and grow their network, there would be getting calls from customers. Following the above tips to become a pet sitter can help individuals to prepare themselves to follow their passion for pets.
Also read: How Should You Take Care of Your Fitness With A Sitting Job
