Tuesday 29 April 2014

Harry was beaten, but he's not beaten

Most pets that Perfect Pet Sitter meet must be amongst the luckiest in the World. They're adored by their owners and pampered and treated as VIPs when Perfect Pet Sitter comes to visit. But even in Sydney, not every pet is so fortunate.

Centennial Park - go visit if you haven't - dogs allowed off lead
Case in point, let me introduce you to little Harry.  We don’t know exactly what he is, but he’s Jack Russell size, and black and white. His age is unknown as he was abandoned, but estimated to be about 10.


Eastern Suburbs many and varied walk options
Harry’s current owners met him whilst volunteering at a dog rescue centre - and they fell for his gentle soul. They guessed he had been badly treated, but the full extent of the cruelty he must have suffered only became clear when they got him home.

Harry was very lucky that he had patient and adoring new owners. They helped Harry, but he was still nervous in many situations where he came across people. His owners felt if he had to go back to kennels he would be upset and regress  - and as they had a trip to the UK booked before they met Harry, they were worried about what to do.
Harry & Chico we were also minding 


About this time the owner came across a guest blog I’d written and she contacted me. Coogee is not a usual area we cover, but hearing Harry’s story it was clear he needed us – so it was Perfect Pet Sitter to the rescue (again!)
Curl Curl Lagoon, he was tired but didn't like being carried

Overlooking Bronte

With our comprehensive checklist for owners completed, they additionally flagged up that Harry likes his tummy rubbed at night on the sofa and to sleep on the bed with you. These points plus specific behavioural issues (doesn’t like little children or skateboarders) were very helpful. They meant I was aware of situations to watch out for both in the home and when out and about.

By giving Harry my attention and care (including those tummy rubs and letting him sleep on my bed! He bonded with me very quickly.  Each day we’d find a new place to explore and, aside from food shopping, I barely left him. He became my little pal and one of his Adventure walks was a road trip to Kiama - so Harry had his very own holiday!


How much is that doggie in the window?

Whilst they were away I sent Harry’s owners frequent texts to keep them updated on his progress. Then when they came home they received Harry’s diary covering each day of their little furboy’s adventures  – all 43 pages!

As all dogs do, Harry got on really well with dear Elly
Today Harry’s almost a celebrity with his very own website and on their return his owners wrote a blog:- 'Harry's holiday with the Perfect Pet Sitter' 
http://sydneydogslife.com

Most of all it’s wonderful to know this big dog in a little body has found a caring home where he can live out his life in safety and in the future know nothing but kindness.

He's smart - he really did this!
To paraphrase a saying; ‘It’s a (Sydney) dog’s life’ – and in Harry’s case he at last has the love and attention he so deserves. 

GSP Darcy, met during one of our walks
Queens Park, more of the locals:-)
If your pet needs high level care and you want the absolute best for your special dog or cat, no other pet minding offering can match the 24/7 live-in, one-to-one care that Perfect Pet Sitter provides. Check out our costs and be amazed by how much is included within our ‘no extras’ fee scale.










Tuesday 22 April 2014

"But anyone can pet sit"

As experts in pet minding, having Perfect Pet Sitter come to care for your pet offers you something that well meaning friends cannot – reliability and real peace of mind. Why? Because when everything goes smoothly friends can be fine - but what if the unexpected happens?
Patient patient Maggie - bandage
on her left paw - read below

It’s true to say that most pet sits are straightforward and work like this: We come and stay with your fur pals, give them lots of company,  TLC and if required medications. With your dogs, in addition to GPS tracked exercise, we take them out and about with us just as you would.

You return not only to a contented pet, but to be presented with one of our unique Perfect Pet Sitter diaries. Updated daily, it’s packed full of pictures, notes and maps showing all the fun your pet had – evidence of their very own holiday whilst you were away.
Harry having his own holiday whilst his owners on Honeymoon!

So far so good – but what happens if things don’t run to plan? What do we do? We believe that the quality of any service can be judged on what they do when problems present – so here is our approach:

First, we’re proactive:  as a condition of us coming to sit for any duration - even our minimum two nights – every client must complete an Owner’s Checklist and set up an account with their vet to give us the authority to take their pet if for treatment if necessary.

Second, we’re professional: we take every pet as a serious responsibility.

Third, we’re experienced:  if your pet has a problem we first try to contact you. However, if we can’t speak to you, due to the number of animals we’ve cared for we can make rational decisions on the need and urgency required for medical treatment.

Here’s a few of the health issues we’ve managed:

Ulcers on dog’s eye:  owners were just leaving for a trip and thought their Lab’s sore eye was an infection she was prone to. However, I was worried and sought permission to take her to the vet who confirmed my visit was a very good call. It transpired she had two corneal Ulcers which were very painful and would have got worse without treatment. (click here to read the blog 'Red eye in the morning - vet's a calling')

‘Dead tail’: unusual condition found mostly in gun dogs. It’s when a dogs tail becomes limp and painful. Treatment with anti inflammatory prescribed (plus rest).

Grass seed: this was quite hard to see, but we picked up on early. It was quite sore and antibiotics were necessary. Took over a week to resolve.

Cystitis: right from the start we noticed Pippin squatting quite often - It was our first time caring for her it and it could have been normal for her. However, we kept watch – and then saw blood in her urine. She had to be taken to the vet and we dealt with the visit and administering the medications.

Cut in dog’s pad: in the case of Maggie a shell made a nasty cut to her pad. I knew from experience with my own dogs that vets cannot stitch pads. As long as the wound is clean it has to heal from the inside out by granulation. So I didn’t take her to the vet as I was confident about what needed to be done. I cleaned the wound, put on padding, a plaster and then a protective bandage. I rested her, each day refreshing the dressings (Maggie the patient, patient is in the picture above!) After a few days I took her out with Jack her partner - but kept her on lead, only walking allowed, until she fully healed.
Maggie all better again and with her beloved Jack
We frequently get calls from desperate pet owners whose friends have let them down at the last minute when we’re almost inevitably already booked and cannot help. When you have booked us, you can relax and know your sit is locked in.

Clients put their trust in us and we do everything we can to ensure their pet is cared for to the highest level possible. Which means when you want your pet to be in expert hands, Perfect Pet Sitter is the outstanding professional option from every perspective.















Wednesday 9 April 2014

A Story about Dog Day Care

As Sydney’s premier live-in pet minding service, the Perfect Pet Sitter ethos is to provide the highest level of expert and personalised pet care around the clock.


We believe the best possible choice is for pets to stay in their own homes when owners go away on holiday. So is there ever a situation when we would suggest a different option?

Let’s take one example - a lovely Rhodesian Ridgeback Ruby. Gail first looked after Ruby was she was just 3 months, then fast forward a year & Gail went back to live-in and pet sit Ruby during another of her owner's holidays.

Meeting up for Adventure Walks meant I saw Ruby again – Ruby loved playing with other dogs, was full of beans running around and having a whale of a time!

However, when it was time to go home and her lead went on, her behaviour took a drastic change. She began to slink low to the ground and seemed, well, depressed.

I thought about why this could be & remembered Ruby’s routine. Ruby’s owners work long hours & hate leaving her alone, so every day Ruby has a walker. 
This is wonderful but (there’s always a but!) for the rest of the day Ruby is still all alone.

Imagine if you were Ruby, spending perhaps 10 or 12 hours every day totally alone with the exception of just one brief hour to have a walk & have fun. For a social & energetic dog like Ruby, her days would be a truly lonely time.

Ruby is also known as ‘The Destroyer’ as she’s destructive when home alone, another sure sign she of boredom, loneliness & energy to burn. But with nothing to do, all that’s left is to get into mischief!

Pets cared for by Perfect Pet Sitter have our company almost continuously so luckily for Ruby during our stay she had a lot of company and we were able to assess Ruby’s end of walk ‘depressed’ behavior and advise her owners about it. 

Ruby is a confident, outgoing and extrovert dog. With that in mind we suggested to Ruby’s owners to try her at day care where she’d be with lots of other dogs. With her personality we didn’t think she would be overwhelmed – in fact we thought she was an ideal candidate who’d love the social whirl! So it has proved, with day care for Ruby a huge success.

Ruby is stimulated from the moment she arrives to the moment she goes home and just loves the interaction with all the other dogs. She returns from day care exhausted from the constant play, stimulation and fun!

A word of caution: whilst day care can be a great solution for some dogs whose owners have to work long hours, it’s not the answer for all dogs. It’s essential to take a dog’s personality into account – for example with timid, shy or older dogs it might cause distress & create more problems than it solves.

There’s no getting away from the fact that day care for a dog doesn’t come cheap, but by ‘mixing it up’ it needn’t break the bank. For example, Ruby now has a couple of intense, full-on & super stimulating days at day care then the other week days she walks with the walker.

If we have dogs then it’s our responsibility to find solutions that work & provide for their wellbeing and happiness. As for dear Ruby, she’s a very lucky girl whose owners are devoted to her and we’re pleased to say a very happy one once more.










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