Finding Freedom in Choosing a Pet Sitter

You have the power to choose how you want to feel and this feeling is what you go back to when you’re making choices which impact not only your life, but your dog’s too.

Yes, you want to feel free to take your dogs with you on road trips and exciting adventures, but sometimes this isn’t possible because of logistics or the experience isn’t going to be conducive to your dog’s safety or to his enjoyment.

My husband and I are participating on a 200 mile running relay in the next few days and Jack and Bernie sure wouldn’t enjoy life in a 6 person van as we trail along the runner whose leg it is to run during the race.

Making the choice to feel the sense of freedom in leaving Jack and Bernie in good hands so they can be free to live their best life without us isn’t just as simple as asking for references and getting a price quote, it is following my intuition guiding me in making the right choice for them.

I’ve heard of so many terrifying stories of people leaving their pets in the hands of others who they “thought” were pet professionals. Turns out, their dogs suffered and the pet parents scrambled to find someone else while they were hundreds of miles away on vacation.

Here are some helpful tips which I utilized in finding someone I not only trusted, but Jack and Bernie did too.

  1. I gathered references and recommendations. I used this a starting point, not the only piece to base my choice on. I worked through others who had qualifications I was interested in from knowledge, experience and how others experienced them.
  2. I conducted interviews. I met the pet sitter and asked questions which created the space for the pet sitter to process it and take time to formulate a response. I not only listened with my ears what each person said, but I also used my intuition and allowed my body to tell me how the person answered if this felt aligned with how to move forward.

For instance, I asked questions such as “how do you respond when Jack starts barking?” “What would you do if a loose dog approached?” “How do you keep my dogs safe out on walks or during play sessions with you?” “What do you do when Jack or Bernie make a mistake?” “How do you cultivate a bond with dogs and is that important to you?” The answers I received informed me completely whether the person was a good fit or not.

  1. I prioritized building rapport and trust with my pet sitter and observe how they build trust with my dogs. I made it a necessity of having the chosen pet sitter have time in forming a relationship before leaving on a vacation without them. This is so necessary for Bernie who is shy, slower to warm up to people and needs time to adjust to a routine change. By allowing the pet sitter to find ways Bernie feels comfortable connecting with her, this helped him to feel safe and relax when she comes over. Now, he’s over the moon with her being here.
  2. I took time and observed interactions throughout the time she came over to hang out with Jack and Bernie in preparation of this trip. I was home for the first initial greeting after the interview, so I could make sure everyone was safe and I could be available to offer guidance if interactions weren’t going well. The pet sitter was quick in scatter feeding for Bernie since Jack was quick to initiate play with her. The pet sitter didn’t force herself on to Bernie, but rather allowed Bernie the time to come up to her when he was ready.
  3. My choice wasn’t based on the ease or cost alone in coming to a decision. The value was on the quality of interaction, how the pet sitter responded to Jack and Bernie’s needs, how she ensured their safety and how she engaged them in fun activities when the weather wasn’t great and they refused a walkie. Our shared values was my driving force in hiring her.

Embodying freedom, I was able to remain present in the moment with how the pet sitter was interacting and being with Jack and Bernie. This allowed me to make the choice which felt right not just for me, but for them too. Jack and Bernie’s life is priceless and I want to ensure they receive the best care in my absence.

Now, I can go run my 3 runs over the next two days and be fully present in that experience because I know Jack and Bernie are in good hands.

Are you desiring a more integrated life with your dog?

Groundhog Day, Everyday

You go through the motions every day.

As soon as your alarm goes off, your Autopilot turns on and you arrive at work wondering at how you got there.

You share how it feels like Groundhog Day day in and day out.

Same.

Thing.

Everyday.

You believe you have no time to take a break, spend time with friends or family you haven’t seen in a long time or really explore what you really want.

You’ve been doing the same type of work for years.

You’re left feeling unfulfilled and not sure what you’re capable of anymore because you’ve been at the whim of others demand at work, home and now you feel your dog is demanding more of your time and energy.

Neither of which you believe you have any more to give.

All you want is for your dog to be on autopilot with you.

What you start experiencing is your dog is now barking at you and you don’t know what to do.

Out on walks, your dog is lunging at everything that moves and all you’re trying to do is catch up with friends because you have no other time to do so.

When guests finally do come over, you’re become embarrassed how your dog is jumping and grabbing at your guests clothes. You had no idea this was going to happen.

The trickle of anger begins to seep in.

And you explode at others around you, including your dog.

Quickly, you become angry at yourself for allowing the top off the kettle.

Now, everything is out in the open and you can’t stuff it back in.

It’s staring at you in the face. You’re feeling exposed.

You now desire for something to change.

You want to feel good in what you do, how you do it and you want others in your life including your dog to experience good times with you.

You want to feel as free as your dog sticking her tongue out of the window as you’re cruising down the street.

You now know what you want to feel and how you envision your life to look like with your dog, but how to get there, leaves you feeling confused.

A dog trainer can help you with the concepts and teaching you the skills of how to teach your dog what you want to see more of when you’re both together.

A coach will bring you through not only your dog’s hills and valleys of learning when the excitement wanes and confusion and frustration rear its head, but a coach will be there when you experience your own ebb and flow in learning too.

You’re not only feeling into the sensations of what your body is experiencing, but you’re also caring for another who is also going through their own emotional experiences of learning.

Investing time and resources into support systems while you build your confidence, resiliency and encouragement to move forward makes the difference.

You never have to do it alone.

Are you desiring encouragement and support in how you grow into the person you and your dog need you to be?

Let’s chat!

Learn More

Your Growth Edge

Embodiment is the ability of the body and mind to work in concert with one another.

The body receives information a half a second faster and sends the information up to the brain to process.

The taking in of new information, assimilating the new ideas into established way of thinking and then moving the body into applying the concepts into new behavior patterns.

This will be clunky.

Why?

You have no concept of what this looks like or feel like because you’ve never done it before.

Learning a new skill is creating new neural pathways in your mind.

What you do have an understanding on is when things are hard, having old beliefs about yourself in learning something new can impact how quickly or if you learn the skill at all.

Beliefs like, “you’re not good enough”, “how dare you try something new”, “who are you for doing something different, “who do you think you are” may be swirling around your mind.

These beliefs can crop up and interfere with how you learn and grow.

They detract you from doing something different because those beliefs are meant to keep you small and keep you doing the same thing.

Learning something new requires your body to do things differently, but your mind doesn’t want to you to because it requires too much of your energy to do so.

Learning something new creates stress in your body.

When you experience stress, it’s uncomfortable and being uncomfortable doesn’t feel good.

This physiological response is meant to keep you safe. We are not hardwired to grow.

Learning something new requires you to practice, face the uncertainty, be comfortable with being uncomfortable when trying on something new and face those old beliefs about yourself.

But, on the other side of learning the new skill is how your body takes over.

Your body integrates the skill and the skill becomes apart of who you are.

The skill is a reflex which you no longer think about, mentally process or will your body to do.

The body takes over and you can be in the moment of doing because it is who you are rather than what you have to do.

Getting the steps wrong, trying again, evaluating what worked and what didn’t and taking the next step.

As a pet parent, this may be the first time you are introduced to strategies that are beyond the basic manners of sit, wait and down.

When your dog is showing signs of fear or is biting others, working through ways of helping your dog change his or her emotional response goes beyond what your dog does, but how you show up and what you do to put the practice into motion.

As you can see, changing emotional responses takes time not just for your dogs, but you too.

Your growth edge will be exposed and when the going gets tough, how do you respond?