Hey everyone. I wanted to ask those of you who use dog sitters/walkers for some tips in selecting a good one. My schedule has recently changed at work and I would like to have the kids taken out for a half hour to 45 min walk 3 times a week while I am away for 5 hour.
I have never had a dog sitter before (other than family members), and don't really know what all to look for. I checked out a local dog website here in Portland, and found 4 or 5 different dog sitting walking companies. Just wondering what I should be keeping in mind to help me choose.
As always any helpful advice is much appreciated.
I am soon to be in the same boat as you.. I am getting a new job and will be travelling for weeks at a time.. my partner is gone over 10 hours a day, so I will soon need a dog walker.. It's so hard to find because I don't trust anyone with my dogs except me and my partner!
I would have the potential walker over to your house to see how they interact with the dogs.. I dont know specific questions to ask, but i'm sure just by talking to them you can get a feel for if you trust them or not.. I would explain specific behaviors of my dogs that would be important for them to know (like if they go crazy when they see a small animal like a squirrel) and see how they respond.. Mine are very prey driven, so I get nervous with strangers walking them, Diego can pull your arm off when he wants to chase a rabbit!
But I think the #1 concern would be can you trust them with your dogs, and do your dogs seem to get along with them.. Good luck in your search!
Here is a link to the National Association of Professional Petsitters,
http://www.petsitters.org/index.cfm
Here is a link to the National Association of Professional Petsitters,
http://www.petsitters.org/index.cfm
Thank you so much this is a great help. 
So I have set up consultations with three different pet sitting companies for the end of this month. All three companies offer free consultations, so I thought I would take advantage of this and see who gets along with the kids the best. I start my new schedule in early June, so that should give me a little time to make my choice.
Well I had my first Consultation last night with one of the dog sitters. I really liked her.
She works part time as a vet tech and part time as a dog sitter.
I liked that she has a vet tech degree, and is comfortable with canine first aid/CPR. I would hope that all dog sitters are trained in this, but now I know to ask about it in the future.
She walked in and was so surprised to see a Basenji in Oregon (She is originaly from Florida). We had a great hour long consultation. I reallt think she may be the one I go with, but as this is my first time needing a pet sitter I will go through the other two consultations before making up my mind.
