Communicating With Your Canine

Does your dog understand the words that are coming out of your mouth?  Probably not.  They are more in tune with the reaction they get from their pet parents and will continue to do those actions that get a positive reaction. (Positive reaction to your pup could simply be attention, good or bad).  In all actuality, you could train your dog with gestures and non verbal commands, but humans are verbal communicators and it would feel weird to ONLY give non verbal commands to our pets.

Even though your pooch may not understand the actual words coming out of your mouth, he does understand tone and pitch.  There are three tones  your dog will readily identify with.  A high pitched tone of voice is interpreted as an invitation to play.  An ordinary tone is considered instructional and a low pitch tone, a reprimand.  I, myself, have a naturally higher pitched tone of voice, so with canine clients that are easily excitable I have to consciously deepen my tone of voice when interacting with them, otherwise I get clobbered.  Many dogs like my company for this same reason...I sound like I'm always ready to play!

Experiment with your dog.  Try reprimanding with a high pitched tone to your voice.  See what kind of reaction you get.  Try playing with a deeper tone and see if they are ready to chase that ball.  Now, I don't suggest trying this experiment when it's important to reprimand, this is all meant for fun and games.  I'm sure you'll see that adjusting the tone of your voice will do wonders to facilitate meaningful communication between you and your pup.

What It's Like to Work as a Pet Sitter / Dog Walker

Are you an animal enthusiast?  Do your family and friends think you go overboard with spoiling your pets?  If so, pet sitting my be the perfect job for you.

Play Time Pet Care provides pet sitting and dog walking services in Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert, Apache Junction, Queen Creek and San Tan Valley.  In order to be a successful pet sitter you must, first and foremost, possess unconditional love and devotion to all types of animals.  In a pet sitters world, you are typically asked to care for dogs, cats, birds, and fish.  You must also be prepared to care for snakes, hamsters, bunny rabbits, mice and iguanas (just to name a few).

As a pet sitter, caring for other people's beloved pets, you need to be prepared to take detailed direction from the pet parents.  Some pet parents prepare raw or cooked meals for their pets rather than feeding a traditional dry food.  Some pets have medical ailments that require you to administer medication or require the pet to engage in little to no play time.  NO PLAY TIME?  That's right...a dog with a severe case of hip displasia can't chase the ball like they used to.  I know...tough not to play with that energetic yellow lab.

There is a certain amount of trust that you must gain from your new pet sitting clients. After all, they are allowing you into their home while they aren't there and taking care of their beloved furry family member.  That is why the initial consultation is so important.  Not only to get to know the new pets  you will be taking care of, but allowing the pet parent to get to know  you.

Taking on a dog walking client is much more than just taking a dog for a walk.  There are several reasons people hire a dog walker.

One reason pet parents call me is because their dog(s) is over weight and they need help exercising their dog.  This client needs a dog walker that has a moderate amount of athletic ability.  The over weight dog is going to require a bit of jogging mixed in with their walk.  They will also need to walk a bit further than a healthy pup in order to drop those pounds.

Another reason pet parents call me is because the pet parent has suffered a recent injury and realizes that they didn't train their dog properly on how to walk on a leash.  Now they notice their dog pulls them while they walk and that isn't the best thing for the pet parent trying to recover.  As a dog walker I come in and retrain their dog how to walk on a loose leash so Fido isn't pulling Mom when they walk together.  I also train the pet parent how to walk with their dog so Fido doesn't fall back into old habits.

Busy professionals or parents with new born babies need help with energetic dogs because they simply don't have the extra time in their day to spend exercising Fido.  It's not fair to Fido to neglect his exercising because life got hectic.  So those busy professionals and new moms use a professional dog walker to supplement play time.

As a dog walker it is important to know the basics about different breeds and their personalities.  Not all breeds are created equal.  You have the people pleaser's, the guardians and then there are the stubborn breeds who always want to know what's in it for them.  Working with different breeds is fun and makes for a new experience on each visit.

Pet sitters work in shifts.  There is the morning shift from 6am to 9am, the mid-day shift from 11am to 2pm and the evening shift from 4pm to 7pm.  Dog walking shifts depend on the time of year.  Summer shifts may fall into the morning pet sitting shift because it gets too hot to walk a dog in the afternoon.  Sometimes dog walking shifts will also occur in the evening after 6pm when it starts to cool down again.

Play Time Pet Care is always looking for animal enthusiasts to join our team.  If you live in the East Valley and think pet sitting or dog walking would be the perfect job for you, contact me at service@playtimepetcareaz.com.