Hey all...

So we don't have any friends around here that we would trust with our dogs and John's parents have a cat that seriously complicates things, so they are a no-go.

My best friend's baby is due in about a week and half (!!!) and I promised her that I would spend a week with her after the baby was born to help her around the house (her husband is a Dr so he can't take too much time off and works long hours). Well, John sometimes works up to 14 hours a day with his current position. He'll know the week before what he'll be doing and how long he'll be working, but there's a strong chance that we need to figure something out for the dogs.

We're looking into a pet-sitter to come when John has to work his longest days. (The dogs have been find up to 10 hours, but we don't do more than that.) I just spoke with the woman and she's coming on Monday afternoon for a free consultation, but I'm nervous. She's never worked with huskies before. She's supposed to just come in, let the dogs out, and take them for a walk.

Anyone ever use a pet sitter? I tried to be honest with her (that once in a blue moon they get into a scuffle), but I think I may have frightened her. LOL. Hopefully once she meets them, she'll feel better. Any advice?

Ooh, that's tough. I've only used friends and family but they're all nearby and know these idiots well. You would think that a pet sitter should have no problem understanding and breaking up scuffles. Good luck, or move to Colorado.

LOL- She actually called back and said that she didn't want to take care of our dogs because of the liability issue. Her insurance company recommended not taking any cases that had the potential for "aggression." People don't understand aggression... my dogs are not aggressive. They're idiots and when one bites too hard, the other bites back

But I wasn't 100% comfortable with her either... not having husky experience, she knew nothing about the breed and Romeo and I were kind of like, "ehh, that doesn't make me feel too good" when we found that out. She was way too timid sounding on the phone. It's for the best. Hopefully we can work something out.

I wish moving to Colorado were an option

If someone doesn't know huskies, I guess it can be scary to them. It took me awhile to realize that Nanuk & Isis were NOT trying to kill each other when they were playing...

How about a doggie daycare? Never used one myself, as I also count on friends & family when needed. Just a thought...

Good luck!

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They go to Daycare, but for the two of them 4 days a week is expensive. It's $50/day for the two of them (since they'd have to go a full day) and John can't guarantee that he'd be able to pick them up by the close of business, so it's sort of tough.

We're going to play it by ear. We might be able to work it out between John's family and his hours might not be that bad depending on which week I go and which project he is on. I wish we had more reliable friends up here, but we'll see.

where have you been looking for pet sitters? are there any rescues in the area or your vet that could recommend anyone? we have Danielle (thank god!) and if not her I think eddy would be next on the list then on to someone from our husky meet ups.

[i] I dont trust anybody but my wife, I love my husky too much to let somebody else hurt my dog, if I owned my own house I would watch your dogs free..

I should update this actually. We used one the other weekend out of necessity in an emergency situation. I had a week to interview people. I called a few that were registered with Pet Sitters International. Everyone was licensed, bonded and insured. We ended up going with a woman who would be able to take us in the current place and the new home, but I would have chosen her anyway. She walked in and got right on the floor with Koda and Hailey and let them kiss her and shower her with attention.

Within 5 mins they were laying at her feet while she sat with me on the floor and talked about them. I was so happy with our choice.

We went away for the night and every time she visited she sent us picture messages of the dogs playing and sleeping. She texted us after every visit and let me know how they were doing.

When we got home the dogs were happy, excited and it was like we had only left for a few hours.

I would absolutely recommend pet sitting to people, but I urge anyone to do their research. Interview people and go with who feels right. We got very lucky and found someone I immediately felt comfortable with and the dogs were immediately comfortable with her too.

Anyway, that's my story

Koda wrote:

They go to Daycare, but for the two of them 4 days a week is expensive. It's $50/day for the two of them (since they'd have to go a full day) and John can't guarantee that he'd be able to pick them up by the close of business, so it's sort of tough.

We're going to play it by ear. We might be able to work it out between John's family and his hours might not be that bad depending on which week I go and which project he is on. I wish we had more reliable friends up here, but we'll see.

So I just read this, 50 for both!? Aside from the one really really ridiculous place (but it's super fancy and in the most expensive area in AZ), most DECENT places are 20-29 bucks for the first one with the 2nd half off!

The place here (there are not a lot of choices unfortunately) is $25 for the first, 20% off for the second, plus tax. It comes out to about $50/day. We're moving next to a new place that is $20/day per dog, but they don't do boarding and it's only weekdays.

We live in an expensive area... not much we can do about it Sucks...