Vet Guide to 2025: Why In‑Home Pet Sitters Are the Best Boarding Choice 🐶🩺
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Vet Guide to 2025: Why In‑Home Pet Sitters Are the Best Boarding Choice 🐶🩺
By Dr. Duncan Houston BVSc
Leaving your pet can be stressful for both of you—but there's a better option than kennels. I'm Dr Duncan Houston BVSc, and in this comprehensive guide, we explore why home-based pet sitters like Pawshake, Rover, and MadPaws offer the highest quality care—keeping routines intact, reducing stress, and ensuring personalized attention, all while backed by guidance from Ask A Vet. Let’s dive in! 🧠✨
1. What Is In‑Home Pet Sitting? 🐾
In‑home pet sitting involves a trusted sitter caring for your pet while you’re away—either by staying overnight at your home or making regular visits. Unlike kennel boarding, they come to your pet’s environment, maintaining familiar routines and surroundings.
2. Top Platforms to Choose From
- Pawshake: Connects you with pre‑vetted local sitters offering overnight or daily visits.
- Rover: Offers detailed sitter profiles with verified reviews—supports overnight stays, drop-ins, medication care, and excursions.
- MadPaws: Popular in Australia, provides home stays and daycare in your home—emphasizes personalized care.
3. Benefits Over Kennel Boarding
- ✅ Less stress: Familiar surroundings reduce anxiety—no need to adapt to a new environment.
- 🔁 Routine continuity: Feeding, playtime, sleep happen as usual—good for digestion and behavior.
- 💊 Special needs cared for: Sitters can administer medications, follow precise instructions, and accommodate dietary needs.
- 🧪 Lower illness risk: Home-only care avoids exposure to kennel cough and other contagious diseases.
- 🏡 Home security: Presence in your home helps deter theft, maintain plant watering, and collection of mail.
4. Considerations and Trade‑Offs
- 💲 Higher cost: Personalized and in-home care often costs more than group facility boarding.
- 🤝 Compatibility matters: Pre-meetings ensure your pet and sitter are a good fit—even friendly personalities may need time to warm up.
- 🔐 Trust is key: Choose vetted services; platforms like Rover and Pawshake include background checks and insurance options.
5. How to Choose Your Ideal Sitter
- Vetting: Confirm insurance, reference checks, and professional reviews.
- Meet‑and‑greet: Assess interaction, ask about experience with health, routines, and emergencies.
- Communication: Daily photo updates, messages, and routine check-ins improve comfort for both pet and owner.
- Clear instructions: Detail feeding routines, exercise preferences, medication schedules, and emergency contacts.
6. Tips to Prepare Your Home for Sitting
- 🗂️ Provide an easy care sheet with contact info, vet details, medication notes.
- 🍽️ Leave favorite toys, bedding, and treats to reassure your pet.
- 🔓 Secure hazards—lock cleaning supplies and remove dangerous items from reach.
7. When Boarding Might Be Better
- Limited home space or sitters nearby
- Multiple pets needing daily socialization
- No one available to enter your home—then boarding facilities may be a practical fallback.
8. Ask A Vet: Remote Monitoring & Health Support 📱
Platforms like Rover and Pawshake allow sitters to send photos and updates, which you can share with Ask A Vet for remote advice—especially useful if your pet has health or behaviour concerns.
9. Sample Comparison at a Glance
| Feature | In‑Home Sitter | Kennel Boarding |
|---|---|---|
| Environment | Familiar home | New facility with other animals |
| Routine | Mostly unchanged | Set feeding/play schedules |
| Socialisation | One-on-one attention | Group playtime available |
| Health risk | Minimal exposure | Potential disease exposure |
| Cost | Mid–high | Low–mid |
10. FAQs
- Can sitters administer medications?
- Yes—most platforms allow sitters to follow vet-written instructions under direct oversight.
- How do I ensure trust?
- Use sitters with vetting, insurance, and glowing reviews—and use meet-and-greets before booking.
- Pets with separation anxiety—best choice?
- In-home sitters are excellent—they avoid kennel-related triggers and can offer familiar companionship.
Conclusion
In-home pet sitting with platforms like Pawshake, Rover, or MadPaws delivers personalized, low-stress care that keeps your pet happy, healthy, and relaxed. It maintains their routines, reduces health risks, and provides peace of mind—especially when paired with tele-vet support from Ask A Vet. For most pet parents, it's the gold-standard alternative to kennel boarding. 🐕❤️
