How to Get Out of Dog Sitting
Are you a busy person with a vibrant social life that’s about to have your weekend ruined? Did you unsuspectingly make friends with a person who owns a dog, and now they think you’re trustworthy and responsible? Our condolences. If you’ve been asked to dog sit for the first time, you do have legal recourse, and you’re in the right place to get help.
And if you’ve made the mistake of dog sitting in the past, fear not! You don’t have to keep living that life. Let our experts guide you on the best ways to get out of dog sitting:
Ask About the Dog's Particular Needs
If you’re being asked to pet sit, you probably know this dog (or dogs!) well enough to have seen some of their quirks and particularities. Because the dog’s care has become part of their daily routine, your friend or family member may not be considering how time-intensive and specific it is.
Try to gently encourage them to think about this by asking questions like:
With Houston’s grass allergy, how do you handle walks? Is he mostly carried?
Does Churro need those injections twice a day or hourly?
Ok, Birdie gets the venison treat at 7am, and the bison treat at 7pm? Or did I get it backward?
Help them come to grips with the fact that taking care of their dog is a specialized task that might need a whole binder of instructions and a pro-sitter. It’ll also require more than “just a few minutes,” and you, as their friend, will be compromising your curated social calendar of soup kitchen volunteering and rescuing cats.
Set Boundaries Around Your Time And Availability
Taking care of a dog typically starts early in the morning, with some dogs even used to their first walk and breakfast happening before sunrise.
Do you have time to add that to your morning? I ask, knowing full well that you’ve walked into work late with Starbucks at least once this week. No, of course you don’t. You’re more of a Cruella in the morning, Cinderella in the evening kind of person.
If dropping hints about how long your commute is or that you’ll have in-laws staying with you that week isn’t working, you may have to draw a boundary — you need your beauty sleep, and they need to hire a professional sitter.
State Any Discomfort you Have Around Dogs
Have you considered confessing to a childhood incident (truthful or otherwise) with a large, scary dog that left you with a lingering discomfort around them? Your friend surely wouldn’t want to make you relive such a horrible experience.
If you’re actually fond of dogs and scrambling for inspiration, you could try one of these:
A dog stole your father’s identity, he lost his life savings, and the home you grew up in.
A pack of wild dogs kidnapped and attempted to raise you as one of their own.
A dog attacked and sank your family’s yacht during a summer vacation.
Fake an Alien Abduction
If all else fails, the best way to get out of dog sitting is to fake an alien abduction. This allows you to disappear for as long or as little as you need and reappear whenever it is convenient. It also answers any pesky questions about why no one was able to contact you and why you came back with an unexplainable tan.
The trick to a convincing alien abduction is to leave something mysterious where you were last seen. Crop circles are a classic if you have the time, but for quicker exits, you could consider suspicious burn marks or a watch that’s stopped on one of the more mystical times (like 3am).
Don’t forget to take an unannounced social media hiatus during your abduction.
Recommend a Professional Pet Sitter
In all seriousness, your friend or family member probably asked you to pet sit because they trust you and don't feel like they have any other options. They've probably heard horror stories about boarding facilities and don't want to subject their precious babies to that. They may not know that in-home pet sitting, from fully vetted and experienced sitters, exists in their area.
If you want to be a good friend, but don't feel like you're up to the task of dog sitting, you can research the professional pet sitting options in your area and give them a list of who they might contact. For those in the San Francisco Bay area, G&G Pets is staffed with professional, in-home pet sitters that care for our clients' dogs just like they were our own (or our friend’s, or mom’s, or neighbor’s…).
Use the button below to get access to a database of professional local sitters, each one a better fit for your friend’s dog than you.
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