Reciprocal Dog Minding Arrangement

[Chris777]

Hi, I’m not sure if this is possible or if this is even the right site/place to ask. What I’m looking for is a reciprocal dog minding arrangement. I feel now is the time for me to resume overseas travels to predominantly Asia (approx 1 month stays) and Europe (approx 3 month stays). The difficulty I have is that I have a soon to be 5 yo female boxer (Lola) and I’m unsure what is best for her care. With previous dogs I had an Aunt and Uncle with a farm who would look after them. This is no longer an option since they’ve sold the farm and moved into a town house. I have friends/family who have offered to look after her but I have concerns that she may not get the full time care she currently gets or they are just offering out of friendship and it will inconvenience their life too much. I don’t consider kennels an option for a stay this long. I’m also not comfortable with getting a house/dog sitter for this length of time. What I am looking for is someone to look after my dog while I’m away. In return I will look after their dog(s) when they travel. I’m retired, quiet, live by myself and I’m 50m from a Gippsland Lake.  The dogs will spend at least an hour off lead walking along its shores daily. I have a doggy door and the dogs will have full access to inside and outside the house. Surely I can’t be the only one in this predicament? If anyone is interested in sharing an arrangement like this or has alternative ideas or suggestions about how to proceed I would love to hear from you. Thanks in advance, Chris.

[~Anne~]

Edit: Sorry - just noticed you said you don’t want a housesitter. If you’re concerned about having someone in your home, I can reassure you that we’ve had lots of house sitters and never had a problem with theft, breakages or damage. We’ve always come home to a clean house and well cared for cats. One even baked us a cake to welcome us home. Another person bought fresh bread and milk for us to make sure we had the basics when we flew back home! 
 

We have travelled very regularly and have always used aussiehousesitters.com.au 

 

We’ve used different sitters each time.

 

The house sitters pay an annual subscription to be a member of the site. They have references and a bio with pics. As the home owner, you advertise your sit and they message you to apply, usually giving more info about themselves. They all have to offer their services free of charge and you can’t charge them to stay at your property either. It’s a two way street - a free stay at your home in return for caring for your animals, plants and home. 
 

You check their bio and references and decide who you want to housesit. 

Edited September 8, 2022 by ~Anne~

[~Anne~]

There’s other sites too but I’ve only ever used the one. Never had an issue with a house sitter yet. 
 

We don’t have any dogs anymore, only two indoor cats. 

[Chris777]

Thanks Anne….it’s not so much a problem with or lack of trust with house sitters, it’s more just establishing a long(ish) term relationship with someone…I would imagine it would be difficult to get the same house sitters on a yearly basis. I also sometimes think about getting a second dog but I suspect looking after someone else’s dog for a couple of months would partly fulfil that urge. I sure that there’s people out there with similar thoughts but how I contact them is the difficulty I have. Thanks again for your reply.

[~Anne~]

1 hour ago, Chris777 said:

Thanks Anne….it’s not so much a problem with or lack of trust with house sitters, it’s more just establishing a long(ish) term relationship with someone…I would imagine it would be difficult to get the same house sitters on a yearly basis. I also sometimes think about getting a second dog but I suspect looking after someone else’s dog for a couple of months would partly fulfil that urge. I sure that there’s people out there with similar thoughts but how I contact them is the difficulty I have. Thanks again for your reply.

I’m sure you’d be able to arrange repeat site with the same sitters. We choose different people all the time but we’ve had many comment that they’d love to return. 

[jemappelle]

There are a lot of solo women travellers that live in their vans that would be very interested in helping you as well as many couples.  Many are happy to stay in their vans as long as they have access to water and electricity.  There is a Facebook group that I could link for you if you're interested.

[Chris777]

Thank you, and a house sitter is an option, but my preference is for her to be looked after somewhere else. She’s comfortable with this. I could pay to have her stay somewhere but this seems to cost between $40 and $80 a day. Maybe I’m alone in thinking this is a better way to proceed but I’d be surprised if there’s not someone out there that this wouldn’t work for. Thanks again for your thoughts.

[jemappelle]

Another thought, I found my wonderful dog sitters (for the very rare occasions I don't take the dogs with me) on a local breed specific Facebook group.  We have become firm friends and I look after theirs as well.

[Chris777]

2 hours ago, jemappelle said:

Another thought, I found my wonderful dog sitters (for the very rare occasions I don't take the dogs with me) on a local breed specific Facebook group.  We have become firm friends and I look after theirs as well.

Thank you….that’s exactly the type of relationship I’m after. I’m assuming their dogs come to your house?? I’ll keep searching…as said earlier I’m sure there’s people out that this would suit, it’s just a matter of finding them.

[Dogsfevr]

I would suggest making sure you understand the pros/cons as should any person thinking there doing a favour housesitting a dog they have no knowledge about .
Whilst the dog is in your care you are liable for any issues.You take on ownership during that time .
So anyone house sitiing would need to be fully prepared to pay upfront vet bills especially after hr bills.

As someone who operates a boarding kennel i can tell you without having signed documents that the dog is in your care that getting vet treatment is very difficult when you havent given authorization to the care giver to legally treat & having a contract for covering vet bills & making difficult decisions .
 

House sitters that do it as a business generally have insurance coverage that covers there business which is a big deal if you decide to sue the care giver or the care giver decides to pursue there client .
 

Keep in mind pet sitting is much more than i will look after your dog especially if not set up to safely house unknown dogs from fighting ,letting offleash if never trained to do so(liabilty)  ,freaking out,jumping the fence ,house visitors who may not respect these unknown dogs in closing doors etc etc etc etc.
Uninsured pet minders can open themselves up to an expensive cheap option 

Edited September 12, 2022 by Dogsfevr

[jemappelle]

On 09/09/2022 at 2:11 PM, Chris777 said:

Thank you….that’s exactly the type of relationship I’m after. I’m assuming their dogs come to your house?? I’ll keep searching…as said earlier I’m sure there’s people out that this would suit, it’s just a matter of finding them.

At first I went to their house and house sat as it was in a beautiful location.  Now they come to mine as they are now part of my pack and settle easily.