Do you like to travel but want peace of mind your dog and home is left in good hands?
While going on holiday is supposed to be a relaxing experience where you get to recharge your batteries, it can be emotional and stressful leaving your pets behind.
If you don’t feel confident about where your dog is staying or you have concerns about the pet sitter you found at the last minute, you won’t be able to fully switch off.
There has been an increase in the number of pet companies offering dog sitting services over the past few years, providing dog owners with more choice and more flexibility.
You can find some dog sitters who will require you to drop your furry friend at their home but there are some dog sitting companies who will both dog sit and house sit.
In this article, we’re going to take a look at the best dog sitting services in the UK for British dog owners who are planning a holiday but struggling to find a capable pet sitter.
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Best Dog Sitting Services UK
| Rating | Summary | Website | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trusted Housesitters |
|
• Verified Sitters • Unlimited Sits • Expert Vet Advice | Buy Now | |
| Rover |
|
• Dog Boarding • House Sitting • Worldwide | Buy Now | |
| Barking Mad UK |
|
• 20+ years • 3-step process • Pick-up/Drop-off | Buy Now | |
| Trust My Pet Sitter |
|
• Vet care • Verification • Annual fee | Buy Now | |
| Home From Home |
|
• London area • One on one • Carer support | Buy Now |
What Is Dog Sitting
If you own dogs or grew up with family dogs, you’ll probably be familiar with the concept of dog kennels.
For many years, many pet parents would have to leave their four-legged friend at a dog boarding service.
Usually, dogs would spend their day in kennels with some breaks for walks or playtime.
But dog sitting has become more and more popular over the past couple of decades so your pup can receive dedicated care and love in your sitter’s home or your home.
You’ll drop your canine companion at your sitter’s home along with essentials such as dog food, beds or creates, leashes, toys and treats.
In some cases, you may be able to get a dog sitter to stay in your home to help keep your anxious dog as relaxed as possible in familiar surroundings despite your absence.
How It Works
The process of finding a dog sitter can take a number of different formats.
You may find a dog sitter advertising in your local pet store or supermarket, perhaps you have been introduced to a pet sitter by word of mouth.
The internet has made it a lot easier to find a dog sitter with a number of dog sitting companies across the United Kingdom who have experienced professionals.
The great thing about using a dog sitting company with a strong online presence is that you’re able to read past reviews and view their credentials.
A lot of dog sitting companies will have an easy-to-use service that makes it easy for British pet parents to see whether there are dog sitters available in their area.
You can enter your dates into the calendar to make sure your dog sitter of choice is available to look after your pooch when you’re hoping to go on your holiday.
In some cases, dog sitters may look after multiple dogs at one time or have cats in their home, so you’ll have to configure your settings to ensure you get a dog sitter that suits your canine companion.
Most dog sitting websites will allow pet parents to enter details about their dogs, such as whether your pup has a high prey drive so needs to be walked on a leash or gets scared walking on the pavement on busy roads.
Things To Consider When Looking For A Dog Sitter
• References – If you’re going to place your trust in a dog sitter, you want to see their references. The websites that we have included in this feature have review sections so you can read about the experience of other dog owners with the pet sitter.
• Insurance – A dog trainer we worked with emphasized the importance of asking a dog sitter whether they’re insured. By asking this question, you can make an informed decision about the dog sitter. It’s a good idea to disclose whether you have pet insurance – too.
• Meet and greet – Whenever we’ve left our Alaskan Klee Kai with a dog sitter, we’ve met the dog sitter a couple of weeks before leaving our mini huskies with them. By doing this, you can get a sense of whether your dogs will gel with the dog sitter.
• Experience – If you have two dogs, you’ll want to find out whether the dog sitter has looked after multiple dogs at the same time. Perhaps you own a more challenging dog breed so your pet sitter’s experience with a stubborn pup might be important.
• Pets – Does your dog like to chase or harass cats? Does your pup get along with other dogs? If your dog sitter has pets, they may not be a good fit for your dog.
• Emergency numbers – It’s a good idea to leave your dog sitter with some emergency contacts, such as your vet, a family member, your pet insurance details and much more.
Best Dog Sitting Services UK – Our Pick
So, now we’ve taken a look at some of the things to consider when you’re looking for a dog sitter and trying to decide which dog sitting company is best for you and your dog, it’s time to take a look at our pick of the best options on the market in the UK at the moment.
1) Trusted Housesitters
Website: www.trustedhousesitters.com
Trusted Housesitters (Photo: Trusted Housesitters)
The top dog sitting service on our list is Trusted Housesitters. They provide British dog owners with the ability to find a trusted dog sitter who will not only take care of their canine companion but also look after their home. Trusted Housesitters is easy to use. You purchase an owner plan before posting lots of pictures of your pets and home as well as the dates of your holiday. Once you’ve received applications from sitters, you can select the perfect one for your pup. Your sitter can send updates and images throughout your trip so you can have ultimate peace of mind that your dog is in good hands. You can do your part to help other pet parents by reviewing the sitter. Trusted Housesitters offer sitters who are referenced, reviewed and verified. You pay a fee once a year for unlimited sits. They’ve got a 24/7 vet advice line along with a membership services team. If you own anxious dogs like my Alaskan Klee Kai, the ability to get a sitter to come to your home to look after your dog is invaluable. You want to try to make your dog feel as comfortable as possible in your absence.
2) Rover.com
Website: www.rover.com
Skye the Alaskan Klee Kai (Photo: lifewithkleekai/Instagram)
Rover are one of the best-known names in the pet sitting marketplace. Having started in the USA, Rover operate in 10 counties and has 95% five-star reviews. They offer in-home dog boarding, pet sitting, dog walking or day care, Rover have you covered. They offer a flexible service but for the purposes of this article, we’re interested in their pet sitting services. Rover offer dog boarding and dog sitting. They suggest scheduling a meet and greet to find the right sitter. Rover explain that every sitter on the site has been reviewed and approved by their dedicated team. To find a dog sitter, you’ll need to create a profile before you can start your search for a sitter in your area. All bookings and payments are processed through Rover’s platform. Having used Rover’s service, I found it to be a pleasant experience and we managed to find a friendly and reliable dog sitter for our mini huskies. Unlike Trusted House Sitter, you will have to pay for a sitter for each trip so you don’t get unlimited sits.
3) Barking Mad UK
Website: www.barkingmad.uk.com
Barking Mad (Photo: barkingmadhq)
Barking Mad are a dog home boarding and sitting service operating exclusively in the UK. They’ve got average rating of 5 stars from over 7,000 reviews on independent review website Trustpilot. Dog owners can scroll through the reviews of which 97% are 5 star! Barking Mad have a wealth of experience under their belt, having been founded in 2000. To start, Barking Mad will visit your home to meet you and your dog to learn about their daily routines, feeding habits, passions and dislikes. They’ll take a note of any medical requirements too. Once they’ve got the key information about your four-legged friend, they’ll match you with a suitable dog sitter. You can even arrange a dummy run to make sure everything goes ok. On the day itself, Barking Mad will collect and deliver your dog to the pet sitter as well as provide regular updates. In some areas, you may be able to get someone to dog sit in your home. However, when I searched my current address and some previous addresses, they weren’t all covered by Barking Mad. Their website explains that their rates depends on how long you’re going away and how many dogs you have.
4) Trust My Pet Sitter
Website: www.trustmypetsitter.com
Trust My Pet Sitter (Photo: Trust My Pet Sitter)
Trust My Pet Sitter are a dog sitting service that specialise in looking after dogs (along with cats, rabbits, geckos and more) in their home environment. In doing so, they offer dedicated attention, care and love to your four-legged friend. Trust My Pet Sitter’s website explains that they created their business combining pet sitting and house sitting. They believe that dogs can be left feeling unsettled in strange environments when you leave your furry friends at a dog sitter’s home. Trust My Pet Sitter gives dog owners the chance to choose their preferred pet sitter. Your pet sitter will have access to their 24/7 vet advice line so British pet parents can have peace of mind. Trust My Pet Sitter have an indentity partner called Yoti to confirm your identity and the identity of pet sitters on their platform. As a pet owner, you can choose between their basic and premium memberships.
5) Home From Home Dog Boarding
Website: www.homefromhomedogboarding.com
Skye the Alaskan Klee Kai (Photo: lifewithkleekai/Instagram)
If you’re looking for home boarding and you live in London and the Home Counties, you may want to consider Home From Home. It can be difficult finding a pet sitter in London who doesn’t have other pets that they’re caring for. Perhaps you want to have peace of mind that your dog sitter has a suitable home and garden to meet your needs. Home From Home will provide your dog with dedicated one to one attention. Their website writes that your dog will be treated like a family member. Home From Home operate exclusively throughout London and the Home Counties so they do offer a limited service to British dog owners.
Anything Else To Consider
Skye the Alaskan Klee Kai (Photo: lifewithkleekai/Instagram)
If you’re thinking about using a dog sitting service, whether your canine companion will be staying at your pet sitter’s home or your pet sitter will be looking after your best friend in your home, it’s important to ask a lot of questions so you can get a good idea about the person you’ll be entrusting with your four-legged friend.
Like we mentioned above, it’s a good idea to find out whether the pet sitter has insurance or the company provides insurance so you can have peace of mind your dog is safe and happy.
In Conclusion – Wrapping Up
We’ve reached the end of our feature on best dog sitting service in UK.
Our top pick is Trusted Housesitters because I like that I can get a pet sitter to stay in my home and give my Alaskan Klee Kai dedicated care.
My mini huskies are sensitive to change so it’s great that Trusted Housesitterswill facilitate pet sitters coming to my home. It means my dogs don’t have to have change their habits or routine while I’m on holiday.
Trusted Housesitters have a membership option so British dog owners will only have to pay an annual fee to avail of their service as many times as they need it.
Having said that, all the dog sitting services mentioned in this article can cater to your needs, whether you want someone to come to your home or you’re happy to send your dog to the sitter’s home.
