Dog Sitting10 Days

Twenty visits across ten days, and it's yours to decide how they land. Take them in one block for a proper holiday, or keep them as cover to draw on — a few days in March, a few in July, the odd Tuesday when you're not going to be back in time.

That's the point of buying ten at once. Most households don't need pet cover in tidy blocks; they need it unevenly, across a year, at times they can't fully predict. Buying the days in advance at a better rate means the answer is already in place when they come up.

What accumulates over ten days is familiarity, and that holds whether they're consecutive or not. Ten visits in, we know how much he leaves in the bowl on a normal day, which walk he pulls towards, and what he looks like when something's a bit off. A dog who was uncertain the first time is generally pleased to see us by the fourth or fifth — spread across months, that just means he keeps a person he knows rather than meeting a stranger each time you go away.

Nobody sleeps over, and if you're using days in a row that deserves a straight answer from you. One night alone is a question about tolerance; several in a row is a question about temperament. A settled adult dog who's genuinely fine on his own will do better here than in ten days of kennels. A dog who struggles alone will struggle, and daytime attention won't fix it. If there's any doubt, tell us how he is when you go out for an evening and we'll say honestly whether this is the right service.

Ten days at R490 each, with 15% back, valid twelve months from purchase.

Before we come

We visit twice a day. We don't stay the night. It's worth being clear about that before you book, because "pet sitting" means different things at different companies. Your animal is at home in their own house, with someone coming morning and evening — not boarded, and not supervised around the clock. For most pets that's a better arrangement than a kennel or a cattery. For some it isn't, and we'd rather you knew which yours is now than find out while you're away. Write everything down for us. Feeding times, how much, which bowl, which cupboard, what they're not allowed, where the lead lives, which door sticks, what the alarm code is, and what "normal" looks like for your animal. You know all of it without thinking; we don't know any of it. The households where sitting goes best are the ones that leave a list on the fridge. Leave us your vet's details and a number you'll actually answer. Also a second contact — a neighbour, a family member — for the times you're on a plane or out of signal. We hope never to need any of it. Tell us about the animals we might not see. The nervous cat who hides under the bed all three days, the second dog who's fine with people but not with strangers arriving, the tortoise in the garden. Nothing is too small to mention. Tell us about medication, and be specific. What it is, when, how much, how it's given, and what happens if a dose is missed. Enough food, litter and medication for the whole booking, plus a bit spare. We'd rather not be buying your cat an unfamiliar food on day two. Book the days as early as you can. Spread out, a package only works if the days you want are still available — school holidays and December fill first, and a package with days left on it is no use if you can't place them. If you're using days in a row, plan the food. Enough for the block plus spare, and tell us the brand and where you buy it. Switching a dog's food mid-trip is the fastest route to a bad week for everyone. Tell us before each block, not just once. Things change between March and July — a new medication, a stiffening hip, different walk times in summer. A quick update before each booking is worth more than the notes you wrote in January.