Why is Pet Sitting so popular?
It has everything to do with good pet-sitter services available in the market that makes the pets and owners both happy. Apart from the apparent reason pet-sitters are animal lovers, they have a pretty flexible schedule that can work well with you and your needs.
Pet sitters are professional pet carers. They probably know what to do in an emergency concerning your pet. A pet-sitter respects and understands your wishes. If you have a scheduled three-time feed plan for your pet, they will follow it.
The great reviews also help the ever-growing pet-sitter community. They are experienced, have excellent communication skills, and will text you photos of your pet while you are away on vacation. They are orderly so that when you come back from your trip, you do not find your pet’s dishes dirty or your pet’s litter box full. On top of that, they will also ensure that everything is clean and is in its rightful place.
A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites in 2023
One of the biggest names in the pet sitting business, Rover is also one of the best. It has a huge database of both users and pet sitters, and it’s easy to find the perfect one for your pup. In fact, each pet sitter can earn badges that show their special skills, like obedience training or medical certifications.
That doesn’t mean that every sitter is a gem, though. Given the massive database on this pet sitting app, it only makes sense that there’d be a few bad apples in the bunch, so you had better do as much research as you can before making a decision.
Best Pet Sitting Websites And Apps
Below are our top picks for the best pet sitting websites that also have apps so you can book, track, and message sitters on the go.
Rover is an online platform that allows pet owners to connect with independently contracted pet sitters to care for your pet at your home, or your pet can stay at the sitter’s house. Browse their site by zip code and view the possible sitters in your local area.
Rover provides reviews of dog sitters and shows their availability dates. Also, sitters receive “badges” for various pet care best practice training sessions. Dog sitting rates are listed upfront, along with the services offered and what types of animals the sitter accepts. Rover offers 24/7 support, a reservation guarantee, and a Rover Guarantee that reimburses you for vet care injuries to a pet in a sitter’s care caused by a Rover sitter, vet care injuries to the sitter’s pets caused by a “Rover Dog,” and property damages to a pet owner’s personal property caused by the sitter. Reimbursement for vet care is up to $25,000 per incident and for property damage or certain third-party injuries is up to $1,000,000 per incident (both subject to a $250 deductible).
We have had great experiences both as a sitter and using the service for dog sitting, but we understand that not everyone has. So, as mentioned above, be sure to research the sitter options, read their reviews carefully, and do a meet and greet in the home to make sure you are comfortable with the situation before leaving your dog. Rover merged with DogVacay, another dog sitting website, in 2017.
Use this link, and you will receive a $10 credit towards your first booking with Rover.
Like Rover, Wag is one of our other top picks for the best pet sitting app. They are a popular dog walking app and offer other services, including sitting and training. Wag requires criminal background checks and provides training for sitters.
Your home is protected for up to $1 million when booking a walking or sitting service. They even provide a lockbox to store your key if you opt for sitters to stay in your home. When your dog is with a Wag sitter, you’ll get activity reports and GPS tracking for walks. Wag is currently in more than 4,600 cities nationwide.
In addition to the dog sitting apps we recommend above, here’s a quick overview of some other popular online pet sitting and dog watching services, as well as resources to find care for your pet.
Care.com offers pet care and other types of care (senior, child, etc.). For pets, they will pet sit, walk your dog, train, groom, and board them as you need. How does it work? Sign up for an account and create the job you need to be completed, e.g., a pet sitter for a weekend.
Care.com guarantees that caregivers will contact you within three days after posting your job. So, given this extra lead time, you will need to plan for your job. Once they respond, you can review the profiles of the candidates and request criminal background checks. You can then conduct interviews and check references to hire whomever you like best.
Fetch! Pet Care does things differently. You don’t get to hand-pick your sitter. Instead, Fetch! matches every client to the most qualified sitter in your area who’s available on your dates. They also schedule a free in-home consultation for you and the sitter to meet. The website also has clients’ testimonials.
Each sitter goes through a criminal background check, and your dog has limited insurance during the reservation. You should expect to receive updates via text, email, and phone calls to know how your pup is doing. Fetch! also offers dog walking and overnight visits.
HouseCarers matches you with a house sitter in your area. The house sitter will take care of your home and pets while you’re away, so you don’t have to worry about boarding. Your house will also look “lived in” while you’re away, so criminals won’t see your home as a target.
The downside is that HouseCarers does not have any guarantees and does not perform a criminal background check. When we searched for a house sitter near our area, we found results for people available for any location — not necessarily locals. We thought this was strange and not very helpful.
How TO MAKE $5000 a month with Rover Pet Sitting App // Best Side Hustle
Looking to earn some extra money by taking care of other peoples pets? Heres a list of the best petsitting apps and how you can start!
Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life, animal lovers, this one’s for you. In the past, providing pet care required you to form personal connections offline and manually line up gigs. But now, there’s an abundance of petsitting apps and websites that make it easier than ever to land petsitting jobs.
You can work part-time and possibly even full-time walking dogs and petsitting while owners are at work or out of town.
Keep reading to learn about the best petsitting apps and how to maximize your earnings in this fun line of work.