If you are going to be watching someone else’s pet, it is important to keep etiquette in mind. Although it may seem very easy to watch someone else’s pet, there are certain things that a good pet sitter will never do. Here are some good pet sitter etiquette tips.

1. Never feed the pet table food without permission. Although your dog or cat may be used to eating food from the table, this does not mean that the other person’s pet is. The best thing that you can do is find out all about food requirements. The person may not feed their pet table food at all, while others may feed it to their pet on a regular basis. Knowing beforehand is important. It is especially important to avoid giving dogs food that will harm them.

2. Do not interrupt a dog’s schedule for doing business if possible. It can take awhile for a pet owner to housebreak their dog. By interrupting it at your home, you may make it more difficult for the dog to get back into the hang of things. The only time in which it can be acceptable to slightly interrupt the dog’s schedule is if you work long hours. Even then, it is important to walk the dog as close to the usual schedule as possible.

3. Avoid physically punishing another person’s pet. You might hit your pet as a form of punishment, but this does not mean that it is okay to hit another person’s dog or cat. If you are walking the dog and he will not come into the house, it is not a good idea to drag him to the point of choking. Physically abusing animals is not only illegal, but it is simply something that a good pet sitter would never do to a friend or family member’s cat or dog.

4. Keep the pets separated from your own pets if necessary. If the pets that you are watching do not seem too comfortable with your pets, you may want to think about saying no to pet sitting in the first place. In the event that you do still need to pet sit, it is best to keep your own pets secluded to one another of the house if possible. Controlling your animals if the other pets do not feel comfortable is an essential key to pet sitting etiquette.

5. If you can’t pet sit, just be honest about it. There is no reason to pet sit a dog or cat just because you feel guilty about having to say no. It is a bad idea to agree to pet sitting if you know that you are not going to be home or able to care for the dog or cat. Although the person who is asking to pet sit may not necessarily feel comfortable with the idea of leaving their pet at a kennel, they can at least feel rest assured to know that their pet will be well taken care of there.

Pet sitting is a huge responsibility. Many people do not give any thought to how well they care for their friend or family member’s animals. Whether you are watching someone’s cat or dog for a weekend or for an entire month, it is best to keep pet sitting etiquette in mind.