015- Howlidays
It’s the Howlidays again! We start by talking about some follow-up from our emergency preparedness episode, then dive into handling family and your pet business. We end by talking about safe food for your pets and some gift ideas!
WebMD Foods they should NEVER eat
Deducting Employee Gifts for taxes
RCL Dog Walking 2019 Holiday Gift Guide
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Food for our furry friends
A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
Provided by otter.ai
Collin 0:16
I'm Collin. And I'm Megan. And this is pet sitter confessional. An open and honest discussion about life as a pet sitter.
Meghan 0:24
Hey guys, welcome to Episode 15 holidays where it's all in the family. This episode we're going to talk about pet sitting in for and with your family, and basically everything surrounding the holidays. So a very happy thanksgiving to you guys. Whether your schedule is jam packed or you're taking a break, we hope that you're able to take a little time to recharge and think about what you're thankful for. I'm thankful for you calling we we've been married for almost eight years, and it's been a really fun ride and we've been able to do a lot of different things together and Set a lot of dogs together. And it's been, it's been fun. So I'm very thankful for you
Collin 1:04
know, well, I'm really thankful for our kids. We have a two year old and a four year old. And they have been quite an adventure for us and have really helped shape a lot of how we view and I deal with our business and our dogs and and really help ground us and our reason why, as to why we do everything that we do. Now before we get into the main topic, we do have some follow up from Episode 13. On prepping for emergencies, we received some awesome feedback from Hilary Larson of into the wild Petcare and Allison Williams on Facebook about the emergency preparedness episode and wanted to touch on a few points. Now right off the bat, we have to state that obviously you'll never be able to plan for everything or be prepared 100% of the time. However, using some common sense, and at least thinking through some possible scenarios can put you on the right foot. A little preparation goes a long way. When things turn south, so make sure you look up and keep on hand the location of the nearest emergency that's in the areas that you're traveling in. And keep up the maintenance on your vehicle. Check the recommendations for your specific make and model. And I mean, let's be honest, just doing regular oil change and tire rotations, replacements is the bare minimum that we're talking about here.
Meghan 2:21
Also, it's important to let others know where you plan to be during the day and then check in with them periodically, especially when you're doing a meet and greet at a new client's home. Or if you're traveling to new areas or at night, or with bad weather. You want to be sure that people know where you are. We also wanted to touch on a first aid kit and I can't believe that we made it through an entire episode on preparedness without mentioning this. You can build your own Of course, but I'd recommend buying a pre made one and then adding to it. Walmart carries some pretty robust kits that you can adapt to your specific needs. You should look at having a pretty extensive one in your home and in your car, and then a smaller one that you care about. with you during walks and drop ins, and make sure you keep it up to date, because it turns out that things do expire, especially medicines and antibiotic ointment. So most like I just mentioned, most will have an antibiotic ointment in them. But if it says pain relief, it's actually toxic to pets. So be watchful of that. And a pro tip when you change your clocks for daylight savings if you're in the US, or when you replace your smoke detector batteries, you check also check the first aid kit and replace anything that's expired. Ask the homeowner if they have a first aid kit in their house and know where it's located. And if they don't have one, encourage them to get one because it's very important. Also in your emergency kit, make sure that there is a dog sweater or a blanket for the pet. Because if there's a house fire and it's 30 degrees outside and you're watching a Chihuahua, that pup is going to want some extra warmth.
Collin 3:50
Absolutely. You're going to want to get an idea of the plant in the home and yard whether in your home or in the yard of your clients and look up whether they're toxic or not? the ASPCA has a great resource for common toxic plants will include links to that and many more in our show notes, which you can find at pet sitter confessional.com. If you find toxic plants suggest to the homeowner that they have them removed or fenced off if they're really hell bent on keeping them. So we're getting into the holidays, which is our main topic today. So lilies and poinsettias are very common and also very toxic. Now Megan was mentioning the first aid kit. Now when you buy those from the store, they're going to have some medications in there for humans. Now we are not vet techs that and we don't have any formal medical pet training and those of you who do would be able to address pet medications a lot better than we can. Also we are working on a series of interviews with a vet regarding pet health and medication so do Be on the lookout for that. But just know that there are safe human medications you can give to your pets and there are unsafe ones and before you give Anything to a pet in your care whether your own or clients, you should always consult a professional medical provider before proceeding. And we'll include some links in our show notes again, and on our website about medications for dogs and cats.
Meghan 5:14
So now on to the main topic, holidays, pets,
Collin 5:18
you're so happy.
Meghan 5:21
I like that very much calling not so much pet sitting for your friends and family. So main question is, will you Is that something that you would like to do or not so much? If you are considering it, how much are you going to charge them or if at all? Seriously, think about how comfortable you are going to be charging your mom and dad to care for their pet. Remember that by taking care of their pet you are giving up a spot for other pain clients. Another option is you could give them a discount off of your services, but still maintain a professional attitude and update them just like you would any other client. Obviously with family and Friends, you want to set those boundaries, ask them all the same questions of the meet and greet, have them signed the same contracts that you would a regular client. It may seem silly, but they do say never go into business with your family. So you need to consider and think about whether you are going to be watching your friends and families pets or not.
Collin 6:18
During this time of year, you're not just potentially providing pet care for your family. But you could be pet sitting as a family, or just by yourself. Obviously, if you're single, you won't have to really think about this unless you have a significant other that you're bringing along or you have friends that may like to come along as well. If you do have a family, some pros for working with them are that there are more people to live on pets and help out. It also teaches kids responsibility by walking, beating and giving them a lot of chores to do some cons. It's hard to do it with kids, especially very young kids. It's tough walking dogs when you have infants or toddlers and this is why We took a break from pet sitting when we had our kids and so that we could focus on them. We still maintained a few of our core clients, but we took a break. So because it was very difficult to do it with very young kids, obviously you need to be sure that you tell the owner if you're going to have a significant other and kids around and be sure that if the owners even going to be okay with that, if they're going to tag along to help you out during the droppings or walks we take our kids to every meet and greet that the animals can be around them. For us. It's a total deal breaker. If for us, it's a total deal breaker if the pet isn't kid friendly. As I mentioned, we have a two and a four year old that we have to that we do take everywhere we go. Another thing to deal with family, just at a personal level is dealing with expectations from family when you're a pet care professional. We run into this a lot. We are very busy during the holiday times and weekends, which makes it very hard to get away from time, which makes it very hard to get away for time with family. When we first started, our family didn't quite understand what we were talking. When we first started, our family didn't really understand our business model. They didn't understand why we weren't taking breaks, why we weren't setting aside time to go and see them. So we had to do a lot of discussions with them about how our business works. And when our busy seasons where we now travel. Now we travel to see our family when we can and celebrate holidays either before or after the calendar day, that we can make sure that we're still providing service and care to our clients. And but also balancing it out and spending time with family. Also, side note, if you bored in your own home, be be prepared for friends and family to not be comfortable coming over to your home anymore.
Meghan 8:54
Some people don't like as many dogs and cats around as you do.
Collin 8:57
Shockingly, I don't understand these people, but Some people aren't pet people and that's something that is going to change. Whenever you start having pets, a lot of pets in your home, they might not. They might not be okay with all the animals or all of the hair. Just know that you might not be having as many houseguests as you used to
Meghan 9:18
people houseguest. That is great. So with the holidays, comes eating lots of eating, not only for us but for our pets. So we want to talk about what your pets can and can't eat over the holidays. So it is not good for pets to have turkey skin and bones, gravy, stuffing, raisins and grapes, onions, mushrooms, nuts, fat trimmings, chocolate butter, bread dough and anything with xylitol. What they can have is cranberry sauce, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, green beans, there are a ton of infographics showing foods pets can and more importantly cannot have from the table and we've included a lot of The us in our show notes, but why can't they have certain foods either it a contains chemicals and substances that are truly toxic to them. Like the sweeteners I told that I mentioned, it causes blood sugars to drop, and eventually liver failure any seizures, or substances like mentals and pines and chocolate that can cause vomiting and large amounts of seizures and death. That's why you always hear that chocolate is not good for dogs. It could even be just too much of a substance like salt, or be
Collin 10:30
if undercooked or served improperly, it may contain bacteria or parasites that could harm the pet. thinking we're here we're thinking of raw meats like ham and fish. And finally see consuming that and could cause blockages like corn on the cob, chicken or turkey bones. But no matter how carefully you plan, your dog or cat may find and swallow something that she shouldn't keep the number of your local vet, the closest emergency clinic and the ASPCA animal Poison Control Center which By the way, go ahead and get a pen and paper
Meghan 11:02
or your phone
Unknown Speaker 11:03
or your phone.
Collin 11:05
You got it, it is 8884 to 64435. Keep those numbers where you know you'll find it. And if you think your dog has eaten something toxic, go ahead and call the emergency help right away. So before you or a family member starts to give your pet some food from the table, think through those three B's, bad chemicals, bacteria and blockages. And we have included a lot of links in our show notes as well, which again, you can find by going to our website, pet sitter, confessional calm and clicking on this week's episode. And you can also go and find show notes and transcripts from all of our previous episodes there too. with everybody coming in and out to your house during the holidays, it's important to make sure that you have the microchip information up to date on all the pets that are you in your care to double check with the owners before they drop them off. That they have them updated. If are not microchipped. That's a great time to start having that conversation with them about the importance of having them. So if the pet does get out, the owner can be easily found. I do also want to take this moment to talk about having double entry protection. So a lot of animals may be darters some question that we asked during the meet and greet, do the animal Dart, and the door opens. If they do Dart during open doors, make sure you have two barriers between the animal and outside. When we go over to houses into drop ins, or when we are doing all sitting, we typically always leave through an inter through the garage door so that the door the garage door closes, and then we know that if the dog bolt out through the open door into the house, they can't go anywhere because it's a garage, whether that's a gate that you have set up on your porch, or having a room blocked off, that the animals aren't allowed to go into whenever you're doing drop off or pickups. That's something to make sure that Consider so that you don't lose animals during the holidays. Also, during this time, it can be easy to lose track of certain animals. We're sitting a dog currently that is very small, she's very quiet and she keeps to herself. And sometimes you can lose track of her in our house over there, she's outside, always making sure to do that headcount whenever dogs are coming in or out. In help make sure that you are always making sure where the animals are at any point in time.
Meghan 13:25
Another important aspect to the holidays is your rates and you should consider adjusting them. For us personally, that means raising our rates a little bit more than during the regular rest of the year, because we're taking time away from our friends and family that we could be spending time with and allocating it to these pups. So we feel like our time is worth more during the holidays. Also, it's a very busy time of the year. During the holidays. You may also want to adjust your timing for drop offs and pickups. You may want to have shorter hours so that you can spend more time with the pups or more time with your friends and family. It really all depends on how busy you want to be or not. Ultimately the holidays are as busy as you want them to be. It is up to you to set those boundaries and what how many dogs you're comfortable taking how many pets you want to go check on. It's ultimately up to you and what you want for your business.
Collin 14:21
Take the holiday season to really challenge yourself and up your game with pictures. This could be with props, by the Christmas tree, or in funny costumes for the holidays. It could also be with new toys that you're providing with them as gifts that you can surprise the owners with. And as always all of that fun playtime that they're getting and socializing. It can also be a very pretty time of year to take photos outside with the fall leaves falling or in fresh snow. So really try and be creative and take new angles and ideas for taking photos.
Meghan 14:56
Okay, so now let's talk about some fun stuff. Client holiday gifts. So if you want to do a gift for your clients, it doesn't have to be expensive. You could always go with something as simple as a picture of the pet in a frame from Walmart, and a small or a small bag of treats in a coffee mug. But remember, if you do the treats, they may not be client approved because some pets can have diet issues from that. So you want to make sure that either the owner has approved it in the past or you clear it with them beforehand. You could also get creative with your gifts and do pet paw prints on a canvas or an ornament. And that'll be though that'll be difficult if you're watching a fish or a snake. You could also do something elaborate, like give the client a calendar for next year filled with all of the pictures of their pets. toys are always a big hit. I even heard someone is putting a picture of their clients pet on a pillow which is a really cute idea. You could also do a coupon for a free night of service or a free walk or a coupon book. You could also get the owner a gift bottle of wine is always nice, or you could donate some or all of the money from their state to a local shelter or rescue. It's a very kind thing to do. But remember that you don't have to get a big gift for all your clients. And something meaningful doesn't have to be expensive. If you're still at a loss RCL dog walking just released their 2019 holiday gift guide, and we've included a link in the show notes for that as well. Or you can go to RCL dog walking com.
Collin 16:27
Now if you have employees with your business, you may be thinking about getting them some gifts as well. Obviously, you don't have to buy your employees gift. But if you do also remember to track these for tax purposes. cash bonuses and incentives are always great gift cards to restaurants or stores that they like massages or spa packages would be amazing. If you can afford that for them. You could consider giving some more time off or something personal or unique to them. It's always thoughtful. Thank you for listening to this week's episode. Next week. We've got the house diva back on to talk about the best ways to spend your time and housesitting and how to be better connected to the area and community. If you've enjoyed this episode or any others, please share it with your pet sitting friends or give us a review on iTunes. You can follow us on Facebook and Instagram at pet sitter confessional. And you can subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, so you never miss an episode. Thank you
Keywords: pet, dog, clients, holidays, animals, toxic, house, owner, family, gifts, vet, medications, walking
