222: Fostering Mindful Pet Parents with Alexa Rabini
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Summary:
What does it mean to help our clients be more mindful? We start by helping them pay attention to changes in their pet and by empowering them to be advocates for the pets health. Alexa Rabini, the Pug Mom, shares how she helps her clients be more mindful in their care. She also breaks down some common misconceptions around CBD usage in pets. Alexa gives some great tips on managing online communities for pet parents and pet professionals, to help everyone be engaged and growing together.
Topics on this episode:
Private boarding
Integrative care
CBD
Mindful pet parents
Wellness retreats
Online communities
Main take away? Mindfulness is about fighting complacency with action.
About our guest:
Alexa Rabini is a certified integrative animal caregiver and #pugmom on a mission to make pet lives better! After having 4 veterinarians fail her puggle Dixon, she became passionate about mindful parenting and the truth of the pet industry. When she's not caring for animals, she produces live events and has worked with top musicians such as Andrew McMahon and Mayday Parade at venues all around Las Vegas, Nevada.
Links:
Her Instrgram: www.instagram.com/mindfuldogmom/
Pet Business: www.petbusiness.com
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A VERY ROUGH TRANSCRIPT OF THE EPISODE
Provided by otter.ai
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
dog, pet, pet sitters, clients, cbd, people, offer, services, home, mindful, groomers, educate, professional, call, community, care, animal, year, absolutely, vet
SPEAKERS
Collin, Alexa Rabini, Susan
Collin 00:17
Hi, I'm Meghan. I'm Collin. And this is pet sitter, confessional, and open and honest discussion about life as a pet sitter. As pet care professionals, one of our goals is to help our clients be better pet parents. And one of those ways is to be more mindful about how they care for their furry family members. Today, Alexa Roubini, the pug mom joins us to talk about how she helps educate her clients to be more mindful, she helps dispel some common misconceptions around CBD and the CBD industry, and how she runs and operates two separate communities, one for the pet sitters in her area, and the other for pet parents. Let's get started.
Alexa Rabini 01:05
Thank you for having me. So I'm a certified integrative animal caregiver. And that basically means that I know how to implement home remedies that are non medical, like using CBT. Using enrichment for dogs, anything that you can do at home without a veterinarian supervising you. So I do specialize in private home boarding. It's something I started about seven years ago, because I actually work in the music industry, it's really more of a night job, but I'd call it a day job. And it's it's very seasonal, being an assistant talent buyer and putting on music production and live entertainment. And I was looking for something that wasn't just an office job or wasn't, you know, having to do retail, whatnot, but something flexible, and for some reason, it came to my mind, Hey, why don't I start petsitting and, and help more than just my friends and family. And over the years, I just became obsessed with pet nutrition and pet wellness. And due to the fact that my own dogs, they were suffering from their own issues. And that's why I decided to become a certified integrative animal caregiver to bring Western medicine with holistic medicine to make potlucks better.
Collin 02:18
Oh, that's really cool. So you said you provide private boarding in your home? How do you make that work.
Alexa Rabini 02:24
So what I do is I require it only for dogs that are like under 30 pounds, because if you just heard my little pug, she's a little sensitive large dogs. But, you know, if a dog has separation anxiety, and they can't be boarded in the kennel, or they can't be alone at home, they can come to my home, and it'll be their home away from home. And basically, you know, they come for the meet and greet, just like you would with a pet sitter going to the owners house, you make sure that they're comfortable with the environment, you make sure that they pass a behavior test. And you just kind of go from there, on when when the board them as needed, whether it's for daycare, or overnight.
Collin 03:08
And you say it's a service, it's meant sounds like predominantly for those with separation anxiety, or maybe with a little bit more intensive care needs. I know for us, we get requests like that an awful lot, and we're not always able to accommodate them. So what's what's the market been like for that? where you are,
Alexa Rabini 03:28
it's actually pretty good. And I mean here roughly recharged depending on the pet sitter and how experienced they are and how many pets Of course, their boarding, our average nightly rate is 40. Sometimes it's 50. And some, some pet sitters will charge by, you know, the type of dog and you know, if they're small, they're large, or medium, or some will also do like additional dog rates. I myself, I just do the $40 flat and focus only on one dog at a time. If they have a second dog, then you know that I'll take on the second dog, but I really enjoy doing one one dog at a time because it really also helps with not having to worry about is the dog vaccinated just because really when they're coming in, that's when I do my non medical exam and make sure that the dog is healthy and if the dog doesn't seem healthy, then I'll point out my concerns to the owner.
Collin 04:20
How has it been trying to market that or how do you communicate the specificity of that kind of service because it really does sound like it's it's very, very niche in in the world of pet care of private in private home boarding. Do you find like that's easy for your clients to understand that that's a need of theirs?
Alexa Rabini 04:39
Yeah, I mean, it really all comes down to separation anxiety. You know, can the dog stay home alone does the dog need 24 seven supervision even with some of my boarding clients. They can't be dropped off by their owner because then they feel like they're being abandoned but if I go in and offer that complimentary transportation to go pick them up from the house, whether they're Whether the owners home or not, it actually makes it a lot easier on the dog.
Collin 05:04
Well, and it's easier to communicate or as far as an easier sell when it is this more holistic, inclusive kind of package and service that you're able to offer them as opposed to these little piecemeal things sometimes Yeah, cuz
Alexa Rabini 05:17
that's, that's one thing I focus on too is some of my clients, you know, builds off of a dry nose, I'll be like, hey, do you mind if I put some hemp cells on their nose? I'm like, yeah, sure, go ahead. You know, it's not like they have to go to the vet and get a prescription, you know, I'm keeping an eye on them and keeping them updated while they're hearing what's going on, even record every dog's weight every day just to see if it's fluctuating, especially if the dogs not eating because they're, you know, slumping from not being at home with their owner.
Collin 05:47
That is, that's really important. And to be watching those kind of changes in a pet and especially in a boarding environment or with this dogs with separation anxiety, they do tend to not eat, they do tend to be more stressed, too, they're burning more calories, there's a lot of things going on. And those those changes don't always get communicated well in a photo to a client. And so the last thing that you want to have is a dog that was maybe stressed out the first couple days lost a little bit of weight, and then when their owner picks them up is like oh my gosh, what what happened to my dog?
Alexa Rabini 06:20
Yeah, one of my favorite things to do for enrichment is just throwing you know, some dog ice cream on a lucky map and offering it up to them they go nuts fresh
Collin 06:32
and finding those kind of opportunities for enrichment or diversity in a dog's day. Owners really like to a owners really like to see that big to know that their dog is being enriched in that manner. And be it makes it more enjoyable for the dog during their stay with you too.
Alexa Rabini 06:49
So we because it's it's stressful when the dogs not at home in their usual environment, just like it would be for a cat.
Collin 06:56
So how have you found it easiest to communicate? Do you get a lot of client interactions through Instagram, Facebook, other other avenues?
Alexa Rabini 07:05
Honestly, what works the most is word of mouth. It's crazy. Because Yeah, you could have a Yelp listing now you could have a Google but and you can you can post about on Instagram, but really word of mouth by is what works the best because that person can share their experience
Collin 07:26
comes from a trusted mouth that comes from a trusted person that they can ask more in depth questions on and it's those those personal referrals and word of mouth are just insanely powerful. And you're right, there's nothing that's come up in the digital age has quite recaptured that ability. You are a certified integrative animal caregiver. What does that mean?
Alexa Rabini 07:51
So I got certified through Dr. Barbara royal, she's known as Oprah's that, I basically learned how to implement those holistic home remedies at home for dogs. You know, like using CBD for anxious dogs. And even with my own dogs, if they're in pain, my go to is Arnica. And immediately, I noticed that they're no longer limping. You don't have to worry about getting a prescription. None of that it's a quick fix.
Collin 08:26
So what was that certification process like for you?
Alexa Rabini 08:28
It took about six months. And it just basically went through the different remedies that you can do at home, going through the different remedies and nutrition aspects and, and wellness.
Collin 08:42
You think you've given one example What's another common example that you see or that you have discussions with clients a lot.
Alexa Rabini 08:49
A lot of clients will bring up nutrition but when it comes to pain management and separation anxiety that really comes up a lot. And I tell clients when it comes to CBD, you don't want to dose by the weight, you want to dose by the ailment. You know, is it separation anxiety? Is it pain? Or you know, are they even suffering from cancer that would be a different dose frenzy, even allergies as well.
Collin 09:15
I know CBD has become insanely popular not just in our human clients but also in our pet clients as well. So how has that industry changed or matured? Do you think to the point where people are more accepting of it these days
Alexa Rabini 09:32
they really are because they're learning that when it comes to CBD, you're looking for a full spectrum extract you don't want broad and you want to look at that see away which I know it can be hard to read. But once you know that it's third party tested and that it's it has only you know less than 3% of THC you know that your dogs not going to get high or not dogs not going to get sick and you're using a brand specifically cherry For your dog rather than for a human,
Collin 10:02
that's that specificity and we think refinement of a lot of the products out there that have increased a lot of people's confidence in it. How do you or where do you go to learn more about those products and how to use
Alexa Rabini 10:15
them? So one of my favorite resources is planet pause. It's hosted by Rodney Habib and Dr. Karen Becker, who are experts in the industry, they're actually coming out with a book this fall called the forever dog. And they curated the documentary, The Dog Cancer series, which is an amazing documentary if you ever get the chance to watch it. And you can also watch there's another documentary called pet fold. It was available on Netflix, but I think now it's over on amazon prime. That's another great watch. And every day I just follow all the different lipstick bets whether it's I'm trying to remember Dr. Zack he works for CBT dog health, he's wonderful. And even even brands like Dr. Harvey's they, they're true experts and they know so much about longevity and how you can really make your pets life better.
Collin 11:12
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Susan 11:17
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Collin 11:33
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Alexa Rabini 11:56
So when it comes to Western medicine, a lot of those doctors are very nervous because they weren't properly educated. Even there's a great quote that I actually just shared on Instagram today, where Dr. Katie she says veterinarians are the only medical profession that recommends a Dr. Process kibble diet for the life of your pet. And there's nothing against feeding kibble. It's just you have to think about the dog in front of you. Why does that dog have a hotspot? You know, what are you feeding the dog? How are you taking care of the animal? That's, that's really when it comes to caregiving versus setting. You could say, Are you caring for the animal? Or are you just basically babysitting it? Just watching like a child, or you actually focused on their ears, their eyes, their nose and their butt?
Collin 12:54
No, you're totally right. I think having a looking at the whole animal, the whole environment, the whole diet is really, really important. And it's amazing how many things are come from or derived from the diet and animals having or the environment that it is and when those get changed the kind of response that you can get.
Alexa Rabini 13:16
One thing I learned about being in the pet industry, I have to give a lot of credit to pet not only pet sitters International, but there was a one one time conference that I went to called pet spinning ology, I don't believe they no longer exist. But it was a great conference where I got to learn from lots of experts, even even conventional experts like Dr. Siva cancer, battery draining work was there, it's just about when it comes to professional pet care, you're really looking at the animal overall. And being there from start to finish.
Collin 13:48
And that's really important too, is to recognize that the pet that we start caring for is not going to be the same pet in five years. And their needs are very different. I think many of us think of that, especially in the context of things like exercise, right? I can't give the same walk to a one year old puppy as I can to the same dog when it's 10 or 15. Those kinds of care looks very different. And things like supplements and diet tend to fall by the wayside for a lot of us.
Alexa Rabini 14:19
And it's it's also about rotation, rotation, honestly is key and key in a dog's life. Because you don't, you don't just want to feed chicken over and over. You don't want to just give a call over and over and the more you rotate, the more enrichment you're going to give to a dog. Right.
Collin 14:38
So what do you think are some of the most common misconceptions that people have about CBD and pets?
Alexa Rabini 14:47
When it comes to CBD, they get scared that their dog's gonna get high when it comes to pain meds, they just follow whatever their vet prescribes and To make your pets life better, you have to truly do what works for your dogs. Every dog is bio individual what works for one dog is not going to work for the other. And that's what I see when it comes to CBT. You don't want to just buy the weight, you want to just buy the element, are they suffering from allergies? Are they suffering from pain or inflammation? Even with Dixon my Puggle, if, if I know fireworks are coming, I'll give him a unique blend that has lavender in it 15 to 20 minutes before the fireworks. But if we don't have fireworks that day, then every 12 hours, I'm giving him a unique blend that has tumeric in it to help with his allergies. And if I noticed he's got a really bad ear infection, then scooch on over and give them just a regular strong CBD every 12 hours to help get rid of that ear infection or even rub it inside of his ears as well. You just you have to, again, look at the dog individually that's in front of you.
Collin 15:58
I know one of the things that we hear a lot is kind of almost a disbelief that it actually does anything. I think there's kind of maybe a problem with the industry, the CBD industry specifically where a lot of people pitch it for a lot of things. And so I think there can be some confusion as far as like, well, what what actually does it do because it seems like it does. It does everything.
Alexa Rabini 16:22
Yeah, I mean there's, there's so many ways that you can use it. And that's what's so amazing about it even with Arnica as well. It it helps my pug who recently passed in March with so many things she had her first trachea she also had pug myelopathy and she stopped walking. But you know it still gave her enough strength just to stand up and pee. And my my honest go to is actually called your goats do I use this for any of my pet boarding clients just the other day one of my my dogs, she just kind of twisted her ankle wrong trying to go up the pet ramp and I just sprayed this in her mouth. And she was instantly fine within 10 minutes. It's called your go to by George beast. And it's Arnica about 200 seas. And that's it with both those have, gosh, I forget how to pronounce that. And what Pathak are, but it does have, I think it's organizing it, as well. But it's, it's great just for onhand for quick trauma, shock, fever, disease and inflammation.
Collin 17:26
Yeah, I think finding those kinds of products and talking with somebody about that kind of thing really does. I think just being able to sit down and see those kind of applications, really does help get rid of many fears and misconceptions that people have.
Alexa Rabini 17:40
And you absolutely should always consult with a veterinarian first. But it's it's great to have on hand in case of emergency. If you're not prepared for
Collin 17:50
a pet sitter, how could we be better equipped to have conversations around CBD with our clients, or whenever we are talking with a vet that we work with?
Alexa Rabini 18:01
I just cannot bring it up softly to the client, Hey, have you ever tried CBD? Have you ever tried this, and share your experience because that's when you, the more you educate, the more people are going to adapt and become a modern 2.0 pet parents and make their pets life better. I
Collin 18:19
think just having those simple, small conversations and not being overbearing about them. And in learning yourself, taking the time to go learn about it to get educated to maybe try some things out before you start having those conversations will really go a long way again, to build this trust with them. And let them know that you know you are trying to bring them the best information possible. So that way I know something else that you are connected with is around the concept of mindful parenting for dogs. So I'd love to hear how you describe that.
Alexa Rabini 18:57
So when it comes for my mindful parents, and I just think, be mindful, even with yourself. Are you looking at the ingredients on the box? Are you just eating it? You know, whatever you want? Are you eating McDonald's every day? Or do you do it every once in a while? And knowing that you can make that decision yourself. You don't have to do everything your veterinarian says. What's your belief? And what are you comfortable with?
Collin 19:25
I think mindfulness is a really big topic. And many people do not think about the things that they're doing. It's just it may be because it's what they've always done. It's only what they've had exposure to, or maybe it worked one time so they've never thought to change or do anything different. And some of those some of that process of becoming more mindful, can really be painful. And you have to overcome some fears or anxieties to move into a position where you're open to new ideas.
Alexa Rabini 19:58
Yeah, I say that because As I watched before I became the pug Mom, I watched my childhood dog basically die over a six month period. Because her veterinarian failed her. All she did was keep having me give the same sex drugs over and over for six months straight, she didn't offer any specialty care shouldn't offer anything else. And then finally, when we got her to the operating room with a specialist, they finished up the surgery, and then she died on the table because it was just too late. So the more proactive you are, instead of reactive, the longer and better life your pet can have.
Collin 20:40
So how, what's the first step? Would you say and going from? Not necessarily mind less? But like, what, what's that person? What's that process for that first step in becoming more mindful? And how can we as pet sitters help our clients do
Alexa Rabini 20:54
that? as a pet sitter, it's really about, again, looking at the dog in front of you. Check their ears every day, you know, do they have God given them check their paws every day, or their dress? Are they dry seeing the nose and always pay attention to the gut, meaning look at their poop every day. You know, don't just pick up after your dog, your your clients dog, look at that poop and make sure I know it sounds funny. But it's really important because everything starts in the gut. So once you start paying attention to those ears, and poop, you'll know if something's wrong, you'll be able to make better decisions, not necessarily for your client, but you'll be able to help them
Collin 21:40
right. And because we are around the pets, very frequently, we can become very acquainted with their poop and how they poop and when they poop and what to expect when things happen. And then if something looks off being the first one to take a picture of it, and yes, send it to the client. So you can keep them updated to it's gonna say it sounds weird to text poop to your client, but they're actually really interested in it, you'd be amazed at the number of pet clients are like, Oh my gosh, thank you. That's, that's great. But
Alexa Rabini 22:08
yeah, when you get out, you can always say, hey, they're, like soft, but you know, and just kind of describe it to them as well. But it's just important to make sure that your client knows and is aware of what's going on. And even for your own dog as well.
Collin 22:23
Yeah, we really do get to help partner with our clients and help be an extra set of eyes and ears and hands on their pet. You know, the clients, they say lead very busy lives, and they see their pet day after day after day after day for long periods of time. And you can become complacent in that time. It's a we get to help fight complacency with action with intentionality, when we do have time with a dog to look at these things and kind of go through a quick checklist. Absolutely.
Alexa Rabini 22:50
And really, when it comes to professional pet sitting, you're more than just a pet lover. You're the one caregiving for that animal, when they're away from home
Collin 23:00
really is a title that I think can become old news to many of us after you were in it for a year after year after year after year after year of just exactly how special of a position we get to have in the life of these pets and their clients have the level of trust and the level of belief, right that we are doing the best by them and their pets every time that they're with us.
Alexa Rabini 23:27
And that's also what I really love about private home boarding is it's it's not necessarily about the convenience of having to travel to everybody's home, you know that the dogs gonna be supervised? 24 seven, yeah, they get to still socialize with your own dogs. If you have dogs, and they're comfortable, they can sleep with you, they don't have to sleep in a crate alone or alone on their bed, they have that, that company companionship,
Collin 23:56
that really does kind of change the game with those services, especially for the pets who really, really need it. When you advertise or when you have the services and you're talking with with potential clients, do you bring in the integrative care aspect of that? Or is that an after discussion? Or do you pitch it more of is your pets going to be boarded with me and I'm going to be doing all these other things as well.
Alexa Rabini 24:21
Whenever they do come for meet and greet I do. I am very transparent about my services that I am certified integrative and that I do offer, you know, home remedy care with their permission and before I give any, any product like CBD, or any hemp balm or whatever the dog needs even an ear cleaning, I always ask permission and make sure that the owner is okay with it first, because every dog is different. And a lot of them they think it's awesome, knowing that that I actually am focused on their dog and not just oh you can bring your dog over and your dog can sleep here.
Collin 24:59
Other than Those kinds of reactions, have you ever had a responses of people being skeptical about about those sorts of other services? And what was that education process? Like for them?
Alexa Rabini 25:10
Yeah, I had one or two clients turn away the CBD, they're like, they don't need it. And it's, it's more so just the slug to the ship, like, don't worry about it. And it really depends on the client, you know, are they like, super focused on their dog and missing them the entire time, or you'll even get the one client and it's like, Don't even worry about sending me an update, though. They'll be fine.
Collin 25:33
Yeah, we get those clients to where we'll say, oh, we'll send plenty of updates and pictures about them. And they kind of give you that look, and they go, I know what my dog looks like, thanks. You're also a big proponent of wellness retreats. And so when when I think of a wellness retreat, I know what I have in mind. But what is a wellness retreat to you and the role that it plays in the life of a pet,
Alexa Rabini 25:58
when it when it comes to the wellness retreat, you know, that can include a spa day, that can include you know, an extra long walk, it's, it's all about just making the dog feel comfortable, even though they're away from home. And I even there is also another local pet sitter in my city that, you know, even offers Reiki she'll do sound baths, it's, it's interesting, what it can expand out to for dogs.
Collin 26:28
So this sounds like it's another way of talking about the kind of services that you offer. Is it a reframe of as a wellness retreat? Or is this an additional service that you can request
Alexa Rabini 26:39
through you. Um, I personally just like to call it a wellness retreat, just so they understand that their dog is basically on vacation, too. And it's stressful for them. But, you know, their pet sitters out there, like I mentioned, my friend, Megan, she also turns it into another way to make it like a spa vacation for the dog as well.
Collin 27:04
Yeah, I know that clients are very interested in having those kinds of services of, I'm paying this money, I'm on vacation, I want to know my dog is having a good time, too. And so to bring in some of these extra aspects of it that maybe the client wasn't necessarily expecting, right? It's kind of like, Oh, you you weren't you didn't think your dog was gonna have a spa day with me? Did you hot? You got Yeah. But it does kind of take that service and really does make it something super special.
Alexa Rabini 27:35
Absolutely, because every dog deserves that.
Collin 27:40
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Alexa Rabini 29:07
yeah so i i started the possum Professionals Network I want to say it was about five years ago after there there was a local death we had a pet sitter who just you know signed up for rover join like it was Facebook and she had no training in in pets. She may have had dogs herself I don't quite remember but she just let the dog be outside in her backyard unsupervised, didn't drowned her in her pool. And that completely broke my heart where's where's the training? Where's the education and the support that we need as pet sitters. That's why I give a lot of credit to pet sitters international because I myself did start pet sitting on rover but pet sitters international is the one who truly brought professional pet setting to my life and and paying attention to me Animal making sure it was caregiving for the animal. And when it came to my network, we decided to, it wasn't just me, we all together to the local businesses in my community, we decided to basically create a mastermind, not only for pet sitters, but you know, retailers and groomers are also welcome to join. And we just kind of get together once a month and every day on Facebook and say, Hey, you know, I ran into this issue, or Hey, I have a client who needs a pet sitter from here to here, can we just do our best to make pet lives better,
Collin 30:29
I love the power of those, those local connections, I think most of us and the listeners are part of national and international Facebook groups. But to have a hyper local in your own city group, where people are problem solving, where you know that they are all dealing with the same stuff, and they're coming across the same things that you can give those referrals to, that just really tightens that community and helps raise the bar on everybody. It makes them feel included too, right? Because the last thing that we want to do is be like, feel like we are excluding anybody for any reason. It's, it's, it's a big tent we can allow, and we can welcome everybody in and help educate and help build that community. Absolutely, especially.
Alexa Rabini 31:12
Because when you're referring out a client that you can't care, because that's the thing is it comes down to community over competition, you can't take care of every single dog especially at the same time, you can't be in two places at once. So being able to say, Hey, I'm not available, but I trust this pet sitter. And they're also licensed, they're also insured, they're also bonded, that word of mouth really comes together and comforts the client when you're not available.
Collin 31:40
You also run a separate group, or local pet owners and dog moms, where did the idea for that one come from
Alexa Rabini 31:49
the idea for Vegas Dog moms came out of quarantine I was born there was nothing to do. And I just started an Instagram account or just started posting health tips and they went nuts for it. And having that community, it just it brought all the dog moms together. And it also helps local small businesses because then I was able to showcase all the local pet sitters I work with, showcase all the local retailers and get their names out there and even offer special offers that they can't get anywhere else. Like I teamed up with bark parks, they're an indoor dog park that also has like a bar for those that are 21 plus. So you can bring your dog and have a drink while they play. And they were able to offer up some coupons and even did a giveaway with them. And it really just helped support the community
Collin 32:40
again focused on the community there over competition or focused on I know some people would say oh, well I'll start a Facebook group. So that I can funnel all the business back to myself and stepping back and going know what I want to do is I want to get people connected, I want them to get the best care possible for their pets, I want people to feel like they are part of something larger, right and ensure things will come from that and these coupons and these referrals do flow from that. But when we start from a position of helping in from the just the benefit of the broader community that's a really good to see not just the immediate benefit but the long term payoffs too.
Alexa Rabini 33:15
Yeah, you shouldn't be scared to start a Facebook group because that is that is honestly the best part about being on Facebook is having that group in that community support and it's still going to link back to your business and again, word of mouth is honestly the best thing that you can do for your business because it's it's free marketing and you're not going to be spamming them by just posting every day posting every day you're sharing your experience and connecting with them that through that experience
Collin 33:42
those connections that are really going to be lasting and aren't just going to be these one off seeing an ad or something somewhere or flyer it's this know this these people are here consistently, reliably invest investing and putting information in and helping others then you're right, that's where you really do see people connecting and growing those relationships.
Alexa Rabini 34:04
Yeah, because then they don't have to rely on a news source you can lean on each other
Collin 34:10
you started these groups or running them and managing them with the help of others are they what you expected them to be? It
Alexa Rabini 34:15
does happen it does have its slow time periods but then I can easily bring the engagement back up by sharing a news article or or sharing another post on Facebook and then that that gets people going again, but it's it's just nice to have that little place that you can go to it's your your home away from home when you're you know if you have nothing to watch on Netflix or you know you're bored and just need something to do you can just kind of pop on a Facebook and check in with others and connect with them.
Collin 34:50
How do you know what to share in those groups to get that kind of engagement? Are there certain things that you find that really click with the people in your area or is it kind Have a hit and miss sometimes
Alexa Rabini 35:01
it can be a hit and miss because everybody's different. Not everybody believes in holistic medicine that everybody believes in conventional medicine. So you got it, you got to pick and choose, like, sometimes I'll share an article from the truth about pet food and they're like, Oh my gosh, I didn't know that there was a hills recall going on or this lawsuit was going on and and then sometimes they you know, they do feed hills pet food, and they're like, I feed hills pet food, and there's nothing wrong. But then you kind of have to remind them, Hey, you know, we're we're all here together, all breeds are welcome. And it's okay, if you're not on the same page. It's a It's okay. It's all just about being again, mindful,
Collin 35:42
mindful and civil towards one another in those discussions, recognizing that everyone is trying to do right by their own beliefs, and and respecting them.
Alexa Rabini 35:51
Yeah, and just keep the politics out of it and just share your experience. Now, if
Collin 35:55
someone is interested in starting a group in their area, they don't have one, what's some advice that you would give to that person,
Alexa Rabini 36:02
um, reach out to your community, you know, reach out to other pet sitters Reach, reach out and see if they're interested in managing it with you. And if they're not, you can still go for it on your own. Some of my favorite tools are Canva. That's great for, you know, easy, quick flyers, you can also, you know, just start searching for for names, because originally my groups was the Las Vegas professional pet sitters. And then we're like, well, we don't want to just have pet sitters, we want to include retailers and groomers and veterinarians, and whoever's interested in making pet lives better. And that's when I was like, Well, you know what your possums? Why don't we call awesome professionals? No, I don't I don't know how I came up with it other than you know what you're just you're so possum.
Collin 36:53
Well, and I love the the fact that you do include other pet pet care professionals in there, the vets and the groomers and the trainers, because I think that really does start to bring not just the that it really does bring literally everybody together where you're sharing, you know who you can trust, you can know who's sharing information, who you can refer to. And it really does help a lot more people be connected. Because I'm I'm sometimes surprised the number of vets in our area who don't know, there are pet sitters out there that can help and that can take care of others, or that can provide other services or pet sitters who don't know, groomers that do stuff. And so it really does again, it helps position ourselves as pet sitters at the center of this hub of the care that team that's required for the pet in that we're that we're overseeing. So we know all of the resources that are not just are disposable, but the clients as well.
Alexa Rabini 37:45
Yeah, and it overall just makes it easier because then it saves the client time from having to go to Yelp having from go to Google or having to go to rover.com because they're instantly like it all even have a client say hey, Alexa, you know, what groomer can help me out? I you know, my dog needs this kind of haircut, or my dog needs this male terminal, say, hey, okay, so your service area is right over here. Check out these three, these three professionals, I would trust them with my own pets.
Collin 38:12
Yeah. Now again, this these word of mouth referrals, not just coming from client to client, but from pet sitter to another pet care professional, they're going to trust you that's going to build that bond that's going to help you know that relationship be even more sticky.
Alexa Rabini 38:26
And it's free marketing. You don't have to worry about paying for it. That's also the
Collin 38:33
absolute Lexa with everything that you have going on, and all of the things that you are involved in what are some of your favorite resources or recommended resources and tools that you want other people to, to know
Alexa Rabini 38:50
about? Definitely, I mean, Canva really comes in handy when it comes to marketing for pet sitters. Um, it's also really great to read the pet magazines that are out there. Like I really love pets. Plus, even if you're not a retailer, it's so good to know what's going on in the industry. There's also pet business, those are really good magazines that I read every week and they're online or you can get a physical copy. I mean, that's that's even what I do is I post that in my little Facebook group, all the different news articles, as well for the pet sitters.
Collin 39:24
I will say that continuing that idea of continuing to read and learn broadly, will really benefit you in the long term. Because whether you need that information right now about the new trend in like math or new trend in St. deodorisers, or whatever, eventually somebody is going to ask you a question about that. And so just to kind of stay up to date a little bit at kind of the 30,000 foot view of things that are going on and big shifts really will help you be a lot more well rounded whenever you do need to give recommendations. Or input with the clients that you're working with.
Alexa Rabini 40:02
Absolutely. And actually, I just remembered the other thing I was going to mention, I was just that superzoo, because I'm lucky, I live in Las Vegas, so I get to go to superzoo. Every year. Yeah, and a great service that's out there for pet sitters. And even professionals as fetch find. There, they have like these little mini courses, it's free. And then you can upgrade to like the professional plan for additional courses, or I think for your entire company, if you do have employees, and they have different courses on CBT, they even did a course on managing your business through COVID. And it's it's a great little just quick way to get education without having to go through a full certification.
Collin 40:42
Well, that's something that you can kind of do piecemeal, little by little and fill either fill the time whenever you do have downtime or assigned to staff or assigned to other people that you want, or that you can recommend to others.
Alexa Rabini 40:58
Absolutely. And pet sitters International, too, they also have courses as well, the more you put your state, like see us as they call it out there, the more you're going to gain that experience and even be able to charge more to for having that knowledge
Collin 41:12
right now. Absolutely. And again, you might not need that information right now. But it's going to help continue to have you understanding and learning about what's going on and you will eventually need that information. In the future. It absolutely happens every single time. Alexa, I have really appreciated this conversation and learning more about integrative pet care and the role that we play in strengthening the bond between the pet and their client, through the services that we offer, how we can be more mindful and help our clients be more mindful, too. But we covered a lot of ground and I know that there's just a lot more out there. So if listeners want to get connected and pick your brain about more things, how can they do that?
Alexa Rabini 41:56
Um, you can absolutely follow me on Instagram at at mindful dog mom, that's basically where it posts most of the time. Or you can also just visit my website mindful dog.com
Collin 42:07
Yeah, and I'll have links to all of that in all of the resources recommendations that she gave to as well in the show notes. So listeners can click right to that. Alexa, this has been really thoroughly enjoyable. Thank you so much.
Alexa Rabini 42:19
Absolutely My pleasure. The power
Collin 42:21
of being mindful stems from the fact that we begin taking deliberate actions towards a certain goal that we are more aware of what we are doing on a moment by moment basis. This is grounded fundamentally in educating ourselves about various options about various viewpoints, and about things as they change from time to time. This is extremely important and running your own business and in educating and reaching out to your clients. As they are seeking answers, you are able to help guide them through various options, point them to different resources, and then encourage them to be taking those very deliberate actions in their day in caring for their pets. It takes simple little changes that we can all do that allow us to be more powerful and more mindful about our actions in our business, and in how we care for pets as well. We want to thank today's sponsors, time for pet and pet sitters International. And we really want to thank you for joining us today and for being part of our community and helping educate and spread the awareness that we can all be raising the bar by doing little things each and every single day. Thank you so much for listening. We'll be back again soon.
