5 Star Housesitters

Tag: dogs sitting

  • Two ways to say adorable – Frankie and Teddy!

    Two ways to say adorable – Frankie and Teddy!

    Dogs sitting with two cute cockapoos in ColoradoAlthough our core business is medium- to long-term housesitting, dog sitting, (and cat care, too!), it’s often fun when it works out for us to help with shorter term needs, too. We were so fortunate to have the opportunity to care for two cockapoo brothers (litter mates) in Boulder — it’s a good thing it was for just a long weekend, the two were so enchanting, we could hardly stop ourselves from taking picture after picture after picture!Dog sitting Frank and Ted, cockapoo brothers in Colorado

    Frankie and Teddy are adorable, and it’s not just our biased perspective — just look at the pictures! 🙂 We loved being out with them — not only were they fun, well-mannered and easy to be with, the happiness they sparked in people was so wonderful to see! And such personality, too — Frankie act the “big brother,” pretty cautious, independent, watches out for “little brother”, Teddy, who is a little more open, accepting and generally good-natured.(However, Teddy can also be a little stubborn — f, for instance, you’re actually trying to get somewhere on a walk with him and he’s enjoying the smell of every plant, tree or pole along the way, you might have a bit of a challenge!)

    Dogs sitting cockapoo brothers at the dog parkHappily for us, Frankie’s and Teddy’s owners were part of a small dog meet-up group in the area, which had scheduled some morning meet-ups the dates we were there. It was just the perfect group for our little guys — we had expected them, particularly Teddy, to be a little reserved, but they were so excited to go romping, chasing and playing with their friends, the one morning we we weren’t able to take them, you could just feel their disappointment. (The day wasn’t a total bust for them though, because they got to go on a CAR RIDE!, another favorite past time).

    It’s always a little sentimental to leave some of our favorites (actually, all of them steal our hearts in their own special way), and it was particularly tough to leave these little two, but knowing how loved and well-cared for they are makes it easier. We are so looking forward to the next time it works out for us to be housesitting and dog sitting for this great family!Housesitting and dog sitting two cockapoo brothers

  • Our fun time housesitting and dogsitting in NC!

    We had so much fun housesitting and dogs sitting ( 🙂 ) our happy labradoodle , Elle, and her “sister,” Gracie May, the cockapoo mix, that, we decided to put together a little video of our time together — hope you enjoy!

  • Happy at home in the Blue Ridge Mountains or a pet resort?

    Happy at home in the Blue Ridge Mountains or a pet resort?

    Housesitting and dogs sitting labradoodle and cockapoo mix in North CarolinaElle’s (pronounced Ellee) and Grace May’s owners were planning a trip out of the country, and chose “happy at home” housesitting and dogs sitting (shouldn’t it be plural? 🙂 ) instead of a fancy pet resort for their two. And why not? With 10 acres to ramble across in the forests of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Elle and Gracie May had a pretty idyllic life, at home!

    The girls were a lovely twosome to care for. Elle is a cross between a poodle and a black lab, making her a labradoodle, but different looking than any other we had seen! Gracie May’s long, long lashes hinted cockapoo to us, but the owners thought perhaps schnoodle (schnauzer/poodle). Both girls are beautiful and easy-going, but Elle had developed seizures as an adult and was on orally administered phenobarbitol (thankfully we had no incidents during our time with them). Interestingly, although the literature says most dogs with epilepsy will start exhibiting symptoms before the age of 5 or 6, many of the dogs we’ve been introduced to which are taking anti-seizure medication started having symptoms later than that.

    housesitting and dogs sitting for labradoodleAs relative newcomers to their rambling habits, we’d sometimes find ourselves a little unnerved about Elle’s and Gracie May’s casual style of recall — the girls would always come, but, pretty much, when they were ready. To soothe our need for reassurance, they trained us up into yelling “cookies,” if we were a little anxious and wanted them to come now instead of on their own time, which, they were happy to do, as “cookies” meant something fun to eat — a win/win! Of course, “cookies” doesn’t have to mean fattening dog treats — some cooked yam cubes, carrots, or other good-for-them non-kibble made them just as happy.

    Both girls had very sunny demeanors — Elle is a big girl (about 75 lbs), and enjoys ambling and sunning, even in the hot and humid Carolina sun, and for little Gracie May, happiness is all about the nose. Of course, what’s more powerful a scent than poop? Yep, Gracie May had a little tendency toward coprophagia, not unnatural behavior, just gross to human sensibilities and something to watch out for.Professional pet sitter instead of pet resort for this cockapoo

    Besides poop getting her into trouble, Gracie May surprised us all on one of our daily walks in the forest when, one day, she was curiously sniffing a decaying log on the forest floor and upset a hive of bees! Poor little girl was so confused and frightened by all the buzzing and swooping, but we finally got her attention and got her to run home. She escaped without any stings that we could see, thank goodness, but picking out lingerers that got caught up in her long, thick, curly fur was a bit of a challenge for us!

    Besides the walks, forest rambles, and time in the sun (seriously, what would a pet resort have over that? 🙂 ), one of the girls’ favorite rituals was a night time chomp stick (a smoky, animal hide chew). For those of us looking to watch a show on TV, it wasn’t exactly a movie theater environment, listening to two dogs enthusiastically gnawing and crunching their chews, but it was pretty heart warming to see how happy and content they were!

    There’s so much we love about being “professional” pet sitters (there really isn’t a PhD program or anything, but it is our full-time pursuit, and with our experience, we feel we’re very professional), and top of the list is meeting all the wonderful owners of these beautiful little ones. It seems to go hand-in-hand — of course people who want the best care for their pets are kind and caring people by nature! We hope life continues to bring more of everything wonderful to this special family! We left them with a little video of our time together — if you have a couple of minutes, you might enjoy it, too, here’s the link to Elle’s and Gracie May’s video.