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Leaving your pet while you go on vacation is tough. I always feel guilty when I see my dog’s face looking at me packing my bags. Until I discovered Rover dog sitters. Now I can easily book a sitter via an app on my phone and receive responses from multiple sitters within 24 hours. Rover helps me find a dog sitter within my price range. This guide will help you choose your dog’s home away from home using Rover.com or the Rover app.
Find a Rover Dog Sitter Near You
Where do I leave my dog? And how much do I trust the person that I leave my dog with? Dog owners have serious problems when they travel. Don’t worry! Rover will help you identify a qualified dog sitter for your next vacation. You can usually book someone on short notice. This is a huge benefit for unexpected travel.
As a crazy dog mom, my pet’s wellness is my main concern. I always make sure that my dog is safe and happy while we are apart. Lucky for me, Asha loves to stay with family and friends. She enjoys kids, meeting other dogs, outings, and watching squirrels from new homes.
Dogs with separation anxiety or have special needs can require additional care. If your dog is not friendly with other pets and has health issues you likely have additional instructions for your pet sitter. Rover can help you ensure you dog’s needs are met while you are on your next vacation or work trip.
Rover dog sitting is a great service to help you take care of your pet while you’re away. The Rover.com website or Rover App can easily help you pick the best Rover pet sitter near you.
Rover is Different From Wag & Kennels
As a new Rover user, I was skeptical about leaving my pet with a stranger I selected online. (Despite the fact that I’ve chosen many dates online or via apps. Trusting someone with Asha is different!)
After I tried Rover for the first time, I realized how easy it is to find a good sitter for your dog while you’re on vacation.
The main difference between a Rover pet sitter and leaving your dog at a local kennel or boarding facility is that the person caring for your pet is another private individual vs. a business.
The prices set by each individual Rover pet sitter and are generally reasonable compared to a kennel. Each Rover dog sitter’s price varies by experience and other factors just like the price between boarding facilities varies. However, a Rover pet sitter will likely have less dogs than a boarding facility.
Through the Rover app you can book dog boarding, house sitting, drop-in visits, doggy day care, dog walking, and grooming. Similarly through the Wag! app, you can book an individual Wag! Walk, weekly walks, drop-in visits, overnight pet sitting and boarding, and daycare.
The main difference between the two services is how the person caring for your pet is chosen. With the Wag! App, the app matches you to a walker or caretaker for pet sitting or boarding for $39/overnight boarding. With Rover.com, you choose the person based on your selection criteria and price point for the available dates.
If you are like me and want to have detailed information about your pet’s caretaker, Rover offers you more control than the Wag! pet sitter selection process.
How to Pick a Rover Dog Sitter
You’ll Find a lot of diversity in the people who are rovers sitters. And if you’re interested in being a rover sitter, it’s a great side hustle.
Location & Schedule
Choose a pet sitter that is near you and is conveniently located for you to drop off and pick up your dog at the time you’re traveling. This can be difficult to schedule with flight times, so I suggest booking in advance.
The Rover app and website allow you to search by zip code and date so you can pick a pet sitter that matches your schedule.
Amenities & Daily Routine
Next, you want to look at what kind of amenities and how the person has listed on their profile and how often can they walk your dog. Many sitters will include their daily schedule in their profile so you can assess if they can actually take care of your dog on their regular schedule.
For example, my dog goes out four times a day, whether that’s a full walk or just to go outside to potty. I need a sitter that can make sure to keep her on a similar schedule so that she feels comfortable and it is easier to transition back home when I return.
If your dog takes medication, you want to make sure that the Rover pet sitter is qualified and knowledgeable to administer your pet’s medication. This information is also included in the pet sitter’s profile.
Other Pets
When selecting a Rover sitter you should pay attention to the other pets in the house listed on the sitter’s profile. Sometimes, the rover sitter may maybe taking care of other rover pets if they take more than one booking at a time.
If there are other pets, make sure that the situation is safe for your dog’s temperament. Communicate with your pet sitter about your dog’s comfort level with other animals before you book and ask questions about the temperament of any resident animals.
My dog Asha is very submissive. It’s very difficult for me to find a place for her with dogs that are aggressive, or are more dominant. She tends not to feel safe in those types of environments. When I was looking for a rover sitter, I was most drawn to sitters who did not have pets of their own, or would not be taking care of other pets while my dog was visiting.
However, one drawback of the Rover booking process is that you do not know if other animals are booked at the sitter during your stay. When I booked Asha’s stay I learned there were other dogs coming the following day. Once I was able to explain my dog’s temperament to the rover sitter, they happily adjusted their plan on where to house the dog.
Asha was able to have a lot of space free of other dogs as much as she needed to reduce her anxiety. She was actually very happy about her stay and played with the other dogs.
Meet & Greet
It is important for your dog to meet the sitter and any resident pets before their stay. You may want to factor this into your first booking and make sure you leave at least a week before your departure to schedule a meet and greet.
The meet and greet is your time to see the space where your dog will be staying and discuss any schedule or caretaking directions. You can also ask questions about the pet sitter’s routine or qualifications.
Here are a few questions to ask:
- What is your daily schedule?
- How often can you walk my dog or let them out in the back yard?
- Do you plan to take my dog in the car anywhere?
- Establish what the dog can and cannot do. For example- is the dog allowed on the bed or sofa?
Make sure to share:
- Your dog’s daily schedule for food and walks
- Your veternarian’s contact information.
- Your contact information.
- Your anticipated return date and time.
Communication
Communicating with your rover sitter is easy. The app takes care of everything, all of your text messages go through the app Including the videos and photos that you receive from your rover sitter. You can save and download these videos if you’d like.
Ask your rover sitter to send you regular updates as regularly as they are able to. This will help you feel confident about their care.
I was very pleased with my rover sitter’s consistency in updating me every day about the status of my dog. I found it very comforting to know that Asha was treated as a member of the family.
My first experience with rover was very positive. The only issue was during the selection process. The first two potential sitters I emailed showed they were available on the dates that I was traveling but their actual availability was different from online.
Make sure to get the contact information for your Rover sitter since the app assigns a random phone number. If you want to remain anonymous, you can use the phone number Rover assigns.
Pick-Up and Drop-Off
You will need to coordinate a drop off and pick-up time with your Rover sitter.
Use the Rover app to send your sitter a text message before you drop-off your dog at the designated drop-off time and location via the app to let them know you are on the way. Once you arrive, you’ll be able to visit the Rover home where your dog will be cared for. Drop-off is the an opportunity for you to hear any updates about you sitter’s schedule or to share additional information about your dog.
The first time I used Rover, coordinating with the pick-up and drop off times was a challenge. My Rover sitter wanted a prompt drop off and pickup, and actually requested an early pick-up. Of course the scheduling that made things a little bit difficult, however, we were able to work it out. That was the only drawback to my experience with the sitter I chose.
Once I picked up my dog, I was happy to find that she was very excited to see me and had been very well taken care of.
Other Rover Services
If you have other needs besides pet sitting you can book several helpful services through Rover. You can book doggy day care, drop in visits, dog walking, and cat sitting for your pets while you are away.
Check the app or website for prices on the services Rover provides.
Will I Use Rover.com Again?
Definitely.
Asha enjoyed her time with her Rover sitter and she would be happy to go back. The best part about the Rover experience for us was that the Rover sitter had a huge back yard that Asha thoroughly enjoyed running around.
While Asha was at her Rover sitter, she went out of 6 times a day, instead of the normal four. This adjustment was wonderful to see. It let me know that if I moved to a bigger place with a bigger yard, it’s possible that my number of walks per day would decrease and she would be happy to accommodate a larger yard.
Overall, I found Rover to be a lifesaver. Any time I need to travel urgently. I will look to Rover to solve my problems.
Sign up for Rover Today!
Now that you have all the information on how to pick your Rover sitter, book your pet’s next stay.
If you’re looking for a discount on your first Rover booking, check this link out. You can get $10 off of your Rover booking. Healthcare workers can get $15 off using this link.
If you’re interested in Rover as a side hustle, check out how you can get paid to play with pups! Use this link to sign up as a Rover sitter.
If you’re looking for a dog you might want to take a look at this post to help you pick your new best friend. If you have decided to get a dog you should take a peek at this post for the New Dog Essentials Checklist.
Good luck on your next trip and I hope you find a wonderful rover sitter to that are in take care of your beloved dog.
