Know Your Pet’s Personality

Dog with ball, pet care

Just like us, our pet’s have their own unique personality, which some researchers believe, they may even share with their owners.

It’s interesting to observe pets and their pet-parents at the dog park or walking down the streets of any major city or town. It’s intriguing to see the similarities in their attitude and activity. There’s such a vibrant diversity in personalities with everything from the highly energised types through to those that are more laid back and happy to watch the world go by.

Here are some of the personalities we’ve observed in our pet travels. Do any of these personality traits sound like your treasured pet-pal? Continue reading “Know Your Pet’s Personality”

5 Packing Essentials for Roving House and Pet Sitters

Travel Light Pet Sitting — Photo by Russ Hendricks / ToolsAreHome.com

The house and pet sitting lifestyle is an adventure. There are new experiences to be had, different places to visit and, with back to back house and pet sits, you must be ready to pack up and go quickly and easily.

Seasoned house and pet sitters are sure to have their packing list and routine sorted, but if you’re new to this wonderfully nomadic lifestyle, here are our tips for the five essential items you need for an organised and simple move to your next position. Continue reading “5 Packing Essentials for Roving House and Pet Sitters”

A New Lease on Life: You’ll Love Our Rising Rent Quick Fix

Save Money housesitting Just when you thought it couldn’t get any more expensive, your rent goes up … again!

While the major cities are generally at the top of the leader board, demand for rental properties has pushed prices up right around the country.

One bedroom flats in London can command rent anywhere from £850 pcm and well above. Add your annual utilities bills – gas, electricity and sometimes water to those super-sized rent payments, and the chances of saving your hard earned dollars for any big ticket items, let alone a deposit on that dream home of your own, quickly shrink from slim to very, very skinny. Continue reading “A New Lease on Life: You’ll Love Our Rising Rent Quick Fix”

3 Life Lessons Your Pet Will Teach You

mindahome.co.uk Feb 19

Sometimes, it almost feels as if the months and years go by in the blink of an eye. We all know the old adage ‘stop and smell the roses’, but with work, family and life in general getting busier and busier, the idea of ‘stopping’ doesn’t seem to resonate in modern times.

Our pet pals, though, have this magic ability. They offer us unconditional love, affection and attention and whenever we spend time with them, we do take time to appreciate the best things in life.

Often, life lessons come packaged up in a ball of fluff and fur and give us perspective about what’s important and how best to make the most of every day.

Home Is Where the Heart Is

Whether your pet has fur, feathers, scales or skin, the depth of their companionship is second to none. Pets can sense our mood and are great at transforming a tired and grumpy human into an excited and laugh-out-loud friend.

Our pets make a house a home and they are comfortable with their familiar surrounds, smells and sounds. For the times when pet-parents have to travel without their treasured pet, live-in pet sitters are the key to bringing in the warmth and love of the pet-parent so that their new pet-pal continues to have personalised attention in their home.

Keep Your Mind and Body Happy

Research suggests that people who engage with pets are more active, social and healthy. Your pet is your daily exercise reminder when they come to tell you it’s time for a walk. They can be your rough and tumble partner in the backyard. They can be your down-time and stress reliever. Most Mindahome house and pet sitter members aren’t able to own a pet of their own, so pet sitting gives them the chance to enjoy animal companionship and an active lifestyle.

Our pets have an amazing ability to know what we need, when we need it and keep us happy throughout life’s challenges and triumphs.

Life is Better With Friends

Meeting new animal pals is one of the top reasons why sitters choose the house and pet sitting lifestyle. There are always new people to meet, new fur-friends to play with and new communities to explore. Living life in someone else’s shoes often gives us perspective about what we want out of life and gives us renewed energy to pursue our dreams. Human or animal friends bring joy and fullness to our lives and life’s always better with friends.

For more information about exploring new life opportunities as a house and pet sitter, visit mindahome.co.uk.

5 Tips for Dealing with Separation Anxiety in Dogs

Separation Anxiety in Dogs

It isn’t easy for our canine friends to be away from their owners, so they may experience some separation anxiety when away from their pet-parents. We do have a few tips to help us support our dog pals to be calm when they’re left on their own or with a house and pet sitter.

Create Distance:

Conditioning your pup from a young age can help prevent separation anxiety. You can use a play pen or a crate to create distance for your puppy at home. We know, all you want to do is cuddle and play with your new bundle of fluff but try to resist the temptation to overindulge and use the play pen to contain your pup and prevent over bonding. If your pup cries when you leave the room, resist the urge to go running back, because that will show them that crying isn’t a signal for you to be together. Continue reading “5 Tips for Dealing with Separation Anxiety in Dogs”

House and Pet Sitting: A Mutually Beneficial Relationship

The relationship between a home and pet owner and house and pet sitter is meant to be one of mutual benefit. Owners benefit from having personalised care and attention for their home and pets while they’re away, while house and pet sitters enjoy living rent free for a period of time.

Just like any agreement, there is a little give and take both ways and so long as there are reasonable requests asked of the house and pet sitter, both parties should enjoy the experience.

Household Maintenance

Most house and pet sitters are able and willing to do some routine home and garden maintenance, such as keeping the pool clean, watering plants and attending to the repair of any items that break down during their sit. Engaging a house and pet sitter isn’t an opportunity to call in free labour for household odds and ends, but rather, it’s having someone care and maintain your home in your absence to ensure all is well when you return. Sticking to reasonable household duty requests is a must to respect the relationship between both parties. Continue reading “House and Pet Sitting: A Mutually Beneficial Relationship”

House and Pet Sitting as a Lifestyle – What You Need to Know

Living a nomadic lifestyle presents many opportunities to save money, see and do more and meet people and pets from very diverse and interesting backgrounds.

House and pet sitting is your ticket to experiencing some of your life goals and dreams today rather than delaying them for another day, but there are a few things you need to consider before you plunge into a house and pet sitting life.

Must Love Animals: 99% of Mindahome’s house and pet sitting positions involve the care of animals, so being an animal lover is a must. House and pet sitting could involve the care of pets in a city or urban environment, through to caring for farm animals on a rural property. A true affection for all creatures big and small is your biggest advantage when applying for house and pet sitting positions. Continue reading “House and Pet Sitting as a Lifestyle – What You Need to Know”

5 Hacks For Living Big For Less

You don’t have to miss out on life’s little luxuries to save money. Try these 5 hacks to enjoy some of your fancy desires, without spending a fortune.

Live Rent Free

Paying rent is like watching your money burn. It doesn’t help you work towards home ownership and it isn’t the most successful savings strategy. Want to live rent free? Try house and pet sitting around the UK. Whether you’re looking to live near work, near family or wanting to try out different places before you decide to settle down in a particular town, house and pet sitting can allow you to live in other people’s homes, while caring for their pets, without paying for things like utilities and internet. House and pet sitters have saved thousands of pounds every year by choosing this nomadic lifestyle.

Buy, Save and Give Back Too

Gone are the days when charity shops smelt musty and like your grandma’s well worn cardigans. Today, charity shops offer savvy shoppers the chance to grab a bargain of some impressive high-end brands that will make you look and feel like you should be on a Fashion Week runway. There are a variety of charity shops across the UK in all towns and cities such as Edinburgh, London, Manchester, Shropshire and Weymouth, where you can save money on some of the latest fashions, and you’re also giving back to support worthy charities. Win/win! Continue reading “5 Hacks For Living Big For Less”

Prepared Pet Care: What You Need to Tell the Pet Sitter

Our pet’s are a member of the family. But if you’ve had unexpected travel plans pop up, or your fur-kid simply can’t travel with you, a live-in pet sitter is the easiest – and most affordable – form of pet care while you’re away.

Just like us, our pets have their own unique personalities, nuances and routines that make them special. So if you want your pet sitter to truly embrace the role of ‘fill in pet-parent’, then you need to give them as much information as possible about your pet, home and routines, to ensure a smooth experience for everyone. Continue reading “Prepared Pet Care: What You Need to Tell the Pet Sitter”

Show Your Pet You Care with These 5 Tips

Research has shown that over 90% of UK pet owners say that owning a pet makes them feel happy and 88% feel that pet ownership improves their overall quality of life.

So we all agree that our pets give us the love and attention we’re all looking for, but have we ever stopped to think whether we show as much affection in return? Continue reading “Show Your Pet You Care with These 5 Tips”

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