Pet Care Realities - Know the Good and the Bad

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I stumbed across a great article today about the downsides of pet care careers.  The author Aimee Amodio makes some great obervations about the not so enjoyable aspects of various pet care careers. Of course every job has it’s drawbacks - usually that you have to be present from 9-5 every day if you work a standard office job! Seriously though, you should educate yourself about all aspects of any new career or business and decide if you can live with the downsides.  Here are a few that Aimee mentions:

 1)  For a pet sitter or dog walker the weather isn’t always great but the dogs still need to be walked. Pet sitters have to feel comfortable going into other peoples homes to meet with them for interviews and to visit their pets. Some dogs may act agressively on first visits until they get comfortable with the sitter.

2) A doggy day care operator has a lot of logistics to consider such as deciding whether to care for the dogs in their home or if they are going to rent or buy a location. They must also be able to screen dogs for suitability and break up fights if they happen between dogs in their care. 

 3) Grooming can be a dirty job - you may find dogs that have skin problems or insect infestations. Some dogs may be reluctant to take that bath so groomers often risk scratches and bites.

4) Animal shelter staff must deal with owners who surrender their pets,  difficult to place pets and euthanasia of pets if they work at a kill shelter.

Talk to other pet care professionals that work in the career you are interested in pursuing before taking the plunge into something new. You can also test drive the job by offering to help for a day in a shelter or vets office, or accompanying a pet sitter or groomer on their daily visits.

Pets for Play - EA Announces new Sims Pets Game Release

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In a testiment to how important our pets are in our lives, EA games announced this week the release of it’s new Sims Pets game for the Wii games console. 

In the game players are able to create and control their own digital pets. Pet owners are able to teach pets tricks, outfit them with pet accessories, take them for a romp in the park and give them jobs.  Our real pets will be jealous!

See all the action at EA Games.

Travel with Pets Doesn’t Mean No Pet Care Required

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As a pet sitter I often find myself somewhat dismayed when I hear stories of people travelling with their pets.  After all most of our business is caring for pets when their owners are travelling out of town. However, today as I made my drive home from my last sitting visit of the day I found myself thinking of a few creative ways that pet carers can take advantage of the growing trend.

After all, pet owners still meet many challenges when travelling with pets. Many hotels will not let owners leave their pets in the room unattended which poses challenges such as where to eat for dinner when you are sick of room service.  In this situation pet owners need to find pet friendly restaurants or find someone to care for their pets.

Owners are also put in similar situations when they set out to visit local tourist attractions that don’t open their doors to pets.  In an article in by Janet Fullwood in the Sacremento Bee this past weekend, Janet made the great suggestion that owners find a local doggy day care.  Doggy day care facilities are usually flexible and able to take on pets that have a good temprament and are current on shots for one or several hours so that owners can play. She mentions that pet sitting options in the area were too expensive but many pet sitters are now offering doggy day care services in their homes.

Pet owners staying with hotels that do allow them to leave pets in their rooms unattended during the day also often need the help of pet sitters or dog walkers. If owners are out all day their pets need mid-day relief and exercise. A dog walker can provide the perfect service of a short visit and walk. 

If you provide dog walking services why not contact some of the pet friendly hotels in your area and ask if you can leave your brochures or business cards as part of the guest in room information package. You can also ask the hotel management if they are interested in partnering with a pet care service so that the hotel can offer dog walking to their clients and arrange the visits with you directly. This looks good for the hotel and gives you reliable business!

To find local pet friendly hotels start your search at DogFriendly.com - they have travel tips as well as listings of dog friendly attractions and accomodations.

Top 5 Reasons Everyone Should Own a Home Business

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I have had so much fun owning and operating my home businesses in the past three years. When I first started my pet sitting business I just wanted to care for others pets and be my own boss -  I had no idea of the other benefits owning a home business could offer.  Here are my top five reasons that I believe everyone should experience owning their own home based business:

1. Tax Advantages

Many of your everyday expenses become tax deductible when you own a home business. Depending on the structure of your business these deductions can apply against your business and your personal income. Some examples of deductions include: a)     Home-office deduction – you can claim a percentage of your home expenses if part of your home is used regularly as an office for business use. These expenses may include maintenance and repairs (that are not capital in nature), rent, mortgage interest, house or apartment insurance, power, heat, water, and property taxes.b)     Vehicle expenses for business purposes. If you use your car 50 percent for business purposes, 50 percent of your car mileage, maintenance and repairs, vehicle insurance, gas and oil, car washes, license and registration, and auto club can be claimedc)      Office expenses such as telephone expenses, Internet access, office supplies, travel, books, and association memberships. 

2. Personal Development

When you own your own business you get involved in marketing, sales, customer service, employee management, and record keeping. Often the rate of growth of your business is dependent on the speed which you can learn and master these new skills. Growing my business I have learnt to talk to people about my business, give business presentations and improve my speaking, design effective advertising such as brochures and business cards, and publish a website and e-zine.  All these skills I learnt through reading great books, attending seminars, and learning from other business owners and with the attainment of these skills my personal confidence has grown.  

3. Making New Friends One of the greatest outcomes of running my business is that I have met a variety of people and made new friends. These people include clients and employees, other business owners that I have met through networking and Chamber of Commerce events, suppliers, and other distributors in my candle home business. These people support me and I support them.  When you start your own business you will inevitably meet as part of business associations or part of your business team if you are involved in MLM, other entrepreneurs and business owners. You will find that these people share your vision and goals and that you’ll feel an instant sense of belonging in this group of like minded souls.  

4. You Can Be Creative When you own your own business you have the freedom to choose how you will advertise, package your product, and maintain customer loyalty.  Some of the ways I have been able to express my personality in my business and be creative include designing brochures, business cards, and websites, finding value added benefits to differentiate my service, creating newsletters, and deciding on rewards to encourage regular customers.  

5. You Can Dream Big This one is my favorite so I saved it for last. When you are working for a corporation or even a small company your compensation is generally determined by industry standard. With your own business your income is determined by the amount of time and effort you put into the business, and your self development. A home business gives you the ability to dream big as no one puts restrictions on the growth of your business and your income but you. What are you waiting for? There are so many different businesses that you can start from home. Take a look at your current skills and interests and see how they can be applied to help people in need of your service or product. Take the plunge and start enjoying some of these great benefits that business ownership can offer!

I wrote this post to participate in the Top 5 Group Writing Project at Problogger.com.

Dogs - Why We Love Them!

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My Dog Tanner the Labrador What do you love about owning dogs? The American Pet Products Manufacturers Association® (APPMA) gives the top 14 reasons why people enjoy owning a dog.

  1. Many pet owners believe dogs are convenient and easy to maintain
  2. Owners enjoy entering dog shows
  3. Canines make great farm dogs and help with cattle
  4. Dogs are fun to watch and have in the household
  5. Dogs are a good way to teach kids responsibility
  6. Dogs are good for our health and help us to live longer
  7. Owners enjoy hunting with dogs
  8. Dogs keep undesirable animals away
  9. Dogs are like children or family members
  10. Dogs provide therapy/assistance to handicapped or elderly people
  11. Dogs provide relaxation and relieve stress. 
  12. Dogs provide security
  13. Dogs make excellent walking, exercising or jogging partners
  14. Dogs provide companionship, love and company

I’m sure there are plenty of other great reasons.  The eternal smile on my Lab Tanner’s face always gives me a lift - his picture is at the top of this post.  Leave a comment and tell me about the reasons you love your dogs.

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