Will You Visit My Cat Every Other Day?

The answer to this question is no and the reasons why we don’t do every other day cat visits are below.

Cats in general can be very independent, they give and receive affection on their terms, play only when they feel like it, if at all but as independent as they may seem they still need supervision.

Some people think that leaving their cat alone with only a pet visit every other day and an automatic cat feeder will be okay.

A cat left home alone for more than a day at a time could lead to tragedy.  To ensure your cats safety, Scamps & Champs does not offer every other day cat visits for the following reasons:-

Your Cat Could Get Ill

Cats can become very unwell, very quickly as we have experienced.   Swift action can be taken by your pet sitter to take your cats to the vets for emergency treatment.   A visit 48 hours later may well be too late.

Your Cat May Become Injured

Accidents can and do happen.  A cat left unsupervised for more than 24 hours increases the risk of an injury.  Your cat could injure themselves after the pet sitter has visited but would then have to wait 48 hours for her to return causing them unnecessary pain and suffering before being able to get them veterinary treatment.

The Automatic Pet Feeder May Malfunction

Again this something we have experienced where an automatic pet feeder has not opened at the time it was scheduled to.   Your cat would be extremely hungry having to wait 48 hours for their next meal.

Your Cat Could Become Trapped

Another of our experiences. We arrived at a client’s house and the cat didn’t come to greet us as she normally did.  After hunting all around the house, we discovered that the cleaner had locked her in a bedroom.   Imagine we hadn’t found her for another 48 hours, we would have had an extremely distressed, very hungry and thirsty cat, not to mention the damage done to the client’s bedroom.  A daily visit by a professional pet sitter will ensure your cat remains safe.

Your Cat Could Run Out Of Water

We have visited cats where they have managed to upturn their water dish. Even the sturdiest of bowls can be flipped over. Your cat would have no access to fresh water for 48 hours.

We have had lots of different experiences over the last eight years and because of what we have learned, we will not offer pet visits every other day for the safety of your cats.   Leaving your cats home alone without a pet visit every day to check on them just doesn’t make sense when you consider the potential risks.Scamps & Champs daily cat visitswill ensure the safety of your pet and provide them with care, love and attention while you are away providing you with peace of mind. To ask us a question, make an enquiry or booking, simply compl

Pet Sitting VS. Dog Home Boarding: The Great Debate

We’re never thrilled about leaving our pooches behind, but certain situations, like holidays abroad, dictate we must. When you can’t take your dog along for the ride, there are generally two courses of action available: pet sitting or dog home boarding.

But which option is best for our furry friends? We’re going to throw you a couple of bones, if we may, as we gauge the benefits and drawbacks of both choices…

Dog home boarding – Pros

Dog home boarding is a popular alternative to kennels, giving you peace of mind that your pup is being cared for in a comfortable environment, whether that’s a friend’s house, or that of a professional dog sitter.

It’s ideal for dogs who have had bad experiences with kennels in the past, struggle with socialising, or simply require a few home comforts – especially older animals. With dog home boarding, your pet can be taken for regular walks, plied with cuddles, kept safe and healthy, and enjoy some companionship for the days ahead.

Most top-tier services (like us!) ensure you’re totally comfortable with the boarding experience beforehand; only when you’ve had a chance to meet the carer do we ask for a deposit.

Cons

While dog home boarding may sound like a luxury escape for your pooch, it’s not suited to every animal. For starters, if your dog isn’t toilet trained, or struggles with basic obedience, you could lose your deposit in the event of an incident at your carer’s home.

Plus, even though home boarding is a much nicer alternative to kennels, it can still place a lot of stress on animals with a nervous temperament, or those who are sick or injured.

Pet sitting – Pros

Most dogs take a while to adapt to a new place; they like to sniff, sleep and feel their way around a territory. With pet sitting, a committed carer will turn up at your door – armed with treats, toys, or just an overnight bag – and stay in your home for a prescribed amount of time.

By staying dry, fed and loved in a space they recognise, any dog will be calmer, mediating their separation anxiety. The pet sitter can have as much or as little influence on the day-to-day routine of your pooch as desired: merely popping over to walk them and filling up their biscuit bowl, perhaps, or camping over for a week or two. They can even water the plants…

Cons

Depending on the levels of service you ask for, pet sitting can be pricier than dog home boarding; after all, we’re asking someone to (potentially) spend every minute with your furry pal. It also requires a much greater degree of trust; while this shouldn’t be a problem with a reputable service, like ours, some people feel uncomfortable giving strangers free roam of their home.

There isn’t a single answer to what’s preferable here; it all comes down to your personality and, of course, the needs of the Main Mutt in question. Still can’t decide on the way forward? Contact Scamps & Champs Today, or delve into our range of pet care services, each of which can be tailored to you.

Pet Sitting: An Alternative to Dog Home Boarding

Although dog home boarding can be beneficial in several ways, this option might not be the best for your pet for several reasons. For example, even though your dog will be staying in a home, it won’t be the same as staying in his/her home as the unfamiliar routine and environment may cause your pet stress.

An excellent alternative to dog home boarding is pet sitting, a pawsome service offered by Scamps and Champs.

Why consider pet sitting?

Wondering why you should opt for pet sitting? Here are some amazing benefits you should know:

  • Less stress for your pet

When you choose pet sitting for your dog, your pet is going to be staying in the comfort of his or her home where all the sights, smells, and sounds say home! Since it’s an environment they are familiar with; your pet will feel safe and secure. This will help keep your dog remain calm and relaxed while you’re away.

  • Daily routine of your pet remains uninterrupted

Pets tend to get used to set routine overtime and interrupting their routine can make them anxious and stressed. A routine includes your pet’s customized diet, medication, and exercise. Pet sitters from Scamps and Champs understand the importance of a routine and stick to it so your dog can be safe, healthy, and happy.

  • Security

It’s not unusual for many pet owners to have security concerns about their home while they’re away. Pet sitters from Scamps and Champs can help ensure your home is protected from security risk by bringing in your post, turning lights on and off, bringing in and putting out recycle bins and closing the curtains in the evening.

  • No extra travel for you

With dog home boarding, you have to travel to where the host family of your dog stays to check whether the setting is right for your dog as well as to drop them off and pick them upon your return. You might be unable to make the extra trips due to time constraints or the inconvenience it can cause. But when you choose pet sitting, you can leave your dog at home, which will help save you time.

  • No travel trauma for your pet

Some pets don’t handle traveling well as they sometimes get traumatized during the trip in the vehicle or travel sick.   Even if you do all you can to make them comfortable during the trip, there’s no guarantee that they will enjoy the experience.  With pet sitting there is no travelling involved.   

  • Pet sitting experience, license, and insurance

Since you’re planning to be out of town for a while, it’s essential to hire a professional pet sitter who is experienced, licensed, and insured. An experienced pet sitter has seen it all with dogs and knows how to handle an emergency. They also have a vast network of resources at their fingertips. Similarly, they’re licensed to operate and are fully insured.

  • Special services

Apart from caring for your dog, pet sitters can provide additional home services such as keeping the house clean, watering the plants, bringing in the mail and newspapers. You can even ask them to run errands for you while you’re gone.

  • Health concerns

Since your pet will be staying at home where they are used to, there’s minimal exposure to illness from other animals. And should your pet fall ill, you can rest assured that they will receive adequate TLC from the pet sitter.

  • Peace of mind

While you’re away, you can feel confident that your pet is in the right hands, and that your dog will be relaxed because they’re in a familiar environment. Your pet sitter will send you daily updates with photographs so you can monitor the wellbeing of your pet. This will contribute to your peace of mind and make you feel more relaxed as well.

Conclusion

Whether you need to go out of town urgently, take a long holiday or need some help caring for your pet because you’re unwell, a pet sitter from Scamps and Champs can help give your dog the care, love, and individualized attention he or she needs at all times.

Please do contact us if we can help in any way at all with your Pet Sitting Service Enquiries via our online form and one of the team will get back to you as soon as possible. To view our full range of Pet Care Services please visit our Scamps and Champs Website.

REASONS SCAMPS & CHAMPS DON’T PACK WALK

At Scamps and Champs, we recognize that dog walking is a huge part of a dog’s life and also an excellent way to keep them healthy and fit. It opens them to new and stimulating experiences needed for their overall well-being. Additionally, it can also help them to tire them out, and you might know, “a tired dog is a happy dog.” 

You might have noticed that that pack walks are springing up all over the U.K. as many believe it’s a fantastic way for dogs to experience strangers and other canine friends in a safe environment.  While it might appear to hold many benefits for those, it does have several downsides which shouldn’t be brushed off in a hurry. Here are the reasons Scamps and Champs don’t pack walk.

1. Supervision

Walking just one dog requires full attention to keep an eye on them effectively and to make sure they’re safe. Dogs often get easily fascinated by new sights, smells, and sounds that they encounter during the walk. If something new and interesting catches their attention, they may forget their manners and rush up to that thing or person. Consider all the concentration walking a single dog requires and then imagine what it is like trying to control five or more dogs at once! Additionally, controlling them on busy roads and unfamiliar surroundings can be quite risky during pack walks.

2. Lost Training Opportunities

Walking a dog is an opportunity to train them and reinforce what they have learned. For example, if you take your dog on a walk, you can notice their reaction to potential triggers and take appropriate action. If your dog takes a look at a scary sight and focuses on you, it’s a sign that your dog is learning some manners and should be rewarded with a treat. On the flip side, it is hard to specially train one dog at a time during a pack walk since there are about five other dogs or more.

3. Disease

Whenever dogs congregate, there’s always a high risk of them spreading diseases such as kennel cough, canine influenza, or canine parvovirus. Your dog is also at risk of coming home with fleas and ticks after exposure to a dog gathering, no matter how careful the owners are. This could cause severe discomfort for your pet and also require a visit to the vet. The chances of a dog contracting a disease is drastically reduced when we walk them individually and not in a pack.

4. Fights and Bullying

Just as in any human group, bullying can also happen among dogs leading to fights in a bid to establish their dominance. The bigger the group, the more likely it is for some dogs to break the rules of polite social interactions and make their own rules. This can lead to cases of dogs overwhelming their potential playmates with overly assertive and inappropriate behaviours. Many dog owners try to avoid situations that might trigger their dogs and result in fights as well as protect their pets from being picked on. Pack walks increases the likelihood of fights and bullying among dogs, potentially leading to lacerations, puncture wounds, and even broken bones.

5. Injuries

Although injuries are unexpected occurrences that can happen in an instant, they tend to occur more during pack walks due to divided attention of walkers and fights that may break out.   It is nearly impossible to keep an eye on other dogs while tending to one dog, and this could turn out badly in several ways. Conversely, walking one dog at a time allows walkers to give adequate attention to injured dogs without having to worry about monitoring other pets.  

6. Physics

When it comes to pack walks, some walkers sacrifice safety for management by walking five (or more) strong reactive dogs at the same time. This might appear to be easy except that the physics is wrong. Imagine a dog walker who is 11 stone and walking seven stone large dogs; it’s going to take a lot of hard work to keep them under control, and that is only possible if they’re able to resist the pull.

 Conclusion

Pack dog walks might be trending at the moment, but the disadvantages are hard to ignore. Like every dog owner that loves their canine bestie, it’s important you make the right decision, so your pet can have an enjoyable and stimulating walk with our walkers from Scamps and Champs.  

If your dog enjoys the company of other dogs, we will carefully match your dog to a dog of similar size and temperament.  

To view our Dog Walking Services and our extensive range of other
Pet Care Services please visit our Scamps and Champs Website. To ask us a question, make a booking or to simply make an enquiry please complete our Online Enquiry Form


Hiring a Cat Sitter in Stockport

Having to leave your cats while you are away on holiday or going away for work can be a difficult decision. You may not want to keep asking friends, family or neighbours and your cat may not enjoy going to the local cattery. An alternative to this is hiring a professional Stockport cat sitter.

What Does A Stockport Cat Sitter Do?

A Stockport cat sitter will take care of your cat in your own home. Your cat can stay in their own familiar surroundings. Your cat sitter will visit during the day, as many times as you require to feed your cat, change litter trays, give fresh water, medications if required and lots of fuss and attention.

Your cat sitter can also draw your curtains, bring in any post, put out recycle bins and turn lights on and off giving your home that lived-in look.

Your Stockport cat sitter will send daily updates with photographs so you can relax on holiday knowing your cats are relaxed and happy at home.

How Many Times Will You Visit?

We can visit your cat as many times during the day as you require. If your cat is an inside cat, then you may feel once a day is sufficient. If your cat likes to go outside and hasn’t got access to a cat flap, we can visit in the morning and let your cat outside after feeding and then visit at teatime to let them back in again. More elderly cats may benefit from extra visits throughout the day to check on them and provide companionship.  

What if my cat doesn’t like new people?

If your cat is very shy and timid, a visit once per day will usually be sufficient. We will always take the time to get to know your cat but only give affection if it is welcomed.  If they don’t want affection or us to play with them, we will give them the space they need. We usually find that once they realise we are coming to feed them, they start to relax more and get used to us.

How Much Does A Stockport Cat Sitter Cost?

Cat sitting prices can vary depending on how many visits and how many cats you have but visits start at £8.00 for 1-2 cats.   For a detailed quotation, please contact us for further information.

Scamps & Champs Stockport provide cat sitting services around Stockport, Bredbury, Marple, Woodley, Romiley, Reddish, Bramhall, Davenport, Cale Green, Offerton, Heaton Moor, Heaton Mersey and Heaton Norris.

All of our pet sitters are vetted, insured and DBS checked.

Scamps & Champs Stockport are members of the National Association of Registered Pet Sitters and the Pet Industry Federation.

Contact Scamps and Champs via our online form, to check availability and make a booking. Learn more about our Cat Sitting Service by visiting the Scamps and Champs Website.

How Do I Prepare for a Pet Sitting Visit?

So, you’ve made the pact – someone will be pet sitting your furry friend for an agreed portion of the week. You could be flying hither and thither on a work schedule, or going abroad with the family. Whatever the reason, it’s nearly time for a pet sitter to visit your home.

But what should you do in advance? How can the sitter feel informed, welcome, and familiar with the pet in question? Read on for some prep tips from Scamps & Champs Stockport…

Arrange an introductory visit

Dogs and cats rely on their sensory experience to make sense of something new. If they’ve never smelt, seen or had physical contact with your pet sitter before, it may take a while for them to feel comfortable around a stranger. We will always arrange a meet and greet session – in which your Stockport pet sitter can spend time with your pet, with you by their side, to lay the first stone of a relationship.

List any household instructions

Longer pet sitting periods will carry extra responsibility for looking after the home so write a guide for anything your Stockport pet sitter needs to know.  How often, for instance, should the plants be watered? Does a window stick more than others when you’re trying to close it? What appliances should be left on at night? Simply having these instructions written on your online profile, will ensure the handover goes smoothly.

Tidy up anything that isn’t pet-friendly

Kids’ toys, chocolate, random batteries, loose change… All of these represent a hazard for dogs, or other pets who like to chomp whatever’s in sight. You don’t want your pet sitter to comb the house in a bid to move everything out of harm’s way. So do it yourself, a day before the pet sitting is due. Further precautions may include setting up all the necessary child security gates, barring your pooch, kitty etc. from off-limits areas.

Set timers and security systems

As we’ve mentioned, a long-haul sitting schedule is about more than feeding, watering and exercising your pet. The chosen pet sitting professional will also (to an extent) guard your home from intrusion. To do this, they must have the alarm code to prevent an unwarranted emergency, as well as any timer/switch information for security lights at night. Do them an additional favour by revealing how the boiler and thermostat work, just in case they need to take the chill off your home.

Detail your pet’s fears, allergies or medicinal routine

Like people, no two are pets are ever the same. Dogs and cats are vulnerable to their own fears – the hoover, for instance, or being stroked in a certain spot on their belly. Tell the pet sitting expert about them in advance. Similarly, break down any dietary/medicinal requirements that your dog or cat may have. This should include allotted portions, the types of food they’re able to digest well, and how often it’s supposed to be topped up.

Provide Working Keys & Home Security System Details

We require access to a set of keys when you schedule your Stockport pet sitting service with us. Please ensure you try the keys first and ensure they work if you have just had new copies made. It can be common for brand new keys not to work after being freshly cut.

If you have a security alarm, be sure to update the alarm code in the pet sitter software.   This is completely safe and confidential. This will avoid any uncomfortable or stressful situations for your pet sitter once you have left. Please always leave emergency instructions should your alarm go off during the pet sitters stay. It is common for pets to trigger an alarm sensor.

Update your pet’s profiles

A successful visit with your pet begins with proper instruction from the pet parents and makes it more enjoyable for your pet. We’d rather spend time loving and caring for your pet than searching for supplies or food. In each of your pet profiles, please update:

  •  Photograph of your of Pet
  •  Pet’s Daily Routine
  •  Pet Temperament, Quirks
  •  Feeding, Allergies & Medication Instructions
  •  Where are Toys/Treats Kept?
  •  Rooms/Areas Your Pet Is Not Allowed
  •  Favourite Spots to Hang Out or Hide?
  • Anything your pets don’t like or are frightened
  • Anything they particularly enjoy
  • Veterinarian Information

By taking these precautions, you have a masterplan for pet sitting success! All that’s left is to scour the web for someone to do the job… But you don’t need to, of course, when Scamps & Champs Stockport are right here, poised to offer the best pet sitting services in Stockport.  Browse our site or speak to our team now for availability.