An Exceptional Dog may be shy, fearful, or anxious, or may be reactive to people and/or other dogs.
How do you find an experienced Pet Sitter that can help keep your pup safe?
Reach out to dog trainers or dog training facilities that have experience with dogs like yours, and see if they have a list of pet sitters & walkers that they can recommend.
Services like Wag or Rover can connect you to a pet sitter or dog walker, but you need to do your own due diligence in screening the individuals you hire to ensure they have experience with exceptional dogs. Ask about other clients that they work with who may have similar behavior to yours and see how they’ve handled any challenges.
Consider hiring a company instead of an individual, so you still have coverage in the case of an accident or injury, or just a “no-show” on the part of your scheduled walker.
Don’t wait until last minute to look for a pet sitter or dog walker. I like to have a “meet & greet” and then have the walker do a couple of visits prior to any trip that I’m taking, just to make sure that everyone is comfortable with each other before I’m unavailable for any length of time.
Realize that you may pay a premium for an experienced dog walker with reactive dog experience! Call me paranoid, but if a walker is relying only on their grip strength to control a 90 lb reactive dog, and isn’t doing some sort of “lock hold” on the leash, I won’t contract with them to care for my dog.