·         Home visit. Arrange an initial home visit to familiarise your pet with their new minder and make sure they get along together. Depending on the pet sitter, some charge a call out fee for this and others do so free of charge.  

·         Food, supplies & medications. Make sure to have plenty of food, litter and medical supplies available. I know this may sound obvious but it's very easy to miss calculating the amount of food needed and end up not leaving enough. If this happens, most pet sitters will purchase additional food/litter and request to be reimbursed on your return. It does make life a lot easier if you make sure to have enough before leaving. If there are multiple pets, make sure foods and medicines are very clearly labelled.

·         Key. Make sure the pet sitter has a key, alarm codes and show them where the access points are for water, electricity and gas.

·         Insurance. Confirm your pet sitter has insurance cover to protect all parties involved.

·         Schedule for feeding & walking. Most pet sitters will make notes but for peace of mind prepare a detailed schedule Include feeding times, quantities, medications, walks and play time. If you're pet sitter has agreed to take mail in and water plants make a note of this too.

·         Room rules! Close any rooms you don't want your pets to access and lock if need be.

·         Contact details. In case of an emergency leave contact details of where you'll be and the number for your vet. It's also a good idea to provide the number of a friend or relative just in case.

·         Confirm travel dates & times. Confirm everything the day before departure and let your pet sitter know your return journey is on schedule before leaving to come home.

And don't be surprised to find a very relaxed contented Fido who wished you could have stayed away an extra week or two! For a full list of only the best recommended and reviewed local pet sitters simply go to the www.petchums.com services page.