What Should I Expect at a Home Visit Meet & Greet?

I know, it can be weird or stressful to find pet care providers and then schedule times to meet with them to go over your pet care needs.  If you're new to receiving professional pet care in your home, you may not know what to expect.  I personally love being able to anticipate what will happen at a meeting and prepare myself mentally beforehand.  If you're like me, I hope this guide helps give you some peace-of-mind when preparing for your pet care meet & greets.

Things to Consider Before Their Arrival:

• You may get the most benefit from inviting sitters to come to your home to meet.  Most sitters should be accommodating if you would rather meet outside of your home first, though.  Know that once you have decided on a sitter, you should still give yourselves time to meet at your home prior to the booking.  I'll explain why meeting in your home is important below.
• While the house doesn't need to be immaculate, it can be helpful to have important pet care areas clean for the meetings so that the pet sitter can see what they need to and ask any relevant questions beforehand.
• Some sitters may prefer asking all of their questions in-person, some prefer asking questions beforehand, and some prefer to mix the two.  If someone doesn't ask any questions, that's probably a red flag. 😂  Some example questions include:
  • What are your pets' daily routines? 
    They'll want to know when the pets wake up, sleep, get fed, their potty habits, and more so that they can work with you to gauge when visits would be most beneficial.
  • Which is your primary veterinarian, and do you have a preference of emergency vets?
    You never know when a pet is having an emergency, and it's definitely better to have this information on the front-end instead of at the time of an emergency.
    
  • Does your pet have any triggers?
    It's helpful to know if your pet is afraid of storms, squirrels, postal workers, fire alarm chirps, and anything else you can think of.  My team and I make sure to consider these things in our actions, and we help try to create as calm of an environment as we can for your pets.  
  • Does your pet have a history of any severe illnesses or one-off events?
    Some pets have had a seizure in the years prior, and sometimes the excitement of new sitters may trigger a seizure even if they haven't had one in a while.  Sometimes old injuries flare-up, and a limp that occurs in a limb that has a previous injury may be less alarming than a new limp to a sitter.  Having all of the knowledge should help the sitter make the best decisions possible for your pets if you are unable to be reached.
    
  • What are your pet's favorite things?
    While it's good to have all of the potential issues covered, it's also good to have fun things to do with your pets!  Knowing your pet's favorite toys, games, or treats could help build that bond with the pet sitter while you are out, and it will help give your pet a better experience.
• If your dog has a history of jumping for attention, and you don't want them to, please notify your sitter before they interact with the dog.  It should prevent the sitter from giving positive attention to the dog while it's breaking the rules.
• If you would like sitters to use a door other than your front door, please notify them before their arrival.  I've experienced a couple of awkward initial visits where I played "Marco Polo" with future clients while I found out where I needed to be.
• COVID-19 Consideration:  I am a mask-wearer in a majority anti-mask area.  I default to wearing a mask or asking prior to coming to someone's door, but please express your preference if the sitter hasn't asked.  It will help prevent any issues at the door.  Sometimes dogs are very reactive to strangers in masks, and for everyone's safety, it's best for them to know your expectations beforehand.

​What to Expect During the Meet & Greet:

• I know, personally, I tend to forget to introduce myself because I get drawn to the pets first thing.  If you notify the sitter beforehand that you don't want your dogs to receive positive attention for negative greeting behaviors, the sitter should then focus on you as they enter the home unless your pets are doing appropriate things.  If you let the sitter know ahead of time that you want to discourage jumping, but then they encourage it, that is an important thing to note to yourself. 
• If you have a shy, nervous, or otherwise reactive animal, anticipate that your sitter should then not focus on that pet.  There should be no "trying to make the pet like them" kind of behavior, because that may stress the pet out more.  Your anxiety about your pet's anxiety will often make your pet more anxious, so as difficult (and/or impossible 🤪) as it feels to try to ignore it and be calm, it is the best possible thing.  If it's a dog, and it is barking, the sitter should generally to try to avoid eye contact.  If they are ignoring a rowdy pet, it may be to help the pet settle, and it isn't necessarily a bad sign.  Once the pet has settled, body language between the pet and the pet sitter should become more natural throughout the meet & greet.
• Most meet & greets that I have encountered initially take place in a seating area.  This will give the sitter the chance to go over any questions they have while also giving a more relaxed position for the pets.  I have also sat in the floor of someone's home on many occasions to help give a less threatening stance for pets of the home.  
• Once the initial introductions and questions are taken care of, your sitter should ask to see all relevant areas of the home that they will need access to.  It may be important to view where feeding takes place, back yards as necessary, sinks and cleaning products, where food, treats, litter, and other supplies for the pets are located.  If you have a keypad lock or security system, it is generally beneficial to show the sitter how these items work in person as well.
• Before wrap-up, discussion on ways to enter the home should take place. 
  • If there isn't a keypad, the sitter will need a key for their visits.  If you are comfortable with giving them a spare key at this time, please have one ready for them. 
  • If you would rather wait to have them pick up the key, that is perfectly acceptable.  Do know that some sitters charge for visits to the home for the sole purpose of picking up or dropping off the key. 
  • If you would like the key to be found in a hidden location by the sitter, please take a photo of it once the key is there, and send that to the sitter.  Personally, I can completely miss inanimate objects staring me in the face.  Great for your privacy; terrible for any tight schedules. 😅
  • Some sitters may provide lockboxes (like realtors use), and codes for use may be negotiable.  Discuss with them how they handle these lockboxes.
  • IMPORTANT:  I have received requests to leave keys inside of someone's home and lock it after the last visit.  This is not a safe practice in the event that something were to delay your return.  It could be a very difficult situation to manage if the key is inside, and the sitter needs to return for an extra visit.

What to Expect After the Meet & Greet:

• If things went well, your sitter should send you confirmation of your requested booking.
• Some sitters use software/websites that help them organize visits, communication, and payments. If they didn't send you an invitation to this site prior to the meet & greet, they should get one to you following the meet & greet.
  
• If a key needs to be picked up before the booking, a meeting time should be requested by the sitter.
• For those sitters with software, messages and updates should be provided to you following each of the sitter's visits.  Most software allows for photo uploads, time tracking, and GPS pins.
• Discussion of when and how payment is expected should have occurred prior to your sitter beginning visits, and most payment information and scheduling is personalized to each sitter.
• Expect a happy and healthy pet upon your return!  If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to your sitter.  We are here to help you and your pet have the best experience we can provide, and giving you as much information as possible should be a part of that.