AutumnRain Dogsitting

Hey there. I work from home as a Social Media Manager. I have a lot of space, and I like dogs. I'll totally watch your dog for you.

Here's all the stuff you need to know.

I'm home during the day most of the time, working at my desk, unless I'm running errands or picking up kids. I have four kids, age 10, 10, 14, and 17, and they all love dogs. They sometimes help me walk them, but mostly they just cuddle or play with the dogs, which is pretty much great for all involved. I also have an awesome housemate, Tammy, who probably loves dogs even more than I do, if that's possible. All in all, there are plenty of people around here to give doggie guests love and affection.

We have two dogs and three cats. Spike is my dog, a weimaraner, and he's a huge gentle baby. Zoe is Tammy's dog, a little terrier of some kind, and she's 8 pounds of bossiness. She will play with the little dogs and make sure the big dogs don't get out of line.

Two of our cats will pretty much hide most of the time, or stay in the area of the house we gated off for them. One cat, Fred, is very comfortable with dogs and hangs out with them regularly, as long as they aren't cat-chasers. The ones who don't chase, but are maybe a little too nosy or curious, will probably get a warning swipe or two, but he won't hurt them.

I'm fine with big dogs, little dogs, puppies, old dogs, differently-abled dogs, spazzy dogs and weird dogs.

SUPER DUPER IMPORTANT: I'm not a licensed doggy daycare facility or company. However, I'm registered with two different national dog-sitting services as an independent contractor who has passed background checks and their training. Both companies have insurance and provide a high level of customer service, support, and protection for both you and me.

You can book me using either company. My rates are the same on both. You can see my rates by visiting either website. You'll pay them in advance with a credit card at the time you book your dog's visit, and they hold the payment in escrow until you pick your dogs up from me. They take a percentage of the fee that is paid to me, so you don't pay anything additional to them.

They both have great apps you can download to your phone, so I can send you photo updates of your dog's vacation over here.

Rover:
https://www.rover.com/sit/ranchlife
Use promo code: RANCHLIFE20 to get $20 off your first booking with them.

DogVacay:
www.dogvacay.com/pro/AutumnRain
You'll automatically get $20 off your first booking, no promo code needed.

Feel free to use either company or use them both for consecutive stays so you can get the discount twice!

About your dog's visit here:

Dogs that visit stay in the house with me all the time until it's time for a walk or a potty break. Once or twice a day, depending on the weather, we go for a walk around the ranch. Most of the dogs are on leashes, unless the owner has specifically requested the dogs are off leash to run around, and only after I've made sure they listen well to me and respond to commands. Everyone else is on a leash every time we are outside in an open area. Our own two dogs are not leashed during the day, because they grew up out here.

When I have to leave to run errands, all the dogs always stay inside the house. Sometimes they are put in a crate if it seems necessary for their own comfort or safety, or if they lean toward destructive tendencies when left unsupervised. I also have a room just for dogs, where I can leave them uncrated but contained. It just depends on the dog and the situation.

We have one fenced yard, and I take them out there for potty breaks and play time several times a day. Once I have them all inside the yard, I take everyone off leash and they get to do whatever dogs do off leash. They are supervised in this yard 100% of the time.

All feeding is done separately, to avoid any food aggression with any of the dogs. I put them in different rooms, or in the same room but one at a time.

Dogs sleep wherever they want. Feel free to bring their own bed, or a crate if they are used to that. I have a small and a large crate, just in case. Most dogs find a spot on the floor or on someone's bed. We are fine with whatever.

I find that the male dogs are really fond of marking, even if they are fixed. This is totally fine outside, but inside my house is no bueno. I have wraps that cover the trouble-making part of the dog and fasten up on their back with velcro. If you have a male dog, it's highly likely that I'll be putting a wrap on him as soon as he gets in the house. If I don't see any marking behavior after a few hours, he earns the right to a non-wrap life. Almost all of the male dogs end up marking at least some. Even if they've never marked a single thing in your house, they still end up doing it here. A few do make the cut though, and they get to be nice and naked.

I also provide doggie daycare, for the purposes of daytime supervision, or just to give them some socialization with other dogs. I have a couple of dogs that come regularly for daycare once or twice a week, and they become a part of our family after a while. Daycare is anytime from 6am to 8pm. After 8pm, it's an overnight stay charged at appropriate rates.

I typically have no more than 1-2 dogs visiting at a time, and not every day, but during holiday or summer weekends, now and then we experience something I call Dogmaggeddon. During these highly-requested dates, I have been known to host 6-12 dogs, in addition to the two dogs that live here.
It's craziness. It's definitely challenging, but as annoying as it can get when I'm trying to wrangle them, I don't really mind it all that much apparently, because I seem to keep doing it when each holiday rolls around.

The dogs flipping love it, as they all just merge into the pack and roam like wildebeest around my house and yard until they all collapse exhausted. Tammy and the kids just shake their heads at me and get through it the best they can.

If you're booking me for a holiday weekend, be sure to ask me if it's Dogmaggeddon over here, in case you're not comfortable with that.

That's pretty much it. If you have any questions, feel free to post to the wall or message me privately.