Is pet sitting better than boarding for my dog?

Most of the time, pet sitting beats boarding. It’s less stressful for dogs, especially ones prone to anxiety.

Boarding isn’t always bad, to be clear. Some dogs are social and adaptable, and boarding gives them a chance to meet a lot of other pets. But if you’re asking this question, your dog probably isn’t one of them.

Maybe you took yours to a kennel a while back and they wouldn’t eat for a day or two after coming home. Maybe they developed new anxiety behaviors like following you room to room, flinching at loud sounds, or refusing to sleep alone. Or you might simply know that dropping your dog in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar animals and unfamiliar people just isn’t going to feel good to them.

Boarding facilities are designed to be efficient, not necessarily comfortable. So dogs are kept in enclosures, which are sometimes crates and sometimes runs. But always enclosures. They’re also always surrounded by other animals, and a lot of those animals are stressed (and barking, always barking). Feeding also happens on the facility’s schedule, not your dog’s. The staff changes shift to shift. And to a dog, that means the smells, sounds, and routines are all off.

For confident, easygoing pups, everything listed above is manageable. For anxious dogs, senior dogs, or dogs with medical needs, it can be scary or even traumatic.

But with pet sitting, your dog stays at home, with their bed where it always is and their food bowl in the same spot. The sounds are familiar, the yard is there, and the only thing that’s different is the sitter themselves. Night and day difference.

For example, a pet sitter could learn that your dog eats at 7 and 5, takes medication wrapped in cheese at noon, and needs a 20-minute walk before they’ll settle in the evening. A boarding facility—even a really well-run one—just can’t accommodate that. Not for dozens of dogs all at once.

Overnight pet sitting takes this a bit further. With this service, a sitter will stay in your home through the night. That means your dog has company during the hours when separation anxiety tends to be at its worst. That makes it a great fit for dogs with medical conditions that need monitoring.

Cats, for what it's worth, almost always do better with pet sitting. Boarding a cat is stressful in ways that are harder to see. They tend to stop eating, hide, and shut down. Keeping them home with a sitter who respects their space is usually the obvious choice.

Woofie's® of Austin Hill Country pet sitters start every relationship with a complimentary consultation to learn your pet's specific routines, personality, and needs. Visits range from 20 to 60 minutes, overnight sitters stay from 7 PM to 7 AM, and you receive updates through our app journal so you always know how things are going.