I have been housesitting and dog walking for 10+ years, I normally do not have pets at my home; but on occasion I can. I was part of a "pet companion" program when I was in my early twenties where I mostly just walked the same dog every week for people who had difficulty in doing it themselves. I really enjoyed it, have since house sat cats and dogs many times mostly for family, friends, neighbours and friends of friends. It has worked out well, and I feel confident and comfortable looking after the pets of others. I prefer to get to know the pet a little be before housesitting for more than a few days.

in a researcher at a university, and I'm quite flexible with my time when I am not doing experiments, going for dog walks can be useful to organise my thoughts.

I've looked after mostly medium dogs with some big and small. The better trained dogs are always a delight to look after. I worked on a sheep sheering farm for a couple of weeks and had to kelpie's "working" with me to help organise the sheep it was a great experience as well.