Thank you very much for your recommendation. I will definitely check this out.
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So good to know. Thank you so much! I will definitely check this out.
Iâm a little surprised how many people on this form donât value continuing their education. The pet sitting field has changed quite a bit over the last 10 or so years. I know this because I ran a pet sitting company for 7 years and sold it in 2022.
I really like the courses offered. They teach all the day to day processes a professional pet sitting company will have in place. They also have example meet & greet forms and emergency procedures you can use.
If you are just relying on your experience when starting out, really you are just operating by trial and error and you will eventually put a pet or yourself in danger. Doing this as a professional service is quite a lot different than just pet sitting for friends. It is important to keep learning and there are very good, reputable certifications available for pet sitters.
(Edited to meet posting guidelines)
Lots of assumptions in your comment. Few THS sitters sit or want to sit professionally. Itâs a hobby or lifestyle choice for most.
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Except, this is not a professional pet sitting service. Itâs TrustedHousesitters. Pet sitting is primarily about trust and experience with animals â not about a piece of paper. As if a course on how to fill out a meet & greet form would make a difference in whether you properly care for a pet or not. This sounds more like a sales pitch than actual value.
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Itâs also illogical to claim that youâll eventually put a pet in danger. Consider the millions of people with their own pets whoâve managed to keep them happily alive and healthy, without training or certifications. Tangentially, people have children and rarely get training or certifications. 
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No, I am operating on the basis of my experience as a petowner for many years, which in turn was based on aquiring knowledge on the pets, their health, needs and training, young, active and senior years.
My profession is not petsitting and Iâm not a member of THS to do petsitting as a profession. The hosts are (presumably) not here to get a professional petsitter (then they would hire one).
It is a mutual exchange to travel and live like a local with pets. I think it is great to have professional petsitters and they should be paid as professionals. In that sense it would ruin their business if THS could do the same without pay I guess.
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Starter Course Overview:
âHow to make Sure your kids survive until theyâre old enough to take care of themselves!â
This course is designed to help parents raise independent, confident, and responsible children who can take care of themselves and make smart decisions as they grow. Youâll learn practical strategies and parenting techniques to guide your child toward maturity and self-sufficiency.
What Youâll Learn:
How to teach them that wearing the same shirt for five days is not âeco-friendlyâ
Teaching them to cook something other than instant noodles
Budgeting 101 â so they stop asking you for money every five minutes
Emotional intelligence, because âI donât knowâ is not a valid answer
Basic safety â so they donât think super glue and paper cuts are a good combination
Course Format
5 easy-to-follow modules
Practical exercises and real-life scenarios
Expert advice â from people who survived raising teenagers - vice versa
Q&A sessions to address your unique parenting challenges
Bonus:
Example âMeet & Greetâ scripts â for when they have to introduce themselves to an actual human
Donât be stupid, donât kill your children by accident by missing out this course! - only §3000 - best offer!
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But hereâs the rub. THS is not full of professional pet sitters. Itâs full of people who love animals and travel and adventure and making new relationships as they sit @Kahaubrich
How is relying on your experience trial & error and experience plus a piece of paper any different? Thousands of members have pets themselves, grew up with animals, have years of pet sitting experience and on it goes. Why would they vs. a pet owner put a pet in danger any more or less? Ridiculous statement & misjudged post for this forum. We are all volunteers. #andisntthatwonderful
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@Kahaubrich What a brave post for a first-timer!
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Itâs more about what you learn, not a piece of paper.
Iâve done this for a long time and bad situations can come up. I think itâs important to learn what you can to keep everyone safe, thatâs all
As others have said, THS is not for professional pet sitters. We are just filling in for the hosts while they are away from home. Most people who have pets donât have any professional pet training. If a pet were to become ill, my role would be to take it to the vet and inform my hosts. If a host wants a sitter with professional experience and certifications they would need to hire and pay a sitter. THS is just for a friendly exchange.
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I thought some folks here would be interested in an affordable educational resource. Iâm sure somebody reading this is interested in learning more about the trade.
I guess many of these folks already know everything they need to know! Glad to hear it!
But youâve misassumed â few of us are in the âtrade,â and nor do we want to be.
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Yes and much of this can be learned with hands -on experience (volunteering at rescues, humane societies, even private situations) overseen by those with more knowledge and experience .
This whole certification thing is out of control in so many areas. Bottom line for such courses (pet-sitting and beyond) : Theyâre neither regulated nor overseen and can be rife with erroneous info. And just because someone has a cert says nothing about anything beyond the fact (possiblyâŚ) that they leaned âxâ in âyâ class taught by someone who believes that they know âzâ.
I say the above as a fitness trainer whose field is saturated by people with certs that are filled with bad info.
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There is now dog walking and petsitting course online through british college of Canine studies. 
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