Hi, can anyone recommend some good books or training courses which would be beneficial as a sitter?
Things like animal pyschology, pet first aid, dog training etc?
I am keen to gain some more skills and knowledge a sitter and it would be nice to hear some good recommendations from others…
Not a book, but these are very informative:
Yes! baxterandbella.com has a lot of free resources (good podcast with short snippets on specific topics), and if you become a paying member ($200ish, if I remember correctly – just once, not annually), there are tons of classes, forums in which to ask/answer questions, trainers at your fingertips to answer questions or do phone/video calls with you, etc. You join once, for life, and it’s good for as many dogs as you choose to have!
I also like a book called “The Power of Positive Dog Training.” I used it 15 years ago for my Chihuahua, and I’ve carried its principles through to my two young German Shepherds. Dogs are happier (of course) and learn MUCH faster if you make it fun. Even just little things like saying “Nope” instead of “no” help you keep your voice happy and light, even when you have to correct the dog… so it’s more like, “Oops, try again” than “That was terrible and you’re in trouble!”
Hi @nickc,
Before we got our dog as a puppy a good friend recommended The Art of Raising a Puppy, It’s a fantastic book and gives really great insight into a dogs behavior and even why older dogs might have certain mannerisms. If you ever get to sit for a puppy or younger dogs this is a helpful book.
I also found this book by Zak George to be very helpful for dog training.
Have you also heard of Fear Free? I am not sure how expensive the course is but a lot of vet clinics are starting to train their employees with this course because it’s very effective and based is the most recent research.
There’s probably a lot of great YT videos. I think there are different styles/philosophies, so be sure to check out more than one person.
When I had Disney Plus, I watched some of Cesar Millan’s “Better Human, Better Dog.” I haven’t watched his other stuff, but I learned a lot from that show.
Hi @nickc I took the Fear Free Pet Sitter Certification Program that @Kelly mentioned above and had a very positive experience. It does cost money to take the course, and most of the information I already knew, but I did learn some new information I found helpful.
We learn so much from animals that is useful in being a better human.
I mentioned some useful rabbit resources on this thread:
Always think Jackson Galaxy youtube channel provides some good info for cat sitters -
Thank you!
