We have returned to Canada after 1 year of housesitting across Australia! 

We've been housesitting around Vancouver since the summer of 2024, and have been loving it. To date, we have cared for 35+ houses and 70+ pets. We LOVE housesitting and promise to care for your pets and your home while you are away. For us, housesitting is a lovely way to meet lots of dog breeds, and experience various neighbourhoods across Vancouver as we are hoping to purchase our own home and adopt a dog within the next few years. Housesitting has been a great way for us to save money on rent and explore a variety of neighbourhoods in Vancouver.

DOG EXPERIENCE:
Jeanine: I am an enthusiastic self-taught dog trainer with experience training an 8-week-old puppy from its first week home until 4 months of age! I have self-taught myself Positive Reinforcement (R+) dog training, Click Training, Food Luring and am always continuously learning. I have experience working with leash pulling, potty training, crate training, impulse control, leash biting, patience and improving responsiveness to basic commands. I would love to support whatever training you are doing with your pups.

CAT EXPERIENCE:
We have both grown up with cats in the family and love all the different personalities cats can have. We’ve cared for cats of all ages, from young kittens to senior cats of 17 years. It’s genuinely so nice to be in a house with cats as it always feels more like a home. Alex and I have a cat waiting for us back home who has a lot of dental issues, so we have lots of experience with liquid medication delivered with a syringe into the mouth. We have also cared for a senior cat with an eye who needed eye drops. We’re experienced in delivering some medication, and comfortable learning others if required.

Alex: I have a 9-5 mon-fri role that pulls me away from the house but I have loved caring for pets in the evenings.

ABOUT US:
We are two professionals in our early 30's, born and raised in Vancouver who have recently returned from a year abroad in Australia. We are very active and love going for runs, hikes, skiing, surfing or other adventures. We love exploring whatever neighborhood we are in, and will happily take your pup on our short or long walks, whatever the preference. My partner (Alex) works full time, and I (Jeanine) am currently an environmental consultant with some field days, and looking for a work-from-home position.

LONGER SITS: In instances where housesits may be longer, I have the option to reach out to a fellow sitter and dear friend to ensure there is coverage in case of emergencies, or a day away. This is 100% optional and I would inquire with you and your comfort level before confirming, but this is a useful contact to ensure your pets needs are always met whatever the scenario! We have worked together for longer housesits, trading off to ensure smoothe transitions for the pets and household duties.

OUR PROMISE:
It is vitally important to us that petowners feel confident and comfortable leaving us their pets and/or home, so we have gone above and beyond to ensure homes have been respected, secured, cleaned and pets loved and taken care of as though you were home. We promise to send photo and text updates, so you know your fur babies are happy! A summary of our housesitting rules are: no smoking, photo + text updates, clean laundry + clean house. If there is anything we can do to improve your or your pet's experience, please don't hesitate to reach out!

DOG TRAINING:

My training style follows SPCA recommendations:

- Force-free, reward-based/positive reinforcement (R+) training methods
- Humane training methods that focus on rewarding/reinforcing what you want your dog to do and using motivators like treats, food, play (what the dog finds motivating) and not forcing a dog to do something.

(*disclaimer* I am not professionally trained, just an enthusiast!). Dog training is a passion of mine and a great way for me to spend time with your pups while you're away! Do you want specific training sessions while you're away? Let's chat! You can purchase dog training sessions to occur during your housesit. These come with a time block explanation of how time was spent, along with photos and videos :)