Today is Easter and it reminds me how good I was at giving out holiday treats to all our clients.
I would get cards from Walgreens and write personal notes in them. I would also buy an assortment of dog treats,
catnip and small cat toys to create goodie bags for the pets. I would give the bags out to the sitters and they would leave it after their walk or cat visit. I really thought it was an important gift to give as a act of appreciation for letting us take care of their beloved family member.
It was so much fun too planning for the next holiday treat.

Now its Easter and I look back at the past year and we just haven't done anything besides end of the year card and photo magnet. It's definitely time for us to get our act together and start giving out our Holiday treats.. Besides having a complete blast making them, it's also important to give back.

Have a great Easter Everyone!!

​Stef

Hello everyone,

Many of our sitters are college students so I am very aware of school breaks around year, although it affects us in a different way than it affects the students. Many of our sitters wants to take a well deserved break, the problem is that as college students everyone then wants to take it at the exact same time. That becomes problematic for us and during this Spring Break the issue has become as apparent than ever before.

I recently hired two new team members (also Columbia Students) who were going to work over Spring break, without them there would only have been two sitters left to work!!
Thanks to Ella and Roland as well as our two new team members Elisha and Maddy we will have everyone's visits covered but it's a wake up call that something has to change.

The change will be adding non-student sitters. It will be a new challenge for us but it's one I am willing to take on in order to ensure we can move throughout the year in a seamless way.

If anyone has recommendations of people interested in taking on a petsitting job or if YOU are interested in joining our team, shoot us an email!!

​Stef

Hello Everyone,

I'm excited to invite two new pups to Chicago Urban Pets: Baxter who just moved here from Philly with his mom and Webster who was recently adopted into a new family in Streeterville. A & B adopted Webster on Sunday and we had our meet&greet on Monday. 

Baxter is currently walked by Elisha. He is a sweet terrier and senior citizen. He is often taken to the dog run in his building to go potty and then Elisha and Baxter head back inside for some snuggles.

​Webster is a Spaniel Mix... Maybe has some chihuahua in him? He is forward and alert and still a puppy.. Somewhere between 6 months- 1 year. 

Hello Everyone,

Today I would like to share with you a trick I learned to getting a small dog to go out with you even though they are acting in an agressive manner.
Normally Chicago Urban Pets doesn't walk dogs that are agressive but it does happen on occasion if we need to switch dog walker for a dog who is uncomfortable around new people.
The first and best thing is to have the new dog walker accompany the owner or current dogwalker for a walk the day prior, spending time both inside and outside with the dog.

When the dog walker comes on their own the following day it's very likely the dog might still bark but often they won't be as scared. The trick is you need to get the dog leashed. Once the dog is connected to a leash they calm down and follow your lead, but getting to leashing the dog can be difficult and intimidating if they seem to want to snap at your hand.

The trick is to create a big loop with the leash, cowboy style. This can be done by looping the end of the leash through the handle. Then by standing as close as you can, you throw the home-made lasso towards the dog in hopes of getting it around his neck. In order to do this you want to make sure the lasso is as big as possible.

Good Luck!
Stef