Five questions before you book pet care.

Which service do you actually need?

In-home, in their home, or somewhere else — and for how long?

Drop-in visits

A provider comes to your home once or more a day for feeding, litter, medication and company. Usually the least disruptive option for cats and for dogs who dislike change.

House sitting

The provider stays overnight in your home. More expensive; keeps routines intact.

Boarding (in a provider’s home or a facility)

Your pet stays elsewhere. Ask about the number and type of other animals present, vaccination requirements, and how the day is structured.

Dog walking

Solo or group walks, at set times. Ask how many dogs walk together and how they are transported.

Grooming

Salon, mobile van or in-home. Ask what is included and how a nervous animal is handled.

Training

In-person classes, private sessions or online courses. Approaches differ widely; ask the trainer to describe their method in plain terms and what happens when the dog gets it wrong. We do not endorse any method or credential.

The five questions

Ask these before money changes hands.

1. Service area and availability. Do you cover my address on the dates I need, and what is your backup if you are ill or delayed?
2. Experience with my kind of animal. Cats who hide, dogs who pull, seniors on medication, puppies — ask for specifics, not a general “yes”.
3. Written terms. Cancellation window, what happens if I return early, key handling, what counts as an emergency and who pays the vet.
4. Booking and payment route. Through a platform (with its protections and fees) or directly? What is the platform’s policy if something goes wrong, and does it still apply if you book off-platform?
5. The meet-and-greet. Insist on one before the first booking. Watch how the provider approaches the animal and how the animal responds. Trust that over any profile.

For cats — sitters and drop-in visits

• Ask how the visitor will confirm the cat has actually been seen, eaten and used the box — hiding cats can go unobserved for days.
• Leave written instructions for litter, food location, medications and where the cat hides, and confirm the visitor reads them at the meet-and-greet.
• Ask what the visitor does if the cat gets out, and whether they will keep doors closed in the sequence your home needs.

For dogs — walkers, boarding and trainers

• For walks: leash and equipment used, group size, how dogs are introduced, and whether your dog can be walked solo if needed.
• For boarding: where the dog sleeps, how much time is spent alone, and what the daily routine looks like in writing.
• For training: whether the trainer will describe their approach and its limits plainly, what equipment they require, and what a session costs including any package commitment. Online courses are a different product — they train you, not the dog — and refund terms for digital purchases are often strict.

Where to find providers in Canada

Where can I actually look, and what does a listing prove?

Rover operates in Canada and lists independent sitters, walkers, boarders and drop-in visitors; local availability varies by community, and rural areas may show few or no listings. A listing proves that a person created a profile; verification steps are the platform’s and are described on its site, not ours.

Other routes that do not appear as directory records because they are local and unverifiable from here: your veterinary clinic’s referrals, municipal animal-services pages, breed or rescue groups, and neighbours. For a region with no marketplace listings, those are the routes we would use, together with the five questions above.

We have no verified grooming or training directory for Canada at the reviewed date. Rather than list unvetted businesses, we say so and give you the questions.

The booking checklist

Printable. Work through it before you open the merchant page.

1. Service type chosen — drop-in, house sitting, boarding, walking, grooming or training; in-person or online.
2. Service area and dates confirmed — plus the provider’s backup plan.
3. Specific experience asked about — with an animal like mine.
4. Written terms received — cancellation, early return, keys, emergencies, vet costs.
5. Booking and payment route decided — platform protections understood, including what is lost off-platform.
6. Meet-and-greet done — and the animal’s reaction observed.
7. Written instructions prepared — food, litter, medication, hiding places, door sequence.