11 Unique Gifts To Give To Your Pet Sitting Clients
The holidays are a great time to let your clients know just how much you appreciate them by giving gifts to your pet sitting clients. Whether you choose to do it for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or even New Years, they are sure to appreciate it. Many pet sitters take to the Facebook Groups to ask what others have given to come up with new ideas. So I thought I would compile an awesome list of 11 Holiday Gifts to give your pet sitting clients, so you didn’t have to struggle through the process!
11 Gifts You Can Give To Your Pet Sitting Clients For the Holidays:
BarkBox
Send your dog or cat a fun box each month full of quality toys and treats. Prices start as low as $20 a box depending on the length of your subscription. With this gift idea, you don’t have to do the buying or wrapping, just purchase this box and have it shipped. Use this link to get a month for free!
Dollar Store Galore!
Squeakers, chews, balls, and wands oh my! If you have a lot of people on your list, the dollar store is a perfect place to get holiday gifts. Be cautious of the treats, but most of the cat toys are fabulous to give as gifts. What cat doesn’t love balls with bells and fake mice? 🙂
Big Store Stock Up
Stores like Costco, Home Goods (one of my FAV places!), or PetSmart are a smart go-to tactic for holiday shopping throughout the year. Look for sales and stock up on items like medium to large-sized stuffed toys, pull & chew toys. And it’s great not only for the holidays but also as appreciation gifts for those without religious holiday affiliations, or “just because” throughout the year. Costco always has some great tough pet toys, candles, candies, even Starbucks gift sets sold in multiples. Might just be the perfect thing for the top 10% clients, eh? 🙂
Classic Holiday Picture Card
Sometimes a great gift is as simple as a company picture thanking them for their business. Gather all your employees for a sweet group picture and add business-friendly holiday message. Have an employee party where they all sign the cards while you are listening to festive music and enjoying each other’s company while sharing stories! Your clients will love the personal touch!
Gift Certificate
This is great if you have a good relationship with a pet shop or groomer looking fo a new business that is willing to donate or discount gift certificates to your patrons. This way both business benefits, as well as your clients! This is a great idea that you can use throughout the year as well during your networking efforts around town!
Make a Donation In Their Name
Go to the humane society or other local shelter or pet charity in your area and make a donation in your client’s name. Not only will you be giving your clients a token of appreciation, you’ll be helping animals in need too. You can do this either as individual donations or as a lump sum for “Clients of XYZ Pet Sitting Company.” It is the best gift that can keep on giving!
This charity was started by a pet sitter to help the pets who belong to the homeless have food to eat.
Free or Discounted Services
When you’re strapped for time or extra money, some pet sitters and dog walkers still want to give their clients something but can’t afford to. So they give a gift that they can provide. Services for free or a discounted rate. Think something like 10% of off monthly services or a free walk some have done. (I would only recommend this option if your profit margin can afford it!)
Throw Holiday “Pawty”
Take the tricks you learned from the How To Have A Howling Pet Event In Your Area and make it happen in real life. Add even more fun by having someone dress up as Santa so that clients can take pictures with their pets. Provide homemade dog treats and snacks for the humans. It’s sure to be the hit of the season.
Unique Gifts from Etsy (in bulk)
Trinkets and homemade items from an Etsy store is always a thoughtful idea when showing your clients how grateful you are. Take a look at this unique wood carving that is a Christmas Ornament with your pet’s name on it. Pretty unique, huh? 🙂
Pet Rocks
I have to admit, when Carol Preuett first told me that it is what she has done for her clients, I got a good chuckle. Then, she showed me a picture! Find a local artist that can paint a rock in the likeness of your client’s pet. This one can be a little pricey, so it’s best to limit it to your top 5-10 clients.
Carol says she has a local artist who paints these for her. The painter bases the portrait on pics Carol provide her for $35 medium rock & $40 large rock. “There’s no way a pet parent wouldn’t love one of these adorable pet rocks,” says Carol. I agree!
Photo book from Shutterfly, Simpleprints, or Photobook America
Snap a few adorable pics of your pet clients and compile a cute little picture book. Be on the lookout for deals, sometimes you can even score one for free. You can also get great deals for these companies from time to time on Groupon. This is a truly thoughtful way to show your appreciation and love for your clients.
No matter what it is you decide to do for your clients, it is important to give back and it doesn’t have to always be at the holiday season. The world is full of options and they’ve chosen you to provide care for their loved ones. It’s always good to let them know that you are someone who truly cares and values their patronage.
For my dog walking clients & a few cat clients who book a lot throughout the year I bought natural colored, canvas reusable shopping bags (doesn’t everyone have these now a days), took pictures of clients pups/cats and ironed them onto the bags. Super easy, not expensive and they loved them!
Susan, I love this idea! Thanks for sharing! -Bella 🙂
How did you iron on the photos?
Hi Denise,
Any art supply store I believe (I got mine from Michael’s) has iron on paper with instructions for downloading your picture and printing onto this paper. Package comes with 8-10 full size sheets, so you can print a couple of pictures on one sheet. You then just iron them on. Really easy
I got clay air drying for this year and did paw print of clients pet. Used a heat cookie cutter and there yea go!
I own a pet sitting business. This year I went on EBay and ordered custom pet identification tags with new collars I found at Tuesday Morning. Each tag was $4 and the collars were about $3.
On front on tag I put pet name w owners last name and phone number. On back I put” if I’m lost, call my mom. She’s crazy crying..
Dawn, Great idea!!!!! I love what you wrote too. So perfect! – Bella
I liked that you said that one thing to consider when you have a reputable pet-sitter whom you enjoy using the service of is to give them a gift in appreciation, such as a gift card. I have been trying to find ways to show my appreciation for my pet-sitter since she does such a great job taking care of my puppy when I am not home but I haven’t been sure what gift to give her. I will be sure to consider giving her a gift card to show my appreciation for her service since I think she would enjoy getting a treat from her favorite bakery.
So that the article helped! 🙂 -Bella