House Sitting and Pet Minding In France
Have you ever wondered what house sitting or pet minding in France is like? House sitting is popular among Francophiles who want to live like a local while minding an empty house or taking care of pets. It is a cost effective way of travelling with the main cost of accommodation being free. Lodging, the use of a car and sometimes food is part of the arrangement.
Tips on House Sitting in France by Jane Dunning
Jane Dunning who has completed many house sitting and pet minding assignments in France agreed to share her knowledge and tips on this subject. Jane has included helpful websites and resources to find out more if you are interested in house sitting or pet minding in France. Jane has also written two novels, Thirty-five Minutes from St Tropez and Stolen Summer inspired from her first pet-sit on a vineyard in Provence.
After a meeting with the owner in a deluxe hotel in London on a rainy summer’s day, it was all set. We were heading to Provence at the beginning of the following year. Not an easy house sit with only a cat or a little dog… no, we threw ourselves in the deep end as we’d agreed to look after four dogs and three houses on a medium-sized vineyard in the Var, about thirty-five minutes inland from St Tropez.
While on holiday in Beaulieu-sur-Mer the previous October, we’d popped in, so had met the dogs and the gardiens and seen the lie of the land, but it was with some trepidation that we arrived on 1 January 2008 with a car full of stuff we didn’t think we could do without for four months. These days, we travel much lighter.
Getting to Know the Pets and the Local French Villages
The gardiens showed us the ropes and left a couple of days later. We were on our own. We’ve always lived in towns so being in the depths of the Provencal countryside took a bit of getting used to especially as the dogs would bark at noises in the night which were probably the snuffling and rustling of wild boar who managed to get through the electric fence despite daily checks for gaps.
We soon got into a routine of taking the dogs for walks in the January sunshine, either around the perimeter of the vineyard, checking the electric fence at the same time, or into the wonderful countryside surrounding the domaine. The dogs absolutely loved these walks as they didn’t get as many when the gardiens were caring for them. They were really working farm dogs even though they were three Jack Russells and a black Labrador. Jack Russells can be kept as hunting dogs for small mammals, a job that we found later in the spring that they relished, whilst Pinot, the Labrador, was merely there, it seemed, to be bullied by the eldest tiny female Jack Russell.
Market Days in France
When we felt we could safely leave the dogs – they were free to wander where they wished – we took the opportunity to visit local towns and villages, especially on their market days and we got to know the area round La Garde Freinet very well. We especially liked the markets of Les Arcs sur Argens and Lorgues, and visited St Tropez’s Tuesday market as often as we could. It takes place in the gorgeous Place des Lices and is quite busy throughout the winter so it always made for a fun day trip.
Towards the end of January, the weather became rainy so our walks around the vineyard became more of a trudge in wellies but the dogs still loved it, although Pinot sometimes missed off the last corner and earned the nickname “Shortcut”. February brought clear blue skies and daily warm sunshine with cold nights. By the time April had arrived, the weather was as good as an English summer. The wisteria we’d hacked back in February bloomed along with tiny yellow banksia roses and deep purple irises.
Pet Sitting Lessons Learnt While in France
We learnt a lot when looking after Pinot, Muscat, Rolle and Chasselas. My husband became pack leader and could generally control them but we did have a few incidences, when daughter Chasselas attacked her mother, for example. Poor little Muscat had stitches in her ear and leg, and an overnight stay at the vets all caused by a misunderstanding over a creature they were hunting in the undergrowth. Or could it be that Chasselas wanted to move up the pecking order?
We returned to the vineyard the following year, but the gardiens took the dogs with them which left us free for even more exploration but we’ve never forgotten our first canine charges and they will live on in my stories, as they feature fairly prominently, particularly in Stolen Summer.
Our house-sitting adventures have taken us to Spain, Italy and Sicily but most of them have been in France. Our favourites include five weeks looking after a cheeky French Bulldog in Juan-les-Pins, his place of choice for a walk was Boulevard de la Croisette in Cannes and a beautiful manoir in the Charente-Maritime caring for a gorgeous Belgian Shepherd. Lately, we’ve been looking after four cats in the Luberon, Vaucluse. When we go back next time, the dynamics will have changed as there’s a new Jack Russell puppy on the scene – I can’t wait!
Secrets to Successful House Sitting in France
Be Adaptable and Check out the House
The secret to successful house-sitting is to be adaptable, check out the house as carefully as possible and we find it’s also important to get on with the owners. Some appear to want servants whereas we prefer an arrangement of equality – the owners provide the home and we take great care of the house and any pets.
It could be said that we vet the owners as much as they might vet us! Of course, we’ve had a few minor errors of judgement – darned sheets at one place, a sofa bed in Paris for a two week stay (it wasn’t too bad actually and we probably wouldn’t have gone if we’d known but actually had a great time) and a very naughty dog in Brittany who was much larger than the photos indicated.
Arrange A Holiday Around Your House Sit
We tend to either arrange a holiday, and add a house-sit, or vice versa, which means we can be away for longer at a lower cost staying, quite often, in a beautiful home in an interesting place. We have also met some lovely people who have become friends which is another bonus.
Speak Some of the Language
It helps for at least one of the couple to be practical and to speak the language to some extent, or be prepared to try. We think one needs a few boundaries – we won’t look after horses or farm animals and would think very carefully about looking after a dangerous breed of dog – we’ve seen what happens when the red mist descends.
Work Out How You’ll Get to the House Sit
We always work out how we might get to the house-sit before agreeing. We can fairly easily take the car to France by ferry but Sicily, for example, requires flying so we check that there is a suitable flight and that it’s not too expensive. The flights and hiring a car can add up so it’s not always a cheap hobby.
The websites we use are MindmyHouse and Trusted Housesitters – the first good value, the second expensive for what’s on offer but lists more sites. To check out locations, I use Provence Web, Provence Beyond and France This Way plus Google Maps and Streetview.
Jane has also written two novels, Thirty-five Minutes from St Tropez and Stolen Summer inspired from her first pet-sit on a vineyard in Provence.
About Jane Dunning
Jane was born in Guernsey and moved to Bournemouth with her family six months later. After school and secretarial college, her working career, predominantly in finance and latterly with Bournemouth University, spanned over thirty-five years. She has been married since 1974, lives in Poole, Dorset and enjoys travel, writing, reading, walking and gardening. She has visited France every year since 1990 and has spent long periods in both France and Italy since retiring in 2007. You can find Jane on Facebook here.
Jane’s books, which are available on Amazon, Thirty-five Minutes from St Tropez and its sequel Stolen Summer are fictional works on vineyard life, four dogs and their extended family living in Monaco, Antibes and Aix-en-Provence.
