I have had a dog for 10 years now and I have been the primary care taker. I treat her as part of the family and give her endless amounts of love, combined with firmness as needed. While I have limited experience with paid dog sitting, I have extensive experience babysitting for children. If I can take care of 3 challenging toddler boys at the same time, then I can assure you that I can handle dogs! (I also dog-sit as a favor for my friends because I enjoy their dogs so much). Additionally, I am physically in good shape and am able to keep up with larger dogs. I would be happy to go on jogs / runs with dogs that need more vigorous exercise!