Dog Sitter Questions

[momadis66]

A while ago I posted and all you guys were a great help..thanks Now I met with the dog sitter and at first I told her I would pay her $20 a day and leave her plenty of food for the week. She seemed a little uneasy with it and I told her to go home and think about it..so she did and called me back and said she was talking to some people who do pet sitting and she felt $25 was a better price and not to stock up on all the food. Now, here is my question..I am a mother of 3 and can't help that my motherly instincts kick in. Should I still leaver her food? I would feel bad not doing so but with the higher price..I just don't know what to do. I know her from work..we work together at school..she is a college student at night and will be staying(living) at my house while we are on vacation. So she is not a stranger. Any advice would be helpful

 

[JoiseyMom]

A while ago I posted and all you guys were a great help..thanks Now I met with the dog sitter and at first I told her I would pay her $20 a day and leave her plenty of food for the week. She seemed a little uneasy with it and I told her to go home and think about it..so she did and called me back and said she was talking to some people who do pet sitting and she felt $25 was a better price and not to stock up on all the food. Now, here is my question..I am a mother of 3 and can't help that my motherly instincts kick in. Should I still leaver her food? I would feel bad not doing so but with the higher price..I just don't know what to do. I know her from work..we work together at school..she is a college student at night and will be staying(living) at my house while we are on vacation. So she is not a stranger. Any advice would be helpful

I am thinking she would prefer her own food, the things she likes to eat and prepare??

We are doing a pet sitter..but they are coming to the house...2x a day..18.00 each visit...what a buisness!!! So, 36.00 a day!!

 

[momadis66]

Tell me about it...what a great job. My thought is if I were a college student..heck I would jump at an opportunity to do something like this. The full use of house and pool and food I did plan on asking her what she likes but if she still won't eat it then it doesn't pay. I just feel bad not leaving her stuff, she is probably fine with it..it is just my guilt ..thats my hubby's take on it.

 

[starbox]

FWIW - I never grocery shop specifically for my house-sitter but I do make sure they know that they can eat any food in the pantry/freezer/fridge. I also leave a gift certificate to a nearby restaurant as a thank-you.

 

[Floridagal23]

I would problem take a basket and fill it with candy, maybe a box of microwave popcorn, a box of cookies, a 6 pack of soda or waters and a box of dog treats, and have it say...just in case you two get hungry..thanks so much for your help this week! maybe specify on the dog treat box with a post it..1x per day, etc. and you can always include a 5 or 10 dollar gift card to starbucks etc

 

[cerberus]

My dog sitter also stays at the house and is a college kid. We pay him anywhere from $150 to 200 for the week to take care of 3 dogs and 2 cats. We do not buy him food, but tell him he can help himself to anything in the house. So if she is telling you she is fine without food, I would not get her anything.

 

[CarolinaMomOf3boys]

we have a dogsitter coming while we are at disney next month, I am paying her $100 for August 24-29 and will either stock the fridge and pantry or leave a grocery store gift card for her.

 

[hsmamato2]

OP- if sitter says not to- I'm sure they'd rather have the $$$ and buy their own food- don't worry about that! Once, my sis stayed at my house for 2 weeks,refused pay,but I bought at least $100 of food for her-she was happy to dog sit just for that!

refresh my memory again what do you all pay for pet sitting? now we have 3 dogs,2 fish,2 cats(outside only) we were paying the neighbor teen(15) $10 a day to come in 3 times or so,feed,let out,play with,etc. I'm wondering about this though- he's really sweet,and seems thrilled with the cash(right next door)
I like to get a good deal,but I want to keep him as my sitter.....the dogs are very happy with him- do you think maybe more $$$.or a gift card somewhere? advice appreciated- I want to be the fair lady next door,not the cheapskate

 

[justplaingoofy]

We have a dog sitter (this is her business though...she is insured, etc)

-If she does overnights in our house it is $50 a day. (arrives around 7-8p, leaves @ 7a, and stops in at lunch time.
-We usually do 4 visits a day at $45 a day. That way she is coming & going into/out of our house.

We do not provide additional food, although we've told her to help herself to anything we have. Maybe because she is 30 something and this is her business...so she's out and about during the day for her other doggie visits and also runs a doggie play group, etc.

I realize its expensive, but we thoroughly trust her and never have to worry so its worth it for us

 

[justplaingoofy]

refresh my memory again what do you all pay for pet sitting? now we have 3 dogs,2 fish,2 cats(outside only) we were paying the neighbor teen(15) $10 a day to come in 3 times or so,feed,let out,play with,etc. I'm wondering about this though- he's really sweet,and seems thrilled with the cash(right next door)
[/QUOTE]


We use a pet sitter (listed above in previous post), but if we are gone all day (and the dog sitter is not avail)and need someone to come let them out for exercise & feed them we pay a neighborhood kid (very dependable & mature) even though he is only in the 6th grade.... $20 to come over for 1 visit.
We started out paying him on the high side because we use him when we are in a jam, and wanted it to be an incentive to be availalbe.

 

[cerberus]

refresh my memory again what do you all pay for pet sitting? now we have 3 dogs,2 fish,2 cats(outside only) we were paying the neighbor teen(15) $10 a day to come in 3 times or so,feed,let out,play with,etc. I'm wondering about this though- he's really sweet,and seems thrilled with the cash(right next door)
I like to get a good deal,but I want to keep him as my sitter.....the dogs are very happy with him- do you think maybe more $$$.or a gift card somewhere? advice appreciated- I want to be the fair lady next door,not the cheapskate

I think a neighborhood teen I would pay less than what I pay my college student sitter. My college sitter stays at our house and we pay him anywhere from $150 - 200 per week for 3 dogs and 2 cats. It just depends on how much we ask him to do "extra" for us, like give meds, clean litter boxes, etc. Our animals are pretty low maintenance and the dogs do not need to be walked because we have 3 acres for them to run around. We just constantly check with him to make sure he is happy with what we are paying him.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Our professional pet sitter charges $20 per visit. We have 2 cats and a fish, so we have her come in every other day. Since our August trip is 2 weeks we have asked her to come every day during the second week because the cats start to get lonely.

I mail a check to her when we get home and I usually add a 20% tip to whatever I owe her.

 

[horseshowmom]

I would problem take a basket and fill it with candy, maybe a box of microwave popcorn, a box of cookies, a 6 pack of soda or waters and a box of dog treats, and have it say...just in case you two get hungry..thanks so much for your help this week! maybe specify on the dog treat box with a post it..1x per day, etc. and you can always include a 5 or 10 dollar gift card to starbucks etc

I really like this idea. You could either do the snacks or combine them with, as others have suggested, a gift card to the nearest grocery store or good restaurant. Then I wouldn't worry about bringing a souvenir or anthing else back, and that could also serve as their tip (which I generally do with the boy who takes care of mine).

refresh my memory again what do you all pay for pet sitting? now we have 3 dogs,2 fish,2 cats(outside only) we were paying the neighbor teen(15) $10 a day to come in 3 times or so,feed,let out,play with,etc. I'm wondering about this though- he's really sweet,and seems thrilled with the cash(right next door)
I like to get a good deal,but I want to keep him as my sitter.....the dogs are very happy with him- do you think maybe more $$$.or a gift card somewhere? advice appreciated- I want to be the fair lady next door,not the cheapskate

In your case, with the boy making 3 trips a day, I would pay him at least $5 per trip giving him $15 a day. The truth is that that extra $5 a day isn't going to hurt your vacation, and it will probably make you look a lot better in his eyes.

 

[kmvand1]

As I posted on the other thread regarding the same topic, I always pay $30.00 a day for my dog sitters, regardless if they are a teen or an adult or college student. It is my dogs I am concerned about. I have the 17 yo and his step mother come into my house several times a day from 7AM to 9PM and they are WONDERFUL with my dogs. I just returned from Myrtle Beach yesterday and despite the fact my fur babies were a little mad at me for leaving, they were so happy and I know they were well taken care of, it is always worth every penny I pay them.

 

[drivencrazy]

Wow! I didn't know it was such a good business to be in!

We are taking a 2 week trip and had thought about a "house/dog" sitter, but just don't know anyone that can/ would want to do this!

My parents said they would come by and feed the dog, put him in at night, out in the morning... but I just feel that the dog (only 7 months old) wouldn't get enough attention!

So I have been looking at boarding him. There are 2 places near here that come highly recominded, one of them is $20 a night the other is $30 a night. Still not sure which one I will take him to, but I guess that price is about right!

I really wish there was a teen around here that would do it, we just don't have anyone that we know well enough to do it! (we have no teens on our block besides our 13 year old)!!

 

[zurgswife]

Going rate around me is $40-50 per day for overnight house/pet sitting. Our college student is getting $40 from me so a total of $440 for 11 days.

 

[justplaingoofy]

So I have been looking at boarding him. There are 2 places near here that come highly recominded, one of them is $20 a night the other is $30 a night. Still not sure which one I will take him to, but I guess that price is about right!

Is there anyone around that does it at a business? Maybe contact your vet to see? When our dog was much younger we would put him in the kennel and by the time we paid for the overnight cost, playtime, plus we would have to drop him off a day before (we had an early am flight) and pick him up a day later (late afternoon flight) it didn't work out to be that much more for them to be in their own house. Plus he came home w/ kennel cough even though he had the vaccine and you could tell he hated walking in there because all the dogs would bark at him. He would lower his head and walk down towards his pen and avoid all eye contact..... (he'e pretty submissive)

Our girl does 1/2 visits. (neighbors have confirmed this)...if it rains out instead of playing outdoors she'll sit & watch animal planet with them .. Sometimes during the week she'll take him along on her errands, or bring him back to her house for a quick visit...ride in the car..

7 1/2 months old is probably going to have quite a bit of energy, plus if he gets bored he might destroy things. I'd be worried that he would be lonely, too cooped up, and not happy sitting at home by himself.

 

[HOGFAN]

we are going to pay niece who lives right down the street
$20/day to come in 3 times a day to feed, play with, take out our one dog.

for 22/day there is a really nice and well respected kennel around here that would probably keep the dog busier but the niece really needs the money.

 

[Praise2Him]

refresh my memory again what do you all pay for pet sitting? now we have 3 dogs,2 fish,2 cats(outside only) we were paying the neighbor teen(15) $10 a day to come in 3 times or so,feed,let out,play with,etc. I'm wondering about this though- he's really sweet,and seems thrilled with the cash(right next door)

DD17 lets our neighbor's dog out / walks her (if not raining) and brushes her once a day and they pay her $5 a day. She enjoys it and is happy with the amount, but seeing the others on here, maybe she should ask for a raise! Actually, a lot of it probably depends on where you live. (They do also give her a bonus every now and then, especially when we have a trip planned to WDW.)

 

[momadis66]

Thanks for all the great advice...As for your 7 month old puppy...thats how old mine is and I couldn't bear to leave him in a kennel. He needed much more attention than they offer and as someone said..by the time you pay for all the extra playtime and other stuff..I know he will be loved all day and night and played with also. I think it is so worth it. Good luck in your search..you may want to do a google search in your area or lots of time your vet will be able to recommened someone for you. Thanks again to all for your input