Dog Sitter

[bucket o' butter]

We are heading to Florida in March and I am contemplating having someone stay at our house to watch our dogs rather than board them. I just hate putting them in a kennel for a week and a half. Since I have never done had a dog sitter, I have no idea what to pay someone. We live a small town. The dogs are crate trained and can remain in their crate so someone doesn't have to be there 24/7. I do want the person to be there in the evenings and overnight though to give them attention. What would be a fair rate to pay someone? Both dogs are little dogs and just want a lap to sit on! LOL! I'd appreciate any input. Thanks!

 

[HsvTeacher]

We are heading to Florida in March and I am contemplating having someone stay at our house to watch our dogs rather than board them. I just hate putting them in a kennel for a week and a half. Since I have never done had a dog sitter, I have no idea what to pay someone. We live a small town. The dogs are crate trained and can remain in their crate so someone doesn't have to be there 24/7. I do want the person to be there in the evenings and overnight though to give them attention. What would be a fair rate to pay someone? Both dogs are little dogs and just want a lap to sit on! LOL! I'd appreciate any input. Thanks!

My younger cousin, a college student, is our pet sitter. We pay her $25 a day and make sure the fridge and pantry are stocked with her favorites. I also give her some extra money to help out with gas and anything else she might need while we're gone.

Our two dogs are also crate trained, but they usually have free roam of the house. They also use the dog door to go into our fenced backyard, so they are pretty low-maintenance. We do, however, ask that she stays overnight.

She always jumps at the chance to sit for us, and our dogs love her, so it works out well.

 

[Shanna-like-Banana]

We did the same thing last time we went to the World in Sept.

I paid my counsin $100 for the week to come live at our house, only 10 mins from where she lives anyways.

We work, so the dogs are used to being inside during the day anyways and we wanted the same as you : somebody here at night and weekends.

We thought $100 was fair, since we left a fully stocked pantry and fridge, and plus she lives back at home, so it got her out of her parents house for a week and she had the entire house to herself.

I mean she really didn't have to do much, get up and let them in/out when they wanted, put a scoop of food in their bowls and water. We did ask her to put the dog towels in the wash before we came home and vaccum 1 time downstairs from all the dog hair.

I purchased something for her from Vera Bradley outlet also.

Now on the other hand, ~ my mom was looking for a dog sitter to avoid the doggie hotel and it turned out to be just slightly more expensive for a dog sitter to come and go, check up on pouch and feed/water.

The like the doggie hotel that we use, each pen has it's own outdoor area through it's own doggie door ( maybe 5x8) plus they have a large play-yard for the dogs 3x daily.

 

[tlh0726]

Personally to have someone (a stranger) staying overnight in my house and wondering what the heck may be going on (party central) would be more stressful on me than the stress the dogs would have being at the kennel.

We pay $24 per dog (2) for the kennel we board at. I do have a friend (next door) that stops in every other day to feed/water both the hermit crabs and cat and to scoop the cat litter that we pay $10 a visit to. The fish have an automatic feeder.


adding
if the person was a pet sitting business, I would feel differently, but someone you do not know, how comfortable would you be not knowing if they were actually there doing what they were paid for.
all the posts thus far are friends or relatives that did the sitting.

 

[Shagley]

I dog sat for a friend's dog last month, and she paid me $220 for the week (7 nights). I thought that was a fair amount. It was enough that it was worth my time, but it was much less than an actual dog sitter would have charged her. Plus, her dog is 90 pounds and is high maintenance and not very well behaved so none of her other friends were willing to do it for any price.

I would think $25 - $30 a night would be reasonable to offer, (plus stocking the fridge with stuff your sitter would like). Do you have any responsible college kids in your town? They would probably jump at the chance to be able to hang out with your dogs for a week and a half, and get paid for it.

 

[rascooby]

We usually pay $25 a day (I count both the day we leave and the day we come home) and then whatever they want to eat. We usually use college students and don't have much trouble finding someone eager to do it.

 

[rascooby]

I forgot to say that we have a Great Dane and I definitely don't expect anyone to walk him. They just have to sleep here, feed him and let him out, so it's not a ton of work.

 

[digitalsiren]

Try calling your veterinarian to find out if they can recommend or know of anyone who has used a local pet sitter that has good feedback. Also, whoever you leave in charge of your pets, make sure you leave them all of your contact info, a typical routine for your pets of potty and feeding times, your veterinarians contact info and hours as well as a veterinary release form in case of illness so they can be treated. Some veterinarians will not treat without your permission. A Google search should pull up a few samples for you. Also, let your veterinarian know your plans and leave the pet sitters name, your contact info, any limits on decisions the pet sitter may make in your absence (no heroic efforts or euth. for example) as well as any cost limitations.
That said, as someone who has worked in a veterinary hospital that offered boarding, I think being home is the most comfortable place for a healthy pet to stay while the other members of the family are away. It's far more comfortable, it's a familiar environment without the stressors of other pets/new people and you don't have the same risks of catching fleas/respiratory infections as you would in a kennel. A fair amount of dogs get so stressed in kennels they sometimes end up having GI issues.

 

[LJSquishy]

We have two Maltese and will be paying $200 for my sister-in-law's younger sister (around age 20) to live at our house for the week. Since they are small dogs, the only maintenance is taking them outside to potty every 4 hours or so during the day, feeding them twice per day, and...that's it! They sleep most of the day.

Our only real stipulation is that she not leave the dogs in their crates for more than 4 hours per day. It is just our personal preference that they not spend too long crated if she leaves the house. They usually sleep in bed with us at night but they used to sleep in their crates so if she doesn't want them in bed with her at night she is welcome to crate them.

I think $200 for a full week is fair -- we will try and stock up on some basic groceries and anything special she might want if she mentions anything. If a sitter was not staying at the house 24/7 I would pay less. I could never make my dogs stay in a crate all day long and have them wait for someone to come by in the evening and just sleep over. It might work for a large breed dog or ones that are pad trained, but not my little ones. I don't hold my bladder for 8+ hours, why should they? LOL

 

[mjkacmom]

We have two Maltese and will be paying $200 for my sister-in-law's younger sister (around age 20) to live at our house for the week. Since they are small dogs, the only maintenance is taking them outside to potty every 4 hours or so during the day, feeding them twice per day, and...that's it! They sleep most of the day.

Our only real stipulation is that she not leave the dogs in their crates for more than 4 hours per day. It is just our personal preference that they not spend too long crated if she leaves the house. They usually sleep in bed with us at night but they used to sleep in their crates so if she doesn't want them in bed with her at night she is welcome to crate them.

I think $200 for a full week is fair -- we will try and stock up on some basic groceries and anything special she might want if she mentions anything. If a sitter was not staying at the house 24/7 I would pay less. I could never make my dogs stay in a crate all day long and have them wait for someone to come by in the evening and just sleep over. It might work for a large breed dog or ones that are pad trained, but not my little ones. I don't hold my bladder for 8+ hours, why should they? LOL

Most dogs are fine being crated during the day - lots of dog owners work full time! My 18 pound dog can easily hold it all day if she has to (I'm a SAHM, so she doesn't have to usually, as I am the slave to her bell). She holds it over 12 hours at night.

OP, are you looking for a "real" pet sitter, or someone like a college student? I think you could get away with $200 for a student, but be prepared to pay a lot more from a sitting service.

 

[ceecee]

We have a pet sitter in our city who is bonded and she charges $14 per visit (usually 1/2 hr to an hour). We take our labs to a kennel (I looked at 6 different ones before I found one that we liked). My dogs like to be in the same run and they have larger ones for that, then we pay extra for another bed or take theirs. We pay $32 a day (half price for dog #2)A lot depends on the area regarding prices. This kennel was recommended by our vet so we checked it out. They give them extras like walks, one on one play time, snacks for an extra fee. Included is 2 hours daily outside time, they have a fully fenced yard and a special yard for fence jumpers!
I wouldn't want my girls in a crate all day, they only use their for sleeping at night, they like to havethe run of the house during the day. All day alone for a week I wouldn't want that either so the kennel works for us (it is staffed 6:30am to 7:30 pm). The owner lives on property.

 

[dizcrazee]

We pay our overnight pet sitter $75 per night to stay with our three small dogs. He lives about 40 minutes away, so this includes his gas money to go back and forth each day. He is a very trustworthy ministerial student, and our dogs love him.

 

[MinnieForMe]

Hi:
I have a friend who is a professional, over-night dog sitter. Can anyone believe that there is such a thing? She gets $65 a night. She does not spend the day at the client's house but feeds and walks the dog before she leaves in the AM and returns later in the evening. I know some clients pay her more to return mid-day for a half hour.

 

[msaseifert]

We have 2 "medium" dogs...lol, they each weigh close to 75lbs. We have a college boy we know sit with our dogs. One of our dogs is high maintenance and requires daily medication for anxiety and he also needs to be walked 2-3 times a day, usually the morning walk is about 3 miles. We paid our sitter $50 a day....he ended up with $400 by the end of the week. We asked him to basically live at our house but he could leave to go to work or run errands or whatever. I would love to make $400 just staying at someones house and taking care of their dogs...easy money!

 

[PrincessNoelle'sMom]

Professional pet sitters (insured and bonded) can be about $45-60 per day for 3 half hour visits. If you want them to stay over night they will usually charge between $75-80 a night. If you are using a neighbor, friend, family member it will be less. We paid $30 a day for our sitter to stay (family friend) but are now paying a professional pet sitter $50 a day (3 visits a day) and no over night stays. HTH

 

[torinsmom]

I am just starting out as a petsitter and I have never done overnight stays. That being said, I charge $12 for the first visit(within 7 miles of my home), $10 for the second visit and $8 for the third visit in the same day, so $30 for three visits a day. If I stayed overnight, and still needed to be there in the middle of the day, I would probably charge $40/day.

OP, check around with family and friends in the area. You might find someone you know to do this for a good price, and you would have more peace of mind. My sister always takes care of my pets, but it's only 1x per day, so no biggie. I take care of hers when they are out of town.