How Much To Pay a Pet Sitter?

[Epcot luvr]

I use a professional pet sitter, I feel more comfortable having an adult who is licensed and bonded in my home. I tried the son of a friend route before and it was not worth the headache. With a professional it is pretty cut and dry as far as what is expected on both sides. Sometimes all the 'extras" you give stocking the fridge, gifts, ect. in addition to payment can be as much as a professional. Google them in your area, critter sitters or something like that. I value the service my pet sitter provides my pets and the peace of mind for myself. Have a great trip!

 

[LIFERBABE]

I think for these kinds of jobs, you aren't really paying for the "service" or the time involved in that service, you're paying enough to make sure they feel really compelled to do the job and not resentful of the time it takes. I used to housesit/petsit when I was single and felt like sometimes people thought they were doing me a favor by giving me a change of routine. They didn't seem to realize that it was a pain for me to change my routine, pack up my stuff, have to run to their home to let their dog out when I would have normally gone out with my friends straight after work, etc. I finally stopped doing it because it really felt like I was being used.

My son is only 14, and we've settled on $15 a day when he petsits the neighbors animals. It seems ridiculously high to me if you think in terms of hourly pay. However, he visits them 3 times a day, feeds and cleans up after them, and plays with them. The price becomes an issue, not about those things, but about the fact that he often has to rearrange his schedule, skip social opportunities like sleepovers, etc. (or negotiate with a family member to take his place) to do so. The price is because he is responsible for those pets and if they get sick or need extra attention he'll step up.

I would skip the care package stuff pay him a flat $10 per visit. Cash is way more tangible so even though it might work out the same, it may feel different.

Agreed!! Your entire day needs to be scheduled around this comittment even if it takes a short time to actually complete. I would not offer less than $10 to $15 a day.
You really cant justify paying less than that unless they need room and board during the time you will be gone.

And sometimes people will say things to be nice because they want to help you out. Those are the people you definitely do not want to take for granted. I think what dd50 did for her neighbor was very nice and much appreciated.

 

[VLee]

We pay $35 to $40 a day -- at least. But we have anywhere from 4 to 5 dogs. That is for two visits a day, early morning, and late afternoon, with time spent playing with them, cleaning up after them (yes, they are all over 14 years of age and have senior accidents on the back porch.) There is also a doggy door.

Our pet sitter is a vet tech, so she knows what to look for and gives them any meds needed and even takes them to the vet office if they need to get a bath, etc.

It is expensive, but worth every penny because I know they are in good hands and she calls and checks in at every visit to assure us they are all okay.

And we bring back a gift, give her Christmas gifts and money at Christmas and probably overpay her at other times, but this allows us to have a vacation almost worry-free. We spent four weeksl at Disney last summer and would have never been able to do so otherwise.

 

[NikiM20]

We also use our vet tech. We pay $40 a day plus a souvineer. If meds need to be given she knows the doses etc.

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

We have 3 cats and 2 dogs. I checked around before one of our Disney trips and was quoted (by a professional bonded petsitter) $15 / day for just the cats - one visit to do it all (food, water, litter) or $25 / visit (minimum 2 visits per day ) for all of the animals. The dogs can be let out into our fenced in backyard so she gave us a 'deal'.

We ended up using my parents for petsitting - gave them all of the animals for the week. They give us their 2 dogs and 1 cat when they go away (which is more frequently than we do!)

So I would vote for the $100 minimum - cash.

 

[HsvTeacher]

We pay $35 to $40 a day -- at least. But we have anywhere from 4 to 5 dogs. That is for two visits a day, early morning, and late afternoon, with time spent playing with them, cleaning up after them (yes, they are all over 14 years of age and have senior accidents on the back porch.) There is also a doggy door.

Our pet sitter is a vet tech, so she knows what to look for and gives them any meds needed and even takes them to the vet office if they need to get a bath, etc.

It is expensive, but worth every penny because I know they are in good hands and she calls and checks in at every visit to assure us they are all okay.

And we bring back a gift, give her Christmas gifts and money at Christmas and probably overpay her at other times, but this allows us to have a vacation almost worry-free. We spent four weeksl at Disney last summer and would have never been able to do so otherwise.

And that is priceless!

 

[woodkins]

Pet sitting service here (LI NY) were charging about $50/day for 2x visits. I paid my neighbor $150 for coming over feeding and letting my dog out 3x per day for 6 days. I honestly felt like it wasn't enough but it was the most she would accept. $10 a day seems like an insult to me, I was making $10 an hour babysitting when I was 13 years old and you are asking a pet sitter to make the trip with their own transportation, time etc.

 

[neatokimmo]

Um ok, so I've stopped joking about and now I need to be a part time pet sitter!

I know I'd need to be insured/bonded. Can my regular farm bureau guy set me up with that? If any of you pet sit as a business, will you PM me please?

 

[Fly4free]

I think $100 would be fair. I'm still trying to figure out what to give my friend for taking our 2 guinea pigs for 5 days while we go to WDW She probably won't even have to change their cages. Any ideas on what is appropriate? They do need fresh veges daily and water changed every other day.

 

[Hannathy]

I gave the boy who watched my DD's pig $20 for a week. He didn't clean the cage and I gave him all the food including veggies. We carried the cage and supplies across the street and he kept it at his house so he didn't even have to leave his house to do the job.

 

[dimimi]

I just paid a neighbor girl $15 and snacks to let my 2 large dogs out. We had agreed on the amount and I thought I would need to dogs let out twice, however, I returned earlier than I thought. Her mother told me she thought I paid her too much, but I told her that it was nice not having to worry about the dogs...it was my choice to come home earlier.

 

[maxiesmom]

Even family, even a college kid...I would pay a minimum of $10 a day, or at least a $100.00--his time is worth something

If you want good consistent care I would not cheap out on their care, or the next time you want his services, you may find he is too busy to help you.

I agree. I think $100 in the minimum you should pay. You don't want to skimp on this.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

I pay my professional pet sitter $40/day to take care of 2 large dogs and one cat, all indoor. This is for 3 visits/day. She walks the dogs on one visit, just stops in to let them out on the second, and spends about 1/2 hour on the 3rd visit. She doesn't have to scoop kitty litter, I have an automatic kitty box.

She and her assistants are insured and bonded. One time, she had to take my kitty into the vet for a UTI. I paid her $25 extra for that.

My kennel would charge more per day, plus the hassle of taking them in. And the extra days dropping them off and picking them up. I am so grateful for my pet sitter!

 

[disykat]

Um ok, so I've stopped joking about and now I need to be a part time pet sitter!

I know I'd need to be insured/bonded. Can my regular farm bureau guy set me up with that? If any of you pet sit as a business, will you PM me please?

It's actually a much needed service and something I would have considered doing if it weren't for my allergies.

 

[kahpets]

If it’s someone you trust, I would pay well enough to make sure he’d be willing to sit again.

I love animals, but have been pet-free by choice since the death of my dog a few years ago. I pet-sit for my mother’s dog, and also watch a very good friend’s cat and my best friend’s dog. I watch my mother’s dog for economic reasons – she’s retired on a fixed income and I’m her cheapest option – you can’t get cheaper than nothing .

Both of my friends have had bad experiences with kenneling their animals in the past, they use me to pet-sit for the peace of mind I offer.

It’s a total pain to watch these animals – if I wanted the responsibility that comes along with having a pet, I would have one myself. That said, I would never say no to any of these people. They are among the small group that I know would be there for me no matter what I needed.

I would never take any money from these two friends. They usually bring me back too nice a gift, take me out to dinner or do something nice. After my best friend left her dog with me for two weeks – she took me for a “spa day”.

I would also never pet-sit for anyone else. It’s just not worth the inconvenience. Life changes, and in different circumstances, this would be a great part-time gig, but at this point in my life, free time is too fleeting, and my time is worth more to me than the $$$ I’d make.

I think my friends would probably go away more often if they felt they had dependable pet care they could trust, without inconveniencing a friend.

 

[tylerbug]

Our recent visit to Disney I paid $45 a day for 3 visits a day with a professional pet sitter...then, had a family member stay at night...we have 2 dogs/2 cats and due to our schedule someone is always home with the animals and they are very attached hot dogs and would be lost without someone to sleep with at night.....in the past, I had a 13 year old boxer that needed 24 hr care due to her age and I paid someone $100.00 a day to stay from 4 pm to 7 am...and would pay that again to make sure my animals where taken care of......I have no neighbors so that is not an option for us....but I have not had real good luck with pet sitters so I am currently looking for a new one.........paying for your animals care is priceless if you get good service and they are taken care of and loved............

 

[amsafko]

We paid our next door neighbor (teenage boy) $20 per day to let our dog out 3xs per day and feed him (oh, and to throw some food in our Koi pond out back). The nice part was he could just let him out in our fenced yard and go back home for a little while if he wanted and come back. They have a little dog that loves our dog so he would bring him to their house sometimes, too.

BTW, we did this twice. By the time we got to DW the first trip, our Koi pond pump had broken and had he not been coming over as much as he was for the dog (and we sent the dog someplace else), our 35 fish would have been dead. So I consider what we spend to be well worth the peace of mind.

 

[Disney-Kim]

We pay $30 day for 1 dog. She also stays at our house all week (requirement by us). We have paid $40 before and that seems to be the current rate. My DSis pays that for 2 dogs and stayover. We both tell them to eat whatever they want in the house but we don't shop extra for them.
Both our dog sitters text/email us each day we are gone with updates...they are so nice AND it gives us a huge peace of mind that our beloved pets are in good hands.

We love our dogsitter and it is definately worth it to have peace of mind on vacation that your fur baby is well taken care of.

 

[TupperMom7]

I think I would skip the paper plates and subway gift card, and just give him $100 cash.

 

[burberryplaid]

We pay $15 per day for our 2 cats. She cleans the litter box daily, feeds them, gives them fresh water, and plays with them for half an hour. Our sitter is licensed and bonded. It is worth it to us to have peace of mind that they are home and happy. I think at least $100 would be appropriate.