How much to pay teenager to 'dogsit'?

[Minnie824]

We're going out of town later this year. Dog is old, not putting it in a kennel. BIL will be able to come over and let it out once in awhile, but not 3+ times per day. SO we were thinking of asking one of our teenage neighbors to watch it. Doesn't require much effort. Just come over let it out 2-3 times per day. We have a fenced in yard, so just open the door, let him out, close the door. And then food and water, once per day (little dog). Overall we'll be gone 7-10 days. How much do you think we should offer to pay? Thanks!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Maybe you can call a petsitting service and ask what they would charge to get an idea of a fair price?
I would say at least $100 bucks for 10 days?

 

[elemusing]

We pay an older teen $100 when we go on vacation to dogsit our two dogs, but she stays here. If they are just lettting them out, etc. I would suggest $50.

 

[caitycaity]

when i used to do this, i got $10/day to take the dog out for a walk twice/day, and feed and water him. this was for the family that lived across the street from us.

 

[BrerLizzie]

Wow, I'm work cheap...

I get $15 to let her out several times a day, feed and water her, and play with her (walk, run around the yard..) for 6 days!

I go watch a bunny all the time for a trip out for ice cream.

 

[Disney01]

Don't ask a dogsitting service...They charge way more than what you would pay a teenager. Having said that, I pay my petsitter about $25 a day. But she spends the night. $100 for 10 days sounds too cheap. I say $200 for 10 days.

 

[Poohnatic]

I'd pay comparable to a local kennel. In my case, that'd be 12 for the dog per day. It's worth it, IMO, because the dog isn't being uprooted from their surroundings.

Suzanne

 

[BunsenH]

Based on your description of duties, $100-$120 sounds right for a teen.

Some other thoughts. (Not trying to preach.)
Is your candidate ready to commit to 3 visits a day for 10 consecutive days?
Does your dog know this sitter?
Can you be contacted if there is a problem?
Let your vet know that someone else may be calling for advice.

 

[ZachnElli]

I think my parents pay the kids next door $5 a day and then a bonus at the end. I would talk to the parents too. Sometimes, the parents don't want them paid too much (found this out with babysitters!). I wouldn't go by what a professional dog sitter says either, they have to be bonded and insured, raising their costs.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Wow, kennels and dog sitting is a lot cheaper in other parts of the country. When we kennel our dogs it's about $22-25/dog/day. Gets VERY expensive, very fast!

When we have a pet sitter some into our house she charges $15/per visit. That isn't so bad when it's just my cats every day, but when I leave my dogs at home it gets expensive.

For a teen sitter I think I would pay 1/2 of what an adult pet sitter would charge, which varies depending on where you live. Guess living here I would pay about $200 for the 10 days.

T&B

 

[preb]

We pay our 14 year old neighbor $15.00 a day to watch our two dogs. That's 4 times out per day (fenced yard) plus feeding them in the evening. He also brings in our mail and feeds the fish.

 

[momtotreasure]

Our pet sitters charge $17/visit for 1-2 dogs, $20/visit for 3 dogs. They are here about 1 hour - they feed, water & walk the dogs and sit and pet them. They leave a detail note for each visit. They also bring in the mail, check out the house, and turn lights on/off.

I agree with other posters - for 3 visits per day from teenager, at least $10 per day. Have them keep a log for you showing you the times they came and what they did. Also good idea to let the pet "meet" the teen to establish rapport and confidence. Make sure the parent of the teen agrees to the arrangement. Put it in writing so there's no confusion about what is expected.

Have fun on your trip!

 

[justjulie]

My neighbours pay my son $15/day but he is responsible for early morning walk and feed, after school walk and feed and a final night walk.

 

[Patty3]

We pay the boy next door $12.00 a day. We have one dog and a fenced yard. His parents think we pay him too much.

 

[pearlieq]

$10 - $15 per day is about right.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

Last year when we were on the cruise with my parents (who would normally watch my dog) we had my neighbor girl (then 13) come in and let him out several times a day. She went above and beyond because she loved that dog. She not only let him out, she walked him 2x a day and gave him at least one bath. He also had a bad "accident" the first day we were gone and she and her mom cleaned the carpet in that room . We gave her $75 for 8 days and got her a DCL Pluto "from Ranger". I'm glad I didn't kennel him because he died 2 months later of cancer, quite unexpectedly, at age 5. I'm happy he had a nice week even though we were gone.
Robin M.

 

[disneyaggie]

A friend of mine is a Vet Tech and I pay her $10 per visit and I have her come over to tend to the dogs twice a day. It is sooo worth it!

 

[sweet angel]

This thread makes me glad all our friends take turns dogsitting each other's dogs. It could get expensive! Between 4 couples, we have 7 dogs (and 3 cats).

 

[RickinNYC]

Holy smokes! You guys have it easy! We've paid upwards of $50 per night to put Bill up in a kennel. Yeesh!

Thankfully, I have a close friend who lives in the heart of Manhattan. Since we live in Forest Hills, Queens, he likes to come out and stay at our place to dogsit. He and Bill get along famously, into all kinds of trouble. Bill worships him. And best of all, our friend refuses to accept any money at all. We've tried and he gets all ticked when we offer. So we load up on tons of good food and DVD's, etc... for his visit.

 

[Honu]

My house/dog sitter is $50 a day, $300 a week and yes I know that's a lot. My dog stresses out when I go to work, so vacations are especially hard on him. Having someone he loves care for him in his home is what I need to do so I can enjoy my time away and not worry about him.

He's been sitting in my suitcase and giving me the sad puppy eyes ever since I dragged my bag out to start to packing.