Dog Sitter Rates

Andrew and I are going out of town for a 48 hour race in WV. Usually, if we are not home, my brother or Andrew's parent's take care of Drake. They are not available to do that for us. So, I asked one of my friends to dog sit. I told her that I would leave her some grocery money and Andrew's truck coz Drake liked going to the park. I also offered to pay her. She said that she would check around to see what the on going rate was. Does anyone know what I should pay her? We leave Friday morning and return Sunday night.

We recently went away for the week and we paid $12.00 a day for Dixie and $8.00 a day for Dusty since he was only a pup. This was with a friend who grooms dogs at her house and occasionally boards for her friends. This is usually what the kennels were charging and we didn't want the puppers to go to a kennel.

Did she stay at your house and watch Dixie & Dusty? Or Did you take them to her? Or did she come and let them out and feed them and then leave?

She is asking for $100.00. Is that too much? I am asking her to stay at my house and take care of Drake.

It depends , what kind of Dog sitting are we talking about here? 1. Taking him out for potty, breakfast,walk, lunch, potty, walk, and dinner, potty , walk? I mean just doing what he needs and thats it.2. Or are you saying Drake will be at her house, and she's playing with him and stuff?
If it's number one, I'd say $4.00 bucks a day is fare. If it's number 2, I'd say $8.00 to 12.oo . It really depends on the friend.

$100??????? Thats too much. I'd say $50-75.

I don't know much about US rates, but 100$ seems a bit too much, especially considering that it's a friend. It's a shame I'm not nearer Drake is so lovely I would do it just for the pleasure of playing with him :D

Souraya:
The last time I had a dog sitter, in the summer of 1999, I paid her $30.00 a day for a week. She slept in my house and took care of all of Carina's needs. If I'm gone just for the day and I need her to come to give Carina her dinner, she charges $10.00 This woman works at my vet's office in the afternoon, it gives me peace of mind to know that if anything happens while I'm away she'll know what to do.

Dixie and Dusty stayed at her house. She basically took care of them as if they were her own. She walked them and played with them every day. I provided their food and gave her instructions. She was even treating Dixie for an ear infection. When I picked them up she had them groomed and looking georgeous for me. She did not charge me for the grooming.

$100.00 is way to much. Even if she comes and stays at your house I would say $40 or $50 tops. We let people who have our puppies board their dogs for free!

My petsitter comes to my house at least twice per day. Remember that I have LOTS of animals to be cared for, two dogs, two cats, two hamsters, two hermit crabs, with the dogs and cats requiring the most care. I pay her $16/visit, but I believe that the normal charge for more normal households is $12/visit. I don't know how to equate that to someone keeping your pets at their own home. But I do know that I am paying no more to have all pets taken care of here, than I was when I boarded the dogs at the kennel, where the charges were in excess of $30/day, with both dogs being kept in the same run and paying extra for "play time".

I found my petsitter at www.petsit.com

Good luck.

Souraya, I don't know if your Vet does it or not, but for an overnight or maybe even a couple of day ours will take dogs. They have kennels and have someone there 24 hours a day. They feed them, take them out in a small run, clean up after them etc. We did this a few years back when we went to Las Vegas and needed to put Kona somewhere. We felt secure because they are an emergency hospital 24 hours a day. I think they charged us something like 12 or 14 a day.
You might check into that.
Jackie

I think $100 for 3 days is a little steep.

I am asking her to spend Friday and Saturday night at my house. I want her to be there to feed him, walk him, play with him, and let him out to potty. She gets off work at 2:30 and will head over to my house right after that. I will be home by 8 PM on Sunday night. She can leave as early as 3 PM on Sunday. I am willing to pay her $50.00 but $100.00 is too much. Maybe I should look for another friend to dog sit for me.

Around here, the professional dog sitters charge $12 - $16 per visit, per dog!!!!!
That would mean, with 4 dogs, and at least 4 potty breaks per day, I'd be paying about $240 PER DAY!!!!
With four dogs, I'd be happy to find someone to watch all of them, and stay at my house, for $100 bucks a weekend. But considering that you only have one dogs, and that this person is a friend, I'd think $50 to $75 would be plenty! :D

My friends do it for free. We went to Jamaica last year for 2 weeks and our friend stayed here for nothing. All we did was bring him back a $5.00 bottle of rum!

In my area, prices are probably higher than some. The two sitters I know that stay with the animals have a scale something like $25 for overnight - feed animals night and morning. Sitter able to leave during day for a few hours.
or
$35 per day for staying 24 hrs.

I'm not sure what the rate is for just dropping by to feed and play for awhile two times a day.

Just remember - If you pay in rum, don't pay until after you get home ;)

The kennels around here charge $11.00 per day per dog. I definitely think that a "friend" charging $100.00 is a little steep.

Thank you for your posts. I realized she is trying to take advantage of me. I got in touch with another friend and she said she would do it for free. I will bring her a gift with me and I will stock up the pantry and fridge with her faves. The only thing she asked for was if she could use my boat while she was there. Of course she can. Drake loves going out on the boat!

Quote:

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Originally posted by TheAntiPam:
<STRONG>Just remember - If you pay in rum, don't pay until after you get home ;)</STRONG>

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You are too funny :)

Souraya, I'm glad you found someone to petsit. And I'm glad its one of your friends. I am always so scared that I'll have to leave sometime unexpectedly and have to trust someone I don't know with my dogs. Fortunately I have made a very good friend at the shelter who is a pet sitter and knows my dogs personally. She practically begs me to go out of town so she can take them. And she said she'd never charge me :) Its comforting to know you have friends who will help when you need it.