A good friend recommended me to a coworker for a dog sitting stint. I have never done this before so I am not sure how much to charge. I haven't spoken to the owners of the dogs yet but from my friend I have gotten the following thus far:
3 year old female GS.
13 year old Mulamute
From Friday night until Sat morning so it will be an overnight stay at the residence.

Any idea what a reasonable fee should be? TiA

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SoCal for now.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/06/2009 09:52PM by kap.

Check your local Craigslist under "services" and search for dog sitter, pet sitter, etc. That should give you some idea of the going rate.

Or wait and see if Greg pipes in. ;)

Also, check boarding rates at local veterinarians. Where we are boarding for a cat is $20/day. When our can was injured one of the nurses at the veterinary hospital agreed to board him for $10/day during the time he was not allowed inside (our cats live outside because of allergies). I think we also kicked in some food.

Based on that, I'd say about $15-20 for overnight for two dogs would be fair, depending on who provides food.


Good luck.

- Winston

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Be seeing you.

$20 per day?!! That is cheap! I was looking at care.com. The range is between $10-$50 depending on the experience of the pet sitter. I left a message with the owner requesting for more details on her expectation of a pet sitter.

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SoCal for now.

I don't know that you can compare being with an animal 24/7 to an animal stuck in a cage and fed twice a day. Our very experienced dog sitter charges us about $45/night for an overnight. Visits are around $10-15 each if he's not overnighting.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/07/2009 07:56AM by SteveO.

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SteveO
I don't know that you can compare being with an animal 24/7 to an animal stuck in a cage and fed twice a day. Our very experienced dog sitter charges us about $45/night for an overnight. Visits are around $10-15 each if he's not overnighting.

The sitter we had with the cat was not with him 24/7, because she works. Also, cats require very little attention compared to dogs (you don't have to let them out, take them for walks, etc.). I hadn't thought about that. One unanticipated problem was that she became very attached to the cat during his stay. She was very sad when we picked him up.

- W

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Be seeing you.

So whatever happened to that Dogsitter guy who used to hang out around here? I'm sure he'd have some info about this - just adjust for any inflation since his last gig.

My dog walker gets $40/night if she boards the dog in her home, $55 night if one of her walkers comes to my place and stays here. If they stay here, they also water the plants, bring in the mail, etc.

They also offer a 3 walk package (2 potty breaks and 1 30 minute walk) for $33. I used this once when I was just gone overnight.

FWIW, I'm in Chicago (the city, not the 'burbs) and this seems to be the going rate +/- $5 or $10.

DM

Price depends on distance travelled, trouble, etc. Cats are easy, little dogs pretty easy, big dogs tend to be trouble. Medications? Diet issues? Brushing teeth? Long walks for unruly pets?


I charge $18 per visit if I have to go out of the neighborhood. I have charged as little as $10 per visit if I just have to walk next door.

I was way low on overnights - $35


Different situations make a difference. I always give the animal time and play. Never just a quick let them outside for business and dash.

I have found when you discount, you get walked all over. Cheap people are cheap.

All suggestions are good I will keep them in mind when negotiate with the owner of the pets. This is not even a job. It's more like a favor for a friend of a good friend. Hence I don't have the pressure to accommodate. Besides I already have two jobs

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SoCal for now.

I guess that Mavis and my fee for “sitting” our neighbor's 5 cats is way below average. We don't charge anything.

When she goes away, either for business or backpacking to various mountain tops around California, she may be gone for as much as two weeks. We go over in the morning, feed the kitties, make sure they're O.K. and open the doors enough for them to roam. Mavis mostly will do the cat box, since I have allergy issues. We both enjoy the attention we get from each of the cats. They've come to see us as family.

Each cat has a very different personality, so it's always fun to see how they're going to be each day.

At night we again feed them and close up the house for the night. Usually, we will sit with them and they come around to get their attention from us. Basically, it's like having an “extended family.”

Unfortunately, Precious isn't able to join in the love fest at our neighbor's.

”I'm just as happy not playing with the kitties“

Besides the enjoyment we get from the kitties, every so often we get taken out by our neighbor for a first class dinner, in fact we went out this evening for my birthday. I had a scrumptious rack of lamb plus a lobster tail. We not complaining about the pay.

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Winston
One unanticipated problem was that she became very attached to the cat during his stay. She was very sad when we picked him up.

- W

;)