Amy in NH Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 My 11yo dd wants to start a pet sitting business to earn some extra money. How much do your kids charge for this service, or how much do you pay? Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 (edited) It's going to depend on how many and what kind of pets. Ds, who is much older (19) has been pet sitting for a family that goes out of town often. They have 5 dogs, he goes twice a day, and they pay him $25 a day. That's a real bargain and they know it. There's no way they could board even one dog for that price. Edited September 21, 2016 by Lady Florida. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitestavern Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 My 11yo dd wants to start a pet sitting business to earn some extra money. How much do your kids charge for this service, or how much do you pay? Thanks!! My dd is registered with care.com. Most jobs I see listed are in the $10 and up per visit range. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 It's going to depend on how many and what kind of pets. Ds, who is much older (19) has been pet sitting for a family that goes out of town often. They have 5 dogs, he goes twice a day, and they pay him $25 a day. That's a real bargain and they know it. There's now way they could board even one dog for that price. One dog is more than $25? Yikes. Here my 45 pound Brittany is $19 per day and I think that is ridiculous....it is one of the reasons I don't want more animals. We have a house sitter who gladly stays here and cares for the one dog for $15 a day. A bargain for me and she is happy to have the extra cash. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 One dog is more than $25? Yikes. Here my 45 pound Brittany is $19 per day and I think that is ridiculous....it is one of the reasons I don't want more animals. We have a house sitter who gladly stays here and cares for the one dog for $15 a day. A bargain for me and she is happy to have the extra cash. Yep. At the most popular kennel here the rates start at $25 a day. That's for a small dog, under 25 pounds. All of this family's dogs are over that weight so they couldn't board even one for what they pay ds. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 (edited) Our regular pet sitter charges $25/ day for our dog at her house. Includes food and tons of exercise. Nice kennels are more. My neighbor pays my kids $10 per day to take care of her 5 cats. That is feeding and water 2x a day, plus cleaning the litter boxes. Edited September 21, 2016 by ScoutTN 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 I pay $50/day for an adult to stay here, let the dogs in and out of the fenced yard, feed dogs and cats, clean litter boxes, and feed/water the goats and chickens twice daily. I live in a low wage area, and I have no trouble getting eager helpers for the job. (Our house is very nice, and the sitter has a dedicated guest suite, and free range of the stocked pantry/fridge/etc, although they rarely eat much of our food.) If it were my kid . . . I think 10/visit is fair for a 30 min visit. 15/visit for up to an hour (say a long dog walking visit). I'd include travel time in the time estimate. If *you* have to drive the kid somewhere, then make sure it's worth YOUR while. If the location and timing were both super convenient . . . I.e., the next door neighbor and they are requesting times that would not change you our your kid's regular routine much, then I'd offer lower pricing. Maybe 5/visit for up to 15 min. (I never took any part of my kids' wages for driving them around, but we live 20-30 min from anywhere, so I didn't agree for them to take jobs unless they were paid a LOT, as it wasn't worth my hour and gas for them to make $10, but for $50, well, I was OK with eating my losses for the kids' gains . . . If your family budget is super tight for gas, etc, then you really want to consider that.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 Our kids have done it for neighbors, and are usually paid $10/day. It's usually walkable --within a block or two from our home, and they'll go there two or three times/day. They don't actually walk the dog, they just feed, let it out, and play with them a bit. We've actually had 18+ year-olds do it for free at our home. These are friends' kids who live out in the country and are looking for a cheap place to stay for a month or two "in town." So, we give them a free place to stay, and they take of our pets. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted September 21, 2016 Author Share Posted September 21, 2016 My dd is registered with care.com. Most jobs I see listed are in the $10 and up per visit range. Ah, they won't let her register because she's too young. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 I pay an adult who has education in an animal related field and has years of experience as a pet sitter $15/visit. That's for two cats and a visit that lasts 15-30 minutes. I can board them at the vet's for $21/night (total for both). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 The going rate around here for a kid you hire is $10. A pro will charge you $15 for a 20 minute walk. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 My kids get $8 per day to walk down to the neighbors house and take the puppy out to the bathroom. They are allowed to play with or walk her but not expected to do so. The job can be done in 10 minutes, but it usually takes a little longer plus we like to take the dog for walks. I feel like it is fair we do have to set that time aside each day. It's really a lot of money for them so they are saving a significant amount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 It's going to depend on how many and what kind of pets. Ds, who is much older (19) has been pet sitting for a family that goes out of town often. They have 5 dogs, he goes twice a day, and they pay him $25 a day. That's a real bargain and they know it. There's no way they could board even one dog for that price. That is a crazy steal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 (edited) I've paid $10 a day to the neighbor kid to check on our cat. He only had to come in once a day, feed her canned food and make sure she had water and dry food. I didn't ask him to empty the litter box - we just put a few extra boxes out for her. ^^^^ That's why in my first post I said it depends on the kind of pets and how often she's going to the house. Edited September 21, 2016 by Lady Florida. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AimeeM Posted September 21, 2016 Share Posted September 21, 2016 Depends on what she is and isn't able to do, how many dogs, etc. DD has been pet sitting for neighbors since she was about 12... but they were well known friends who lived in our neighborhood. In hindsight, I wish I had waited to let her care for anyone outside of known friends until she was closer to her age now (15). Keep in mind that, no matter the child's age, they need to be able to go care for the animals at least several times a day (unless it's a cat - usually DD is told to only go once daily when it's a cat) - for dogs this tends to be at least three times daily; be responsible enough to keep track of a key, lock up when finished, not let any of the pets escape the house, etc. Sometimes the pets get nervous/anxious when their owner is away for days, so that's something to consider, too. I'm glad DD waited until she was physically larger before sitting for bigger dogs. While none have been aggressive, they do get excited to see someone, and can tend toward anxious because of their missing owner, and they seem to jump on her an awful lot (just in greeting). Anyway, when she was first starting, she would usually just get $25-$40 for a few days of sitting for a cat (like I said, once daily to feed, water, clean litter box, pet). The last time she pet sat for dogs (two; both anxious and medium-sized), I think they gave her a check for about $100, for about 4 days (they live down the street and DD had to go over 3 or so times daily, feed/water, let out to potty (in gated back yard), clean up any inside "messes," etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted September 22, 2016 Author Share Posted September 22, 2016 Thanks everyone! DD is looking for a way to make extra money. There's not much work for 11yo girls around here - she's still too young to babysit. We live in a rural area and don't have any near neighbors, so I will be driving her/helping. This sounds like a hassle, but really I drive all my kids to work and back before they are old enough to drive themselves. So, the pet owner will be getting both dd and me, really. She has taken the initiative to make up a poster, and we'll see what happens. You have all confirmed my ideas about pricing, so thank you! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted September 22, 2016 Share Posted September 22, 2016 Ds12 looks after the neighbour's dogs and horses. He feeds the dogs, takes them for a short walk, puts a coat on 2 of them in the evening and removes it in the morning. Feeds the horses. He goes over twice a day for about 15 minutes and gets $10 per day. When he is looking after the horses DH goes over after ds has been there for a few minutes as the horses have to beseperated to be fed. As one is a brumby and the other an ex racehorse they don't always cooperate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted September 22, 2016 Share Posted September 22, 2016 Dd has had a thriving pet sitting business since she was 11yo. She only takes on cats at this point. Her rate is $10 per visit. The tasks vary depending on the customer but generally that means walking/biking too and from, bringing in mail, food/water, litter boxes, and interaction. She will also water plants/gardens and shovel snow if asked. She spends about 30 minutes inside the house so whatever time is left after the required tasks is spent playing or petting the animals. All of hers are affectionate so need the interaction. We have an adult cat sitter and cats who do not want any interaction. She stops in twice a day for feedings and managing our windows and we pay her $15/day. I increase it to $20 if we are gone for more than a few days and litter boxes have to be cleaned.....because they are in the very scary and gross basement..... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted September 22, 2016 Share Posted September 22, 2016 (edited) I pay $40 (not per visit, for the whole thing) to the kid next door for about a four day trip. That means two, max of three, 5 minute visits to check the cats' food and water (which we leave very full) and to throw a few logs into the furnace a couple of times in that time so it doesn't go out and freeze our pipes. Also, bring in any packages from the porch (rare). We're talking well under an hour of work total over several days, and this is for a high schooler. I think that's reasonably fair for easy work because where else can a teen make that rate? (Especially in our rural area.) ETA: No litter to scoop -- it's okay for a few days, and if it's not too cold, they can go in and out. And the cats don't care if someone plays with them; they're 9 and 16, and they probably hide from the sitter anyway. Truth be told, they probably like the quiet after having five kids here all the time, lol. Edited September 22, 2016 by happypamama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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