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rate for dog sitting/house sitting


Alice
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We are hiring someone to dog sit/house sit for us when we are on vacation later this spring. We've had our dog for almost 3 years but never had to hire anyone because we have family in the area who have taken care of her for us. What are typical rates for something like this? Our dog is fairly easy as far as dogs go, the person will need to walk her twice a day in the morning and evening and feed her. We have someone else who can come in during the day to walk her and play with her. We live in a high COL area. 

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Cheaper to board here.

My 15 year old has received as much as $20/day for doing similar to what you need -- but I believe the owners had reasons for not using a typical boarding situation. And a couple times that involved more than one dog. However, these were in our neighborhood. I wouldn't think it would be worth it (to the potential sitter) to drive out to your house two or three times a day, and back to their own house, for less than $40 or so a day, unless they lived very, very close to you.

 

Our vet's office has a great boarding program. They board our GSD (super hyper, but they seem to love him) for I think $25-30/day, which includes food. I think they bathe him when he's done, too, but they may charge more for that (I haven't checked receipts). 

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It's cheaper to board but I pay for someone to stay here because I think our dog would rather be at home. It costs $23 for basic boarding, $30 for the fun doggy day care. I start at $30 per night and then round up at the end. That includes 2 -3 shorter walks per day and some hanging out time.

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We live in a high COL area. Our dogs free feed and have very large bowls so all anyone ever has to do is let them out. We have an electric fence so it's super easy. We have a high school girl who comes 4x a day and we give her $10 per visit. She lives less than 5 minutes away. I think that's pretty inexpensive--it's less than a kennel for them both. The girl who does it thought it was fair too.

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We used Rover.com and found a pet sitter where we could leave our dog in their home. Prices ranged from $15-$30 a night. All private pet sitters with the backing of rover.com. They all have a different profile online, as to what kind of dogs they take, size, how many walks they'll do, if they have kids or other pets, how often someone will be with the dog, and then you provide info on what your dog needs etc. it worked out well. They may also have options for sitting in your home.

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We used Rover.com and found a pet sitter where we could leave our dog in their home. Prices ranged from $15-$30 a night. All private pet sitters with the backing of rover.com. They all have a different profile online, as to what kind of dogs they take, size, how many walks they'll do, if they have kids or other pets, how often someone will be with the dog, and then you provide info on what your dog needs etc. it worked out well. They may also have options for sitting in your home.

I think that's such a great idea. I wish it would have been around 10 or 15 years ago, my parents would have loved to do that. They didn't want to be tied down to a dog of their own but loved it when our dog came to stay with them. 😃
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Thanks for all the responses. 

 

So for people who pay someone just to come in several times a day...do you then mostly just leave the dog alone here? I guess I just worry that she will be lonely if there aren't people here. Even if the sitter is working at least they would be here in the morning, hanging out at night, etc.

 

This is our first dog so everything is new to us. And even though we've had her for awhile and gone on vacation we've always left her before with my brother-in-law who she adores. But he will be away at the same time as us (it's a family graduation we are all going to). 

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We used to pay for our dog to go to a kennel when we went out of town and he couldn't come with. He'd get to go out into the yard and "play" with the other dogs. We thought that sounded like a good idea and that it would be less expensive. *He* did not agree. He wouldn't eat like normal while at the kennel and would hardly eat for a week or more after we returned home. After taking him to the vet at their recommendation the first time because they suspected it was possible he might have picked up something like kennel cough, our vet suggested we consider a pet sitter instead. Her reasoning is that since he spends so much time at home with us out of the kennel, that he would be more comfortable at home.

 

She was right. He stays in his own kennel, in his own home except for when the pet sitter is here to feed him (once in the morning and once at night). She feeds him, takes him for a walk, waters any plants, brings in any packages, opens the blinds in the morning/shuts them at night, scoops the litterboxes, checks the cats' food/water, and generally makes sure our house is secure/as it should be. It's not any more expensive than the kennel.

 

AND the dog eats like normal while we are gone and when we come home. He's his normal, goofy self and doesn't seem nearly as stressed by us being gone as he did when we boarded him. The pet sitter sends us pictures when she comes to see him and leaves daily notes we can read when we get home. You'd think being in his kennel all the time except for the two hours or so a day that she's here wouldn't be enough, but it's such a night and day difference for him. My vet was totally spot on in her recommendation.

 

YMMV and all that, but don't discount the ability for your dog to stay home in the environment they are most used to.

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It's hard. Leaving our dog is the hardest part about having a dog! I hate thinking about him being sad and missing us.

I think most dogs sleep when they're alone, so unless they're destructive they probably will be ok.

If I have someone come in, I pay them for an hour visit several times a day which includes a long walk and then just some hang time. Right now I have a teen boy who will hang out and watch tv or shoot hoops so the dog isn't alone as long. I also freeze his food in kongs that he leaves our dog to eat while he's alone to keep him busy.

It works. I wish my dog could go to a fun doggy daycare, but he's not neutered so he can't. He gets along with people better anyway:)

I live in a small LCOL area with no Rover.com. We know one lady who dog watches in her house, but ours just can't be trusted around other dogs so that's not a good fit for him. I'm sure if you ask around you'll find something. Really, the most important thing is that the dog is safe and you come back to a healthy dog.

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My dd has had great luck with rover.com.  She has done that several times, and the cost is generally $25/day.  You go online and look up rover.com dog sitters in your area, read reviews on them, and pick one!  They take your dog into their own home and keep them there (all day and all night).  They take care of them like they were their own dog while they have them, playing with them, walking them, etc.  They'll often send you little text message updates.

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We have a homeschool family that sits our two. They wanted less, but we felt $10/visit was fair. They come by three times a day on a full day, so $30 on those days. It's less on the first and last days, obviously. The dogs get walked, feed, watered, etc. It's less than boarding here but not "cheap". Our dogs are compliant and well behaved so it's fairly easy work. I think it's a good, fair price for their time. They do an amazing job with the dogs and I'm grateful for their help.

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I wanted to add that we have also done an exchange before for pet/house sitting.  One time we were going to be gone for a month.  At the same time, we learned that the adult son of a friend of ours was looking for a short-term apartment in our area for the same period of time.  He was planning to pay rent of course, but was having trouble finding a short-term option.  I'm not sure whose idea it was (his mother's, maybe?) that he stay at our house rent-free in exchange for watching our house and taking care of our pet, but that's what we ended up doing.  It was a perfect arrangement!  Everyone felt good about it.

 

Anyway, just another possible option for you!

 

 

 

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DS dog sits for the family across the street and they pay $25 a day. He runs over every 4-6 hours and lets two dogs out, feeds them twice a day, and spends a little time with them when he can.  He has had to clean up a few messes, but he's added an extra visit to the day to make the time between less and that seems to have gotten rid of the unexpected potty surprise.  He stays up later to let them out one extra time and sets an alarm to let them out in the early morning. 

 

The first weekend DS did that for them they didn't discuss payment at all.  Imagine the delight on my then 12 year old son's face when the neighbor handed him $75 instead of the $30 he was expecting.  :) 

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