AIBU to have this idea about dog sitting

As a dog owner I really like this idea. The only thing is that when I need this kind of service, it's usually because I'm out for a long work day, eg 8.30am to 6.30pm, so I'd need longer hours than 9am-4pm. But the rest sounds great.

If you have a friend or neighbour who needs a dog sitter you won’t need to worry about insurance, etc. If you advertise, people who don’t know you would expect insurance. I’d have loved to have someone who could have looked after my elderly dog for me if I needed to go into the office or out for the day.

Actually no, a great many of my separation anxiety clients would LOVE someone to simply be there, be friends with their dog, stay with their dog in their own home or at the sitters home and NOT walk them.

A lot of dogs with separation anxiety have other anxiety issues and going for walks is not the delightful treat you assume, but a stress inducing nightmare that has a negative effect on other behaviour and sets back behaviour modification/training.

I think to do something like this a good walk would need to be part of the deal. You need to be providing a service to the owner and the dog, not just getting your doggy fix!

What’s so funny?

Unfortunately I can’t have a dog at my social housing flat but it is okay to bring a dog into the flat if it doesn’t live there.

I can't see that this allows for having a dog there 30 or 40 hours a week. I imagine it's only for occasional visitors to bring their dog inside while they visit.

I can’t imagine that there are many people who would pay to have someone look after their dog but not take it for a walk , surely the whole point of dog daycare is that when you get home from work the dog is ready to have its tea and snooze for the evening , not be needing a walk . That is aside from the whole insurance issue .

Lol

She won’t get a license anyway as she’s in social housing so it’s all a moot point really!

You want OP to ignore the law and potentially end up with a fine?

It's a great idea. You could your local FB group and see if anyone is interested. Or Rover.com. You'd get paid for spending an hour with a dog, letting it out etc.

we used borrow my doggy and have ended up good friends with some people with a little Italian greyhound who live around the corner - their dog can’t be left alone as gets very upset and stressed - we take it a lot and mind it if they go on nights out - they drop off and either pick up later or in the morning

if they are out for the day we sometimes have him if we have no plans - he’s lovely and hangs out with us in the garden or sits watching tv with us

he loves our 5 year old and sits lying on her lap watching a film

we wouldn’t like the responsibility of our own pet dog - so this works perfect for us to get a fix of a dog and stops my daughter telling us it’s not fair we won’t get her a pet 😆

Borrow my Doggy is great. You set your availability and only spend time with dogs you like. There is no pay though.

ignore all this licence thing, it sounds like a lovely idea and dogs are great company. Start with oeople you know and see how you feel.

however for me it would be a big no if you re not walking my dog. She is a great bench dog but also love a good run. And if i give my dog to day care during the week it is because I dont have time to walk her. So your arrangement wouldnt work for me.

I think Borrowmydoggie might be the perfect thing for you, if you want dog company, but not the long walks etc

Everyone is mentioning a license which doesn’t seem expensive but if your landlord says no dogs but ok to have dog that doesn’t live there - you are really stretching the boundaries of that. A dog visiting every once in a while is not the same as daily for 7/8 hours (also presumably workers would use your service, and they’d likely want to drop off at 8 if not earlier and collect at 6). And the main benefit of doggie daycare is that they get a lot of exercise and stimulation! Plus would you do one dog or more? I’m not sure you’ve really thought this through.

You might get customers who are more interested in companionship for their dog because of separation anxiety.
Personally I wouldn’t pay for that without a good walk because my dog needs exercise and that’s the bit that’s difficult when we’re working all day.

Sorry, I wouldn’t pay you to look after my dog and it not be walked, what’s the point. If people have to get home from work and walk it anyway then there isn’t much point paying you.

You need a license if you are charging to care for dogs in your own home

What's your motiviation?

To spend time with dogs? If so look at 'Borrow my Doggy', but you can't charge, obviously.

To make money? You'll need to be licenced and insured, will probably need to offer long walks and also will need to be professional and reliable.

I wouldn't pay £10 to leave my dog with some unlicenced, unvetted, uninsured stranger. I wouldn't leave my dog with them even if they were paying me tbh.

Most dogs need walking and I certainly wouldn’t let you look after my dog with no license or insurance. You could volunteer for the Cinnamon Trust if you’d like to help animals and pet owners.

Instead of doing it at your own house, would you consider pet sitting at their home?

Is there a reason why you wouldn't do a walk, as you say you're healthy? If you're not healthy enough for a half hour walk, then are you healthy enough to handle a dog? E.g. if it became ill and needed to be taken to the vet urgently?

I think a lot of dog owners would like a late morning visit, a lunchtime walk, say 11-2, then their dog would only be alone for a few hours either side.

Borrow my doggy is worth a look or find out about volunteering at your local dog rescue?

Join rover. You’d have to go to their house though. Or do Borrow my doggy if you’re happy to do it free.

I do this for a living and have done for the past 13 years. I make a decent wage.

Firstly, you will most likely need a licence from the Council. It costs around £140 a year. You will also need insurance at roughly the same cost.

You'd need to get a document from the Council and check through their requirements. For me, for eg, I have to have my own front door, so if your flat is the kind with an outer door (used by many people) and then your own front door, that would not pass. But your Council may not have that stipulation.

I charge £20 a day for daycare. You could have say, 4 dogs and make £80 a day from that. The Council would decide how many dogs you could take at once. In a flat, I suspect that would be 2, but even so, that's £40 a day, so £1200 a month.

I also have dogs boarding in addition to my daycare, and I have space for quite a few dogs, hence it being a viable business.