Could someone explain house/dog sitting to me?

[Onlyrainbows]

We're going away for a holiday and in a local group somebody offered to pet-sit for us. She seems like a decent middle aged lady who does tons for charity but just 2 weeks before our departure it has come clear that she expects to spend the night in our home. I don't think neither of us are necessarily comfortable with this, but we've never done it before. I'm almost certain she's not insured. DH thinks that maybe we should meet her and see what we think but also beg our groomer and see if he could take our doggie. We're also struggling to come up with an explanation that were uncomfortable with it without offending her.

Our kennels does include exercise - two x hour long walks (if you want them) plus a run about in an enclosed field.

But you can have way more dogs in kennel than you can have on a group walk, so kennels don't need to charge as much.

Your £12 group walk charge also includes the walkers fuel, time for pick up and drop off, cleaning your dog down, insurance etc - it's not just £12 for an hour of walking and that's it, you're paying for much more than that.

But kennels don't have those costs - you do the pick ups and drop offs, they can have 8-10 dogs per staff member whereas most walkers are limited to six by their insurance etc etc.

They're two different services.

So they have very large ground to walk 8 to 10 dogs for and hour or two!?!

They have insurance, building costs, definitely cleaning the dog down more than a walker. They have multiple kennels to be cleaned out too which you hope would be thorough, administer medicine, water, bedding, appropriate fire safety equipment and doors etc, get a license and prep for inspections.

Your maths is way off. I know you won’t admit it. £12 for kennels is still extreme cheap no matter how you try and swing it.

So they have very large ground to walk 8 to 10 dogs for and hour or two!?!

They take dogs off the property just as a dog walker does. One staff member can go off and walk 6-8 dogs (depending on insurance) while 2-3 others can stay in the kennels and easily look after another 20+ dogs.

They have insurance, building costs, definitely cleaning the dog down more than a walker. They have multiple kennels to be cleaned out too which you hope would be thorough, administer medicine, water, bedding, appropriate fire safety equipment and doors etc, get a license and prep for inspections.

Of course they have lots of costs, I don't think I've said otherwise.

Your maths is way off. I know you won’t admit it. £12 for kennels is still extreme cheap no matter how you try and swing it.

I've never once said it wasn't cheap, though? The kennels are exceptionally popular and obviously make plenty of money charging what they do, otherwise they wouldn't be in business. They're a 5* licensed kennels, daycare and cattery and have been going nearly a decade - they must be doing something right, and that obviously includes their prices.

@fairylightsandwaxmelts you literally said dog walkers had more expenses.

Say they have 30 dogs that’s £360 a day. For a business with a site, utilities and staff, that’s really not a lot.

If they are not walking on their land then it’s likely they would have the same 4 to 8 dog walking restrictions as any dog walker due to their own insurance and council dependent.

you literally said dog walkers had more expenses.

No, I didn't say they had more expenses. I just listed some expenses that dog walkers have, and said that daycares don't have those particular expenses.

Say they have 30 dogs that’s £360 a day. For a business with a site, utilities and staff, that’s really not a lot.

Well, it depends on all sorts of things doesn't it - area of the country, whether you're paying rent/mortgage, how many staff you have, how much income you need, what other members of your family earn. £360 per day in London may be nothing, but where we are, that's a hell of a lot of money per day, even after expenses.

If they are not walking on their land then it’s likely they would have the same 4 to 8 dog walking restrictions as any dog walker due to their own insurance and council dependent

Yes, I know - as I said in the post you just responded to, lol.

We're clearly coming at this from two different angles so I can't see us agreeing on anything, but at the end of the day, daycare, kennels, pet-sitting and boarding are all different services with different requirements and costs involved, and those costs will vary throughout the country and depending on how much the business owner needs to earn/charge etc etc.

TrustedHouseSitters, Yes
My sitter cane for 5 weeks, He is Australien, living in Malaysia, he & his wife had things to attend in Europe,

I'm paying a dog walker £35 per 24 hours to look after our dog at our house. He's a resuce so I wanted him to feel really comfortable with being left. I've planned it for a year, he's been going out once a week with her for a walk for a whole year so he's completely happy and use to her. He will go out with her for her first walk in the morning then she will pop him home for a few hours then come back for lunch and he can go out in the afternoon too.
I seriously can't believe anyone would be happy to leave a dog on its own or with someone they have never met!

You: Your £12 group walk charge also includes the walkers fuel, time for pick up and drop off, cleaning your dog down, insurance etc - it's not just £12 for an hour of walking and that's it, you're paying for much more than that.

But kennels don't have those costs - you do the pick ups and drop offs, they can have 8-10 dogs per staff member whereas most walkers are limited to six by their insurance etc etc.

Also you: you literally said dog walkers had more expenses.

No, I didn't say they had more expenses. I just listed some expenses that dog walkers have, and said that daycares don't have those particular expenses.

If they are not walking on their land then it’s likely they would have the same 4 to 8 dog walking restrictions as any dog walker due to their own insurance and council dependent

Yes, I know - as I said in the post you just responded to, lol.

Really odd how you’re pretending you said something else but anyway I’ll leave it now..