House and pet sitting charges

[BestestBrownies]

Just wondering what others pay for house & pet sitting these days?

We have a week's holiday booked in January and would like to do a trial run with the sitter for a weekend before Christmas. What should we expect to pay and where is the best place to look for someone trustworthy/clean/genuinely caring?

Our two (well behaved, non-reactive), dogs would need to be fed and walked properly/cleaned if necessary twice a day, plants watered/cared for, and I would expect the house to look the same as we left it when we return, with the sitter's used bed linen laundered and put back on the bed before they leave.

I am in the South East (commuter belt), if that's relevant.

Also, would it be reasonable of us to stipulate that the sitter leaves the house for no more than 6 hours total per day (including the dog walks), and doesn't leave the dogs alone for longer than 2 hours at a time (they are both rescues and start to whine/fret otherwise)?

Should we provide them with food as well?

Sorry for all the questions. Just want to enjoy a stress-free holiday knowing my dogs and home are in safe hands.

We use Trusted Housesitters and don't pay any. Never had a problem

Same here.

Hi I'm a dog sitter. Most of that sounds fine, though I wouldn't be able to limit myself to only being out for 2 hours at a time. But I always stipulate that at the very beginning of the enquiry. I would charge £50 a day for that. Hope that helps.

Oh I forgot to say, I always take my own food, though I do use things like cooking oil that are in the house. It's always nice if they've left you a bit of milk and bread too. One of my regulars always leaves me chocolates, wine and nice biscuits . That is nit expected but it is appreciated

Hi OP,

I'm a dog walker and offer dog sitting but I'm afraid there's no way I'd agree to a sit where the dogs could only be left for two hours at a time - I need to fit in my regular dog walks and visits around my sitting clients and it just wouldn't be practical for me. I think the vast majority of dog walkers would say the same.

I leave dogs for 2 x 4 hour periods each day and would charge £50 per night including upto an hour of exercise and as many pop-ins as I could manage. If you wanted extra walks on top, that would cost you £17 per hour for two dogs.

I'm in the North West.

I don't expect clients to provide food but they all have done so far.

I've also never once been asked to wash sheets and remake beds. I strip my linen at the end of my stay and put it in the laundry though.

There is no way I would pay someone £50 per night to have my dogs left home alone for 8 hours in a day .

I strip the bed and wash the bedding and towels if I have time. Depends on what time I'm leaving on the last day. I've never been told to do it, I just think its courteous.
If no time I just put all the dirty washing in an obvious place. I also usually leave them bread and milk. Just nice to do little thoughtful things for your clients

And that's fine. It's not a service for everyone or every dog 🤷🏻‍♀️

The dogs I sit for are regularly left for eight hours during the day with me popping in at lunchtime for a walk anyway - so this is no different to that, except it's me caring for them overnight instead of their owners.

My primary income is dog walking - I rely on it to pay my bills. I can't just ditch my regular clients for a week to sit for someone else. I can't afford to, for starters! Plus it wouldn't be fair on my regular customers who rely on me so they can go to work themselves.

I'm out walking for 6 hours most days and have my own animals to care for too. It's just not possible for me to be around for hours in the daytime.

you’d need to offering a LOT in return for them not leaving your dogs’ sides for more than 2 hours

Yep.

OP - your best bet is probably finding a house sitter who can WFH and who would also be happy to walk your dogs a couple of times a day.

Any dog walker who offers sitting wouldn't be able to commit to coming home that often during the day, and if they could, it would cost you a fortune!

I've never been a dog sitter, but out of interest, what time do you return home? I find it odd and frankly arrogant that you expect the person to have got up, stripped beds, washed, dried and also managed to re-make the beds before you return home on that day!

Are you paying a pet sitter and for an additional laundry service company?

The bit about the laundry is odd, I would expect to do that myself.

Our dog sitter charges £50 a day for 1, £64 for 2. This is if they can't be left for over 2 hrs she charges less if they can be left longer. I can leave them myself but one is hyper attached to her so she can't.

I'm a sitter with Trusted Pet Sitters. A lot of people ask for their pets not to be left alone. I don't mind when I'm in a pretty location likea forest where I can take the dog with me, but I don't do it in towns unless the dog in question is able to come walking to the shops with me. It would be very boring to be in a town and not be able to go to the theatre or shopping mall etc

What do you do with the dog when you go in the shops?

It would cost about £35 a night for two dogs in kennels so I think £50 to have the dogs in the comfort of their own home with house sitting thrown in is reasonable. I would go for a compromise solution though. I would have the dogs looked after by someone who does it in their home. More attention and comfort for the dogs than kennels but no need to worry about opening your home to a stranger.

How does that work when lots of places don't allow dogs?

Someone who boards in their own home must be council licensed and will likely board multiple dogs at once which isn't ideal for many.

Agree that the laundry bit is weird

How does that work when lots of places don't allow dogs?

I've only done it in Brighton and there are dog friendly places. Obviously not theatres or yoga classes but plenty of other places

What do you do with the dog when you go in the shops? A lot of independent shops don't mind, but if they do, then I obviously don't go in. It is a bit restrictive, but it doesn't mean you have to only go to parks and beaches. It is doable. In the end, it is a mutual agreement between the sitter and the family. The family always tells you how long the dog can stay alone. Some can't at all. Some can stay for an hour. Some can stay for 3 hours.

I think the laundry is a bit strange. You could ask them to strip the bed but expecting the same sheets to be washed and dried is a bit impractical. Could you not leave them a spare set to put on?

You are leaving it very late op- good dog sitters are like gold dust and are likely to be booked for Jan and before Christmas.

The laundry thing is weird. Plus sone of your other expectations.

I agree. I do dog boarding in my home. There are no kennels, they are treated like family. For 2 dogs I would charge £40 per 24 hours. There's no way I would allow strangers to live in my home when I'm away. My licence stipulates that dogs cannot be left alone for more than 3 hours. In reality, I only pop to the shops for less than an hour, once a week, and if I had a dog here that would be distressed by my absence, I would just do an Asda shop for home delivery.

We pay £35 per night. Dog sitters in the past have used our food but our current one brings her own. I wouldn’t expect her to change and remake the bed. I’m happy for her to leave my dog for 4 hours.