Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Dog sitting, is she a CF?

204 replies

Fucketbucket13 · 13/08/2018 18:46

My cousin asked me to dog sit months ago. I said I guess I would but I'm fairly busy. She said her mum would help out walking the dog so I agreed.
I live with my mum while I save for a deposit on a house so I thought it'd be a chance to have a break from each other even though we get on well. I'll still pay her rent as it is cheap and she still has all the bills to pay.

I've just turned up at my cousin's and she's left me a loaf of bread, a pint of milk and a bloody box of chocolates to eat. Nothing else no cheese, ham, salad stuff, potatoes nothing. The fridge is empty as is the freezer. I'm bloody annoyed I'm going to have to go out and buy a weeks worth of food so while saving my cousin over a £100 it's going to cost me at least £50!

Àibu to expect if you're dog sitting for free they should at least leave you food? She's even told me where the vac is so I'll clean for her!

OP posts:
hmcAsWas · 13/08/2018 19:30

Do you do house sit and pet sit for free than ohyesiam like the op is doing it for free?

If so I'll give you my number Grin

Original poster
Fucketbucket13 · 13/08/2018 19:30

@poly2345 I'm going in a minute I'll let you know what I spent. Thanks for the tip.

OP posts:
heartsease68 · 13/08/2018 19:34

You're not even walking the dog!!

Grow up.

heartsease68 · 13/08/2018 19:35

You're not dog sitting. You refused to do the main part of looking after the dog. You're sharing space with it. For free. For a week.

KittyHawke80 · 13/08/2018 19:39

OP says cousin’s mum is going to ‘help out walking the dog’ not ‘help out by walking the dog’. When OP is at work, mayhap?

Cheby · 13/08/2018 19:40

YANBU. You have saved her a lot of money.,she should have paid you, even if it was only £25 to cover food.

hairymoragthebampot · 13/08/2018 19:40

Fucketbucket13 I have just returned from two weeks holiday and I left some basics in the fridge and £100 for my dog sitter (family member)so they could get their own food. We had also stocked up on dog food. Wouldn't cross my mind to expect someone to stay at mine and look after my dog for two weeks and not provide for them. It costs a lot of money where I live for kennels and I was grateful for them to agree to stay as it saved us a fortune and our dog was in his own home.

throwawayagain · 13/08/2018 19:42

This is mad!

I used to stay at a friend's house and look after pets.
I never expected anything left, other than pet supplies.
She would make the bed up for me, and leave the house tidy. Usually milk in the fridge, tea and coffee.

I'd bring my own food. She'd be paying all of the household bills to cover my gas/electric, etc.
I'd wash the sheets, change bed and clean/hoover before she arrived home.

Mutual benefit, mutual respect.

KittyHawke80 · 13/08/2018 19:42

She’s going to feed it, let it go out for a shit, walk it when she’s there, keep it company (I loathe dogs but I understand that’s important). If walking it was all there was to it, and cousin’s mum was prepared to do all that - well, then cousin wouldn’t need a ruddy sitter, would she? But she feels she does. Christ, OP, you’re getting a load of shit on here for eff all reason.

namechange2pointoh · 13/08/2018 19:42

I’ve used professional pet sitters quite a few times and the arrangement is a fee plus a food allowance, or a fully stocked kitchen, so YANBU

Professional dog sitters and doing a family member a favour are not comparable though!

Frazzled2207 · 13/08/2018 19:43

Hmm I wouldn't leave lots of food other than basics but I would expect to pay/be paid a bit for house/dog sitting.

ashdeeashdee · 13/08/2018 19:44

Lol at yet another poster asking 'AIBU?' and getting snotty when told yes 😂😂😂 this site is comedy heaven! ❤

KittyHawke80 · 13/08/2018 19:45

In that scenario, throwaway, she’s getting by far the better deal. Hardly mutual benefit. You’re allowed to keep warm in her house, and have a shower. Yay!

namechange2pointoh · 13/08/2018 19:45

Yes my mum buys the food it's In with my rent.

Go home and eat then Wink

Chewbecca · 13/08/2018 19:46

DSS has stayed in our home while we've gone away in the past to feed the cat. I didn't pay him and it wouldn't occur to me to leave him a fridge full of food.

It was a win/win situation, he got a whole house to himself for a week, I got the cat fed. Nothing more needed. He fed himself whether he was staying at ours or not.

KittyHawke80 · 13/08/2018 19:46

There’s a substantial number of us who don’t think she’s being U, actually . . .

HeckyPeck · 13/08/2018 19:46

I dog sat for family and they left plenty of food plus a little cash and a takeaway menu.

I would do the same if someone was doing me a favour and I wasn’t paying them.

huggybear · 13/08/2018 19:47

@throwawayagain

Mutual benefit?!!

Herja · 13/08/2018 19:50

I get my friend to cat/house sit for me. She's gf and dairy intolerant so I leave gf bread, pasta and almond milk, I dont empty the cupboards but nor do I fill them or leave money. Sometimesget her dark chocolate or something (last time halva). She always says she likes the space - she lives with her mum - now I feel a bit bad.

rougebuterfly · 13/08/2018 19:52

She should be paying you.

I live on my own and it only spend £20/£25 per week and I don’t go without.

My mum cat sits for people (she gets paid) and she has always provides her own food.

She cat sat for one couple a few years ago at Christmas and the couple invited me to stay with my mum so she wasn’t on her own over the festive period which was very lovely of them.

SenecaFalls · 13/08/2018 19:53

I'm with you, OP. If we have a friend or family member dog-sitting for free, we leave food we know they like and/or some money for them to buy food.

throwawayagain · 13/08/2018 19:53

@huggybear - yes!
At that time I didn't have a house to myself, so it was lovely to just chill for a week in my friend's house. I didn't have to do much else, except go to work. No arguments about washing-up etc! I was happy to be asked, and we trusted one another.
Similar situation to the 'DSS' mentioned above.

If someone is having to totally restructure their life and provide a 'service' - then payment would be expected. If you are a professional pet-sitter, clearly it would be paid!

The cousin probably thinks OP buys her own food, so wouldn't expect it to be 'all inclusive'.
I would assume this as well, unless I knew otherwise.

ashdeeashdee · 13/08/2018 19:56

less than 1/3rd so not really 'substantial' but i wasnt commenting on whether the poster IBU or not, such a non issue, just how funny it is when people ask a question then get all miffed when they get answered! 😂

huggybear · 13/08/2018 19:56

@throwawayagain

I fail to see anything the OP is gaining from this arrangement?

SenecaFalls · 13/08/2018 20:00

I had another thought. Perhaps it has to do in part with how people feel about their pets . I want to leave my dog with people who like her, know her, and don't mind her sleeping in their bed because that's what she's used to . So I want my pet-sitters to feel much appreciated and to want to do it again.

Swipe left for the next trending thread