Neighbour wants paid?

[kb16]

Looking for advice on wether this is cheeky or not
The boy across the road from us is 12 (or there abouts) year 7 in school.
We have a dog who has a dog Walker that we pay for when we are at work, the boy across the road has started in the evening in the last eeek when he's bored coming and asking if he can take our dog out for a walk. They are normally away about 15/20 mins. This has been going on for about a week now, however he has started saying we should be paying him and asking how much he's getting paid.
I've said in a jokey way that he's the one that Is asking if he can take the dog out as he's bored and not the other way around and that we already pay a dog Walker but it's becoming uncomfortable now,
Thing is I would have picked him up some sweets or something to say thanks but now I'm thinking should I be paying him? He's not really doing me a favour as I could do it myself. Again, last night he was at my door asking how much he's getting paid
It's becoming really awkward!

Part of the cost of a dog walker is to cover their insurance. What happens if he gets injured, or someone one else does.

Children tend to be very egocentric, purely because of their age and lack of life experience. My DS asked me the other day why we have Mothers' Day and Fathers' Day but not Children's Day, as it seems so unfair that children don't have ONE SINGLE DAY (my emphasis) of their own when their comfort and desires are put first and they get to do what they want to

I wouldn’t let him take the dog out again. Anything could happen and he is just a child and can’t be held responsible if your dog is hurt in any way or if your dog is involved in an accident or someone else is hurt

Why on earth should she give him a tenner? If she did he could say it was £10 per walk. There was no agreement to pay him, so she shouldn't pay.

Cheeky little sod! Stop letting him have the dog.

Seriously though why is this even a question! Either pay him or stop hi. Walking the dog he’s made it clear he’s doing it for money.

So rude.

Op you could’ve explained the situation to him, surely you didn’t expect him to walk your dog for nothing? Give him a tenner & explain what you should’ve done to begin with.

I cannot understand why you let him walk your dog in the first place. Dog walkers have insurance for a reason. If your dog were to get snatched, cause an accident, bite someone etc. They might sound like unlikely scenarios but in today's blame claim culture I personally would not take the risk

@mynameisbrian

Its not awkward, you just say i dont need you to take my dog i pay a dog walker already. Redirect him to others with dogs who may be willing to pay him! cheeky little sod

yip

he can wash your car though and you'll pay him 🤣

@SchrodingersImmigrant

Jsut stop letting him take the dog out then? Or be straightforward without joking and explain that he si not getting paid because he asked to take the dog out. Also, I am bit concerned you are just letting a child which isn't yours to take your dog out

I agree - there's loads of consider here about the dog with a child:-

Being stolen
Attacking children or other dogs
Getting lost

He doesn't have insurance either so it would all be your fault - just tell him to find something else to do

@FrankskinnerscRoc

Op you could’ve explained the situation to him, surely you didn’t expect him to walk your dog for nothing? Give him a tenner & explain what you should’ve done to begin with.

I didn't expect him to be walk my dog at all, he asked because he was bored and I said he could I thought if anything I was doing him a favour. As I said I would have got him some sweets or a token gesture but it was the comments about money that threw me

@FrankskinnerscRoc

Op you could’ve explained the situation to him, surely you didn’t expect him to walk your dog for nothing? Give him a tenner & explain what you should’ve done to begin with.

She HAS a dog walker... 🙄

the kid ASKED to walk her dog .. 🙄

I wouldn't let a child walk my dog, but aside from that, has he continued walking the dog since he first asked for money?

You should've nipped it in the bud when he first asked. If he has continued to walk the dog, give him a little thank you card with £20 in and explain you'll be walking the dog yourself from now on.

If he hasn't walked the dog since he first asked for money, have a word with his parents.

Sounds like he is trying to earn a bit of money which is good compared to so many computer dwellers out there.

If you can afford it, let him walk or find him some other chore he can do for you for a little pocket money.

Really OP?

He's both rude and cheeky and I wouldn't allow him near my dog knowing that.

Thanks, but No thanks is the answer.

Do you think his parents realise how rude he is being?

Get a spine! 'You didn't make it clear you wanted to be paid and presented it as us doing you a favour. That's not how it works. It's trickery. Not cool.'

Then you stop letting him walk your dog!

No chance. You never agreed to pay him. I would definitely be telling him very clearly that the dog does not need him to walk him any more.

I certainly wouldn’t give him a tenner. What if he then says that’s not enough? Put a stop to it now.

As other posters have said I wouldn’t trust a child with my dog. I used to look after someone else’s dog as a child. Now I have my own dog I realise that things I did were not particularly safe or correct. I was a decent and honest child but I knew nothing about dogs or their needs.

I have no idea if his parents know, I wouldn't have thought so.. I don't have kids yet but I wouldn't be happy if my kids were asking for money.
We are £50 a week for the dog Walker so I can't really afford to pay another £10 on top for someone to take my dog out for 20 mins,
which is why I was going to get him some sweets or something.
I won't continue with him walking the dog I was more just wondering if others would have thought to offer money which is why I came here.
Thanks again

The next time he calls make sure you are clear: sorry, I thought you wanted to take the dog for a walk, if you are looking to be paid for it then I’m afraid it has to stop. We already have a dog walker and we don’t need a second.

Cheeky sod. You are entrusting your companion, whom you love and care for to a 12 yo. A lot of people wouldn’t.

I'd just tell him We let you take the dog for a walk because you volunteered and I thought you were bored. We won't be paying you for it, so don't ask to walk him again, thanks.

End of.

Say exactly what you've said here!

"I'm letting you walk the dog as a favour because there isn't much going on at the moment. If you're looking for paid work you're in the wrong place as I already pay someone to walk the dog and won't be paying you".

He doesn't deserve a penny but he does deserve some honesty.

Give the kid £20 and call it quits, he did actually walk your dog,job done.you didn’t negotiate terms for goodwill give him a bung I don’t think he’s a chancer in the least

If you have known him for 5 years, and you are letting him walk your dog, this must be a nice kid whom you like. Could you have a friendly chat with him, and tell him that you let him walk the dog because you thought he really enjoyed being with your dog. Ask him if he is actually looking for a job (as opposed to a borrowed pet).

If he says that what he really wants is to earn money, tell him that wasn't clear. You can remind him that if he is looking for work, he could tell a few neighbours 'I am saving for a xyzzy, and want to earn £50... do you have any jobs I could do?'

If you want to be nice you could give him some jobs like washing your car, mowing grass, cleaning something, or any other small job you can think of.