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!

The child is a cheeky bugger. I would be mortified if one of mine did this.

give him a pound and tell him he needs to work on his negotiating skills

I think likely that he’s genuinely wanted to walk your dog out of boredom.

He’s then probably gone home and one of his parents has said ‘they pay a dog Walker, why don’t you suggest you’ll do it instead!’ And he’s assumed that means you’ll pay him (cheeky but he is a child)

Or scenario B. He’s gone home and told his parents you let him walk the dog, and one of them has said ‘I hope you’re getting paid because you don’t do anything at home for free!’ And it’s planted the seed in his head.

Sorry hit send woops.

Irrespective of the scenario, or if indeed he is just trying his luck and doesn’t know when to stop asking (because he’s a child); I would go round and knock on the door, hand whichever parent answers the door £10 and explain that you hadn’t realised he was doing it for money and so you’re just letting them know that seeing as he’s asked for money you’d bring it to them, because he’s a minor and shouldn’t be taking cash from people on the street. And also explain that unfortunately you didn’t realise that was his motive, so you’d like them to explain to him that the only person who will be walking your dog from now on is your insured and already employed dog walker, as it’s not financially sensible to be paying two people, especially when one isn’t insured.

They will likely be horrified that he’d asked you for money and you won’t see him begging again. I’d be disgusted if my child had made a neighbour uncomfortable like this or even mentioned money!

With that sort of irresponsible and unpleasant attitude I don't think I would want him taking the dog out anyway. Just say you don't want him to take the dog out because you already have a dog walker.

Still get him sweets like your original plan. Say thanks for walking the dog and leave it at that. You said you would have got him some sweets like you can’t now?

He's extremely cheeky. Don't let him walk your dog again.

When I was a kid I was mad about animals so used to walk neighbours dogs for free just so I could spend time with the dogs and to try and prove to my parents I could be a responsible dog owner! Never ever expected or received payment. It wasn't a regular thing either so the neighbours weren't being CFs expecting me to walk their dogs - I just used to turn up if I was bored and ask.

Next time he asks, tell him you already have a dog walker that you pay for and as he asked for payment previously, you can't afford to pay for two walkers.

@GYNisaliarWTF

Sorry hit send woops.

Irrespective of the scenario, or if indeed he is just trying his luck and doesn’t know when to stop asking (because he’s a child); I would go round and knock on the door, hand whichever parent answers the door £10 and explain that you hadn’t realised he was doing it for money and so you’re just letting them know that seeing as he’s asked for money you’d bring it to them, because he’s a minor and shouldn’t be taking cash from people on the street. And also explain that unfortunately you didn’t realise that was his motive, so you’d like them to explain to him that the only person who will be walking your dog from now on is your insured and already employed dog walker, as it’s not financially sensible to be paying two people, especially when one isn’t insured.

They will likely be horrified that he’d asked you for money and you won’t see him begging again. I’d be disgusted if my child had made a neighbour uncomfortable like this or even mentioned money!

I agree with this comment. He's also trying his luck and I'm sure his parents would be mortified on finding out he's demanding from you, because he's offered to walk your dog because he's bored.

Do not give him any money! He is being incredibly cheeky. If you had asked him to walk the dog as a favour to you then you should give him something but it’s the other way round! He is being really rude and needs to realise it’s completely unacceptable to try to extort money out of people like that. He’s ruined it for himself. He now has to go back to being bored when walking your dog could’ve been a nice pastime for him. But he has only himself to blame.

Ignore @RamItBunty, they sound batshit.

Cheeky little blighter😅 I would say, "Nice try sweetheart, but my Dog actually told me he was bored of walking to the paper shop and back and said he wants his Mummy back now" ( I would never trust anyone on the face of the planet a random kid take my dog out anyway )😎

The thread has gathered a momentum unfavourably portraying a child as sneaky
Your the adult you should have been clearer and explicit from outset. You were not

What utter bollocks. At 12 he should be old enough to understand how a transaction works and to mention upfront that he wants paying.

Never acknowledging when a child is wrong or being cheeky,doesn't do them any favours in the long run.

Also don’t immediately demonise a child to substantiate a weak point
Not a good stance

Ask him if he has dog walkers insurance ?tell him your current professional dog walker has insurance and now that he's asking for payment a) you don't need another dog walker and b) even if you did you will need to see proof of his dog walkers insurance Yes it is a thing , when dog walkers take your dogs out on a walk , they are then liable if that dog bites or causes car accidents !! But only when the dogs in their presence ! Crazy i know but its true! I suspect being 12 year old he won't even have thought about this so he'll back off straight away! Parents will Google and realise this is true, everyone is a winner so to speak ! Good luck

No money and tell him where he can go - maybe walk your own dog

@Bertiebiscuit

No money and tell him where he can go - maybe walk your own dog

FFS read the THREAD 🙄

“You’re welcome to take the dog for a walk if you’d like to, but we don’t need you to and we’re not going to be paying you. It’s up to you whether you want to carry on with the walks or not.”

Op, it's unclear to me whether you would have gotten him some sweets.

"Neighbour Kid, If you want to take the dog for a walk then you are more than welcome to take Spot out but I will not be paying you. If you keep asking for money then the walks will stop. Here are some sweets to say thank you for taking Spot out for the extra little walks this last week but as we don't need you to walk him I am not going to be giving you any money"

Job done

Just pay him for what he has done and say - thank you but I don’t require your services anymore - even if you are bored, please don’t knock on my door again

@Youdiditanyway

I’d give him a token amount or like you mentioned, a big bag of sweets for the walks he’s already done but tell him you no longer need him to walk your dog because it’s already been walked.

What! Why's it escalated now to a big bag of sweets No. Op get the appropriate sized bag of sweets for services__ not required provided and don't let him walk the dog

It's really sad that a child can't take a dog for a walk without expecting to be paid for it. Different if he was asked to do it for cash, but he had appeared to be doing it for the pleasure. And now it's nothing but a means to a sneaky fiver.

I would have trusted my dog with a child who loved spending time with him, but not this child.

This ⤴️⤴️⤴️ I don't think I would trust a child taking my dog out at all to be honest. Far to precious and it's a lot of responsibility: a life.
Even if he offered for free now, I'd still decline and make an excuse.

I wouldn’t let a young child take my dog out, if I was paying a dog Walker that would be enough

I’d put some money in an envelope and take it to his parents. It’s not worth the risk of giving a child money without the parents knowing.

Nip it in the bud as you say. But, buy a packet of sweets to say thanks. Decline future offers.