To think this is a ridiculous price?

[VibesCurator]

First time getting a housesitter for my 2 dogs as a family member who used to watch them moved away. I got quoted £40 total per day by a sitter, AIBU for thinking this is ridiculous?

I'm not boarding them, the sitter would be staying in my house using my gas and electric. I have replied to them as much, but now that I am looking around at more sitters, it seems like an average price. How much does everyone else pay?

I wonder why your family member moved away?! 😂

£40 is cheap especially when you take into account how many trips you’ve had with no pet sitting costs at all.

“I told them as much” how embarrassing for you. If you don’t want to pay a price then move on, don’t bitch at people for their costs. If they’re staying there all day they are hugely undercharging. It works out to about £1.60 per hour. You’ve got to be kidding if you think this is overcharging!! Delusional.

The sitter replied: My prices reflect the level of care 2 dogs require, I hope you’re able to find somebody who better fits your financial situation.
Is she calling me broke?

😆
She has professionally called you a tight arse,and quite rightly so!
Thats a great burn!

I think she’s telling you to F off 😂

No, she's calling you tight. Which you are.

No, tight/out of touch.

If literally the only thing you do for your dogs is walk them and cuddle them, then you're a shit dog owner.

Ye the driver is a place to stay not a desire to look after animals.

I pay 35.00 per night to put my two cats in a lovely family run cattery. Opening times mean an hour xtra night either end of our You have got yourself a bargain.

Tight as a 🦆🦆 arse perhaps.

Ask yourself how easy it would be for you to up sticks and move somewhere else for however long, and devote yourself exclusively to one person's dogs.

Though she'll be using your heating and elec, the sitter will still be paying utilities at her own house - even if she lives on her own, she'll still have to heat the place while empty... at the same time, she won't easily be able to walk other people's dogs, will she, if she is meant to be watching yours. So she'll probably be forgoing some of her usual revenue.

With Trusted Housesitters, you're getting someone who actually fancies a break in your area, likes the look of your house and is happy to look after your dogs. The idea is it suits them as much as it suits you. Paid sitters are different.

I've done both methods - paid, and Trusted Housesitters. When I paid, it worked out at more than 55 euros a day.

Afraid that is the going rate. My dog died 18 months ago and obviously I really miss him and think about getting another one but I won't because of the cost. Vets bills. grooming and boarding costs (never used a kennel always someone home) are insane.

It is cheaper to have a school aged child than a dog these days.

She’s saying that either you can’t afford her fees, or that you’re too tight to pay them. IMO she put it relatively politely.

No. She is (rightly) insinuating you are tight-fisted and mean with money.

She is calling you a CF. And rightly so.

Gosh that’s very good value! I pay £10 for a quick five minute per day visit to feed the cat ( no litter tray)

Good for her in standing her ground. I think you'll find that was actually a bargain. Hope she turns you down when you go crawling back.

Just a bit of advice - before you challenge someone on their rates you should always research if it's actually more or less expensive than the norm before you end up looking a bit silly. Fair enough to bargain with someone who is charging more than the average (though easier just to go somewhere else), but when you say it's too expensive, do 5 minutes research and find out you're wrong you have nowhere to go from there.

You're payong for their time and getting it cheap at £40 per day! I assume they're feeding the dogs, ensuring they get toilet breaks in the garden as well as the walks - and should there be a medical issue, they'd take them to the vets, too. They're also keeping your house safe in that it's not empty and will attend to any house related issues whilst they're there and you're not.

They still have to pay their own home bills, so forget the 'they're using my power, etc' notion. We pay £30 a day to put our dog into kennels.

That's an absolute bargain. For a full day we pay that per dog.

the sitter would be staying in my house using my gas and electric

Its a service they are offering, they are not homeless looking for a warm place and a hot meal, so not sure why you are going on about your gas and electricity. I think £40 for a day for anything these days is quite cheap. These are costs you must consider before taking on the responsibility of a dog. You are being massively unreasonable imo.

She is calling you a CF for thinking she should charge less, I agree with her

But they are still taking time out of their own lives to do this? And they will have their own housing costs to pay?

you could ask a homeless person if you don’t want to pay the going rate, they will be glad to have a roof over their head for the night

Is this a job some people do? If so, how can they do it for £40 a day?

I would happily pay £40.

I ding sit for friends but in my own home. I only ask for £20 as it’s my own home and I can be getting on with other things whilst dog sitting. If I had to go sit in their house all day I would want more.

They are taking time out of their day to do it, they could be earning a lot more by doing a minimum wage job for the day? £40 is not much at all.

People I know who who dog walk / care for pets professionally as their main income usually continue to walk other dogs / do house visits to other pets during their main sit, so they aren’t just relying on £40 a day. Or, they work or study from home and can do that in somebody else’s house whilst earning a bit on the side to reflect that they might not be doing much strenuous work, but still aren’t free to go out for a ten hour day trip or stay out overnight.