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Pet sitting

Meredith

Veteran

We have always boarded our dogs with a vet or boarding facility when traveling. Over the 4th, one of our dogs picked up kennel cough (she was vaccinated, but I guess it's not 100% effective). Luckily, it seems to be a mild case and she is not uncomfortable. But the illness is highly contagious, so we can't board her again when we leave for an extended vacation on Thursday. I'm scrambling for a pet sitter last minute. Luckily, the vet tech said she was available to check on the dogs and we have friends and family around.

Have any of you used a pet sitter/house sitter? How often is reasonable to ask for the dogs to be let out? Any words of wisdom?

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18 replies

Latest reply was from pil

Thirkellgirl

Veteran

My daughter pet-sits quite a lot (she works at a conference center in the wilderness, and is the preferred pet-sitter of all staff members). I am pretty sure she goes 3x a day for dogs, unless she's spending the night. She gets about ten-fifteen bucks a day, and the drive to the houses she pet-sits at is less than fifteen minutes each way. She's got quite a side-business going.

Meredith

Veteran

Thirkellgirl: Thank you! Very helpful details.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

I used to use a pet sitter - a few different ones over the years. They typically charged $15 and would visit once a day for a cat or $20 and visit twice a day for a dog. It's been a few years though so I would expect to possibly pay more unless they are right in the neighborhood.

deb

Veteran

I have friends that come and house sit with the pets. They usually just want a vacation in another house or a change of scenery. Sometimes they take the week off and play like they have gone away and do all the touristy things they never do in real life.

Meredith

Veteran

Deb: That's such a fun idea! I am hoping one of my good friends will be interested. She loves our house and has volunteered to stay in the past, we've just never taken her up on the offer.

carter

Veteran

When our dogs were young and could easily get in and out of the dog door, I had a critter sitter come 3 times/day: 7am to open the dog door for the day, check water, give treats, etc; between 4-6pm for doggie dinnertime and play time; and between 10-11pm to close the doggie door for the night. (We had to close it at night because we found a possum under the breakfast table one morning and because there are lots of coyotes around.) For 4 dogs, I paid $50 for this.

When the two older dogs couldn't use the doggie door because of hip issues, we had the critter sitter stay 24/7 so she could take them out 4-5 times/day. For 4 dogs, I paid $100 for this.

Now we have a little dog who has never been away from me more than a few hours. If we're going by car, she goes with us. I imagine we'll go back to the critter sitter 24/7 if we ever get a real vacation again;-)

SW Ann

Veteran

I have used a pet sitter for the last 15 years....LOVE it.... I have a cat and it's the best way to go for them. It's not cheap, but I have way more peace of mind with a licensed, bonded and trained person. It also gives me a chance to get very personalized care, each time we leave town. I would suggest talking to others around to find out if and who they might have used and liked. Our pet sitter also does a few other things for us around our house, included with the fee.

Kate

Veteran

I've been using a pet sitter for 20 plus years for our cats, and it's wonderful. We've had the same one for the past 15 or so. It's not cheap, $20 per visit, and our sitter comes twice a day. However, like SW Ann, our sitter does other things included with the fee, like medicating the cats when necessary, taking in mail and packages, watering plants/Christmas tree, switching out lights, etc. I think our cats look forward to our trips because they enjoy having Paul around. I pray he never retires!

rachylou

Veteran

I used to have a dog walker come 3 times a week for Lilypuppo, just for the excitement. Lilypup is all too happy to be home alone. It was $20 each walk, 30 min. I will say that Lily will never go far from home with anyone not me (including dd), and I've always made sure to introduce dog walkers to Lilypup first. Have them 'practice' coming in alone, so Lilypup doesn't spend the whole time under a table barking.

But for extended time away, I've left Lilypup with friends with dogs, so she just joins their routine. If you get a friend who doesn't have dogs to come stay, I'd tell them to have the dogs on leash before they open the door...lol. That's the main thing. Otherwise, I'd keep to the dogs' routine.

rabbit

Veteran

Check the going rate of pet sitters in your area, because it can vary. The cat sitters I've used have all been 15-20$ per visit, two visits a day. Also if you want it's great to have a pet sitter text you a quick line and picture of your pets at each visit (talk to them about this up front), and of course visit with you and meet your pets first. We had one pet sitter who didn't answer texts until the wee hours of the morning once, so we found another. I'd love to find a sitter who will stay overnight for longer trips but is affordable and close by.

Meredith

Veteran

Brilliant advice, everyone. Thank you! It was especially helpful to learn the typical rates, how many times they visit each day.

I just confirmed that one of the vet techs at our fab vet is able to help the entire time we are away. She will actually even stay the night and her rate will be less than what we pay at the kennel.

Im pleased with this arrangement. Her experience with pets will give me peace of mind about the medications and she is well equipped to handle spoiled, stuburn dachshunds.

Karie

(website)

Veteran

We have a dog sitter that we use. The age of our dogs pretty much dictated how often she would come during the day when we were away on vacation/visiting family in another state. When they were puppies, she came 4x a day, now that they're not young puppies and can hold their bladders longer (4 years old, 15 months old) she comes 3x per day. She charges $15 a visit or $30 a day. Her mother lives down the street from us, so she would take the dogs for walks and down to her mother's to visit with her dog. We always give her a generous tip because she gives our dogs wonderful care.

UmmLila (Lisa)

Veteran

We have someone who does walks for $20, will stay over for $30 but she's gone most of the day with her dog walking business so haven't done that yet.

Maneera

(website)

Veteran

We just came back from a vacation and use a very reliable person for pet sitting. Our dogs are not used to being alone for extended periods of time...since I work from home & am always around. At max, they're left alone for 3-4 hours if we go out on weekends. So we prefer someone to stay at our house when we are on vacation.
This young chap who helps us out works at my husbands office in the house-keeping department. For him, it's a luxury vacation to stay at our home & he's always happy to do it! Infact, he uses his 'vacation days' to pet-sit for us when we go on vacation twice a year. He has the freedom to use everything in the house (we want him to feel absolutely at home so he doesn't think of this as a chore), eat whatever and do whatever. We ask him to go out for lunch/dinner if he so pleases or order in food. We also have our housekeeper come to clean & cook everyday so he has no chores to do but just be a companion to our dogs.

We leave behind the equivalent of $50 with him to be able to buy whatever food/groceries he may need in this time (we go for no more than 3-4 days max and that amount of money is enough to sustain a person for a week in India) and I also completely stock up on veggies, fruits, meats, snacks and sodas before I leave, so he enjoy the treats.
Whatever money he doesn't use is his to keep. And we always bring back a gift for him. Perhaps you can talk to single friends who love dogs and would like a staycation in your home while you're away?

Style Fan

Veteran

We are doing something similar to Manny for our dog. We will leave our dog in the dog spa for one night but for more than one night we have a friend who comes to our house and stays with Sophie. He sleeps here and spends all his time here when we are gone. Sophie loves him and it is a treat for both of them.
I make sure there are lots of groceries and extras for him when he is here. We also give him some sort of present (he won't take cash). He lives "off the grid" which means he has a more rustic life than us. Not uncommon for our area. Our house is pretty easy living for "off the grid" types.

Helen11

Veteran

I had a dog walker/ pet sitter come while we were away. It wasn't cheap - I think about $25/ day. She came once a day to feed/ walk/ play with dogs, and also brought in mail and bins and watered plants. She sent a message and picture each morning which was very reassurring! I felt much happier having her come rather than putting our 15yo dog in the kennels. However, our dogs are able to come and go from the house freely when we are out.

JAileen

Veteran

I thought of you and your situation when I noticed my Scottie was limping yesterday. We're planning to go to the YLF meetup next week. I was afraid he had broken something, and that we would have to cancel our trip. The vet said there were no breaks, and that he probably sprained his leg. He's still going 90 miles an hour. The vet said dogs have a spare leg!

pil

Veteran

Your pup is adorable!