# Pet sitting charges, does this seem reasonable?



## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

I do some occasional petsitting/dog-walking for friends and I'm always wondering whether I'm charging too much or too little for my services. 
For example my neighbor has 2 goldens and they pay me $35 for 2 dogs a day, I come over 3 times a day (once in the morning, take them for 1 hour walk, then mid-day for 15 min potty walk and at night for 30 min walk), I also feed them twice a day and groom/bathe them(not required, I just do it because I like when the are clean), if they leave for several days, I also get their mail and occasionally water the plants. 

Does $35 seem ok? or too little? I dont want to feel like I'm ripping them off because they are well behaved dogs and I thoroughly enjoy watching them. 


So this upcoming weekend, another neighbor asked me to watch their 2 dogs, this will be my first time with this family. I dont know if I should charge them the same or little more because they live little further and I would have to drive to their house instead of walking like I do with previous family. 

I would probably have to get the mail as well since they will be gone for a week, not sure about plants. 

any ideas?

Thanks


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

I'd personally charge more but that is me, do you know the dogs? Are they well behaved or a pain in the butt? I know some people who charge $50.00 a day for what you are doing, as many times as you are going to the house and such. But you have to be competitive for your area.


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

My cousin use to walk (she doesn't anymore) a neighbors dog and was getting $8 cash for a 15 minute walk. so that would be $32 for an hour. But she did nothing else with the dog no feeding no bathing strictly walking. So to me your giving all that extra and maybe well I thihk you should actually get more money for all your doing! But then again your getting cash money also no taxes ect.! But still I would go higher!


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

If I remember correctly, the last time I went on a trip I paid $13/visit and that didn't include long walks. 3 visits/day would be $39/day.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

They are well behaved, though I have not walked them on leash, so I have no idea how that will go. I'm thinking maybe $15 per visit? which would be $45 for a day (3 times a day). I guess the reason why I'm hesitant is because the guy told me that he's been laid off recently and only his wife works, so I dont want to feel like I'm overcharging me and next time they wont use my services and its nice to make little extra money on the side since my own work has been slow.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

I charge $20 per visit, but I try and stay at least a half hour to an hour for up to two dogs. More than two dogs it goes up $5 per visit per dog. If they want grooming done, that is extra as well...like $10-20 depending on what kind of dog, etc. BUT this is for clients and not friends. With friends we usually work out a trade deal...we watch your dogs when you're gone if you watch our dogs while we're gone type of thing. But we usually give like $100 per weekend if they actually stay at the house.

Either way it sounds like you should charge a bit more....


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

I'm like you, I do not want to overcharge people and then end up just not making enough.

I do quite a bit of dogsitting/dogwalking.

I go to one house just for a lunch break walk so it's a 30 minute walk once per day 5 days a week. I charge $10 a day for 30 min. walk so $50 a week. I'm probably charging too little but I thoroughly enjoy what I do and they treat me well. I stayed at this persons house when they went away as well and they gave me $160 for 3 nights when I did not ask for that much.

In general, for overnights I end up doing about $20 a night per dog. I watch 2 Boxers alot and get $40 a night.


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## Paws&Tails (Sep 3, 2010)

I think you aren't charging quite enough for what you're doing. BUT if it's for friends, not clients then I wouldn't charge quite as much as you should. 

I dog sit for a neighbor with two labs on occasion. The last time they went away for almost a week I was paid $100 for the whole time plus some because one of their dogs has seizures and pretty much didn't miss a room in the house with what I think was vomit and diarrhea. In the morning I take the mail and newspaper in, give medication, then I feed them and let them out to the bathroom while I wash the food bowls, change their water and turn off porch and deck lights. I also let them out midday to the bathroom and play with them and check up to make sure the one dog hasn't had any seizures and hurt himself. In the evening I take one for a walk at a time (One has arthritis and can't walk for long), give medication, feed them and let them out while I wash food bowls, change water, and turn on porch and deck lights. 

I know that's way less than what a pet sitter would charge, but they are good friends and I enjoy doing it.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

Yes, I agree, its absolutely no trouble for me to walk them, I walk for an hour with Uno every morning, so I just stop by my neighbors house and take their dogs with me, suprisingly they all behave very well (which I'm glad since one is 90 lbs and the other is 80, plus Uno (60). 
There are trails around my house, and I really enjoy watching them go nuts and race with each other wrestle, get in the pond, roll in the mud and just be dogs. Then I just hose them off and towel dry(unless they get really smelly).

Thank you all for suggestions, I'm thinking $15 per visit would be appropriate, if they feel generous, they can always tip me :wink:


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

This may not be the BEST comparison... but I'll add anyway.

My business offers a "home visit" service. Our rates are below:

Two 40 minute visits/day. Up to two pets. WIll bring in mail, water plants, turn lights on/off, yard/litter box scoop.

$35 base charge. 
$5 if over 5 miles from facility
$10 if over 10
$15 if over 15
Beyond that, we negotiate prices based on the individual home visit. 

So if someone lived... say... 8 miles from us, it would be $45/day, technically. (we tend to be really lenient with that travel fee, though. and tend to charge one level down from what they are.)

Additional dog or cats: $15 per day per additional pet
Additional caged (rodent) animals or birds: $10 per pet.

If they want three visits:
$50 Base Charge
$7 if over 5 miles from the facility
$13 if over 10
$18 if over 15

Additional dogs or cats: $18 per day pet pet
Additional caged animals or birds: $12 per pet.


The 40 minute visits can be used however the client wants it to be. 
THey can be walked, play in their yard, just hang out at home, whatever. 40 minutes start to finish, entirely at their disposal. No one has ever requested grooming, but if they did, they WOULD be paying for that, because then it turns from pet sitting to in-home grooming, which is a service we don't advertise.

Much of the time, if they have a dog that requires a home visit, and all we're doing for the second animal (say... a cat?) is putting food down, we'll often times wave the second animal fee. We also reserve the right to change prices, and have done for particularly difficult pets, especially if said pet is aggressive. This is because we put our employees at more of a risk of being injured, therefore we put our insurance at risk of going up, not to mention the flat our annoyance of it. 



Like I said, maybe not the absolute best comparison, but this is what a professional Business charges. Home visits are more expensive than boarding, because of the schedule accommodations involved and the fact that it is entirely customizable. This is in Utah County, Utah. (per forum rules, I will not post the actual town, nor the business name, this response was intended for informational purposes only, not marketing)

We do NOT charge extra for:
Specially prepared diets
Medication administration
Walks


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