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12-11-2011, 05:26 AM | #1 |
Ultimate Banner! Donating Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: US
Posts: 6,122
| Opinions and advice needed please...pet sitting business. I have been thinking about this for a while and would love to hear advice from all of you. I am thinking of becoming a pet sitter. I don't even know what the technical term would be, but I would like to take care of people's pets (in their home) when they are at work or vacation (feed them, take them for walks, etc.) Do any of you use this type of service? What do you have them do? What would you look for in a pet sitter? How much do you pay? Anything else you can offer as advice??? Would really love lots of feedback from all of you. Thanks!!!
__________________ Bitsy loves Sophia and Peyton |
Welcome Guest! | |
12-11-2011, 06:22 AM | #2 |
♥ Bella's Mommy ♥ Donating YT Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Little Rock
Posts: 1,614
| I have never used a pet sitter, so I cannot answer your questions. I just wanted to let you know that I think this is awesome what you are doing
__________________ Danielle and Stella |
12-11-2011, 06:38 AM | #3 |
Ultimate Banner! Donating Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: US
Posts: 6,122
| Thank you! I think it would be perfect for me to help bring in some money (or at least offset my shopping ) since I love animals. The flexibility in the scheduling would be good for me too. I'm really hoping I get some good feedback here!
__________________ Bitsy loves Sophia and Peyton |
12-11-2011, 06:38 AM | #4 |
Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Kentucky
Posts: 2,995
| I haven't had a pet sitter and have no idea what they charge..Good luck and I hope some check in to help you. |
12-11-2011, 06:48 AM | #5 |
♥ Bella's Mommy ♥ Donating YT Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Little Rock
Posts: 1,614
| I know that if I was looking for one, experience would be a must. Either a person with dogs or someone that has worked with them before. If I had them come to my house, my main thing would be attention to the dogs. Walks, playing, feed. Stuff like that.
__________________ Danielle and Stella |
12-11-2011, 06:53 AM | #6 |
T. Bumpkins & Co. Donating YT Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: New England
Posts: 9,816
| I've been using professional pet sitters since 2003 and can give you a lot of info. I also did some legal work for one. I'll PM you my thoughts.
__________________ Washable Doggie Pee Pads (Save 10% Enter YTSAVE10 at checkout) Cathy, Teddy, Winston and Baby Clyde...RIP angels Barney and Daisy |
12-11-2011, 06:59 AM | #7 |
Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Canton, GA
Posts: 3,242
| I used a pet sitter (walker) for Sophie Kate before I started working from home. The service I used charged $17.00 per day which included a 30 minute walk and her checking on Sophies Kate food and freshening her water. When I was interviewing pet sitters some of the things I looked for were: 1. Experience with caring for pets (my sitter is a retired Vet Tech) 2. How Sophie Kate reacted to her (Sophie Kate liked her immediately) 3. How open the sitter was to my instructions on Sophie Kate's care 4. Was the sitter bonded (they would have a key to our house, I required that they be bonded). 5. I checked references- required a list of references, I called three randomly (would not let them give me three names to call). Hope this works out for you, a good pet sitter is valuable
__________________ Cheryl,Mom to SophieKate |
12-11-2011, 07:04 AM | #8 | |
Ultimate Banner! Donating Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: US
Posts: 6,122
| Quote:
And thanks to everyone else too. I've been researching on the web and found some very informative sites. I love to hear what my fellow Yorkie Talkers think!
__________________ Bitsy loves Sophia and Peyton | |
12-11-2011, 07:08 AM | #9 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Brighton, Illinois
Posts: 168
| I used a pet sitter that came to my house 2 times a day while I was away. ( I also had my sister-in-law come twice a day to let my dogs out in addition to the sitter) The sitter fed my 3 dogs and 3 cats. They eat morning and evening. She let them out and also scooped the cat litter and made sure that they all had fresh water. I checked her references, which were all good. The one problem was that I live in a quite rural area in Illinois and did not have many pet sitters to choose from. She ended up doing an ok job, even though she confused some of the instructions even though I had everything written out as plainly as possible. She was pretty cheap, at about $35 a day if I remember correctly. I also have a friend that is in the business back in NJ. Her business had grown to the point that she has hired people to work with her. She is always running somewhere to take care of pets. She leaves on holidays to do it because that is one of the times she is extremely busy. She is bonded and has also been certified by going to some courses. I guess you can detemine how busy you will be, but to me she is too busy. But I have to say that she loves it. She has had to deal with problem clients, nonpayment and other things that come along with a operating a business. She is in a good area for the business and decides how far she will travel. I think location is something that is important, so you don't have to travel too far, especially with gas prices. Good luck if you decide to do it! |
12-11-2011, 01:22 PM | #10 | |
Katie Scarlett's Mommy Donating Member | Quote:
Well, we have not had a person come in to our home, but we do take Katie Scarlett to doggy day care about once per week. We love it! They are so fabulous! They take such good care of her and know us the minute we walk in the door. She is so spoiled at day care. We walk in and everyone goes 'Katie Scarlett is here!!!!' She has them all wrapped around her paw. I was very nervous when we first took her as I had no idea what to expect, but it was wonderful. They let me ask all the questions I wanted and took me on a tour of their facility. It was very clean and everyone was so nice. They have indoor and outdoor play areas, a training area with all sorts of neat things set up, and a grooming salon there. They have a vet on 24 hour call if you choose to board them overnight and even have a person who stays there all night if they do have any staying overnight. They require current vaccinations on all pets and asked for that info, which I gave them right away. They also have all of our emergency/vet contact info if need be. They charge $11 per day if you take them to doggy daycare (which is from 8 to 6). If you choose to board them overnight, it's $18 I believe. That is the price for Katie Scarlett. I think bigger dogs are a dollar or two higher. I have let them bathe Katie Scarlett once and trim her nails at their grooming salon and they did a great job. They also let each pet have their own 'locker.' This is where you can put their blanket, food, toys, etc. or whatever you want for just them to use. I also take Katie Scarlett her own water. They are wonderful for us! They have many workers and most of the time, Katie Scarlett is in one of their arms when I pick her up. She is a cuddler! Best of luck in your new venture!
__________________ Aymee & Katie Scarlett | |
12-11-2011, 03:17 PM | #11 | |
Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Charlotte, NC
Posts: 2,359
| Quote:
For someone coming into my home, I'd prefer licensed/bonded. During the workday, I would like to see 30-60 minutes of potty/walk time, playtime, feeding if necessary. Just making sure he had attention and a potty break. Obviously a pet lover, and would have to have Levi's seal of approval. I'd prefer someone with experience with small dogs.
__________________ katy&levi | |
12-11-2011, 03:49 PM | #12 |
YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Greenville,North Carolina, US
Posts: 875
| I use a pet sitter on occasion. I don't like to leave mine more than 5-6 hours without being checked on or let out. The one I use works as a vet tech at the vet I take mine to so they are familiar with her and she charges $15 per visit. This includes 45 minutes of playing and taking them out to potty. Even though mine are familiar with ours because she works at our vet, she still wanted to come ever and see where there crates are, how to tell them to potty and where their toys are for playtime. She is very professional and texts us after each visit to let us know they are okay. She has also told us that she sometimes skypes people to see their dogs if they are out of town. Personally, I would never go out of town and not have someone with my dogs over night
__________________ ****Bailee's Mommy **** |
12-11-2011, 06:42 PM | #13 |
Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Ohio
Posts: 3,044
| My best friend is a pet sitter. It is definitely a rough job (no pun intended ) She is up early (usually before the sun shines) to make visits and she works some late hours. She has not had a vacation in years and she works essentially 365 days a year, including holidays which are some of her busiest days. She is a vet tech by trade and is insured and bonded. She does have access to peoples homes and has their keys. It is definitely a must to be bonded (if someone accuses you of stealing something, you want to make sure you have coverage). Like the OP said, she has had to deal with not so nice clients, bounced checks, sick animals (even one passed away while the parents were on vacation), locks (or pass codes for alarms) changed and setting off alarms, spouses forgetting that the pet sitter is scheduled and they come home early from business trips, kids who throw parties while their parents are out of town because they don't know the pet sitter is coming over, she deals with poops and pee, throw up and let's not forget about the weather - the pets still have to go outside in the rain and snow and heat.... That said, she does get to wear sweat pants and doesn't have to worry about wearing make up or fixing her hair (the pets love her regardless of what she looks like). She offers watering plants, bringing in newspapers and mail, alternating lights in the house (to make it look like someone is home) and she even does overnight visits (not sure how her hubby feels about those....) but she has been doing this for over 10 years and loves it! If you can get past the bad points I made above and think that this is still something you want to do, I'd say go for it and good luck! I have helped my friend in the past when she's been busy, but I can honestly say, this is something I don't think I would want to do on a daily basis. Good luck to you!
__________________ ~Lori ~ Mom to fur babies Jack, Izzy & Jada & their kitty siblings, Mr. Poops, Milo, Pearl & barn kitty Nanny. |
12-11-2011, 07:48 PM | #14 |
Action Jackson ♥ Donating Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Maryland
Posts: 17,814
| I am a pet sitter. I started just for family friends, etc, but it ended up branching out and it's what I decided to do while getting thru community college. I am small scale though - I did not want to take on more than just myself could handle with school and other priorities, etc. The good thing is that the dogs I watch have become like my 2nd dogs - all are friendly with Jackson so most of the time I bring him along. I have 3 dogs that I walk 5x a week and often will be watching one of them on the weekend, or others are sometimes usually long weekend jobs, etc. I charge lower priced for this area. It's $12 per day for a 30 minute walk -- most places around here get way more than that. I charge $40 for overnights. I also sometimes take them to the dog park which they usually give me $5 extra. I really LOVE it but at the same time, I'm getting a little tired of it. It's not always easy, especially with rowdy dogs who don't always walk well, so I've had to train some of them on my own a bit so that it's an enjoyable experience, LOL. Also, I kind of miss having some more people interaction - I LOVE dogs and most of the time would prefer their company, but admit it can be a bit lonely. I really do love the dogs and have been walking two of them since they were very young (8 weeks old). I've also become very close with the people and all the owners have been great. They treat me well, pay me well (sometimes extra), I've even done extra things for them such as taking a trip to the post office, or driving one of them to their car that was being fixed, etc. It's been really good money for me though. Everyone is always like "wow!" and most of my college friends aren't making as much as me, except for the waitresses. And my hours are super easy, typically 11-3:30pm. But sometimes it sucks when it's ALL me - I can't really "call out"... granted, if I happen to wake up very ill, I will tell the owners and they've always been very understanding. But I think it'd be better if I had more customers and maybe one more employee or something as backup. I'm not an LLC or a company or anything. Overall, I've had a great experience with it. And unfortunately, I'm going to have to quit soon and I know my people are going to very upset; but with schooling it's just not going to work anymore since my classes are all right during the time I usually walk the dogs. So I'm going to have to find another job and I'm afraid it's going to be so odd for me, LOL, I'm so used to basically making my own hours, etc.
__________________ ~ Brit & Lights! Camera! Jackson! CGC ETD TKP ~ Follow Jackson on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacksontheterrier |
12-11-2011, 07:54 PM | #15 | |
Action Jackson ♥ Donating Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Maryland
Posts: 17,814
| Quote:
I had one person scream at me because her dog was out of the crate when she got home. I hadn't left it open - he climbed his way out of the back of it. Which she did not think to check before yelling at me *sigh* There's a husband who is often home when I get there, which CAN be awkward. LOL. I have sooo many keys on my keyring, and codes to remember for alarms and doors, etc. I've been thrown up on quite a few times. I've picked up LOTS of poo. I did walk in on a dog that I thought was dead - his eyes rolled back in head, all that. He was an older dog. I immediately called the owner, etc, but it was scary! Rain/snow/cold/really hot weather ALL suck.
__________________ ~ Brit & Lights! Camera! Jackson! CGC ETD TKP ~ Follow Jackson on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacksontheterrier | |
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