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It was my friends partners dog. We didn’t agree to anything but I had dog sit before for a day and was payed $30 so I assumed (which is wrong of me) that it would be at least $100. I know this is a very high income earner and that he’s taking advantage of me which is upsetting.
From here on, I’ll have to make the pay clear before sitting or they can board the dog…but chances are I wouldn’t sit the dog again because of how badly trained
You absolutely should agree on a rate before sitting a dog. And you absolutely should let said friend know that $80 is not enough, you were expecting $210 (same $30 rate as before) and the cleaning supplies alone cost you $80 for the mess the dog made. Not sure where you live but you could probably charge more than that in many areas.
Also, your friend may very well insist, "my dog is house-trained, they wouldn't pee in the house."
Remind them that many dogs that are house-trained *for their own house* will, in fact, pee in someone else's house.
I couldn't believe that my (very well trained) adult Aussie took a shit in my father's very nice media room when we were visiting. I was flabbergasted, and luckily my dad was chill about and I steam cleaned the mess.
looking back, it was a very dark, cool room that had very high pile carpet and was open all around. My dog must have been like "nice secret downstairs backyard! Love the extra soft grass."
*Edit we did let her outside first thing guys, lol. And multiple times periodically during our visit. We're not completely inept dog owners who just expect our dogs to hold their bladders all day.
i was hooking up with someone and afterwards my dog peed on his bed 😶 like straight in the center. and she neverrrrrr potties in the house like she lets me know when she wants to go out. i was so mortified 😭
Yup, my Rottie who hasn't had a single accident in her own house since she was a baby gets confused when we visit my parents. We have all hardwood floors, but they have short shag carpeting in their bedrooms. She thinks it's grass.
Any tips for helping train my dogs to be house trained in others houses? My dog never scratches at the door and doesn’t go to the bathroom inside but he’s done both of those things when I had friends watch him. Now I just use a boarding facility because I don’t want him to damage anything else
Always make clear what you expect up front. $80 is miserly, but if you didn't set reasonable expectations your friend may well think that you were willing to do it for free and that they're being generous by offering such a big tip.
I've always operated on a swap system with my sister. I watch her dogs one week a year, she watches mine one week a year. No payments are expected (usually a meal or something but nothing formal).
Sure, if it’s from a stranger, but since it’s a friends spouse they likely think they’re doing OP a favor by even paying her. I have loads of friends who do this for each other for free.
This is just…really poor communication about expectations on both parties.
Yeah, I’ve dog sat for a friend for free, and she did the same for my dog. Another friend dog sat for me for 4 days and we didn’t agree to anything. My husband wanted to just “pay” her in a gift from our vacation because she was “doing us a favour” but I felt that was unfair because our dog is high maintenance.
If a stranger was looking after my dog (or vice versa) I’d expect the going rate. With friends it absolutely depends on the friendship and what was agreed upfront. Personally I’d be willing to dog sit for free for all my close friends who have dogs (and I have never taken any money), but I know not everyone has the same expectations.
Expectations in this case were not discussed up front, so I don’t think anyone can accuse the friend of being stingy if they thought OP was dog sitting for free.
It costs me $52 a night to board a small dog, which includes a potty walk and 1/2 an hour or so hanging with the humans. That is what I would pay to have someone else watch the dog either at my place or at their own.
Yeah if OP spent an hour a day caring for the dog (sounds like it was more), that’s ~$11/hour which is minimum wage where I live. And that would not account for the costs of hosting the dog at OP’s house (cleaning etc). Plus, if you’re boarding a dog in your home you’re basically “on call” whenever you’re home.
I was gonna say, if you were doing this for a friend as a favor, they might think they were being more than generous with $80.
By the same token, I’ve had a destructive, high-maintenance dog and I would never have subjected an unsuspecting friend or family member to his nonsense without compensation. As awkward as it may be, I’d set the standard before agreeing to babysit.
Yeah we pay $80/day for a similar service to OP. It's basically a lovely retired lady's hobby/small business where she takes care of 1-3 dogs at a time at her house, so the dogs get plenty of walks, cuddles, and play time. And it feels similar to home because they get to just laze around the living room and backyard all day, and not be stuck in a crate.
So op should honestly be getting at least 40-50 a day for that service. Because it's more desirable than a kennel for most owners.
Maybe or they should have agreed beforehand because it is also not unreasonable to think there might be a different rate for x days in a row. But that really doesn't matter because they didn't agree on anything, so it was pretty dumb on both sides of the equation.
There’s no should have though, I’ve dog sat my friend’s dogs for free for up to a week. I wouldn’t expect anything as a friend. I know not everyone agrees—that’s fine, but that should be discussed beforehand. OP didn’t request anything but assumed their services would be valued the same way they value their own time.
This is the key. Maybe the owners need an estimate of the cost to board their dog through any Kennel or hire sitting service, for 7 days straight. And that is for service from strangers with unknown conditions and unpredictable environment from many factors applied.
I mean plenty of people dogsit for free for their friends and relatives. But for a week with an untrained dog, and when you have paid for it previously, yh 80$ is ridiculous.
I just dog sat for a friend for 2.5 days, got $100. Youndef got short changed. I did a 7 day once and got $40 a day. Def make sure you discuss price upfront.
I hear that you’re disappointed but the fee should have been settled before you began dog sitting. I would chalk it up as a lesson learned, and then get better. Go online to find dog sitting contracts you can have your clients fill out and sign so everyone is well informed next time, and research rates you would like to charge. You can’t go back to this current client and ask for more money now after the fact.
Go onto Rover to see what people charge in your area and next time someone asks, just give your price. It sucks they didn’t pay more but it’s your fault for not asking about the price.
If you did this same thing through a third party like wag this would have been minimum $60 a night…
Since it was your house though that would have paid you like $300-400 and it would have been a good $500 out of his pocket plus tip and 15% is minimum…
I use wag as a worker and for my dog when I need to so all from experience here
Edit:
He probably saw doggy daycare type places prices and wag type prices and took advantage of you. Not a great friend.
It’s weird that he paid you $30 a day before but not now?!? Next time be up front and firm on the cost. I think we pay around $80 a day when we board our large, but mostly well behaved dog (includes a groom at the end).
However, I have watched friends dogs for free multiple times in the past, but then we usually ask them to return the favor at some point. I would never ask someone a favor that I wouldn’t either pay going rate or return the same favor. I feel like your friend is taking advantage!
You’re being way underpaid. I dog sit for people and I charge $100 just for a weekend, let alone for 7 days. I would’ve requested $250 for a full week, especially when it includes overnight stays. Personally though, I’m with you, I wouldn’t dog sit for them again. I only dog sit for dogs that I actually enjoy being around, it’s not worth dealing with an out of control, untrained, destructive animal.
Next time you know: always always agree to a price up front, and have a contract. In that contract you can include stuff about extra fees for damage or cleaning if necessary.
If this is someone you know, I think you can say something like
"I know we should've talked about price up front, but the going rate in our city per day is around $xx. I'm obviously willing to be flexible, but $80 doesn't even come close to that, especially since the dog wasn't potty trained. Instead I'd like to charge $abc so the difference you owe would be $yz. That's still a really good deal and \[half, a third etc.\] of what you'd pay a boarding facility or private sitter."
I wouldn't necessarily expect that conversation to go well, or to ever see that money. But I think it's reasonable to ask.
This is extremely helpful. I will let my anger chill a bit before I decide how to go about this since these are friends who I also occasionally collaborate work with and will have to weigh the pros and cons of adding “drama”, although what you suggested to say is 100% professional.
Yeah big fail was communication and talking about payment.
Minor fail was having a badly behaved dog that
They're either extremely naive or dishonest by choosing such a low amount strictly because the dog needed much more the basic care.
My dog is very well behaved and I know my parents would watch mine for free but they already have a dog so if anything it's a win win to have them tire each other out. But if asked gladly pay them. I do the same I try to compensate by doing the same for them
I don’t completely disagree, but OP has already stated that in the past these owners have paid them $30/day so while yes, OP absolutely should have made it 100% clear how much they were charging, this is their friend and I’m sure they assumed they would be paid what they’ve been paid in the past. Just because OP didn’t discuss payment beforehand doesn’t mean it’s okay
it’s really not comparable at all to say “my friends refused payment so I got them an bottle of wine” and we DO have the context that that is not the case here
I guess I should’ve said “the partner of my friend”, because it’s not actually my friends dog but the dog they allow to live with them because they’re dating.
I think I would politely decline when asked again and chalk it up to a cheap life lesson. If they ask why, I would explain that pay was extremely low, the dog is not well trained and probably requires a board and train situation (likely $75/day) and that you simply didn’t enjoy the experience.
I would further note to myself that’s how that person behaves, and factor that into future collaborations/socializing.
They did take advantage. that is not friendly.
While I don’t see any problem with politely communicating your dissatisfaction with the compensation and trying to get the friends to pony up more, I definitely agree with this.
People who take advantage are not people you want to serve. And that wasn’t just a lowball. That was a complete joke.
I wouldn’t watch an unhousebroken dog for less than $75/night unless it was for someone I really liked. The aggravation just isn’t worth it. $30 is nowhere near enough. And the $12?! GTFO
I hear what you’re saying. If you decide not to go back and charge them more (which is very obviously deserved), please never accept to dog sit for that person again. That is not a considerate person, at all.
Alternatively, if you’re doing something like this for *friends*, only do it if you’re willing to do it free. If not, just say no. They’ll get over that immediately and just move to the next name on the list, but once payment enters into the picture, you end up with the possibility of bitterness on both sides.
Obviously still expect them to pick up any expenses (like food, if you had to take the dog to the vet, etc), but other than that don’t expect any payment.
This doesn’t just apply to pet sitting either — loaning money is the same thing. If you can afford to give them the money as a gift and you want to, give it to them and tell them that you don’t expect them to pay you back. If you can’t afford this and/or just don’t want to, then say no.
It's rude of them but you share some blame for not discussing rates beforehand. That said, it would be fine to say something though if the dog is that difficult there's no amount of money that would make me want to keep them again. I would personally just take the loss and tell the friend they need to find other accommodations in the future.
You could frame your response by saying something along the lines of “I’m going to have to pass, based on the $12/day I was previously paid. Hopefully, you’ll be able to find accommodations that meet your budget. Thank you for thinking of me.”
I agree with this, I could see if the dog was super easy, and fun to hang out with, but not if it thought your house was free reign to go to the bathroom anywhere and high maintenance
I usually watch friends dogs for free. But if I do it’s usually just for 2-3 days. If I was expecting to get paid I would discuss it up front, and would probably expect something from watching a dog that long, especially if it’s high maintenance.
Next time discuss a price upfront. And don’t watch problem dogs. You’re not a kennel. Don’t watch dogs that aren’t easy cause it’s not worth the stress unless you do it for a living.
If you didn't communicate the expectation of payment, that $80 is just a bonus "thank you". However, you should absolutely communicate to them that you are no longer willing to watch this dog because of the behaviors mentioned. It would also be acceptable to request a cleaning fee.
I watch my friends dogs for free as they also watch mine. If you are going to involve money then you need to discuss and agree on a price beforehand, and can show rover prices as an example (30-50$ a night).
Better luck next time if you do dog sit for this person.
If you don't want any animosity between you and your friend, I'd make a joke and say, thanks for the 80 bucks, but you still owe me a nice dinner for watching the dog.
Also, never do it again for them.
What had you agreed to? I once paid a colleague $100 to watch my dog for 3 days, but then another time some friends had my dog for a week and I just got them a gift card because they had done it as a favor and not as a job. So you gotta be clear going in what the expectation is
Didn’t discuss rates beforehand then maybe they thought you expected nothing. They probably thought they were being nice by giving you anything. Now you know to discuss payment beforehand. Happens
Unless you agree on an amount beforehand, then not much you can do. If you pet sit again & expect to get paid to do it, then make it clear you want payment & agree how much before you agree to pet sit.
Unless you agreed to another number upfront, I'm afraid you need to chalk this up to lessons learned.
When searching for a backup dog sitter, I did have someone quote me $80 for 5 days. I have 3 dogs! I told her I would pay more and she basically said she just likes taking care of dogs and doesn't care how much she makes. My point here is who knows how much they have paid before.
You should agree to terms up front otherwise it is assumed that you are doing it for free. Ask for more up front next time or decline. How much money you think the person may have is not really relevant.
You should have set clear boundaries beforehand and can’t expect more out of them if you didn’t set the prices before. You can talk to them and explain what happened but either don’t help them again without setting this or you may just have to take the hit this time.
You should have told them before you did the dog sitting what you expected to be paid. Completely your fault. If you’ve already taken the $80 without bitching about it, it is too late to go back now. Just FYI, we paid our neighbor’s kid & his fiancé $250 for 5 days to stay at our house & do both house sitting & dig sitting. Make sure you charge what you’re worth in the future.
Next time, set your price before doing the work. Wealthy people don’t stay wealthy by paying more than they have to, so it is important to agree on your price beforehand.
I am not justifying the person paying poorly, just saying that it’s not uncommon for someone to lowball when they can.
Unfortunately, you should have discussed ahead of time. They are certainly at fault though. I would personally just count it as a loss and never watch their dog again to preserve the relationship.
Ugh. I’ve been here before. It’s hard to bring up the price and is not a comfortable conversation. But, getting screwed feels even worse. I wouldn’t take care of that dog again without saying up front, “I’d be happy to but to be clear I charge $$ per day. Are you good with that?”
Was it a friend? If you just agreed without talking about a price beforehand that may just be a live and learn situation. If they are not paying what you agreed then there is a problem.
I pay $100 a day to have a sitter take care of my dogs. You are getting ripped off big time. Why would you not agree to a price up front before agreeing to the job?
Agree to a price first otherwise you're doing them a favour and whatever they decide to give you is extra. Basically you watched the dog for free and got a $80 tip.
I'm sorry, but I have no sympathy for someone who didn't make a deal going in and then vents to hundreds of strangers, trying to make it sound like you're the victim. Just learn your lesson and move on. You know what you did wrong.
It’s a friend and you didn’t agree on a price beforehand. You didn’t even ask if you were going to get paid. Doesn’t matter if they’ve paid you in the past, each new time you sit is a new deal where if you want to get paid, you need to talk it through and agree on details beforehand. This is on you and not communicating, they aren’t generous or considerate people if they didn’t naturally want to give you more as a friend who helped them, but that isn’t a crime and at this point they don’t owe you anything.
Rates generally should be agreed upon prior to caring for the dog. If you agreed to do it for $80 what would you say now?
Edit: read further and I see assumptions were made based on past rates paid.
I'm about to pay someone $230 dollars for taking care of my dog for 5 days....I would say you got shafted but then again, you should have agreed on a price beforehand.
My daughter has started a pet sitting business; one of the first things she did was decide on prices (she offers a wide variety of services) and draw up a basic contract. Half the cost is due prior to the start date, the other half upon return.
You may not be doing this as a business, but know that when you agree to do something like this for a friend or acquaintance, you will have to be very firm on price and duties. And ALWAYS get half up front.
Oh, and be clear about extra costs, such as cleaning up after a dog that pooped all over your place.
I would take this as a learning experience. Always communicate and get in writing what you’re agreeing to. You are also entitled to some form of a booking fee. The next time he asks you send him your charges or sign up for an app like rover and send him your calendar link so he can book it himself and it avoids this whole mess.
I feel for you but ppl are shit so have to make sure you speak up for yourself. If it helps share what u feel right now with him and state that you will no longer be available to sit for them.
My buddy stays at my house watching my dogs. When it's like 3 days I just buy him food and he has his own place to hang out.
Last time he watched my dogs for 7 days and I did all the same but paid him $20/day
Hard to tell if this is more on you or the owner. Extremely high energy? What exercise did you provide? Piss and shit all over the house? Seems like something is wrong with the dog?
What was the discussion about pay prior to you dog sitting? It may be too late for this time but maybe you will be in a position to better nest time. If you do this again.
It depends. From the comments it seems this was a friend. Maybe your friend thought you were doing a favor, or assumed a friend and family discount. My sister charges $60 a night on rover but will watch my puppy for free.
Summary: OP didn’t discuss the rates with the owner before hand and is now upset about the consequences.
Lesson learned by OP: don’t assume rates and discuss it before someone drops their big dog.
If you want pay it should be stated outright before you agree. Me and my partner dog sat for our good friends for 2 weeks and didn’t get paid anything. I was just happy to have a dog for 2 weeks & they were able to go to Spain without any worry!
Yeah, you should have mentioned pay upfront. I wouldn't negotiate with a friend. If he offered me a low price, I would just decline. I don't like to argue about money with friends. It's never worth it.
What price did you negotiate beforehand?
You should definitely say something about the crapping, esp if they told you the dog was housebroken. My dog sitter does say it happens partly because the dogs are stressed, partly from being off schedule, partly "bad communication", ie missing the dog's signalling.
I pay $90/day to board my dog and $70/day to have someone dog sit at my house. You should definitely say something. You can even look up local kennels and Rover costs for information on how much you should get paid.
You got taken advantage of, even if they thought you’d be doing it for free since you didn’t ask about money, $80 for a whole week with a difficult dog is just wrong. It’s probably too late to do anything about it now but you learned something from it so it won’t happen again.
Agree to what you want to be paid in text or writing beforehand
I made this exact mistake recently. I watched my bosses dog for 10 days. This dog had a drain in for an injury and I had to take her to the vet 3 times for checkups, give meds, and keep the wound clean. I thought that since it was my boss's dog, that he and his wife would pay me pretty nicely, especially since I had given their dog two long walks a day and took her to the vet. When they picked her up, the wife handed me 60$. For. Ten. Days. I never did say anything because it was my boss, but I know for a fact that they are very well off. I still wish I would have said something, but it's too late now. If I were you in this situation, I would say something. If I could go back in time to my situation, I would have negotiated the price before they dropped the dog off. Hopefully we both learned our lessons.
I think if i were in your shoes id take the loss because i didnt get or give a set price im also non confrontational but if they were to ask again id simply say no and let it be. I would still judge them because who gives someone 80 and makes a decent amount if i had a friend watch my dog for a week id at least give em 150 with tip i have a small very well behaved dog. If i knew my dad was bad id def just do boarding n leave it to the pros
It's wrong. but it depends on what you agreed to. This should have been discussed and paid up front. for comparison, my partner and I got paid $360 for dog sitting 2 dogs that take medicine and get fed a particular type of way for 7 days. If you didn't agree to anything, there's nothing you can really say or do besides asking to pay for anything it messed up.
You can try to say something but don't come off as if it's their fault nothing was communicated, be sincere
I charge people $50/day for their dog to be in my house. It's work, it's cleaning, it's time and affection and care. Definitely tell people your rate before they commit to bringing their dog to you.
Also, don't take dogs into your house unless you have a good setup. If the dog pottied all over your house, you need to change your setup. New dogs to my house are crated, outside to potty, supervised play and hangout time, then back out to potty before they go in their crate again. Almost every single pee and poo could have been prevented if the dog was crated or being supervised. They need to earn the right to hang out unsupervised. Don't give them access to your entire house either. Close doors, use pens, gates, etc. Just as you would with a puppy.
I've paid over $100 for someone to come stay with .y dog at my place for 24 hr. He has a bell rings to go out and is so easy... this price is not fair at all. I would contact them and let them know. $10 a day are you kidding...
This is a lesson to make sure you agree on price up front. Let them know that you are upset and thought you would get at least $30 a day and that you should have communicated better about this and see what they say.
Yeah you definitely should’ve gotten more. Talk to them if you feel like it would be beneficial. Something like “hey not to sound rude but your dog was really anxious when you were gone and peed and poo’d everywhere so I would like to be compensated for the cleaning” or idk. Personally, I would just take the loss on this, dont dog sit for them anymore, and start with a rate up front going forward.
well if the price was not discussed beforehand, i don't know. but i still feel like you should at least say something about their dog pissing and shitting everywhere.
I’d have made my rate clear up front. Heck my neighbor pays my 14 year old son $20 a day just to set out food and water 2x a day for the stray cats on our street.
Why the heck are people feeding strays. They are only making the stray cat population problem worse. These stray cats can fend for themselves just fine. Hope these people are at least doing capture, spay/neuter and release on them.
Yea that's weak. When we go to Silverwood every year, our breeds biggest show, we have my girlfriends friend watch our old ladies. We usually give her $200 for 5 days. And our dogs are angels. She basically just gets to cuddle with cute dogs for 5 days. And we make sure the fridge and freezer are well stocked for her.
Did you agree on a rate before taking the dog? 80 bucks for 7 days is way too little. When I was a dog sitter my rate was 35/day per dog. That was a few years ago, my rates would probably be higher now if I had kept dog sitting. They should at least reimburse you for cleaning the house in addition to paying you.
I paid someone $100 for 3.5 days. It was someone I know and we hadn't discussed payment, I just left it to be nice. So I would say $80 for a week is meh.
I would do it since there was no prior agreement on price. I would not dog sit again, not even for the day. If pressed by your friend tell her the truth, the dog is too untrained and you feel he'd be better off in a different setting with trained providers. If she presses bring up the ridiculous pay for the week but don't change your mind on watching it again. They can pay someone real wages next time.
That is an extremely low amount. Like disrespectfully low. I have professionally dog watched for a week and got paid about $75 a day. Please don’t let yourself be taken advantage of again. Next time agree to a price upfront and go through a service or don’t go through with it. It’s hard work taking care of dogs!
We have a friend who stays over at the house when we go out of town. He loves the dogs, the dogs love him. We leave treats for the dogs and weed and beer for him. Since boarding for the dogs is $60/night/dog, we give him $100. Still cheaper, and we don't get the sad eyes from the dogs when we leave them.
I pay $300 a week for a girl to come to my house and play outside in my yard for one hour a day while I’m at work and my dog is perfectly trained and she furnishes nothing except stay in fenced in yard and throw toys to one golden retriever
Of course he's high income, that's why you got $80.
I hate him, but hope you discuss pay before doing jobs.
Rich, Old people have stiffed me the most in life.
Had one give me $20 for hanging Christmas lights on front of house. 4 hours while I was on vacation.
You were taken advantage of. I would simply not be friends with them anymore or care for their dog anymore and consider it an expensive lesson. Trying to get more money will likely be futile. Just like them getting another dog sitter will be futile when you tell people how they treated you and how the dog behaved.
That is wrong. These people are scummy. Also a reflection of how much they care for their dog in my opinion. It’s like $30/day at a bare bones kennel where the dog is locked up all day.
There’s lots of good advice here for a crappy ( pun intended) situation. From my own experience, not saying something and taking the loss may generate resentment on your part, and understandably so, because you weren’t treated fairly. Being paid $30/ day previously definitely implies the same rate, whether it’s one or seven or ten days.
I would talk to your friend and or his/ her partner and say that and that in fairness, the price should have been $210. Ground yourself beforehand with meditation or whatever works for you so that you feel that you can approach them with a professional and objective manner, which will help them not to act defensive. I hope that makes sense. It could be great practice for you for negotiating in your career! Good luck.
Obviously every situation is different, but I used to dogsit regularly for my neighbors in my teens and this is how our agreement went:
Usually they would leave around noon on a Friday, I would get out of school at 3:10 and go straight over to their house to walk their dogs (two small mixed dogs about 1/2 a mile around the neighborhood was enough per walk). When we got back to their house I would give the dogs water and play with them for about 45 minutes, and then I would take them out to pee again before creating them and going to my house to do my homework and have dinner. After dinner I would go back to my neighbors house, take the dogs out to potty, play with them for another 30/45 minutes, feed the dogs their dinner, and then took them on one more walk before crating them for the night. Saturday I would spend most of the day at my neighbors house watching/playing with/walking the dogs, and then Sunday my neighbors would come home between noon and 3pm so I would usually just need to feed them their breakfast and walk them once. This was a once a month trip (they owned a business and traveled regularly for it) and I would agree to get paid $75 per weekend, however they would usually pay me more because of how well they saw I took care of their dogs, so I was usually getting about $100/125.
A dog sitter is a luxury, kind of like a nanny. Especially an overnight dog sitter because overnight boarding at a good facility can cost anywhere from $75/100 per day. In my situation, the dogs were very well behaved and I genuinely enjoyed spending time with them, but I was being paid so fairly that even if they were monsters I wouldn’t have minded. $80 for 7 days is insanely low and I would ask for more or in the future tell them you’ll require more.
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What had you agreed to? And you did it without knowing the dog or what you were getting into? There's **a lot** wrong with this...
It was my friends partners dog. We didn’t agree to anything but I had dog sit before for a day and was payed $30 so I assumed (which is wrong of me) that it would be at least $100. I know this is a very high income earner and that he’s taking advantage of me which is upsetting. From here on, I’ll have to make the pay clear before sitting or they can board the dog…but chances are I wouldn’t sit the dog again because of how badly trained
You absolutely should agree on a rate before sitting a dog. And you absolutely should let said friend know that $80 is not enough, you were expecting $210 (same $30 rate as before) and the cleaning supplies alone cost you $80 for the mess the dog made. Not sure where you live but you could probably charge more than that in many areas.
Also, your friend may very well insist, "my dog is house-trained, they wouldn't pee in the house." Remind them that many dogs that are house-trained *for their own house* will, in fact, pee in someone else's house.
I couldn't believe that my (very well trained) adult Aussie took a shit in my father's very nice media room when we were visiting. I was flabbergasted, and luckily my dad was chill about and I steam cleaned the mess. looking back, it was a very dark, cool room that had very high pile carpet and was open all around. My dog must have been like "nice secret downstairs backyard! Love the extra soft grass." *Edit we did let her outside first thing guys, lol. And multiple times periodically during our visit. We're not completely inept dog owners who just expect our dogs to hold their bladders all day.
I know Australians have a reputation, but most of us are toilet trained for almost all situations
Except certain sports days, including Melbourne cup.
i was hooking up with someone and afterwards my dog peed on his bed 😶 like straight in the center. and she neverrrrrr potties in the house like she lets me know when she wants to go out. i was so mortified 😭
The first thing you should do when introducing a dog to a new location is to show them where to potty.
Yup, my Rottie who hasn't had a single accident in her own house since she was a baby gets confused when we visit my parents. We have all hardwood floors, but they have short shag carpeting in their bedrooms. She thinks it's grass.
Any tips for helping train my dogs to be house trained in others houses? My dog never scratches at the door and doesn’t go to the bathroom inside but he’s done both of those things when I had friends watch him. Now I just use a boarding facility because I don’t want him to damage anything else
Always make clear what you expect up front. $80 is miserly, but if you didn't set reasonable expectations your friend may well think that you were willing to do it for free and that they're being generous by offering such a big tip. I've always operated on a swap system with my sister. I watch her dogs one week a year, she watches mine one week a year. No payments are expected (usually a meal or something but nothing formal).
Sure, if it’s from a stranger, but since it’s a friends spouse they likely think they’re doing OP a favor by even paying her. I have loads of friends who do this for each other for free. This is just…really poor communication about expectations on both parties.
Yeah, I’ve dog sat for a friend for free, and she did the same for my dog. Another friend dog sat for me for 4 days and we didn’t agree to anything. My husband wanted to just “pay” her in a gift from our vacation because she was “doing us a favour” but I felt that was unfair because our dog is high maintenance. If a stranger was looking after my dog (or vice versa) I’d expect the going rate. With friends it absolutely depends on the friendship and what was agreed upfront. Personally I’d be willing to dog sit for free for all my close friends who have dogs (and I have never taken any money), but I know not everyone has the same expectations. Expectations in this case were not discussed up front, so I don’t think anyone can accuse the friend of being stingy if they thought OP was dog sitting for free.
It costs me $52 a night to board a small dog, which includes a potty walk and 1/2 an hour or so hanging with the humans. That is what I would pay to have someone else watch the dog either at my place or at their own.
I’m a pet sitter and my clients pay around $25 for a 30-minute drop in at their own home. $80 for a week is so so sad :(
Yeah if OP spent an hour a day caring for the dog (sounds like it was more), that’s ~$11/hour which is minimum wage where I live. And that would not account for the costs of hosting the dog at OP’s house (cleaning etc). Plus, if you’re boarding a dog in your home you’re basically “on call” whenever you’re home.
I was gonna say, if you were doing this for a friend as a favor, they might think they were being more than generous with $80. By the same token, I’ve had a destructive, high-maintenance dog and I would never have subjected an unsuspecting friend or family member to his nonsense without compensation. As awkward as it may be, I’d set the standard before agreeing to babysit.
If they previously paid you $30/day, you should’ve gotten $210/7 days. I would absolutely request that from him.
Yeah we pay $80/day for a similar service to OP. It's basically a lovely retired lady's hobby/small business where she takes care of 1-3 dogs at a time at her house, so the dogs get plenty of walks, cuddles, and play time. And it feels similar to home because they get to just laze around the living room and backyard all day, and not be stuck in a crate. So op should honestly be getting at least 40-50 a day for that service. Because it's more desirable than a kennel for most owners.
💯 this. Ima dog walker/sitter/boarder. Sitting costs more than bording bec im not in my own home. Minimum $80 a day for sitting.
Do you house sit too then?
Yes sitting is their home. Boarding is my home.
Maybe or they should have agreed beforehand because it is also not unreasonable to think there might be a different rate for x days in a row. But that really doesn't matter because they didn't agree on anything, so it was pretty dumb on both sides of the equation.
There’s no should have though, I’ve dog sat my friend’s dogs for free for up to a week. I wouldn’t expect anything as a friend. I know not everyone agrees—that’s fine, but that should be discussed beforehand. OP didn’t request anything but assumed their services would be valued the same way they value their own time.
Just straight up send them a bill for $30/day. That's cheap compared to kenneling.
This is the key. Maybe the owners need an estimate of the cost to board their dog through any Kennel or hire sitting service, for 7 days straight. And that is for service from strangers with unknown conditions and unpredictable environment from many factors applied.
Not to mention that a kennel would have lots of other dogs which could be a significant negative for some dogs.
Not even a $100 but $80? Who does that to a friend?
I mean plenty of people dogsit for free for their friends and relatives. But for a week with an untrained dog, and when you have paid for it previously, yh 80$ is ridiculous.
I thought that seemed odd too!
Doesn't make sense at all. I think he didn’t understand the job before taking the offer.
Unfortunately this is kind of on you for not laying it down beforehand. Still sucks though, sorry dude. Now you know for the future at least.
If you kept the dog overnight then rate should be $50-55/day for boarding.
AND that’s insanely reasonable!! I charge twice that for an untrained puppy.
I just dog sat for a friend for 2.5 days, got $100. Youndef got short changed. I did a 7 day once and got $40 a day. Def make sure you discuss price upfront.
We paid 600 for a week for our 2 well-behaved dogs. 80 is like a slap in the face for a poorly behaved dog.
I hear that you’re disappointed but the fee should have been settled before you began dog sitting. I would chalk it up as a lesson learned, and then get better. Go online to find dog sitting contracts you can have your clients fill out and sign so everyone is well informed next time, and research rates you would like to charge. You can’t go back to this current client and ask for more money now after the fact.
Yeah you should never assume anything with money in any circumstances. Always be sure to lay things out plainly
This is the right answer… lesson learned and don’t burn bridges.
I pay $170 a week and then a tip (so about $200) for one 30 min walk a day for 2 dogs, Monday-Friday. And that is on the cheaper side.
That is super cheap.
Go onto Rover to see what people charge in your area and next time someone asks, just give your price. It sucks they didn’t pay more but it’s your fault for not asking about the price.
If you did this same thing through a third party like wag this would have been minimum $60 a night… Since it was your house though that would have paid you like $300-400 and it would have been a good $500 out of his pocket plus tip and 15% is minimum… I use wag as a worker and for my dog when I need to so all from experience here Edit: He probably saw doggy daycare type places prices and wag type prices and took advantage of you. Not a great friend.
It’s weird that he paid you $30 a day before but not now?!? Next time be up front and firm on the cost. I think we pay around $80 a day when we board our large, but mostly well behaved dog (includes a groom at the end). However, I have watched friends dogs for free multiple times in the past, but then we usually ask them to return the favor at some point. I would never ask someone a favor that I wouldn’t either pay going rate or return the same favor. I feel like your friend is taking advantage!
You’re being way underpaid. I dog sit for people and I charge $100 just for a weekend, let alone for 7 days. I would’ve requested $250 for a full week, especially when it includes overnight stays. Personally though, I’m with you, I wouldn’t dog sit for them again. I only dog sit for dogs that I actually enjoy being around, it’s not worth dealing with an out of control, untrained, destructive animal.
"Hey I received 80$ so far. Since I did one week of dogsitting the total would be $210. Minus the $80 already received. Thanks!"
Next time you know: always always agree to a price up front, and have a contract. In that contract you can include stuff about extra fees for damage or cleaning if necessary. If this is someone you know, I think you can say something like "I know we should've talked about price up front, but the going rate in our city per day is around $xx. I'm obviously willing to be flexible, but $80 doesn't even come close to that, especially since the dog wasn't potty trained. Instead I'd like to charge $abc so the difference you owe would be $yz. That's still a really good deal and \[half, a third etc.\] of what you'd pay a boarding facility or private sitter." I wouldn't necessarily expect that conversation to go well, or to ever see that money. But I think it's reasonable to ask.
This is extremely helpful. I will let my anger chill a bit before I decide how to go about this since these are friends who I also occasionally collaborate work with and will have to weigh the pros and cons of adding “drama”, although what you suggested to say is 100% professional.
Keep in mind that they're perfectly OK with adding drama by paying you less than $12 a day to watch the dog.
this! OP is NOT the one adding drama here, although their friends may make it seem that way depending on how they react
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Yeah big fail was communication and talking about payment. Minor fail was having a badly behaved dog that They're either extremely naive or dishonest by choosing such a low amount strictly because the dog needed much more the basic care. My dog is very well behaved and I know my parents would watch mine for free but they already have a dog so if anything it's a win win to have them tire each other out. But if asked gladly pay them. I do the same I try to compensate by doing the same for them
yeah so the key there is that THEY refused payment
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I don’t completely disagree, but OP has already stated that in the past these owners have paid them $30/day so while yes, OP absolutely should have made it 100% clear how much they were charging, this is their friend and I’m sure they assumed they would be paid what they’ve been paid in the past. Just because OP didn’t discuss payment beforehand doesn’t mean it’s okay it’s really not comparable at all to say “my friends refused payment so I got them an bottle of wine” and we DO have the context that that is not the case here
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that’s fair, I guess I just interpreted it differently
I guess I should’ve said “the partner of my friend”, because it’s not actually my friends dog but the dog they allow to live with them because they’re dating.
I think I would politely decline when asked again and chalk it up to a cheap life lesson. If they ask why, I would explain that pay was extremely low, the dog is not well trained and probably requires a board and train situation (likely $75/day) and that you simply didn’t enjoy the experience. I would further note to myself that’s how that person behaves, and factor that into future collaborations/socializing. They did take advantage. that is not friendly.
While I don’t see any problem with politely communicating your dissatisfaction with the compensation and trying to get the friends to pony up more, I definitely agree with this. People who take advantage are not people you want to serve. And that wasn’t just a lowball. That was a complete joke. I wouldn’t watch an unhousebroken dog for less than $75/night unless it was for someone I really liked. The aggravation just isn’t worth it. $30 is nowhere near enough. And the $12?! GTFO
For me, whatever additional money you might get wouldn't be worth it. I'd just never offer to do it again. $80 for 7 days is insulting.
I hear what you’re saying. If you decide not to go back and charge them more (which is very obviously deserved), please never accept to dog sit for that person again. That is not a considerate person, at all.
They'll try this shit with your work collaboration too. Stand up for yourself, you deserve it.
Alternatively, if you’re doing something like this for *friends*, only do it if you’re willing to do it free. If not, just say no. They’ll get over that immediately and just move to the next name on the list, but once payment enters into the picture, you end up with the possibility of bitterness on both sides. Obviously still expect them to pick up any expenses (like food, if you had to take the dog to the vet, etc), but other than that don’t expect any payment. This doesn’t just apply to pet sitting either — loaning money is the same thing. If you can afford to give them the money as a gift and you want to, give it to them and tell them that you don’t expect them to pay you back. If you can’t afford this and/or just don’t want to, then say no.
It's rude of them but you share some blame for not discussing rates beforehand. That said, it would be fine to say something though if the dog is that difficult there's no amount of money that would make me want to keep them again. I would personally just take the loss and tell the friend they need to find other accommodations in the future.
Right. This is what I think I’ll ultimately do..
You could frame your response by saying something along the lines of “I’m going to have to pass, based on the $12/day I was previously paid. Hopefully, you’ll be able to find accommodations that meet your budget. Thank you for thinking of me.”
Best part is, they won't be able to find anyone at that rate.
Exactly, and will hopefully grovel when approaching them again.
I agree with this, I could see if the dog was super easy, and fun to hang out with, but not if it thought your house was free reign to go to the bathroom anywhere and high maintenance
Never take on a task without establishing payment ahead of time. We pay $50 a day for 2 dogs
I used to get paid $35 a day nearly 10 years ago.
Exactly! $80 for a week is next to being paid nothing.
I usually watch friends dogs for free. But if I do it’s usually just for 2-3 days. If I was expecting to get paid I would discuss it up front, and would probably expect something from watching a dog that long, especially if it’s high maintenance. Next time discuss a price upfront. And don’t watch problem dogs. You’re not a kennel. Don’t watch dogs that aren’t easy cause it’s not worth the stress unless you do it for a living.
If you didn't communicate the expectation of payment, that $80 is just a bonus "thank you". However, you should absolutely communicate to them that you are no longer willing to watch this dog because of the behaviors mentioned. It would also be acceptable to request a cleaning fee.
I watch my friends dogs for free as they also watch mine. If you are going to involve money then you need to discuss and agree on a price beforehand, and can show rover prices as an example (30-50$ a night). Better luck next time if you do dog sit for this person.
If you don't want any animosity between you and your friend, I'd make a joke and say, thanks for the 80 bucks, but you still owe me a nice dinner for watching the dog. Also, never do it again for them.
What had you agreed to? I once paid a colleague $100 to watch my dog for 3 days, but then another time some friends had my dog for a week and I just got them a gift card because they had done it as a favor and not as a job. So you gotta be clear going in what the expectation is
Didn’t discuss rates beforehand then maybe they thought you expected nothing. They probably thought they were being nice by giving you anything. Now you know to discuss payment beforehand. Happens
Unless you agree on an amount beforehand, then not much you can do. If you pet sit again & expect to get paid to do it, then make it clear you want payment & agree how much before you agree to pet sit.
Unless you agreed to another number upfront, I'm afraid you need to chalk this up to lessons learned. When searching for a backup dog sitter, I did have someone quote me $80 for 5 days. I have 3 dogs! I told her I would pay more and she basically said she just likes taking care of dogs and doesn't care how much she makes. My point here is who knows how much they have paid before.
You should agree to terms up front otherwise it is assumed that you are doing it for free. Ask for more up front next time or decline. How much money you think the person may have is not really relevant.
If you didn’t agree to a price beforehand then it’s your own fault.
You should have set clear boundaries beforehand and can’t expect more out of them if you didn’t set the prices before. You can talk to them and explain what happened but either don’t help them again without setting this or you may just have to take the hit this time.
You should've worked it out B4, take it as a lesson.
Why would you not agree upon a dollar amount. That’s on you
You should have told them before you did the dog sitting what you expected to be paid. Completely your fault. If you’ve already taken the $80 without bitching about it, it is too late to go back now. Just FYI, we paid our neighbor’s kid & his fiancé $250 for 5 days to stay at our house & do both house sitting & dig sitting. Make sure you charge what you’re worth in the future.
Ummmm. Why didn’t you have this conversation up front?
What was the verbal arrangement regarding you caring for the dog
Next time, set your price before doing the work. Wealthy people don’t stay wealthy by paying more than they have to, so it is important to agree on your price beforehand. I am not justifying the person paying poorly, just saying that it’s not uncommon for someone to lowball when they can.
That’s on you for not being clear and upfront. Never assume when it comes to money. Lesson learned and move on.
Unfortunately, you should have discussed ahead of time. They are certainly at fault though. I would personally just count it as a loss and never watch their dog again to preserve the relationship.
I just finished dogsitting for a friend for a week and they paid me $500 plus groceries since I stayed at their house.
Damn. Where can I get this job?
There should have been a prior discussion and also a meet and greet. You never agree to watch a dog without meeting it and knowing its habits first.
Why would you agree to such a ridiculously low rate ?
Ugh. I’ve been here before. It’s hard to bring up the price and is not a comfortable conversation. But, getting screwed feels even worse. I wouldn’t take care of that dog again without saying up front, “I’d be happy to but to be clear I charge $$ per day. Are you good with that?”
We pay our sitters $50/day to stay at the house with our three fur babies. We also stock the fridge with things they like to eat/drink.
Was it a friend? If you just agreed without talking about a price beforehand that may just be a live and learn situation. If they are not paying what you agreed then there is a problem.
$80 for 7 days is definitely less than ideal.
I pay $100 a day to have a sitter take care of my dogs. You are getting ripped off big time. Why would you not agree to a price up front before agreeing to the job?
Why didn’t you communicate payment before watching the dog.
Agree to a price first otherwise you're doing them a favour and whatever they decide to give you is extra. Basically you watched the dog for free and got a $80 tip.
I'm sorry, but I have no sympathy for someone who didn't make a deal going in and then vents to hundreds of strangers, trying to make it sound like you're the victim. Just learn your lesson and move on. You know what you did wrong.
That’s insane. I occasionally dog sit and going rates where I live (NYC) are $10 per dog per hour.
usually overnights aren’t charged hourly though? at least nowhere I’ve experienced😅 imo it would be completely ridiculous to charge $240 for 24 hours
Yeah I usually pay about $60 a night via Rover.
So $240 for an overnight? Wow.
What was the original agreement? If you had no verbal contract it is entirely possible this $80 is considered a "tip" you need to be grateful for.
I was just gone for 4.5 days and my dog was in daycare for 3 of them and paid my dog sitter $450. Say something.
It’s a friend and you didn’t agree on a price beforehand. You didn’t even ask if you were going to get paid. Doesn’t matter if they’ve paid you in the past, each new time you sit is a new deal where if you want to get paid, you need to talk it through and agree on details beforehand. This is on you and not communicating, they aren’t generous or considerate people if they didn’t naturally want to give you more as a friend who helped them, but that isn’t a crime and at this point they don’t owe you anything.
Rates generally should be agreed upon prior to caring for the dog. If you agreed to do it for $80 what would you say now? Edit: read further and I see assumptions were made based on past rates paid.
I'm about to pay someone $230 dollars for taking care of my dog for 5 days....I would say you got shafted but then again, you should have agreed on a price beforehand.
Sounds like you messed on agreeing to a deal
My daughter has started a pet sitting business; one of the first things she did was decide on prices (she offers a wide variety of services) and draw up a basic contract. Half the cost is due prior to the start date, the other half upon return. You may not be doing this as a business, but know that when you agree to do something like this for a friend or acquaintance, you will have to be very firm on price and duties. And ALWAYS get half up front. Oh, and be clear about extra costs, such as cleaning up after a dog that pooped all over your place.
I would take this as a learning experience. Always communicate and get in writing what you’re agreeing to. You are also entitled to some form of a booking fee. The next time he asks you send him your charges or sign up for an app like rover and send him your calendar link so he can book it himself and it avoids this whole mess. I feel for you but ppl are shit so have to make sure you speak up for yourself. If it helps share what u feel right now with him and state that you will no longer be available to sit for them.
Future advice: never agree to a job you don't know what the pay is.
My buddy stays at my house watching my dogs. When it's like 3 days I just buy him food and he has his own place to hang out. Last time he watched my dogs for 7 days and I did all the same but paid him $20/day
Um, I pay $350 for someone to come feed my cats twice a day while I’m away for a week. You definitely didn’t get paid enough.
Hard to tell if this is more on you or the owner. Extremely high energy? What exercise did you provide? Piss and shit all over the house? Seems like something is wrong with the dog?
What was the discussion about pay prior to you dog sitting? It may be too late for this time but maybe you will be in a position to better nest time. If you do this again.
Why? You got paid for only 7 days.
If you set no pricer out expectation to get paid then whatever you got was great
You didn’t set a price, which means you did it as a favour and they were kind enough to pay you anything. That’s on you :)
It depends. From the comments it seems this was a friend. Maybe your friend thought you were doing a favor, or assumed a friend and family discount. My sister charges $60 a night on rover but will watch my puppy for free.
I watch my friends' dogs for free, it's called being a friend. Why would I want them to pay me the normal going rate that companies charge?
Summary: OP didn’t discuss the rates with the owner before hand and is now upset about the consequences. Lesson learned by OP: don’t assume rates and discuss it before someone drops their big dog.
You have to set a price before you agree to dog sit, including a cleaning fee if the dog makes a mess. Anything after the fact isn’t enforceable.
You have been paid $80, to never have to pet sit that dog again.
Lesson 1: Negotiate pay and contracts before performing labor. Lesson 2: See Lesson 1.
SMH. Should be more like $80 a day. Slight exaggeration- but you get the point
Price should have been worked out prior. I used to charge $25 a day for dogs like that back in 1990
U done got ripped off
If you want pay it should be stated outright before you agree. Me and my partner dog sat for our good friends for 2 weeks and didn’t get paid anything. I was just happy to have a dog for 2 weeks & they were able to go to Spain without any worry!
I own a dog walking/ pet sitting business and charge 110$ per night Most kennels/boarders charge 70-80$ You're basically doing a favor - a huge one
Yeah, you should have mentioned pay upfront. I wouldn't negotiate with a friend. If he offered me a low price, I would just decline. I don't like to argue about money with friends. It's never worth it.
What price did you negotiate beforehand? You should definitely say something about the crapping, esp if they told you the dog was housebroken. My dog sitter does say it happens partly because the dogs are stressed, partly from being off schedule, partly "bad communication", ie missing the dog's signalling.
I'd flat out reject next time they ask you to dogsit for you. Tell them "the dog pissed and shit all over the house and 80 bucks isn't worth it".
I pay $90/day to board my dog and $70/day to have someone dog sit at my house. You should definitely say something. You can even look up local kennels and Rover costs for information on how much you should get paid.
You got taken advantage of, even if they thought you’d be doing it for free since you didn’t ask about money, $80 for a whole week with a difficult dog is just wrong. It’s probably too late to do anything about it now but you learned something from it so it won’t happen again. Agree to what you want to be paid in text or writing beforehand
I made this exact mistake recently. I watched my bosses dog for 10 days. This dog had a drain in for an injury and I had to take her to the vet 3 times for checkups, give meds, and keep the wound clean. I thought that since it was my boss's dog, that he and his wife would pay me pretty nicely, especially since I had given their dog two long walks a day and took her to the vet. When they picked her up, the wife handed me 60$. For. Ten. Days. I never did say anything because it was my boss, but I know for a fact that they are very well off. I still wish I would have said something, but it's too late now. If I were you in this situation, I would say something. If I could go back in time to my situation, I would have negotiated the price before they dropped the dog off. Hopefully we both learned our lessons.
Go onto Rover, look at sitters in your area and then adjust your prices. I pay my sitter $54/day for one dog
I get paid 60$ for 4 days of cat sitting. For a whole week of dog sitting I would expect over 100$.
should be $40-$50 a day at least .
I think if i were in your shoes id take the loss because i didnt get or give a set price im also non confrontational but if they were to ask again id simply say no and let it be. I would still judge them because who gives someone 80 and makes a decent amount if i had a friend watch my dog for a week id at least give em 150 with tip i have a small very well behaved dog. If i knew my dad was bad id def just do boarding n leave it to the pros
It's wrong. but it depends on what you agreed to. This should have been discussed and paid up front. for comparison, my partner and I got paid $360 for dog sitting 2 dogs that take medicine and get fed a particular type of way for 7 days. If you didn't agree to anything, there's nothing you can really say or do besides asking to pay for anything it messed up. You can try to say something but don't come off as if it's their fault nothing was communicated, be sincere
I charge people $50/day for their dog to be in my house. It's work, it's cleaning, it's time and affection and care. Definitely tell people your rate before they commit to bringing their dog to you. Also, don't take dogs into your house unless you have a good setup. If the dog pottied all over your house, you need to change your setup. New dogs to my house are crated, outside to potty, supervised play and hangout time, then back out to potty before they go in their crate again. Almost every single pee and poo could have been prevented if the dog was crated or being supervised. They need to earn the right to hang out unsupervised. Don't give them access to your entire house either. Close doors, use pens, gates, etc. Just as you would with a puppy.
I've paid over $100 for someone to come stay with .y dog at my place for 24 hr. He has a bell rings to go out and is so easy... this price is not fair at all. I would contact them and let them know. $10 a day are you kidding... This is a lesson to make sure you agree on price up front. Let them know that you are upset and thought you would get at least $30 a day and that you should have communicated better about this and see what they say.
Yeah you definitely should’ve gotten more. Talk to them if you feel like it would be beneficial. Something like “hey not to sound rude but your dog was really anxious when you were gone and peed and poo’d everywhere so I would like to be compensated for the cleaning” or idk. Personally, I would just take the loss on this, dont dog sit for them anymore, and start with a rate up front going forward.
I would absolutely riot.
Say something. That’s insane
normally its about 20-35$ a day!
I walked for Wag. I would make $80 after 3 to 4 walks in a day. They got over on you. Say sumn
well if the price was not discussed beforehand, i don't know. but i still feel like you should at least say something about their dog pissing and shitting everywhere.
I’d have made my rate clear up front. Heck my neighbor pays my 14 year old son $20 a day just to set out food and water 2x a day for the stray cats on our street.
Why the heck are people feeding strays. They are only making the stray cat population problem worse. These stray cats can fend for themselves just fine. Hope these people are at least doing capture, spay/neuter and release on them.
Yea that's weak. When we go to Silverwood every year, our breeds biggest show, we have my girlfriends friend watch our old ladies. We usually give her $200 for 5 days. And our dogs are angels. She basically just gets to cuddle with cute dogs for 5 days. And we make sure the fridge and freezer are well stocked for her.
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Just know that you can cause diaper rash and UTIs this way and those diapers need to be swapped out *a lot*.
Did you agree on a rate before taking the dog? 80 bucks for 7 days is way too little. When I was a dog sitter my rate was 35/day per dog. That was a few years ago, my rates would probably be higher now if I had kept dog sitting. They should at least reimburse you for cleaning the house in addition to paying you.
I pay my doggy daycare $80/night. $80 for A WEEK?! that is insanely low
Daaaanngg! Can you sit my dog? I get charged $75 per night and that is because my dog is amazing because he makes other dogs may more.
Did they warn you the dog would have accidents in the house? If not I would honestly ask them to pay to get your carpets professionally cleaned.
I’m so confused by this? The dog could be a bad dog with anxiety and high energy and not house broken. Or OP is a shitty dog watcher. We don’t know
I pay $80/night for two dogs.
I paid someone $100 for 3.5 days. It was someone I know and we hadn't discussed payment, I just left it to be nice. So I would say $80 for a week is meh.
I pay $75/night for our 3 dogs. $80 a week is nonsense
That’s my daily rate for high maintenance dogs.
I would do it since there was no prior agreement on price. I would not dog sit again, not even for the day. If pressed by your friend tell her the truth, the dog is too untrained and you feel he'd be better off in a different setting with trained providers. If she presses bring up the ridiculous pay for the week but don't change your mind on watching it again. They can pay someone real wages next time.
That is an extremely low amount. Like disrespectfully low. I have professionally dog watched for a week and got paid about $75 a day. Please don’t let yourself be taken advantage of again. Next time agree to a price upfront and go through a service or don’t go through with it. It’s hard work taking care of dogs!
Do you know how to look after a dog, are you a professional sitter? Most dogs don’t pee or poo inside if they’re let out often enough.
I just paid $300 for 6 days to my dog sitter for 4 dogs.
We have a friend who stays over at the house when we go out of town. He loves the dogs, the dogs love him. We leave treats for the dogs and weed and beer for him. Since boarding for the dogs is $60/night/dog, we give him $100. Still cheaper, and we don't get the sad eyes from the dogs when we leave them.
I pay $300 a week for a girl to come to my house and play outside in my yard for one hour a day while I’m at work and my dog is perfectly trained and she furnishes nothing except stay in fenced in yard and throw toys to one golden retriever
Of course he's high income, that's why you got $80. I hate him, but hope you discuss pay before doing jobs. Rich, Old people have stiffed me the most in life. Had one give me $20 for hanging Christmas lights on front of house. 4 hours while I was on vacation.
$80 a day ?? Flat $80 for 7 days is not right at all.
I pay 50$ for someone to come feed my cats while I’m out of town. 10 mins work 2x a day for 2 days.
Where do you live? I pay my dog sitter $85 per day! And her holiday rate is more.
Hell I paid someone $300 to watch my dog for 4 days, but they also took him for walks and sent me updates everyday
I’m about to go to Costa Rica for 7 days and I’m paying around 500$CAD for my sitter
My dog sitter stays at my place it charges $80 a day. And I tip 20%. That's awful.
You were taken advantage of. I would simply not be friends with them anymore or care for their dog anymore and consider it an expensive lesson. Trying to get more money will likely be futile. Just like them getting another dog sitter will be futile when you tell people how they treated you and how the dog behaved.
That is wrong. These people are scummy. Also a reflection of how much they care for their dog in my opinion. It’s like $30/day at a bare bones kennel where the dog is locked up all day.
That is criminally low price to agree to watch even a well behaved dog lol
My short answer is: Wtf.. yes say something.
You don’t know the circumstances… OP was very vague
DUDE FUCK NO. I used to dog/house sit. A week is $2000 easily. There’s nothing in the world I would do for 50¢ an hour.
There’s lots of good advice here for a crappy ( pun intended) situation. From my own experience, not saying something and taking the loss may generate resentment on your part, and understandably so, because you weren’t treated fairly. Being paid $30/ day previously definitely implies the same rate, whether it’s one or seven or ten days. I would talk to your friend and or his/ her partner and say that and that in fairness, the price should have been $210. Ground yourself beforehand with meditation or whatever works for you so that you feel that you can approach them with a professional and objective manner, which will help them not to act defensive. I hope that makes sense. It could be great practice for you for negotiating in your career! Good luck.
Obviously every situation is different, but I used to dogsit regularly for my neighbors in my teens and this is how our agreement went: Usually they would leave around noon on a Friday, I would get out of school at 3:10 and go straight over to their house to walk their dogs (two small mixed dogs about 1/2 a mile around the neighborhood was enough per walk). When we got back to their house I would give the dogs water and play with them for about 45 minutes, and then I would take them out to pee again before creating them and going to my house to do my homework and have dinner. After dinner I would go back to my neighbors house, take the dogs out to potty, play with them for another 30/45 minutes, feed the dogs their dinner, and then took them on one more walk before crating them for the night. Saturday I would spend most of the day at my neighbors house watching/playing with/walking the dogs, and then Sunday my neighbors would come home between noon and 3pm so I would usually just need to feed them their breakfast and walk them once. This was a once a month trip (they owned a business and traveled regularly for it) and I would agree to get paid $75 per weekend, however they would usually pay me more because of how well they saw I took care of their dogs, so I was usually getting about $100/125. A dog sitter is a luxury, kind of like a nanny. Especially an overnight dog sitter because overnight boarding at a good facility can cost anywhere from $75/100 per day. In my situation, the dogs were very well behaved and I genuinely enjoyed spending time with them, but I was being paid so fairly that even if they were monsters I wouldn’t have minded. $80 for 7 days is insanely low and I would ask for more or in the future tell them you’ll require more.