Fair pet sitting price? What do you think?

So what is a fair price for watching 3 dogs for 4 days over a holiday?

I've never done the pet sitter thing. Is there anything I need to set out for her? Is it best to bag up each dog's food and Summer's medications separate? Or just show her the scoop and write out instructions saying Hank gets __ cups 2x a day, Summer gets ___ 2x a day, etc? Should I put baggies for treats and chews and have them partitioned out?

I am probably over thinking this.

When I've had pet sitters in my home I have typed out pretty detailed instructions and I did partition out medications into those little weekly pill organizer/box thingies. I usually acknowledged "yes you are a grown up but typing this stuff all out helps me relax on my vacation."


As for prices, it depends SO much on your area, whether they are staying overnight or stopping in, etc. I haven't had an in-home pet sitter for quite some time, but for someone who stayed overnights I think I used to pay around $35-40/night for multiple cats and dogs + 1 bird? I would calculate the cost of boarding them all and figure it should be fairly significantly less than that since it's in my own home, make an offer and sincerely ask them if it was fair.

I charge $30/dog/day in my home, and $50/night if I stay anywhere else for however many critters. If they want an extra walk/let out during the day, it's another $10.

When I sit for people, I usually just do $10/dog/hour during the day (or if it's most of the day, $30), $20/dog/night. Exercise/training sessions/etc is always free. I prefer to sit down with the owners, have them type me up instructions/a bit of info on the dog (how long do they usually like walking for, where do they like walking, special considerations, etc) and just talk to me about what they want and need for their pets. Also, how long they want me to stay (if it's just to pop in) because I usually stay for a minimum of an hour.

If I were to have someone come watch Roxie, I would expect about the same as far as talking to me and me giving them instructions.

$30-40 a night, depending. $20 for close friends and family

Hmmm, let's see. Teying to remember how much I paid the sitter who watched our crew for a few days. I think she charged me $20 a visit? So, $40-$60 a day? An overnight stay would have been $80?

Something like that. Expensive, but still worth it as she was watching two dogs, a cat, and a piggy, and boarding them all would have been the same, or more expensive.

This was also her business, she was insured/bonded, and she stayed for an hour each visit.

That's what I do. Each meal is put into a zip lock bag with the supplements. If there is something Caleb only gets once a day, I also mark the bags AM & PM. The bags of food then go in a dish pan on the table. Treats and chews I just say to ask Caleb to show you.


I have a very detailed document on the computer with not only feeding instructions, but a list of food issues, supplements, our vet's contact info and health info (dob, vacs, hw, etc) just in case our vet isn't available.

For 3 dogs I would say $40-$50 per day (including the overnight stay). Walks and playtime would be included, but how long they stay during the day is up to you. I would definitely recommend typing out pretty detailed instructions about their routine and everything. If they all eat the same food, I would say just give her the scoop and say in the instructions how much each dog eats per day. And if Summer is on medication, I would put the pills in one of those weekly pill organizers. It is just extra insurance that the sitter gives her her pill and doesn't forget or accidentally give it twice. I honestly don't think you need to set anything out or separate chews or treats for the sitter as long as you tell her where everything is in your instructions and how much the dogs get each day.

I live in a cheap area.

I pay $16/ day for boarding in a kennel here.

I charge $25/day for boarding in my home or $250/month for long term boarders. $10 discount/day for additional dogs.

I give my pet sitters $50/day to hang out at my house. Ideally I like them to stay. Obviously unlimited TV and food... I can also throw in use of the Segway as a bribe

Oh, and I totally bagged up all of Cynder's meds in case they need them. I also left sheets of information - with each animal having their own section - for their feeding instructions/points to know/things to watch out for/etc. One page was devoted to Cynder's medical issues and titled "IF SHE REGURGITATES", describing a "normal" regurgitation and something that is more alarming and requires management/meds. hahaha

Bless my pet sitter's heart, she sent me text updates three times a day.

As a dog sitter, I really appreciated the people who had everything all organized and laid out for me, vs. me searching around cabinets and drawers that I'm not familiar with, ya know? Even when someone shows you everything before hand, it's a lot of information to take in, so it's nice to have a note to refer to and have everything just laid out for you.

I used to charge around $30/night (for sleeping at their home overnight) if I remember correctly. Usually was allowed to eat whatever was in the house as well. People would make up the spare bedroom for me with clean sheets etc.

Charged somewhere around $12-$13 for a one hour walk mid-day.

I charge $80/day for overnights plus spending a good amount of the day at the house. That includes exercising, walking, and feeding all pets.

I much prefer people writing things out, using post-its to mark things, etc. I always do a free consultation beforehand as well just to make sure I know exactly what to do. The more I get in writing, though, the better! Just in case I forget something, or the owners remember something later after the consultation.

In terms of already partitioning food/treats, I say whatever makes you feel more comfortable. I wouldn't mind either way.