Housesitting Question

As a former housesitter, I would really be offended if all I got was $100 for 3 dogs & 10 days, even with the fridge full of food. It wasn't a full-time job, just side money, as would be for your sitter. Look into the price of boarding, on average it's about $15-20 per dog per day. Yes, you want to save money-I get that. But, you also don't want to take advantage of this girl. Maybe consider paying her 1/2 of what it would be to board. She really isn't "just" feeding and watering. She does still have to take them outside & clean up any messes that they might make. There is also the addes security of that fact that your home will still look like someone is home.

If you know her really well:
-Stock the fridge w/all her favorites
-Make her feel as comfy as possible
-Put away all breakables, important stuff and liquor
-Hand her a $100 bill before you leave

If you don't know her that well:
-Stock the fridge w/munchies
-Make her feel comfy as possible
-Put away and all breakables, important/expensive stuff and liquor
-Hand her $150 and thank her profusely!

Yes, I am opting to pay the stranger more $...that way they might be more prone to take better care of your property and dogs.

The way I see it, any kid would probably enjoy the freedom and the money is going to be looked at as a bonus...I would have been happy about either of those amounts!!

Can you say party at S.'s house!!??---Sorry, I had to say it...I'm sure you've already thought about it:)

We just went on vacation and our 60? year old housesitter (we had 3 low-maintnence dogs) and his rate is $30 a day. BUT he provides all his own food. I did have a homemade frozen lasagna in the freezer, snacks, beverages, and oatmeal available to him. I told him to help himself to anything he finds.

Technically one was a housedog and two were "outside" dogs who come and go whenever.

For a girl the age you're getting. I'd do a minimum of $30 a day and have some of her favorite snacks and beverages handy. Will she be spending the night? Will she be going home for meals? If she is planning on staying pretty much 24/7 I'd also have some easy meals handy. Tv dinners, frozen pizzas, mac and cheese, etc. Whatever she likes.

BE CLEAR on the rules up front. Is she allowed to have ONE friend over to visit at a time. NO BOYS? Etc. Be very straight forward so everyone knows what to expect. She will be a companion to these dogs for 10 days. Make sure to specify if you want her to play or pet each one for a specific amount of time daily and whatever else would make the whole time go smoother.

I would pay her somewhat less that what it would cost the board the dogs, maybe $30 per day. She doesn't need to do much for them and they will be happier at your house than at the vets. However, they are all older dogs and she will have the responsibility for their care if they happen to get sick or injured, so she is really responsible for what MIGHT happen as well as what won't and this should be rewarded. Your other responsibility to her is to make sure there are no opportunities for her friends to come over and party. Make sure she and her parents and maybe your neighbors are aware of that rule.

You got a lot of good responses. I agree you want to save money, but I agree with everyone else not to be too cheap, it is quit a bit to board, plus you never know if they will get sick boarding. I love having my dog stay home, or go to my friends house (who didn't have dogs at the time) to be taken care of. It is reassuring to leave knowing your pet is in good hands. I would do as suggest ask her to call if anything unusual happens, water leak, air conditioner break. I know when I watched someone's house they asked me to flush the toilets too so they didn't get hard water stains. If you do that though tell her to make sure they aren't running when she leaves. You don't want to come back to water damage. And it is as others stated an advantage having it look like you are home. Even though you stop the mail, the daily barrage of papers on your door or in the driveway will still be there, I'd ask her to pick those up also.

Take care and have a nice vacation.
K.

Since you have chosen this young lady to stay at your house, I take it that you feel she is responsible. With that said, I would believe that if you told her the dogs needed to be walked she would either do it early morning (responsible teenagers do get up early - there are many who attend 7:00 a.m course or before school acitvities, my daughter who is a junior in high school had 6:30 a.m. sports practice and was always up and on time!)or later in the evening, both you should consider her safety walking early morning or late evening.

I would agree check with your local boarding places to find out the going rate. And offer a portion of that rate. Yes it is a "get away for her" but it is a change in her usual routine and to a point is an inconvenience but one that her accepting is ok with her.

You said June will she still be in school?

And in addition to paying her I would also stock the refrigerator with food that she likes just as an added bonus!

Just my thoughts. Keep in mind you might want her to do this again!

I do this for my friends when they go out of town. They tell the vet to let me bring in the pets and they will pay for anything at the vets in case of emergency. Depends on how long you want her to stay at your house per day and how much gas she will be using. I'd pay 10 dollars an hour plus 5 dollars per gas trip. So if she comes twice a day for an hour each time and drives to your house it would be 30 dollars a day.

If someone is stayng at your home, I would pay them at least $20 a day. Lets be honest, she'll also be providing you peace of mind by having someone there to bring in papers, get the mail, and make your house looked "lived in" while you are gone. You can ask her, if she's done this before, what her going rate is. If she doesn't know, I think $20 a day is bare minimum.

As someone who has to do what you're doing every year, when we go back to Boston, I'd say pay her $300, and also stock the fridge. Give her $100 up front, and make sure she knows what to do "just in case", as anything could happen. One year we had a friend of a friend watch our dog and elderly cat. She didn't tell us or anyone else that our A/C broke, in the middle of summer... needless to say, our poor cat did not survive.

You make it sound like what she's doing is no big deal, but it is - if you love your dogs - and your house!! Pay her $300, $100 up front and the rest once you get home and see all animals are fine, and no sign of parties being thrown (hey, she may look like a nice girl, but have you met all of her friends? Teens can talk each other into throwing parties). Good Luck.