Pet Sitting for Philadelphia Pets! 

Do you have to be a professional dog sitter to post fliers for dog sitting/walking?? Or do you need that certificate thing legally!?!? Will people not want me to sit their dog if im not a professional?

What you do need is a good liability insurance policy to cover you interacting with other people’s dogs. You need coverage if the dog gets loose, gets hurt … etc on your watch. It is a huge responsibility to care for other people’s animals – and anything can happen.

I put an ad on craigslist for dog sitting. I got an e-mail from one lady saying she has a 9 week old lab pupppy that she would need me to watch thursday, overnight and most of friday. she might have kids I’m not positive. My main concern is; what would be the going rate hourly for dog sitting?
Thanks Kiry

It depends on what you have to do. Being that the dog is so young, you will be very busy and potty training, crying overnight, etc. Do you think she is really looking for a babysiter too? I paid $5.00 an hour or $25.00 per day for a babysitter for one child. For two days, just for the dog I would charge $25.00. With kids, $50.00, lol. I don’t think there is an "hourly rate" for dogs. Ask her what she thinks is fair and go from there, whether you think it will be worth your time and effort.

my friend is going for a vacation for a month? and he asked me if his dog can stay with me.

How much should i charge him? i’m new to this dog sitting thing. so i dunno how much to charge.

im kinda shy to ask him though.

Is he providing the food, treats, etc? If so, I would charge $20 a week for a small or easy to handle dog and $50 for a large or difficult dog. If your buying the food, then $25 a week for a small dog and $40 for a large dog.

Other things you and your friend should figure out before he leaves is; What if the dog gets hurt and needs to go to the vet?, What vet does the dog normally go to?, Who will pay for vet care?, Does the dog need any grooming done?, Who will pay for that?, How many times a day does the dog eat/get walked/go out to potty?, etc, stuff like that is very important to plan out before something happens.

Lately I noticed our dog chubby has been sitting outside howling, kind of like a wolf. I dont know how long he has been doing it or if he just started. Is there any reason why he is doing it? Is there something wrong with him?

Continuous barking and/or howling is not a dog’s natural state. When dogs are content, they are quiet. Barking or howling is used in a pack as an alert system, or to indicate anxiety, pain or unhappiness. Your dog is a pack animal, and being alone outside makes him or her unhappy. It can also seem like he’s being punished; separated from his pack.

Why are you putting the dog outside? If it’s to "get him out of the house," then you need to take him for a long walk. Dogs need at least an hour of exercise per day. Letting your dog out in the yard isn’t exercise. He’s going to get bored. Leaving your dog outside is unnecessary and will just make him unhappy. You’ll notice the howling stops when you make him a part of your pack and don’t leave him outside alone.

I need to know how much is good to charge for walking someone’s dog, either PER walk or PER 1/2 hr. And how much I should request for petsitting?

for 30 min walk i say 5 dollars for more than one dog at once by same owner i say 7 all together 2 bucks extra for each Additional dog. for the sitting it depends how long and such i would say 5-10 an hour

as you build experiance you can charge more

In a local ad I saw someone was looking for a dog sitter for this upcoming weekend {Fri Nov 27 through Sun Nov. 29.} How much would you charge if they had their dog stay at your house. It is a small dog (under 30lbs) and I have a dog so it wouldn’t be an inconvenience.Any idea for a price range?

I would charge more than ten bucks but I’m not completely sure, I would first ask the person how much they are willing to pay and go on that but definitely more than ten bucks. So just call the person and see what they think would be reasonable. I think it totally depends on the other person

I totally agree that $20 a day is a good price.

I’m going to be dog-sitting a Labradoodle (Labrador / Poodle cross) for 2 weeks, what questions should I ask the owner when they come over for the first time?

Does this dog have an aggressive background (biting, nipping at people, etc.)
What is his potty schedule?
Does he sleep in a bed or crate?
Is he house trained?
Does he do well with other dogs? (or any other animals you might have)
I would also ask for a record of shots.
Is he food aggressive, toy aggressive, small animal aggressive?
Does he walk well on a leash?
Are there any medications I need to give him? If so, what time?
Does he require grooming or brushing every day?

I am in high school but have a lot of experience with dogs. I want to have like a little aftercare from about 3:00-9:00 or something like that. Since I am just a kid with know license or insurance, I won’t probably charge much. How much would you pay me if I were to watch your dog or how much would you charge? (per hour or per week or whatever)

It depends on if you’re gonna feed them, or if the owner is gonna provide food. I would pay you probably $3/hour if I was feeding them myself. That would be about $18 a day. You could always charge like $20 for 6 hours. I think thats reasonable.

I dont want my landlord to get madand i have this dog for 3 more days.

Go to a pet store and get a cleaner with the word enzyme on the bottle. You need to get rid of the ‘this is a good bathroom’ smell and only an enzyme cleaner will do that.

Keep the dog in a dog crate when you aren’t home and take it out for walks frequently that should help cut down on the mess it makes

Good luck, whoever you are dog sitting for owes you big time

i recently got my first job. The want me to watch it for the day. They want to meet with me n ask me some questions and stuff what are some things i can say? How much should i charge for 1 dog for 1 day?
the family is going to PA so i dont know how long i will be there but i hve to wait there with the dog until they get back home so i cant leave the house.
I was thinking about $15 for the whole day.

I personally charge $5 to check in on the dog three times a day (feed it, change water, let out to use bathroom) and give it a 20 minute walk daily.