Pet Sitting for Philadelphia Pets! 

i’m gonna be working some night shifts 2-3 days a week but not in a row (my job changed my schedule). she is crate trained and house broken but i don’t want to leave her alone all night.
i was wondering if its better to hire a pet sitter to stay overnight with my 8 month old puppy or take her to the pet smart hotel. Does anyone have any experience with either?

Well, what would she normally do at night? Sleep, right?

She’s not going to sleep well if you drop her off somewhere. That’ll just confuse her. If you’re going to be gone longer than 8 hours, you could just have someone stop by during that time to let her out, so she’s not waiting too long.

My pups are adjusted to changes like that. I also work nights. Sometimes they go to work with me, sometimes they stay home (unattended), and when I’m home – we’re sleeping at night. They do fine with whatever.

i’m gonna be working some night shifts 2-3 days a week but not in a row (my job changed my schedule). she is crate trained and house broken but i don’t want to leave her alone all night.
i was wondering if its better to hire a pet sitter to stay overnight with my 8 month old puppy or take her to the pet smart hotel. Does anyone have any experience with either?

Well, what would she normally do at night? Sleep, right?

She’s not going to sleep well if you drop her off somewhere. That’ll just confuse her. If you’re going to be gone longer than 8 hours, you could just have someone stop by during that time to let her out, so she’s not waiting too long.

My pups are adjusted to changes like that. I also work nights. Sometimes they go to work with me, sometimes they stay home (unattended), and when I’m home – we’re sleeping at night. They do fine with whatever.

I am 14 and I have lots of experience with animals. I am also very trustworthy so be my guest to ask any questions. Thanks.

Hey sweetie. Good on you for wanting to do something productive.

I have to say though, advertising on the internet at your age is a bad idea. Someone could e-mail you and say ‘I have a job for you, meet me here’ and they could be dodgy!

The best idea for you would be to ask your parents to ask their friends and work colleuges for now, and let your neighbours know what you are offering. That way you can build your little business up safely!

Good luck, its a great idea. Don’t give up on it

It will be from the 20th of December to the 3rd of Jan. I have an old dog that just needs to be let out the door to go potty. Other than that, he just sleeps. The dog is a Chihuahua and will be staying with her in her home. I have never hired a pet sitter so I do not know the going rate…..any advice?

I pet sit a lot at I get $10 a day. The dog I watch most is a 5 year old beagle. He is fed at 7am and 5pm. Also, he is walked after dinner. I stay at the house for the time I am watching him because the owners don’t ever want him alone at night. I’ve been watching the dog for 2-4 weeks during the summer for about 4 summers now, and I’m now 23 and think that is a fair pay. I have known the owners since I was a little kid so I guess that has something to do with the pay. But then again I have watched other people’s dogs and was paid the same for doing the same thing. I honestly wouldn’t pay anyone more than that.

Our pet sitter did a really great job this year, and I’d like to give her a Christmas gift. I think cash or a check would be the best option. Every time I hire her, I usually spend between $100 to $150 total on her services. Is $50 too little, about right, or too much for an end of the year gift?

No that’s more than generous, the girl will be pleased

I realised yesterday that there is such a thing when I looked on a local pet shop bulletin board, and decided that this is something I want to do. Do I need police checks like dog sitters do? Or can I start advertising now?

A small pet sitter is a good way to have pets, but not own them. The best thing you can do is research about the animals you want to care for (rabbits, hamsters, rats and mice) and frequent some forums in your area about these pets. I know in the UK about 3 forums looking for Mice sitters etc.

You need to make sure you know what to do with the animals and how to handle them and what they need and require, as you will be looking after someone’s loved ones no matter how small they are.

You do not need a police check (for rabbits and smaller) but people will be insistent in visiting where you live to make sure it is suitable for their animals. I would not leave my pets with anyone who I thought was not suitable or knowledgeable with my animals.

I am thinking about starting up a pet-sitting business, and I would like to hear from pet owners about what kinds of services they would like so that I can offer the best service possible. I appreciate any suggestions you have!

Well you of course would need your own transportation, maybe a car that you don’t mind carrying animals in just in case of an emergency or you need to take the pet to the park. Maybe pick up their poo in the back yard, littler box, cages, etc. feed/water them of course, maybe a quick session of training if it’s a dog, and lots of play time!

I just want to do it as a weekend job to earn an extra dollar or two. So if there is anyone out there that is or has been doing this sort of thing in Melbourne Australia please any advice would be much appreciated.

Start with the people you know. Put up flyers around your neighborhood (but have your parents check out the clients with you), and get family friends to recommend you to anybody with pets!

What I did, when I was a petsitter, was to go over to their house three or four times a day to let the dog out. At least once a day, I had to take the dog for a nice long walk. For cats, I’d scoop litter once a day and refill water and food at the same time.
Other clients will give you more specific instructions.

I have a 17 year old girl coming to my house to sit my two dogs while we are on vacation. We will be gone 5 days and she has a very busy life so will most likely walk them before school and in the afternoon and evening and stay at the house if she chooses to. How much should I pay her?

Whenever I have a friend or my little sister watch my dog and bird, I usually buy them a souvneir from wherever I go and if it’s a week I pay $30. For 5 days I would go with $20. It saves you a lot to not have to board them up.

Please give me your top 5 or 10 things, and the kind of pet you have.

1. How much to feed them
2. how to take them out
3. personalities about them
4. the vet i use
5. what to do if something happens to the pet
6. my cell phone number
7. neighbors number
8. where we will be at
9. how long to stay
10. how often to come

I have 3 dogs 12 rabbits 5 turtles and 2 newts
22 pets total