PetSitter vs Boarding
I have used a kennel in the past at a cost of about $40 per day (for both dogs) which included food, treats and brushing each day. I interviewed an in-house pet sitting service this weekend. The cost would be $50-$60 per day (depending on the number of trips to the house they make) and for that cost they take care of the dogs, cats, bird & fish. Plus, the benefit of them being at home. I was wondering if you use an in-home service, what does it include? How do they charge? Per pet? Per trip? Per day? |
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| I have a service that I use for daily dogwalking and I sign up for extra visits when I am out of town. The prices vary according to number of pets and number of visits per day.
$10 to visit/walk/feed 1 dog + $5 to include second dog +$3 to include feeding my cat and scooping his litter Optional charges: +$10 if they do my cat's subQ fluids +$5 for holidays For multiple vists on the same day, they deduct $2 from each visit. I have them come 3 times per day. Once I paid extra for an extra-long outdoor session during the afternoon appt. They have an option for "overnight" visit. I think it costs $20. I haven't done that but it has some appeal. I like it because I think the animals feels comfortable being at home and being cared for by their usual people but I have only been gone overnight to 3 days. I also like it because they turn off and on the lights, pick up the mail, etc. so my house doesn't look empty. For a longer absence, I would probably consider boarding. There are so many fun-seeming daycare/boarding places. . . |
| I've done a variety of different boarding options.
1. Taking Annie to Jeri Hoppe's for boarding is about $12 per day. She has several OES in her company so adding another one to the mix isn't a big imposition. This is my best long term option as I know Jeri takes extremely good care of the dogs in her care. Another benefit is that she'll groom Annie before she comes home. 2. Vet was about $21 per day. This was a last resort for us one weekend. I'm sure our animal hospital took good care of her, but I didn't like Annie being in a kennel in a room with sick dogs. Not sure how much exercise or walks she had. Didn't feel as comfortable. 3. Neighbors house for FREE. This was the BEST and closest, but I would feel bad about using their hospitality on a regular basis. |
| My husband has a home office, so I don't worry about Drez during the week. When he does travel, it's usually not for more than 2-3 days. As long as I take care of Drez in the morning, she can easily make it until I get home at night.
We have a local retired couple near us that started a pet sitting service a few years back. They're great! We used them when we went to our son's college graduation for 4 days, and again a few weeks later when we went on vacation for a week. The first night, Drez wouldn't eat right away, so they stayed with her extra long to make her feel comfortable and get her to eat. They always stayed for about 30-45 minutes after she was fed, just to walk her or play with her, or just to sit and pet her. At that time we also had a rabbit, so they took care of her, too. For all this, they charged us $12 per visit x 3 times/day. They were GREAT!! Before we decided to take Drez with us on vacation last summer, we visited our vet's boarding kennel. All it took was one look for me to know this was NOT the place I wanted Drez. The kennels were like jail cells - heavy cement walls in between each stall, a cement floor, a gate in the front. And not very wide either. Drez would have gone CRAZY there. Didn't really look at any other kennels, cause I just have a hard time with the concept of leaving her somewhere. JMHO, Chris |
| We've only been away once since we've had Barney--for two weeks last summer. We were trying to think about what the best option for Barney would be. We had a few kids in our neighborhood who were of a good 'pet looking after' age, but we didn't really know them, so we didn't want to have them have access to our house (I'm sure they're really good kids, but who knows what a 14 year old would do in a stranger's house). Then, we considered our next door neighbor who was going to take in our mail. They had a dog, but we don't know them well either and didn't want to thrust Barns onto them.
We finally decided to take him to our doggie day care that also does boarding. They sleep in crates, are let out at about 7 in the morning, play until noon, are put back into their crates for naptime, then are let out from about 2-8. They get to play with the other dogs for most of the day. And, we had Barney groomed before we picked him up. It worked out really well--it was about 18 dollars a day and it made me feel good knowing that he would be on a schedule and with professionals...I wouldn't have to worry about my house or what if the neighbor kid forgot, or whatever...and Barney LOVES going there... |
| I have a pet sitter, its called Grandma and Grandpa. They would kill me if I sent her anywhere else. I usually buy them a $100.00 Goft Certificate every few months for Dinner. |
| Panda stays at home and our neighbor comes over and feeds and plays with her...this year my stepdaughter is going to house/panda sit...we'll pay her something and probably get here something, but our mantra is.."Youre part of the family, you must do family deeds".... |
Thanks for sharing your experiences! 
In the past, my parents or my neighbors have been able to assist. But, my parents, world travelers that they are, are off to Crete, Greece, Spain and Portugal so they won't be available. And my neighbor, sadly, has cancer and is undergoing chemo so she is not able to help either. So...I'm in search of the best option for my darlings. There is a doggie daycare in the area that I had forgotten about. I think they do boarding, too. I'll check into that as a possibility. I do have a few friends with kids of an appropriate pet-sitting age. The only times I've tried it though, it's ended badly with them not being responsible. My parakeet died of starvation, Einstein (my cat) who had never spent the night outdoors, was left outside overnight, and the dog was out of water when I got home. Needless to say, I was NOT happy. I figure it's better to hire someone than risk a friendship.  |
| When our late Mr. Winston was a puppy we thought we'd get him comfortable going to the vet's to stay. At the time we went out of the country to scuba dive quite often. When he was about six months old we left him for a week and he was so sick when we returned they thought he had parvo. He barely pulled through and needless to say that was the last time we ever boarded a dog. We don't travel much these days except to the beach via car so the dogs go with us. If that were not possible, trusted friends and family are always anxious to keep them for us. |
| I used a pet sitting service in the past... but have never left Dancer and Sky. I wouldn't take them to a kennel or boarding type facility. I would rather pay twice as much to have someone come to my home.
Since we can't afford that, we just don't go anywhere.  |
I'm lucky my mum is a built in pet sitter, she comes to our place and stays. Great as having one that is not having current vaccinations she would not be allowed at a boarding facility. Pet sitting happens very rarely as where we go on holidays the girls go too.  |
| I've tried it both ways. One of the teachers at my school house sat a couple of times. I paid her $20 per day and basically, she stayed overnight and kept a regular work schedule similar to mine. That worked ok but now she is raising her niece so I don't want to ask her as she has so many more responsibilities now. We've taken Truman to a doggy daycare that also does boarding. We toured it before we used it the first time and liked what we saw. The rooms were bright and clean, the staff was professional and friendly and, best of all, the daycare was in a building right behind the vet's office. The place is called Countryside Pet Spa (can you tell it's in the middle of "yuppieville? ) We reserve the "corner suite" for Truman because it's a little larger than the regular rooms and has two windows. It is $30 per day which includes a half day of play time in the playroom with the other dogs. |
i like to surprise my mom by showing up with the dogs the night before the trip. she pretends like she doesn't like it but, deep down, i think she does...  |
| [/i] I use a pet sitter.
She is a retired vet tech and came with glowing references. She stays overnight at my house and charges me $30 per day total for the 3 dogs, six cats, one rabbit and two birds. Recently went on a cruise to Alaska. I called here from every port that my cell phone would allow. She kept telling me to stop worrying and enjoy my vacation everything is fine. When I got home the house was in tip top shape and the dogs looked at me as to say "O it is only you....where is Cindy." She even offered to mow my grass. |
| On our longer trips Bailey stays with my husband's brother and sister in law who have a sheepie too. The one time they couldn't watch Bailey, he stayed at the home of his regular dog sitter. She charges $30 per day to watch him at her home. She's a former vet tech and I figure he's probably in better hands with her than he is with us . Although he is certainly more spoiled when he's home |
| I agree with you all. I think the in-home thing is the best bet. It's worth the extra expense to let them stay home and on their same routine.
Thanks! |
I haven't needed to leave Sammy overnight so far but his first time away from will be the last weekend in February  He will be staying at a boarding kennel which is owned and run by a good friend of mine so he will be safe and in good hands |
| We almost never go anywhere without Jasper, but the one time we have, he stayed with my parents. With our cat, our neighbors are nice enough to come over and feed, water, and change the litter box if we're gone for more than 2 days or so. He has an automatic water/feeder so he should be okay until then. |
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