Dog Sitting Must-Dos

I've been dog sitting for years now and I've learned a few thing in my trials and errors in caring for other people's animals. So if you are wanting to get into the business and read my other article on dog care, this is a good place to start to get your thoughts together on what to do and get your little side hustle started.

1. Have your set base rates.

Think about how much your time is worth and think about what you have to offer. I have a pretty good amount of competition here, and since I do this to make some extra cash, my rates are on the lower side—and by lower I mean I still make way more than minimum wage. I tell most of my clients that sometimes it does depend on what's needed. How many dogs? Am I taking care of other animals? Plants? What kind of dog am I caring for? I have a little system set up to make sure I'm making a fair share of money. I'll break it down: my base rate for dog sitting in someone's home is $50 a night, then I add $5 for every extra dog. So if I have two dogs I'm caring for I charge $55 a night. Then, how far is it from my usual places (school, work, etc.), then I add $5 if it's far and out of the way. I had a client who's puppy would constantly poop and pee around the house and needed to be trained, so I charged an extra $5 as well, since I was having to clean so much and train. Stuff like that. So consider what you need and want.

2. Be aware that not everyone is truthful about their dogs.

We always want to believe in the best of people. We want to believe the best of dogs too. But you need to be aware, vigilant, and careful. I highly recommend doing meet and greets before committing to caring for someone else's animals. This brings ease to everyone, and you get to learn if the dog is a good match for you. I learned the hard way that every person pretty much thinks their dog is the best dog ever. Or they forget to mention things like, "aggressive around other dogs." So you need to stay clear of children, dogs, and everything like that while caring for the dog. I highly recommend meet and greets and ask many questions. Those questions include: what is expected of me? Where are you comfortable with me taking your dog? Such like that.

3. Be ready to touch a lot of gross things.

I recently had to wash a dog I was caring for because he was covered in cat diarrhea. I picked up dog poops the size of my head. This is a part of the job, that's why I charge such a good amount, and why I charge more if I know I will be dealing with a lot of waste. But be ready for it, it a part of pet care.

4. Build your loyal client base.

I have two clients who use me often and pay well. They tend to tip extra and usually they are my most joyful stays. This is because they are my loyal customers. We trust each other. This works out very well for everyone. The more random stays can lead to stuff like I mentioned above. I once had a client (the same one as the poop covered dog) ask me if I could watch her dog in MY apartment. Her dog was not potty trained. Of course I didn't do it that way, but you would probably not want to do that. Build your loyal and trustworthy client base, prioritize them, and you will be much happier than all the random jobs (which I would still do, but not over my loyal client base).

5. Have a back-up person.

It's rare, but if for some reason you need to leave the animals you're caring for, you need to have a back up that can care for the animals. Usually, I have the client do that for me actually. I ask them to give me the information of a friend or family member nearby who they could trust to take care of the animal during an emergency. I do always have other people on call myself that I trust, a couple friends and my brother, for example. Have a back up plan so you don't leave anyone hanging.

There are a lot of things to do if you are a dog sitter, and even more to keep in mind, but if you do these five things you will be on the right track. The right track of being a loyal and profitable dog sitter!