If you have to leave your dog behind when going on a vacation, you must arrange for continued care. A pet sitter is one of the most convenient ways to ensure your dog is continuously cared for, but do you pay them before or after the service?
How you pay your pet depends on the specific pet sitter or the agency they’re working with. While some agencies require payments for their pet sitters before the service, others are willing to wait until after the fact. If your pet sitter doesn’t specify any, always try to pay before the service.
Managing payments for your pet sitter can prove difficult, especially if you’re inexperienced. This article will help you answer most of your questions to help you keep a stellar relationship with your pet sitter.
How Much Do Dog Sitters Charge Per Day?
No agency regulates the amount dog sitters charge to look after your pet every day. For this reason, the specific quotes you get depend on a variety of factors, most of which you can’t control.
If you’re after the average cost, getting someone to help sit your dog will cost you around $20 to $50 per day. This rate applies to most states in the United States and even outside the United States.
If you’re willing to pay the least possible for a pet sitter, you can ask one of your friends to help out. While friends typically charge lower rates than professional pet sitters, you shouldn’t expect similar levels of quality.
If you have multiple dogs, you should expect even higher rates than normal. Higher rates also apply if you’re after an overnight dog sitter, as opposed to one that drops in to check on your pet.
Do You Pay a Pet Sitter Before or After?
Again, this depends on the specific pet sitter or pet-sitting agency you’re using. If it’s just a friend or someone in the neighborhood, you can defer the payment until you’re back from your vacation.
However, most pet sitting agencies will require you to make a payment before the commencement of the service. This is logical, especially when you consider the fact that some individuals may be trying to take advantage of dog sitters because the service is irreversible.
Typically, your pet sitter should tell you when they’re expecting the payment. If they didn’t indicate a specific deadline, you should pay for the service before and not after the service.
Some pet sitters also stipulate a non-refundable deposit to be paid before the commencement of the task. This deposit usually ranges from 25% to 50% of the total pet sitting charge, and it exists to ensure the sitter doesn’t lose it all if the client fails to pay up.
Is It Hard to Find a Trusty Pet Sitter?
The risks associated with leaving your dog in the care of a nonchalant pet sitter are greater than you think. Since you’re most likely allowing your pet sitter unrestricted access into your home, there’s no telling what they might do if they’re dishonest.
Frankly, finding a trustworthy pet sitter that also handles your pet fine can be difficult. They may find it difficult to form a bond with your pet, and they may even lack the basic skills to care for a pet in the owner’s absence.
To avoid choosing a lowly-qualified pet sitter, you should try to find one that’s part of a larger team. Local pet sitting agencies enroll their members in classes, and some even organize some to brush up on the skills of their members.
You can also target pet sitters with appropriate certifications to ensure your pet is always in safe hands. Since the certification requirements for pet sitters vary wildly by location, you can ask around to know what credentials to seek.
A pet sitter that sends updates about your pet is also a plus. This extra step will go a long way in ensuring you that your pet is both healthy and safe.
If you’re not sure about the qualifications of your pet sitter, it doesn’t hurt to ask. The next section contains a list of questions you should consider asking a pet sitter to confirm their qualification and trustiness.
Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Pet Sitter
One of the biggest goals of most pet owners when going on a vacation is hiring a trusty pet sitter. If you keep up with stories of pets that went missing during a pet sitting stint, you’ll be very worried as well.
Finding a great pet sitter is easier than you think. By preparing the right questions during the interview, you can easily determine if you’re hiring the best pet sitter for your pet.
Here is a list of questions to consider asking your pet sitter before leaving your dog in their care.
- What pet sitting experience do you have?
If you’re paying a professional to help look after your dog, you want to make sure that they’re considerably more experienced than your average friend. If they aren’t, you can simply hire your friend instead.
Ideally, you want your pet sitter to own a pet, at least to have everyday experience of caring for them. But this alone isn’t enough experience to warrant hiring them. You also want to make sure that they’ve cared for your type of pet successfully.
If your pet sitter has sufficient experience caring for pets of all calibers, you can rest assured during your vacation, knowing your dog is always in safe hands.
- Are you licensed?
Some states require pet sitters to undergo compulsory certification to obtain a license. If your state laws require that, you may want to take a look at your hire’s certifications and licenses to stay on the safe side of the law.
If your pet sitter has all appropriate certifications and licenses, they’re most probably under pet sitting insurance which will allow you free repairs if anything gets damaged during the process.
