Advantages of Dog Sitting
Pet sitting has been growing in popularity in recent years as many people choose to have their animals cared for in their own homes rather than taking them to a kennel or boarding establishment.
There are many advantages to this as most animals are far happier in their familiar environment and experience less stress at their owner’s departure.
It also allows for their routines to continue largely unchanged and for their food and exercise needs to be consistently met. It also eliminates the need for travel, which can be enormously stressful for both pets and owners (source).
Finally, keeping animals in their home environment reduces their exposure to illness, which is often a risk when going to venues where multiple dogs are housed together.
How Much to Pay a Teenager for a Drop-In Visit
When looking for a teenage pet sitter, the best type of visit to choose is a drop-in visit. Drop-in visits mean that the teenager only has to come to your home to care for your dog, and this minimizes the chances of incidents.
When looking into how much you should pay your teenage pet sitter, there are a few factors to consider.
Teenagers and high schoolers are capable, blossoming young adults, but they are still kids that need guidance and patience. When hiring a teenage dog sitter, keep in mind that they are not professionals, and may need simpler or fewer duties to be successful as your pet sitter.
The responsibilities of the drop-in sitter greatly affect how much they should get paid. A sitter that simply needs to let the dog out to potty and feed it dinner is going to earn a lower fee than a sitter that needs to walk the dog, feed them, scoop the litter box, give medication, etc. These duties will take more time and effort, and should be paid more, even for teens!
For almost every sitter, friend, teenager, or professional, the more pets you have, the more work your pet-sitting job will be. Though this is related to drop-in duties, multiple pet households require more time, more effort, and often have more risk involved.
Walking two dogs can be much more difficult than walking one dog, and takes a certain amount of skill to successfully do. I’ve seen people of all ages possess the skills needed to successfully handle one or multiple dogs, and they deserve a fair wage for that very special skill!
How often your sitter needs to come to the home can greatly affect the cost of their services. If your pets need multiple visits per day, then the pet sitter has to account for that time, the travel to your home, and the interruption in their day. Because of these, they often charge per visit or a higher daily rate.
It can be hard to find a teenager that can commit to a schedule that has multiple drop-ins per day, especially during school months. Summer months may be much easier to schedule with high school pet sitters, but keep in mind that they are still kids and want to have plenty of fun! For dogs that need more specialized care, a teenage sitter may not be ideal.
How Long Should the Walk Be?
Not every dog will need the same type of walk. Older or smaller dogs may be happy with a 15-minute lap around the block, but high-energy dogs may need a full hour of active exercise to fulfill their exercise needs.
Before you determine how much to pay your dog walker, first decide how long your dog will need to walk for. The longer the walk, the more the teenager deserves to be paid.
How much should you pay a pet sitter?
Pet sitters charge an average of $25 per 30-minute visit, $20 to $30 per day, $45 to $75 per night, or $250 to $375 per week.