Pet Sitting

Re: Pet Sitting

Nicola Smith — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 22:01:01 GMT

Hi Tinky, only just seen message but let me have your email address and will send yor my forms

Re: Pet Sitting

Lisa Hibbert — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 17:46:38 GMT

Hi,

I started pet sitting about 2 years ago, just started off my helping out a good client with an elderly diabetic cat she was worried about. Then helped out a cat breeder who i got on well with. Now i have a few regulars. I work 40 hours a week so it's mainly cat feeding visits i do. I charge £8 a visit if they are local. For live in for 1 cat i charge £20 a day and then it goes up from there depending on the amount of animals, distance from work & work load of actually looking after the animals! i had one where they had a dog walker and a neighbour who would let the dogs out every few hrs so didn't charge them much! the most i've charged is £30 a day which is for 2 dogs, a load of chickens and 4 alpacas!!! I am police checked which was done for my previous place of work (in a school). I don't have consent forms or insurance but i'm upfront with it and people know me well as i've been at the practice for nearly 4 years now. It can be a good earner but sometimes i feel it causes more stress than good! I am very conscious of doing something wrong or breaking something!! But so far so good, i have never had any complaints and even get recomendations!!

Re: Pet Sitting

Tinky — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:55:43 GMT

Hi Nicky, is there any chance you could email me an example of your consent form?
I'm considering taking up pet-sitting/dog walking, and am looking into everything....

Thanks! :-)

Re: Pet Sitting

Nicola Smith — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 09:38:30 GMT

I do pet sitting as a second job and have been for about a year. I am not taking on new cutomers as I have enough regulars now to keep me busy enough. I just do pet visiting - ie go to peoples houses, I don't board at my house. For that reason I do not do dogs routinely though will do the odd day etc as I do not feel they should be left alone for that long. About half my customers are clients where I work, often pets on medication.

Always ensure it is all done properly, forms of consent, insurance, police checks etc. All prces vary depending on where I travel and how much there is to do but would generally not be below £10 per visit. You need to register for tax etc but if you find a friendly acountant they can sort your paperwork for you!!

Re: Pet Sitting

Katy — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:11:51 GMT

I started up a pet sitting and dog walking business 3 years ago as a full time job.

You need insurance, a police check and references if you are having access to peoples' houses and property.

We are members of National Petsitters (www.dogsit.com) and they provide insurance and a good support network.

What are you charging £7 a day for?

The main thing that really annoys full time, professional pet sitters is people that do it for a bit of extra cash and don't have insurance and other business costs, i.e. TAX, bills etc.

As these people tend to undercut our prices and the clients aren't getting the service they need,

If you want a look at our website that will give you a bit of info about how much we charge in the North West.