How Much to Charge for Dog Sitting Services

Dog sitting services can be one great way for a petcare providers to earn additional revenue. It can also be one way for a freelancer to earn some money—perhaps you’re a college student in need of a part time job, for instance. This is similar to baby sitting, only that it involves taking care of dogs. Similar to baby sitting also, dog sitting is a time-intensive job that requires love for animals.

Due to its simplicity, many people especially kids, teens, and stay-at-home adults have thought of offering dog sitting services. But most of the time, the issue is determining how much to charge for the service.

Charge Considerations for Dog Sitting Services

Service charges for dog sitting may vary depending on several factors. The fee may be set on a per-visit basis, or it could be an hourly rate. If you still find a hard time deciding on the price, then you better consider the following:
• The place you live in. You need to consider the normal charges for dog sitting in your location. If you are in an urban area, then your charge should be higher than those in sub-urban or rural places.
• On-site or off-site sitting. Dog-sitting can be done at the owner’s residence, but this can also be done at your residence or store. Stay-in dog sitting should charged higher. But if it’s the pet who will be dropped off at your place, then the charge can be lower.
• The number of pets involved. The dog sitting charge for one pet is different for three pets. Consider their behavior also because naughty dogs will surely take much of your time, energy, and maybe patience.
• The things you have to do. Feeding the pet as well as playing with it is already included to the common dog sitting services. But there are some pet owners who will require you to do more for the pets like giving them medication, bathing, grooming, or walking.



Charging per hour can be the best standard for dog sitting as this determines the difficulty of the job. Set also a standard price per day and per pet. Having standard prices might make your job easier, since you won’t have to haggle and negotiate.

Other considerations

If you plan to run a dog-sitting service in the long-term, remember that it may not be a steady market unless you have neighbors going on vacation all the time. Also be reminded that pets are pets. They can be so messy. So aside from taking care of them, you should do house-cleaning, too. Clients will expect this from you and will truly appreciate that if you do.

The rule of the thumb here is to charge the amount you feel will be reasonable and fair for your time and effort. Don’t forget to consider what your clients think also—is the price reasonable from his end, too? Through that, both of you and especially the pets will be happy with the dog sitting services you will render.