Calling all dog owners, trainers, wannabes (me!) ... I'd like to sound you out about something!

Some of you may have seen an earlier post I made requesting comments on a proposal to place my (future) dog in home-from-home day care while I'm at work. The ideal scenario would be an older retired couple who were fairly active, would welcome a bit of extra money, and had experience of and confidence with dogs and probably a dog themselves. My idea is that, after walking the dog, I drop it round at the couple's house on the way to work in the morning, it spends around 6 hours with them and is loved / let out in their garden / fed etc as necessary (I wouldn't want them to have to shoulder the responsibility of walking a young dog and accidentally confusing its training). Subsequently I pick up the dog on the way home from work, and undertake the big canine exercise session of the day and all other routine doggie tasks (which when complete, I celebrate by knocking back a couple of Prozac and some neat vodka, moan at husband for not doing the washing up, wonder why I never have any spare time and contemplate throwing a sickie and spending the next day in bed ... but I digress) Question is:

How much should I pay them?!

Money isn't a big issue, but obviously I don't want to throw dosh away that could be spent on exciting things such as country-cottage walking holidays (dog friendly naturally!) and beer. I was thinking around a fiver a day ... but what do people think? Is this too tight/generous? I do not want my dog to go to a "professional" day minder ... I'd like him/her to go to a couple who are genuinely keen to build a relationship with the dog, and are happy to spend time with it but at the same time have the sort of lifestyle (retired/semi-retired or work from home) that can seamlessly accommodate him/her. I also want them to feel sufficiently rewarded financially so that they are motivated by other than dog-loving good samaritan means to look after my hound.

Any comments much appreciated!

Thanks

Jo

I would say about the same as your average childminder.Maybe a bit less as there isn't that much work involved.I suppose it depends on your area .Where I live childminders charge an average of £6 for a half day and £10 for a full.Hope this helps

Pet walkers etc in Guernsey charge by the hour - £10 !!!

And Childcare would be by the hour as well.

HTH

Dessie :D :D

Well, I've completed my registered childminding course and I wouldn't look after anyone's kids for £6 half day!

I think to be realistic you'd need to offer the minimum wage per hour (£4.20) or round it down a an acceptable figure for 6 hours ie: £20 per day. After all these people will be responsible for your dog's welfare when you are at work, what would happen if your dog was injured and had to be taken to the vets, would they have transport etc? Or if your dog ran off during a walk, you'd expect them to look for him/her wouldn't you? Or if you just wanted the dog restricted to their garden, wear & tear on lawn, plants etc.....

Where we live (Reading, Berks) you pay £5-6 per hour per child for a childminder :(

Personally I'd think that between £40 and £50 per week would be about right, but I'm not really very good with money - ask my bank manager, he'll tell you :D

Seriously though - rather than going into it with a set amount in mind decide when you've found the right person. Someone on benefits (Income support) can't legally be given more than £15 (I think) per week whereas a SAHM (Stay At Home Mum) who chooses to be at home with her children isn't restricted to any ammount.

Where abouts do you live, maybe someone on here could help with an idea of costs.

Fiona
x x x

Hi Jo - Not wanting to rain on your parade here but i think your looking for the almost impossible :(
An elderly couple who can manage a dobe ?
they aren't going to walk it ?
they aren't going to train it ?
they will have to be involved in the training of a young dobe or it will just run amook for them and have no respect for their authority
I'm afraid I'd be looking for a whole heap of money for the responsability alone ,never mind the poo picking and the destruction of my lawn ,making sure my garden is secure
If you are hell bent on this dog then my opinion ( take it or leave it ;) )is that you may be better looking at kennels that do day care .
AT least there it would get interaction with other dogs and people who are experienced at handling dogs
I hope you do find a solution ,I really do but if you find the elderly couple let me know and i'll send Murphs round ;)
Liz :)

I take Thistle to exactly the sort of couple you describe and she loves them (so do I). They charge an incredibly cheap £4 a day!!! They make it clear that they are not insured and are doing it for 'fun'. They do have other doggy visitors and they will have Thistle when we go on holiday-still for £4 a day, but I usually give them more than that. They also take her out for a run in the fields. The dogs are in their house- snoozing on the settees, which she has covered in sheets . It's doggy paradise. I also know lady who does it and charges £10 a day and she sometimes leaves the dogs locked up in her van while she does something else!!
Hope you can find a nice dog minder. I wouldn't expect to pay less than £6-8.
Jane

Dear Jane
That's cheap! You're very lucky! Is this in London??
Jo - do think about the professionals as they might be cheaper per day in the long run and you don't have to feel guilty about exploiting anyone. Try PetNanny.co.uk - they charge £15 per 24 hours and the people who take in the dogs are really excellent.
Also there is a website called the National Register of Petsitters [don't have exact address but you need to pay a small fee to get the list]. It covers the UK - most people on it are holiday carers but we have found some day carers too though haven't used them. Their rates will all vary.
The reason we use a professional person is that we tried letterboxing for a dog sitter in the neighbourhood streets - we ended up with a lady with kids who did it for free for 3 weeks and then found she couldn't cope anymore. We have to use a variety of sitters - friends, in-laws during the week as well as the professional minders otherwise we would go broke but remember to factor in all the chocolates etc that you need to buy for people who have any responsibility for the dog. I wish we knew more people in the area who would help us e.g. by exchange dog minding or something but we live in SW London and the neighbours are so reserved!
regards
cizzy

Like Jane I must be lucky then.I checked with someone I know who is a registered childminder and that is indeed what she charges £10 a day (a day being an 8 hour one).She works from home and the child is brought to her,any food ,travelling etc is extra

I know you've already had lots of replies but just thought I'd get my opinion in.
I work all day as well and cant get home very lunch time so I have a neighbour pop in each lunchtime for 1-2 hours 3 days a week.

WE checked out a professional dog walker and that was £90 a month for the 3 days each week so we pay our neighbour £50 a month.

I just put leaflets through all of their doors cos we knew them all reasonably well

I would charge £8 per day.
And this is the rate I charge all my doggy guests who come and stay whilst they are on holiday.
The best advice is to phone around the vets as they can usually recommend someone.
emma x

When I worked full time my childminder charged half the min. wage per hour and you paid extra depending on howmany meals were required. To be honest though I'd pay the earth if the carer was suitable, decent carers (whether child or dog) are worth their weight in gold.:)

The doggie creche I took mine to was £10 per dog per day.

Wendy

A friend of mine who dog sits charges £10 a day and she is in the croydon area.

Thank you everyone for all your helpful comments! (Isn't the internet great - the information is there - seek and ye shall find!)

The area I'm moving to is Darlington, which for obvious reasons isn't subject to the sort of pressures evident in the south, which makes things a bit more flexible.

I am in a fairly unique situation because my husband is a lecturer so even when he's back to work full-time following accident to arm, he'll only be doing three day weeks, plus gets very long holidays, reading weeks, half terms etc, so will be home a fair bit anyway. I will be following up all your suggested lines of enquiry, but much will depend on the character of my dog and on the assistance available locally. I've got about six months to get a good feel for what is available, so don't have to make a rush decision about anything.

One of the other issues I'm looking into is insurance - because if I pay a local person a sum of money to look after my dog, legally speaking I need to ensure that, worst case (and hopefully extremely unlikely) scenario, I'm on firm ground if it bites someone whilst in their care.

I work in local government so have flexi time, so can also be fairly accommodating. I just want to take advantage of other people's experiences who may have been in similar situations.

Once again, thank you!

Would you consider having a kennel and secure run in your garden so you can leave him outside with shelter and the facilities to stretch his legs and toilet whenever he wants when you are at work.
It's the set up I have and it works very well :)
Lara

No, unfortunatly not. Although my husband will only work three day weeks and I have flexible working hours, we will both still be out of the house for three days a week from 9 tll 5pm, so it's very important to him 'indoors and me that there is someone around that can keep the dog company. Because the dog is likely to be a dobe and therefore needs to be close to its "family", it's crucial that we have that recourse. Ta for info tho!

Thanks

Jo