Here in the SF bay area we pay our sitter $40 a day. She stays overnight and walks them twice a day. Two yellow labs. I think it's a great deal. Little dogs should be easier.

Karma

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Dave Stark
dreamcatcher@astound.net
USAC & USAT level 2 certified coach

Also in the Bay Area, that 40 bucks sounds about right.

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I ride a Cervelo...get over it....

I'm in Orlando, and I pay two gorgeous looking hotties to walk my dog for ten bucks a day. Life could be worse.

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I'm in Houston and we do the same thing when we go out of town for a weekend. It only cost us $25 per day.

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"Unless you have a ... GF who might put out that night and that night only ... skip it and race." - AndyPants 3-15-2007

 
I did tons of dog/house sitting in college! I would usually spend the night, feed the dogs in the AM and PM and let them out, and take them for another walk during the day. I think I usually got around $25/night (and all the food in the house I could eat!) - plus people would usually throw in a little bonus.

That's in the midwest tho, where everything is cheaper!

I think $40 is too high. If you are offering a whole house (with cable? Internet wifi?) you may get with $25/day (as others have said) if they are getting the whole house alone.

Imagine, you are a college student getting $50 extra bucks per weekend and a nice place to stay! That's like a free vacation! Wow!

....That's my own opinion.

Lauren

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Lauren Muney
certified physical fitness trainer
certified health coach
wellcoach
http://www.physicalmind.com

There is no escape from your life... solve the problems and get on with it.

"Just tell her you love her and you think she kicks ass" ~AndrewinNH

"I'm moving [Lauren] to guru status" ~Last Tri in 83

ooo I never thought of it that way.

I need to find someone to housesit for!

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

I tried to get a college student to watch over my own house. Couldn't get someone. Currently, been using my ex-husband (who comes to get old mail anyway), but I'm getting a new tenant who will do it.

Tigerchik (and others): maybe you can post a GOOD-LOOKING notice (as classy as possible!) in your local tri club, tri shop, bike shop, running store, etc. Offer to meet people for coffee to get to know them better. If people know that you are responsible, they may pass your name around. That way, you will already be seen as a "peer" and not some irresponsible kid :) This is best especially if you are in a well-off area.

My humble opinion as a business person.

Lauren

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Lauren Muney
certified physical fitness trainer
certified health coach
wellcoach
http://www.physicalmind.com

There is no escape from your life... solve the problems and get on with it.

"Just tell her you love her and you think she kicks ass" ~AndrewinNH

"I'm moving [Lauren] to guru status" ~Last Tri in 83

This is so deja-vu...

I have a very dear friend, named Hugh, who house sits for me for vacations and races.


He's grateful for a full fridge/freezer, high speed internet, and HD Yankees games, but we still pay him to 'take care' of everything. The way I see it, it's worth every freakin' penny for the piece of mind.

I KNOW that everything is under control at the house, and the only 'parties' at the house will be those that I would normally host, had I been there at the time.

Priceless..

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gbassett.com

Well I guess some of it depends on your finiancial position as well. If you have a mid to high 6 figure house and a couple cars worth more than most folks make in a year, I think $25 a day may be light.

We usually have a poor bike racer/triathlete college guy/gal come stay at our condo. Get to use our car, full stocked bar/fridge ,computer access and $25 dollars a day to feed our cat, and get the mail if we are gone for more than a week. Usually for the three day weekend it was a C note. When our diabetic cat was alive and needed insulin shots it was $50 a day and all of the above. Cats are really easy to care for compared to dogs, so I would think a tad cheaper. Our students even picked out their successor as most of them knew other guys that are responsible and available.

To me it isn't worth worrying over a few bucks to know the babysitter is being well compensated and taking good care of our stuff and pet(s). With that said, I babysit cats and dogs for friends and don't stay at their place for free on occasion.

Yep, peace of mind is what I'm after. The last thing I want to do at a big race is worry about what's happening back at home.

I'm really lucky to have some good friends nearby that can help out. But it's still important to pay for the time. My buddy Hugh has to drive xtra distance to work every day that he stays here (only about 15 miles).

My mom has a girl stay at her place when she travels, and it cuts this girls workday commute by 95%. Mom still pays her about $25 per day, just for the peace of mind.

I agree with mom (and others who have chimed in here). It's worth a couple of extra $$ for the peace of mind, regardless of what you are doing (IM race or all-you-can-eat-buffet-cruise)

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gbassett.com

"If you have a mid to high 6 figure house and a couple cars worth more than most folks make in a year, I think $25 a day may be light."

Of course...

If this is the case, I offer myself for adoption ;) ... I'm almost 42 with my own house, but I'm willing to look past that :)

Lauren

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Lauren Muney
certified physical fitness trainer
certified health coach
wellcoach
http://www.physicalmind.com

There is no escape from your life... solve the problems and get on with it.

"Just tell her you love her and you think she kicks ass" ~AndrewinNH

"I'm moving [Lauren] to guru status" ~Last Tri in 83

I put that six figure number in there because one person I know lives in a multi 7 figure house with a full time maid and a yard crew and still wanted to give my cat guy a cut in pay for watching his dog. Like come on cheap bastard, if you can't come up with $40 a day to walk your dog, and don't trust the maid or yardman while you are in Europe, put the damn thing in a kennel.

He thought like the guy ought to pay him to stay in the Poolhouse.