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Thread: Dog Nannying- anyone thought of/tried this?

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    God/dess Elvia's Avatar
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    Default Dog Nannying- anyone thought of/tried this?

    So I had this idea to make a little extra money in a way that would be really fun for me. i have a dog myself (very friendly, loves other dogs) and i'm such a homebody that i often stay home on days when i'm going to be going to work later. i was thinking about doggy daycares and how it might be fun to work in one when i thought- hey, maybe i could do private dog babysitting!

    since i'm inside all day with my dog anyway, maybe i could advertise my services as a "dog nanny." instead of dropping their dog off at daycare, someone could bring their dog to my home and it could get extra special care and attention. it might be especially good for dogs that have health conditions and need special treatment. i don't know...is this a stupid idea, or could it work? has anyone done this? would you consider this for your dog if you worked during the day? the dogs at the doggy daycare i pass in my neighborhood look so bored. they just sit there looking sad with no people around, it makes me hesitant to bring my dog to one. do you think other people might appreciate a more personal service?

    please forgive lack of punctuation, my shift key just broke.

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    Default Re: Dog Nannying- anyone thought of/tried this?

    Actually I think its a great idea. I don't see why it wouldn't be possible. I'm also a dog lover and have thought of something similar to that...(well dog-walking). I'm sure if you get it out there people will really be interested.

    The thing about doggy daycare is there are more dogs than actual workers. So the dogs are in fact lonely...with people bringing their dogs, not only do they have you to keep them company, but your dog as well.

    Its a wonderful idea honey...and think about it, if you get guys to bring their doggies you could have potential customers...lol

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    Default Re: Dog Nannying- anyone thought of/tried this?

    It's called Pet Sitting --- http://petsitusa.com/

    I don't know the US equivalent however once I find myself in a home with enough room for me to be able to viably do it I am signing up with http://www.dontfretpet.com.au/ asap.

    In the meantime, I'm thinking of becoming one after I get my dog groomers qualification.


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    Peanut_Butter
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    Default Re: Dog Nannying- anyone thought of/tried this?

    I have a dog nanny. I drop him off at the sitter's house, he has the same breed dog as mine and they run aroiund his house and play. he also takes them for walks and to the park and then drops Dash off at my house usually he stays 3-4 hours, som,etimes if needed overnights. I know with them..dash is treated as part of the family and is safe. I hope I can find another sitter in Cali.

    so yah..it's a great idea.

    I would just make sure you have plenty of toys and activities available..lots of walks and play time...thats what I would look for with a sitter.

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    God/dess Elvia's Avatar
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    Default Re: Dog Nannying- anyone thought of/tried this?

    Quote Originally Posted by GoldCoastGirl View Post
    It's called Pet Sitting
    It's just that every time I've heard of "pet sitting" it's always been in reference to taking care of pets while their owners are on vacation- usually just stopping by to feed, walk, etc.

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    Default Re: Dog Nannying- anyone thought of/tried this?

    Make SURE any animals you watch have had all their shots up to date...ask for vet references. You dont want to risk one of them having a disease that gets passed to others or to yours.

    Quote Originally Posted by lexilou View Post
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    Peanut_Butter
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    Default Re: Dog Nannying- anyone thought of/tried this?

    oh, and evaluate each dog before accepting him as a client. Be sure they aren't aggressive and get along well with other dogs. Have your discipline plan ready and ask how the owneer prefer you discipline their dogs....when I took Dash to doggy day care, they used a spray bottle of water to discipline dogs, but I wasn't informed of that. They had webcams where I could watch him play, and when I logged on to check him out, i was pissed to see my 13 week old puppy being squirted with water in the face. ( I dont care for that method of discipline. Can give them skin problems, ear and eye infections and i just really don't care for it.)

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    Peanut_Butter
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    Default Re: Dog Nannying- anyone thought of/tried this?

    oh, and insurance! I'm sure you would need that in case the dog bite aother dog or human while in your care.

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    God/dess Elvia's Avatar
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    Default Re: Dog Nannying- anyone thought of/tried this?

    Thanks so much for all the advice you guys! Great points.

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    Featured Member *Iris*'s Avatar
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    Default Re: Dog Nannying- anyone thought of/tried this?

    ^ Look on craigslist in your area I was once looking into this and there was an agency looking for Pet sitters .

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    Default Re: Dog Nannying- anyone thought of/tried this?

    Good business idea . There is a guy in SLC that does this . He does a meet and greet first to make sure that his is compatible with any new critters he cares for ( he will turn people down if he isn't ) . Use craigslist to start to market, possibly trade a webdesigner for your services ( barter section of CL ), print cards at vistaprint.com ( cheap ) , pass cards and flyers out to all your neighboors, and just get started !

    This is something I thought about doing ( lightly ) at one point, but I already have enough projects. There is also a very large responsibility with animals ( which I'm sure you are aware of since you have one ). If anything were to happen to one of the dogs in your care, you'd quickly have a lawsuit on your hands. Insurance seems like it's needed on this one.

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    Default Re: Dog Nannying- anyone thought of/tried this?

    Depends how many dog you want `nanny` (so much cuter than sitting). Some dogs wont get on you may need safety gates. Also I really study of canine behaviour before hand would be a must.
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    Senior Member achick's Avatar
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    Default Re: Dog Nannying- anyone thought of/tried this?

    You can post an ad for a small fee in The Caretaker Gazette. Go to caretaker.org for more info. Also, you can post an ad on craigslist. Get bonded or some kind of insurance for when they are at your house. Good luck!

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    Default Re: Dog Nannying- anyone thought of/tried this?

    I'm a little nervous about the insurance. This would be a really small time operation. I'd probably just take on 1-2 small dog. Seems like having to get insurance might ruin any chance of making a profit

    I know nothing about insurance.

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    Senior Member achick's Avatar
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    Default Re: Dog Nannying- anyone thought of/tried this?

    Part of it is to cover your losses for just in case something happens, and part of it is peace of mind for the customer. I don't know that much about it but I know I had to get a background check and be bonded when I worked as a housekeeper. Perhaps getting insurance later on down the line, you know, when you're like the dog whisperer, is a better option. LOL No offense, I just saw him on the D List so I threw that one in. But there are plenty of people who need dog nannies, if not for vacation but for walking the dogs on a regular basis while the owners work.

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    Default Re: Dog Nannying- anyone thought of/tried this?

    Quote Originally Posted by Elvia View Post
    It's just that every time I've heard of "pet sitting" it's always been in reference to taking care of pets while their owners are on vacation- usually just stopping by to feed, walk, etc.
    Whilst this is true in the most part it isn't at the same time... you can do it at your home (as per Don't Fret Pet here in Australia) or you can go to them. It's just like baby sitting as there are some baby sitters where the child is taken to the baby sitter's house and other times the baby sitter comes to the child's house.



    Unfortunately you live in a country that is "sue happy" so even if you think "the nice lady" won't sue you... when it comes to "her princess" she might It is always best to be safe than sorry in this respect.

    Put yourself in your customer's shoes, wouldn't you rather put your beloved animal companion with someone who does have insurance and knowledge etc than someone who doesn't in a professional sense?

    Go to that pet sit website. It should have more information for you there.

    "Licensed, bonded, and insured" pet sitters. What does this mean?
    http://petsitusa.com/articles/licensedpetsitters.htm


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    Default Re: Dog Nannying- anyone thought of/tried this?

    Quote Originally Posted by GoldCoastGirl View Post

    "Licensed, bonded, and insured" pet sitters. What does this mean?
    Well, that seems a little unnecessarily condescending.

    I'm not trying to be unprofessional. I'm just contemplating whether it would be worth it to take this venture if I need to get insurance, considering how small I plan to keep this operation.

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    Default Re: Dog Nannying- anyone thought of/tried this?

    I'm not being condescending. I'm posting the information not just for you as there might be other people reading this thread who may have wanted that information.

    It's all good. I was just trying to be of assistance

    It's only worth doing un-insured with people you can trust are not the type to sue you. Or you can do it with someone who's insurance can cover you. Just MO because of how "sue happy" people can be these days.


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    Veteran Member got2havespunk's Avatar
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    Default Re: Dog Nannying- anyone thought of/tried this?

    I had my own pet sitting business. I took on a lot of high end clients and did very well. I wasn't licensed, bonded, or insured- but did have a release contract and clauses to protect myself suites involving injury to myself, others, other dogs, and the said dog. This was awhile ago, but it went over well. If you're good be prepared to get completely overwhelmed. That's what happened to me, and I ended up just keeping a few close friends on my "list" and giving the rest to another pet sitter that I knew was great, and had more free time than me.
    My advice is to really get to know people before you commit. I've been in some really crazy bad situations. Like had to call in animal services before, crazy. You can meet really great people though too!
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    Default Re: Dog Nannying- anyone thought of/tried this?

    Goldcoast: maybe I misread the tone of your post. Easy to do online, I suppose. My apologies.

    Goit2: I've considered the same thing. I'm thinking of copying the release forms from doggy daycares (i picked them up for my dog, but have been too nervous to take her there).

    Man,calling in animalcontrol? I'm dying to know what happened!

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    Default Re: Dog Nannying- anyone thought of/tried this?

    I'll look into insurance and see what it costs. I'm not willing to make a huge operation out of this, so if it costs too much to warrant doing it, I guess this idea isn't for me.

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    Default Re: Dog Nannying- anyone thought of/tried this?

    If you don't want to be over-whelmed and don't want to do this as a full time paying gig (a legitmate business) then why not offer dog walking services instead? Maybe have a "disclosure" that you would have the people sign (as per the doggy daycare one you have) before you walk them ?

    I'm just assuming you could get away with no insurance in re dog walking more than actual pet sitting (or pet nanny-ing)...????

    Personally, I'm hoping to be a dog groomer and thus be able to offer this service as well as "pet nanny-ing" services.


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    Default Re: Dog Nannying- anyone thought of/tried this?

    There is someone by me who offers sitting and walking services. They have a crappy little printed poster on pet shop doors, with only two first names on it (tracy and angela I think), and a mobile phone number.

    AS IF I would ever let them take my dogs away from this house on a lead!

    To me, insurance, backround check and aything else you could would at least tell me you were serious about looking after my furbabies and were reliable.
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    Default Re: Dog Nannying- anyone thought of/tried this?

    Quote Originally Posted by got2havespunk View Post
    but did have a release contract and clauses to protect myself suites involving injury to myself, others, other dogs, and the said dog.
    Bingo! Exactly what I was going to say.

    You want to make sure you get paid, so the contract will prove that there was an agreement of pay for services, which will make debt collection easier if you get shafted. You may also want to charge late fees to folks who try to screw you over, and they need to be put on notice of that.

    It can say exactly what you do and don't do (I don't know if you already have a certain niche in mind, like you don't give baths, even if the pooch rolls in something in your yard), which can preemptively deal with some disputes due to poor communication or mismatched expectations.

    You mentioned in your post something about dogs with health conditions: you want to make sure that the owner understands that a sick dog can have all kinds of complications that don't point to your negligence. The release can put the owner on notice and help to protect you.

    Here's an example that one pet sitter uses; though I don't think it speaks to the specifics of your situation, it's nonetheless illustrative.

    http://www.nicolemillerspetsitting.com/Contract.pdf

    Quote Originally Posted by Elvia View Post
    I'll look into insurance and see what it costs. I'm not willing to make a huge operation out of this, so if it costs too much to warrant doing it, I guess this idea isn't for me.
    Or start small with folks you know well to minimize your risk potential, and then grow slowly and invest slowly if you like it.
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    Senior Member norcalgirl's Avatar
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    Default Re: Dog Nannying- anyone thought of/tried this?

    Has anyone looked into getting bonded and insured to be a pet sitter? I want to know more!

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