Who is at their home watching the client day care dogs? Shouldn't this be limited?
I only started to offer to my current client who works a 12 hour day. one time day care......
I actually hired someone last year, who is rated 5 stars, does walks all day, then leaves the day care dogs home unattended to go do several drop ins and walks.
Availability of the sitter during daycare should be discussed at the M&G. Expectations should be set prior to accepting the stay. Each sitter is an independent contractor and can set their own policies / schedule.
I do both and someone is usually home if I have a dog stay and I have to leave to do drop ins or walks. Also, most clients don't expect that you will be home 24/7 when their dog is with you. People do leave to run errands , go food shopping, etc. A dog walk would take the same amount of time.
They may be opening up their availability for both walks and day care, but it doesn't mean that they're actually booked. I leave all options open because you never know what requests might come through.
You can't be so sure that these sitters *don't* have someone at home. Even if they don't, if the owners know their dog will be unattended for a period of the stay, that is between the sitter and owner. As long as their clients are aware of the situation, I don't see the problem.
Also remember that walks and drop ins are available all day. I just did a drop in this morning at 7am and I'm doing another one tonight at 630pm, so if I offered a doggy day care (say 8am-5pm) that would still leave me time for other work.
I have dogs boarding and leave several times a day to do drop-in visits and walks. My clients are aware of this as I am only gone for an hour or so each time. Boarding a dog does not mean you have to be physically home every minute. But I also have teenage kids at home in case of emergency.