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What should I charge for two 11 month old high energy intact lab sisters at dog park for 1 hour?

I just had a meet and greet with a request to take two high energy 11 month old female intact lab sisters to the dog park for an hour. They say they want me because i have the experience and am older, more mature and am an RVT. They say they have a budget where they don't want to spend more than 90 to 100 per week. They realize they won't be able to afford me more than 3 days a week. The other days they might get a young dog walker thats a student and doesnt charge much...theres a lot that only charge $10 per walk. They know Im available at the timeslot they want.

These dogs are going to be show dogs and they are planning on breeding 1 if not both dogs. I had to supress every urge to say something because I am opposed to breeding. Because of this there will be days when I wont be able to take tjem to the dog park. It seems like it would take 2 estimates but i dont want to do that because ill have to archive 1 causing me to drop in rank in search order. im number one in my area and ive worked hard to get there. Does anyone have any advise because Im finding this whole thing very challenging in just coming up with an estimate.

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Hi, Darla!

Congrats on being #1 in your area!

I would say try to factor in a couple of things:

  1. What is your rate for a basic one hour walk? That's the best place to start. For me, my hour is 1.75x my 30 min rate. I would say anywhere from 1.5x - 2.0x your normal walk rate would be fine.

  2. Are you going to be transporting them from their home to the park? If so, what is your drop-off pick up rate (if you have one)? Add this to the base price from above. If it is walking distance from their home, then no need.

    1. Is the one hour going to include the time to/from the park? If not, you should charge for the additional time required to transport (if needed). Again, if walking distance, not so much an issue.

For days when they are in heat, you can use your base price from #1 without the additional fees. For instance:

  1. Your 30-min rate is $26, and an additional dog is $19. So for one 30-min walk, it is $45. For one-hour, I would charge anywhere from $67.50-78.75.

  2. I don't see a pick-up/drop-off fee on your profile, but add that. (I generally charge one-flat rate, even for multiple dogs).

  3. If extra time is needed, I would suggest adding to get to/from the park, I would suggest adding an additional $5-10, depending on how far away it is.

Ultimately, it's up to you to determine how much price flexibility you want to offer for clients on that budget. Given your prices, I think they would only be able to afford you one time per week, twice if you're feeling very generous. At a budget of $90, that makes 3x per week only $30 per hour. Given that you charge $26 for a normal walk (with one dog), this would be a huge discount.

Comments

Thank you Hannah. That definitely gave me a lot to think about and some really good ideas.