My Thanksgiving week was booked 2 months ago by repeat clients and the rest of the year is filling up fast

Over the summer, I was constantly booked with many stays even overlapping by a day. I think I had a total of 3 or 4 days where I didn't have at least one dog in the whole 3 months.

As soon as school started, it dropped to almost nothing. I've had several requests, but few bookings. However, people are starting to look toward the holidays and I got my first Thanksgiving request today.

I've heard that burying their poop in the hole will often work. It didn't work with my lab because she would jsut did somewhere else. It did for a friends' dog who would only dig in one spot.

The only fool proof thing I can think of is concrete!

Age is one factor, but so is size. My lab and my dachshund can make it all day without accidents, but my chihuahua potties in his crate almost daily. I just have old junky towels from garage sales and I put a clean one in his crate every day.

CUTE!! I like where you are going!

Exactly! I want it to be something the owner will think is cute, but for it to also be an opportunity to communicate any issues or concerns. I don't want to use a letter grade or ranking system either because that could offend someone and that's not the purpose!

I get a text, email, and a notification from the mobile app.

I've heard a couple people mention dog report cards for after the stays. I LOVE the idea, but can't think of what to include. Would anyone mind sharing what they include in a report card?

Completely off topic here, but I noticed your name and had to say hi. I have a new little niece named Freyja (silent j) and I had never seen the name before.

I have tags with my name and info that I got at Wal-mart at one of those little self-serve machines and then I bought clips that are easy to snap on their collar.

Once your puppy has all three sets of shots, socialize like crazy and get your pup used to all kinds of things!!!

Here's the recommendation that the rescue group I've volunteered for gives: Until your puppy has had all 3 sets of puppy shots, it really is not safe to take him or her out and about anywhere. You have no idea where other feet (human or animal) have stepped or what they've come in contact with. They could easily have tracked feces that contains parasite eggs which would be harmful or even viruses like parvo which can kill. If you must take your puppy out, do not allow their feet to touch the floor or ground. If they need to use the restroom, put down a clean sheet or news paper so they do not come in contact with the ground.

Well, the husband decided it was too much money ($1785) so they will be leaving their dog a state away with family. I'll be interested to look as my income at the end of the year and see if I make more or less than this over the time frame.

They ended up finding a friend to watch the dog, which is fine by me. The owner was not good about returning calls and hadn't had her vet send me the dog's records despite numerous requests for the info.

I ended up doing the math and took into consideration the likely reduction in requests with school starting back up. I offered $80/week for all weeks except for holiday weeks where it will be my full holiday rate of $20 per day. We'll see

I actually was going to start increasing my rate a few dollars every couple months so it's a gradual increase for regular customers and so I could gauge the balance between supply and demand

I got another interesting stay request today. The husband's job will have the family living nearby for 5 months, but the apartment provided by his job does not allow pets. They want to take the dog for the day a few times a week and are planning a couple weekend trips to visit family and they will take the dog with them. They will even plan a trip to visit family over the weekend that I will be out of town on vacation.

The question is that they asked about a monthly rate and I have no idea what would be fair.

Most sitters in the area charge $20-25 per day and I only charge $18 ($16 for stays over 7 days). Mostly, I charge less because I'm not home all day and I don't feel right about charging higher prices. I have no problem giving a discount due to the length of the stay, but I also have to keep in mind that their dog would eliminate a spot for a higher paying boarder.

Do you offer a monthly rate?

From what my clients have said, my rates and ratings are the main reasons they contact me. I also tried to be very clear about what the owners can expect (like that I work full time and dogs are crated when I'm not home, which is part of why I also charge less than others in the area).

Oh, I've also had people comment that they like that I have had a lot of experience with fostering dogs from rescue groups with a wide variety of personalities.

When I make appointments with a client (drop-off, pick-up, or meet and greet), if the time is critical (like in the morning before I go to work), I build in a little cushion, but make sure to tell them why the time is important and it helps them to be on time.

I started out with prices lower than the others in my area and I advertized on craigslist. That got me the first few stays booked and most important, it got me good reviews. Once the good reviews started coming in, I got more and more stay requests.

I didn't start increasing my prices until I got to the point I was getting more stay requests than I could take.

Oh, how did your 3 day stay become so long? Were you in touch with the owner the whole time?

Working with rescue groups, we've seen many times where the owners got the dog without checking with the landlord and it was several months or even years before the landlord found out about the dog. I don't know of that's the case here, but it happens. I like the idea of regular visits.

I just got a stay request that's 52 days long. I asked the client to verify dates and she stated that it is correct. Their current apartment does not allow dogs and they are looking for a new place, but have a contract through the dates of the stay.

The total is over $1100

The client is new to Rover (account created today), so politely informed her that payment is collected in full before the stay begins. I just sent the email, so I have not heard back yet.

At first, I thought of offering to set it up as 3 or 4 consecutive stays. My concern with that is that if she pays for the first two weeks and doesn't pay for the later stays on time, what would I do? It's not like I could just put the dog out on the street.

yes, it's essentially an account credit for them to spend however they choose.

I once heard a volunteer at a rescue group say that when it comes to dog hair, you have two options: 1- deal with shedding or 2- deal with groomers

both have their benefits and pit falls.

Find out if the dog gets car sick! Or better yet, simply don't feed within 3 hours of leaving.

Even if the dog isn't usually restrained, I would restrain the dog. When my dogs are in the car, I use a harness and a leash splitter. The leash splitter has an O ring in the middle and two adjustable lengths of leash material with leash clips on both ends. I clip one to the harness and the other end to the car seat anchors in the back seat.

I've never really worried about it. There have been several times when they had an evening drop off and a morning pick up and I still got paid for full days and didn't feel the need to only charge for a partial day. I figure it all comes out in the wash.

I'm also very flexible with my clients. Drop off and pick up can be as early as 7 AM and as late at 10 PM Monday through Friday. I figure if they end up with an extra half a day, it's not really that big of a deal.