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Dogsitting nightmare - advice?
  • weezerweezer
    Posts: 290Member
    OK, maybe not a complete nightmare, but it's been ridiculous. I'm trying to make some extra money any way I can so that I can afford to leave Captain Asshat, so I posted an ad on craigslist offering to petsit for people. I said that the fee was variable depending on the animal and the type of care it required. A girl responded and asked if I could take care of her very well behaved 2 year old Yorkie for three days. I asked her a few questions (does he have all his shots, is he fixed, is he 100% housebroken, is he good with other dogs, etc) and she gave all the right answers and even brought his vaccination records to show me. Great! So she brought him by, he met my dog and they got along great, and he seemed to be a nice little guy.

    SEEMED to be.

    But no. This little shithead is NOT NEUTERED, and he's been marking all over my house nonstop. Oh and now their flight is delayed, so it's FOUR days instead of three. I texted his owner and told her that he was a sweetheart (he is), and he's happy (he seems to be), but I have had some issues with him marking and I explained that I will have to charge a bit extra for the damage he's caused, not to mention the extra trouble. She said "thanks for letting me know, we'll talk when I get back."

    Ack, I suck at confrontation! I would have loved to have just settled it all over text message, but now I have to be a grown up and actually talk to her, in person? Ahhhhhhhhh!

    So wtf do I say? I gave her a pretty good deal on the dogsitting (actually a better deal than I should have, really), so what should I charge for all the piss all over my house? $20? $50? Double the fee? (I'd sure like to!) I mean this little asshole has seriously lifted his leg on every surface he can get to. I've had to keep him confined to the kitchen most of the time because even sitting on my lap on the couch, he tries to lift his leg on the cushion next to him. I would TOTALLY have forgiven a couple of honest accidents, because it's only natural that a dog in a new place might be a bit confused or frightened, but these are not accidents, he's marking.

    All I can say is, THANK GOD our house is already sold to a developer who plans to tear it down before winter hits. (I wouldn't have even considered dogsitting if that wasn't the case!)
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  • ChibikoChibiko
    Posts: 2,693Member
    Just be upfront about the situation and tell her exactly what happened. She must have knows that he has an issue with marking.

    As for the additional cost to add I'm not sure. I don't have pets so I don't know all the work involved in cleaning up.
    U R who U think U R

    "You were the truth I would rather lose than to have never lain beside at all"
  • OnmylastnerveOnmylastnerve
    Posts: 1,648Member
    That totally sucks, I agree with being upfront. Break down the costs for her, carpet cleaner = x money cleaning= x money. Did she mention the marking at all? If she didn't and gets huffy I would calmly explain that watching pets is supposed to be a way to make money, not to create more work for you after they leave.
    not my chair, not my problem
  • weezerweezer
    Posts: 290Member
    I guess that makes sense. :-SS But what if she tries to argue about it?

    Basically I have to go around the house on my hands and knees and scrub the walls and furniture from the floor up to 6" off the ground with soapy water, and then spray it all down with a pet enzyme cleaner and wipe down again. Plus mop as usual and then spray, and then re-mop. I'll also need to get the carpets steamed, but they're due to be done right away anyway, so I wouldn't entirely fault the dog for that. So it's definitely going to be a time and energy commitment, although it won't cost me more than $7 for the bottle of spray cleaner.
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  • Charlotte_SometimesCharlotte_Sometimes
    Posts: 1,756Member
    Yeah, definitely charge her but based on what is damaged vs what has to be cleaned and will be okay.  This sucks.  People are weird and deceptive, and I am like you, I hate confrontation.  :(

    Maybe next time you can ask for a separate deposit in case of damages...;?  I don't know how much, try emailing other pet sitting service people as a potential customer and see if they have a deposit policy and if so, how much, and go from there...?
    "But a lesson must be lived
    In order to be learned"

    Ani DiFranco, Manhole
  • Charlotte_SometimesCharlotte_Sometimes
    Posts: 1,756Member
    If she argues there isn't much you CAN do besides small claims court or something like that. :(   Not that I can think of.
    "But a lesson must be lived
    In order to be learned"

    Ani DiFranco, Manhole
  • weezerweezer
    Posts: 290Member
    I would hold her dog ransom, but, well, I don't really want him here any longer.
    :))
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  • Charlotte_SometimesCharlotte_Sometimes
    Posts: 1,756Member
    People can be more ridiculous about their damn dogs than they are about their children!  My mother had me keep her 2 once for 2 weeks.  A toy rat terrier and a toy poodle.  Well I'd known the rat terrier all her life but she's a little brat and after she bit my feet twice while I was sleeping (I let her sleep with me), I decided she was DONE, out of my bed.  And she was too short and fat to get up there on her own. 

    OMG my mother carried on about how mean I was for making her sleep on a dog bed on the floor.  Poor baby this and poor baby that.  Jeezus.  And they just pee whereever and she just cleans it up.  Now, they are old, so it's more understandable but when they were young dogs it was the same.  Instead of working to housebreak them, just let them have a 2200 square foot "toilet" and be a doggy maid.  Crazy.

    Sorry, off topic.  I love my dogs but I am not "silly" about them like spoiled children. 
    "But a lesson must be lived
    In order to be learned"

    Ani DiFranco, Manhole
  • OnmylastnerveOnmylastnerve
    Posts: 1,648Member
    As long as you aren't trying to over charge her for cleaning and product I can't imagine her being to irate but that's based on my idea of thought. I like the idea that @charolette_sometimes said for the deposit. It will help incase of damage.
    not my chair, not my problem
  • LoveLove
    Posts: 12,794Administrator, Moderator

    What if my dog has potty accidents while in your care?

    Some dogs, such as puppies, have housebreaking challenges, and we understand that.

    Boarding

    If your dog has regular accidents while boarding with us, we charge a fee of $10 per day to cover cleaning.  If the amount of accidents is excessive (e.g. marking all over the house) and causes damage to any property, we may invoice you for extra cleaning costs.

    community-manager


  • EverydaysablessingEverydaysablessing
    Posts: 41Member
    Maybe check with anyone else in your area who does dog/pet sitting and see what they charge?  Personally, I would figure out the approximate times of the occurances, the amount of time spent cleaning, the cost of the cleaning products and charge accordingly.  Your time is worth it's weight in gold!   Good luck!!
  • weezerweezer
    Posts: 290Member
    Love said:

    What if my dog has potty accidents while in your care?

    Some dogs, such as puppies, have housebreaking challenges, and we understand that.

    Boarding

    If your dog has regular accidents while boarding with us, we charge a fee of $10 per day to cover cleaning.  If the amount of accidents is excessive (e.g. marking all over the house) and causes damage to any property, we may invoice you for extra cleaning costs



    Perfect! I think I'll use that as my jumping off point. I've been going through all of the local commercial dog kennel websites and there's no mention of extra costs for marking. I guess that would just be a home-based dog sitting thing though.

    Since he's confined to the kitchen and the baby is asleep, I'm going to start working on the rest of the house and see how long it takes me. If it ends up being significantly more than an hour's work (not including renting and using the industrial steam cleaner, which I'll do tomorrow night), I'll add an extra $20. Hmm, 4 days, that's $40, plus $20, that's $60 extra. I think that seems like a reasonable amount for the grossness and hassle. What do all y'all think? I've been charging $25/day for "easy" dogs (no issues, no medication, no
    excessive exercise needs) which is about $10/day less than the average
    going rate for commercial kennels in my area, and that is the rate I quoted this girl. (So the original $100 total would become $160 including the extra costs for damages.)
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  • [Deleted User]
    Posts: 7,022
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
    well behaved women seldom make history
  • rescuemutts
    Posts: 233Member
    You are totally right to charge her more...she was not upfront about her dog being intact, and she is getting a bargain at $160 for 4 days....
    at least you did not do what my petsitter did... Called me on my first day of vacation, told me she let the dog out, not on a leash, and the dog would not come back in. The dog was still on the property because we have 9 acres fenced with an underground dog fence, so she could not catch her. She then said "this is not going to work out...can you find some one else to watch her???  Yup she quit on the phone.....I was in another state!
    Thankfully my neighbor agreed to help out... I hated to ask her which is why I hired the sitter in the first place!  Then when I went to get my key the sitter actually had the balls to tell me I owed her $50 for the 1 day...no I did not pay her, she is lucky I did not slap her....
    "Dogs are not our whole lives, but they make our lives whole."
    Roger Caras
  • goldie
    Posts: 108Member
    Sorry about your house.  Unless you're going to be a professional dog breeder, I don't get people who won't spay/neuter their pets.  What a pain in the ass.
  • [Deleted User]
    Posts: 2,528
    I would freak the fuck out. Unless this dog has never once been out of her care, which I doubt, then she knew this was a problem. $60 extra and a kick in the twat is more than fair. Hope the little fucker leaves soon.
    Get me a damn beer.
  • BlessieBlessie
    Posts: 1,496Member
    Kennels don't charge more BECAUSE THEY ARE IN KENNELS. They aren't pissing all over the house. (Just in case she tries to argue that).
  • weezerweezer
    Posts: 290Member
    Ugh. I've been delaying on updating this because I am still SO angry. She came back and I explained politely what I'd be charging and why, and I told her that I would totally forgive an accident or two out of confusion/fear in a new place, but I told her that he was marking constantly, not just having an understandable "accident." She looked confused and said, "ohh... that's a lot of money." I told her that I understand that it wasn't what she budgeted for, but my original quote was based on the assumption that her dog was completely housetrained, and I need to recoup my own expenses and be compensated for hassle of deep cleaning my entire house. So she went out to the car and got her asshole boyfriend, who came storming into my house pointing his finger at me and yelling. Luckily I'm tall and imposing and this cuntshit was only about 5'6", so I let him get right up in my face and I stared him down until he shut up. I explained it all to him again and he said that was bullshit and I must have been neglecting the dog or it wouldn't have happened. I told him it wasn't negotiable, and he said ok fine, we'll pay you the $90. I said "excuse me? The original agreed upon rate was $100, and it's gone up to $160 due to the damage your dog did." He started yelling again and I was actually starting to feel pretty threatened (IN MY OWN FUCKING HOME, MIND YOU) and the baby was asleep in the next room, so eventually I took his $110 and told him to get the fuck out of my house.

    I've never said this before and I'll probably never say it again, but DAMN, I wish my husband had been home!
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  • OpheliaOphelia
    Posts: 3,341Member
    I dog sat once. For my cousin's 2 labs. Fuckers ate a pair of shoes and my birth control pills. Reading your thread title brought back the horrible memories.
    Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile.. -Grateful Dead<3
  • meandmy243meandmy243
    Posts: 6,358Member
    @ophelia that just made my day.. my dog has only eaten a pair of slippers... he's finally house broken so its time to steam clean all the floors.. but yeah labs are a pain in the ass... if we let anyone puppysit we buy a smoked cow femur that's pretty meaty and have them give it to him... that way he can chew till his hearts content and we toss a few cow hooves in his bag too.. he's never chewed up any ones else's stuff..
    mom of wild children
    going to the chapel 7/5/2014
  • OpheliaOphelia
    Posts: 3,341Member
    They ate the couch too. I stayed at my cousins with them and the damn bird who thinks it's funny to talk in his man voice in the middle of the night.
    Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile.. -Grateful Dead<3
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