how to find a cheap dog sitter for a week?

artichoke

Hi all

A close relative has paid for my family to go on holiday with them to a holiday village, when they suggested it we said thank you but we can only go to places that accept dogs.
Our usual holiday is camping so dog can come too.

Our dog is elderly and only been in kennels once (2 night stay) when it was unavoidable and when we returned she was really dehydrated as i think she had not drunk for 2 days. I am sure the kennel gave access to water but she has a thing about only drinking from her own bowl and is not used to being away from home, anyway she is now elderly and we do not want to put her in kennels for a week. We both work at home and have done since she was a puppy so our dog i used to us being around all day and has free access to the garden, and to the fields behind the house.

Anyway the holiday has now been booked but we have just found out that dogs are no longer allowed anywhere in the holiday centre. Apparently the family members that booked it had been previously and seen dogs on the site and so presumed they were still allowed - but they are not.

So - what do we do?

I did think of employing a dog sitting service - we also have chickens that a house sitter could feed - but the going rate seems to be £45 a day....

we live in a rural area, and i was thinking maybe we could get someone to live in our house as a holiday for them?? (am i mad:eek:) Next door to our house is a holiday cottage so it is the type of place people do come to on holiday...so maybe some animal lover / animal loving family would not mind house sitting for a week..

If the dog came with us I was just going to ask a neighbour to feed the chickens every day -they have a solar timer on the house that opens and closes the door so someone would only need to come and feed them once a day...but for the dog someone would need to be there most of the time, she is not used to being left alone as we work from home.

We also have a cat but she is a 'farm cat" and does not come home every day and in the summer often sleeps out of the house and so when we go camping we usually leave lots of bowls of dried cat food and water out for her and she comes and goes as she pleases. There is a stream in the field at the back so she has access to fresh running water daily, and she eats more rodents than she does dried food even when we are home.. so we do not have to worry about the cat if we are away

but if we got a pet sitter /holiday swap we would have to tell them there is a dog (elderly springer spaniel) cat (not a lap cat) and chickens to feed.....

do you have any suggestions for how to find a cheap dog sitter / holiday tenant?

or should we tell family we can not go on the holiday?

aghgh

art

ashbart

Hi artichoke,

Do you have any small dog walking companies near you? Most of them do home boarding (basically, your dog stays in their house instead of a kennel). Go onto google and search for dog walker in your area. Call them up and most of them network so if they can't help you, they will know someone who can.

As for the chickens, ask the neighbour nicely with a big smile

Hope this helps. Good luck!

bulchy

Are there any other family members not going on the holiday that could dog sit? I'm like you, never go on hols without my dogs, but we have nephews that will come and stay at out house to look after the rest of our pets.
Hope you can sort something out.
Sue

birduk

Hmm... how about something like Freecycle? Or is that a bit mad? I know it is expensive getting someone to stay in your house full-time, but you could perhaps book a dog-walker instead? They would not be anywhere near £45 per day surely?

It's not an unreasonable request- I'd consider it! Do you have good walking around you?

vickiem30

If you try dogpages, the dog rescue forum, they may have some suggestions. It sounds like a nice holiday for someone, so you may be able to find someone to house sit in return for a free holiday.

claireac

It sounds like an MSE way for someone to have a break without lots of cost and help you out at the same time!! Maybe some friends, or friends of friends??

artichoke

hi all

thanks for your suggestions....

we don't have any family living locally who could help but i do think staying here for a week would be a nice holiday for an animal loving family (especially one with small children as we have swings, slides etc in garden and lots of toys in house for under 5's)...

so i think i will ask family and friends if they know a trustworthy, responsible family who would like a free rural cottage holiday with chickens, cat and dog thrown in ...(and an aga type cooker) - the whole stereotyped package, rolling hills, wonderful views,

my only worry is how i can de-clutter the house and make it presentable before allowing strangers to stay :eek: inside my house is currently a mess - totally shabby with no chic

oh well now i have motivation to declutter and keep it tidy and finish the decorating...


thanks everyone

art

claireac

artichoke wrote: »

hi all

thanks for your suggestions....

we don't have any family living locally who could help but i do think staying here for a week would be a nice holiday for an animal loving family (especially one with small children as we have swings, slides etc in garden and lots of toys in house for under 5's)...

so i think i will ask family and friends if they know a trustworthy, responsible family who would like a free rural cottage holiday with chickens, cat and dog thrown in ...(and an aga type cooker) - the whole stereotyped package, rolling hills, wonderful views,

my only worry is how i can de-clutter the house and make it presentable before allowing strangers to stay :eek: inside my house is currently a mess - totally shabby with no chic

oh well now i have motivation to declutter and keep it tidy and finish the decorating...


thanks everyone

art

It sounds idyllic!!

I wouldn't worry about de-cluttering too much, as long as it's clean and there's room for living I don't think there can be much to moan about if someone's getting a virtually free holiday!

poppy_the_saving_cat

hi artichoke, roughly which part of the uk do you live and when do you plan to go away ? xxx

artichoke

hi all

don't demotivate me on the de-cluttering i need all the motivation i can get...

i live on edge of peak district if anyone is interested

art

bouncydog1

Snap - we also have an elderly springer spaniel (16) and although our local kennels are really good for the last 5 years we have had someone we know move in to look after her. That way we know that she gets given her medication on time and we are able to have a relaxed holiday without worrying. She is also happy to be with that person as she is in her own home and familiar surroundings.

It is important that you have someone sit that your dog takes to otherwise she will become stressed. Have you tried asking at your local vets - perhaps one of the nurses might like a week's holiday and would also have the skills to deal with an elderly dog.

Alternatively does your vets do boarding for elderly/sick dogs? I know that ours does and we would have no hesitation in leaving her there if there was no family available to come in and stay with her. That way if there was a problem she would be in the best place to be dealt with.

I would think twice about leaving an elderly dog with small children no matter how good your dog normally is when you are there - you know yourself that the elderly dog is sometimes confused and if she has poor sight or hearing this could lead to a situation where she may snap.

I hope that you are able to sort your situation out and have an enjoyable holiday, but at the end of the day the arrangements for your dog have to give you peace of mind.