do you use a house sitter when you go on holiday

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westparc

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i am going away this year first time in ages but dont no what to do with the zoo im thinking of getting a house sitter but not sure what prices to expect what do you lot do?
 
yes, i use SteeleyDan from on here, she's from Nottingham way and will travel for an hour or two afaik. She is absolutely brilliant, coped with my lot admirably, can't recommend highly enough. fwiw far cheaper than putting the dogs in kennels, let alone the horses in livery... pm me for her 'phone number if you like.
 
I always pay quite well but expect quite a lot. If you have a lot of animals it is pretty much a full time commitment. (£50/day for 3 horses, 3 dogs, chickens, cats, etc). Oh and always leave bottle of wine, stuff in fridge, etc, etc!
 
I have done in the past, usually just bribed a friend to stay at the house or come in a couple of times a day to do the animals (their choice) for a fridge full of food and cold hard cash. :D

A friend of mine used to work for Animal Aunts and was always busy, she had some stories to tell about house owners and their foibles!:)

"Maisey Waisey Woo must be fed 3oz of minced chicken, and a cup of tea at precisely 3.30pm, then she is taken out into the garden to go potty, but you must stay and talk to her";)

"The horses have colour co-ordinated buckets and won't eat out of the wrong one." :confused:

"If it rains you must go out and rug the shetlands":rolleyes:
 
I use a house sitter when I go away .She lives in the house and looks after the 2 dogs feral cats and chickens . She also does late night feeds (8:30pm) for the 4 horses and will do morning feeds if needed .
I have a groom who comes in and does the horses rugs and turns out in the morning she skips out ( on rubber mating) and then comes back and fetches in does rugs at tea time.I pay her £25 per day.She lives really close easy walking distance.
This is winter routine as most of my holidays are in the winter.
I have used the same person for 14 years to sit the house and house animals.I got her through a friend.
She provides all her own food.She charges a small mileage charge too and from me and I pay her £40 per day all house animals included.
There are agencies they usually charge a flat fee plus add on for each extra animal added .
Agency sitters also charge mileage and sometimes you have to pay an allowance per week for food .
There are quite a few on the Internet their charges are listed.
See if anyone around you uses a sitter and can recommend them .
 
gosh thats more than i was expecting sounding stingey i was only thinking about £20 per night i'll have to have a rethink
 
Yes We do as it works out very well for us to have someone living in the house while we are away.

In fact just reading this reminds me that I need to book mine for our next break. The company we use have been very good and the sitters are all checked. Makes for happy dog and cats as they do not seem to do well in kennels. Then of course there are the hens and watering of the veggies in the garden. The horses are on a yard and the yard owner takes them on for me while we are gone. For us it is a win win situation. The house is lived in and happy animals. We worked it out last time we went away and it worked out cheaper than getting someone in for the hens and garden and kennels for the 3 cats and dog.
 
we always have a house sitter but we just use a friend, why dont you find a friend that might even do it for free or students often are looking for a place to stay
 
my OH and I were talking about house sitters not long ago. He was doing some work with a plumber mate and casually said to the owner of the big house he was working in about the extensive remodelling...

long storey short, the man wasnt having remodelling work done, but had employed house sitters who as soon as he went away had had removal vans etc and stripped the house of everything. furniture, the lot, including doors and fittings, hence OH helping to replace radiators and pipework (theyd had away with the copper and boiler etc.)

so do make sure you get a recommendation/use someone you know of :(
 
I do alot of house sitting, but the parents often leave the kids too. I charge on depending on what I have to do. If there are no kids and I'm staying over anything between 15 - 30 per night. Also sometimes I end up sorting out washing, kids bedrooms, cleaning and sorting cuboards plus a whole list as long as my arm. I often get perfume or bottle of vodka as a thankyou as well (but I never expect that) If I'm not staying over and maybe only spending couple of hours doing something I ask for petrol (some ppl are quite out my way) plus 4-6 per hour on depending what it is :) I usually end up doing a shop as well before some ppl come back or unpack tesco's delivary. :)
 
We bribe our friends 16 year old son to house sit and look after the dogs for us.

Cost is 100 per week (he only has to sleep over and feed them, take them for a walk on Sat and sun as the Dog walker does it Mon - Fri) and a crate of beer.

The horse is in DIY livery and you just put a list of when you are away and everyone pitches in.

Have had a professional older couple in before and the lady had a cleaning habit which was great.
 
Having just started back full time with horses I would definately consider house sitting again, depending on how many animals etc, used to charge between £25 - £50 per night so I wouldnt say that you are totally off the mark. Im in Hampshire/Surrey Border so maybe prices are a bit more meaty here.
 
I currently house sit for two people, only started doing it this year and the first person offered £20 a day and that has stuck and they both seem happy with it, iv house sat 4 times now and am booked for their next hols.
They usually leave some food but i always buy my own anyway, I make sure they have fresh milk etc for when then come back and tidy/clean for them coming back (not that i make a mess just think its nice for them to come back to a clean fresh house)
 
I do a friends house when they go away (they have only just started to go away because they trust me) I have 4 dogs, 2 cats, gerbils and some chickens to do at the house. And 4 horses on full turnout to give some feed and check over. Normally get about 100 a week although she always forcing extra for food and fuel.
 
One of my friends house sits for me so I that I dont' have to put my 2 dogs in kennels. I pay her £20 a day. I booked my dog walker in for all days so friend would not have to walk my dogs (but she did anyway). She never helps herself to whats in my fridge although told to and leaves my house tidy. She doesn't clean but that really would be going well above what I asked her to do! Last time she brought her OH with her but she is really brilliant and I trust her 200% to take care of my OTT dogs. I started paying friends to house sit after trying no 1 staffie in kennels. I had (no offense to the kennels) one extremely unhappy dog when I got back who was highly distressed so had to find an alternative - and this for me is much better.
 
I am REALLY lucky because a lady up the road, real dog and horse lover and experienced, comes to our house and does all our animals. She is just amazing, very reasonable and in fact she's become a great friend.
 
Oh, yes, I house sit too! Depending on what I have to do I charge different ammounts. If it is basic, stay overnight, keep and eye, feed the cat/small animals and is around home (so I can still do my day job) then £20 per night. If there are dogs to walk, horses to muck out and other things (I have a woman with 4 pigs and 2 dexter cows to look after too :-) ) Then it will go to £40-50 depending on numbers. But for that I will (if they want me to!) stay at the house all day and do any chores. I also do a schooling option for people who's horses I school anyway for an extra fee and I have previously worked as a nanny and so if there are kiddies around then I get extra... depends what you want out of a sitter really...

I do however feel it is really improtant that you find someone you trust wiht your animals and home. I have heard some horror stories in the past and there are one or two people I know who do house sitting and I wouldn't let them feed my hamster!!!!
 
I'm thinking of leaving my job, and going back to the horsey days. I'm a BHSAI, and was thinking of freelance grooming and teaching, along with a holiday cottage/B&B. This house sitting could be useful for me too. How do you advertise if you are a house sitter, and how do you find them if you use them..?
 
I used to house sit. Started off for friends, and then word of mouth got me more jobs.

I was always totally miffed that I'd have to spend most of my 'pay' on filling the fridge and cupboards with the basics as pretty much every single household, seemed to run their groceries down to nothing before going on holiday!

Even butter and loo rolls!!

The only household that didn't, left me everything I'd ever need to eat and drink, including a well stocked wine cellar!

There's nowt as queer as folk!!
 
Honey08 said:
I'm thinking of leaving my job, and going back to the horsey days. I'm a BHSAI, and was thinking of freelance grooming and teaching, along with a holiday cottage/B&B. This house sitting could be useful for me too. How do you advertise if you are a house sitter, and how do you find them if you use them..?
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I have never advertised, I am a nanny and have been picking kids up from the same school for about 7 years, so it has been word of mouth as well as going to houses where I work I have done house sits for their friends and their friends friends, and have met and work for more families from the same school and their friends and it goes on. If I was going to advertise I would put adverts up in local private schools (quite a few near me and the families from one school know and are friends with families from other schools so this has helped too) Also I have quite a few friends who are nannies and we cover each other if one of us is already doing something and we get asked to do something else. I have found a few of my friends babysitting jobs. Find a nanny who is self employed and has more than one family to work for! Also you could advertise at local livery yards, tack/feed shops etc. The teaching might really work in your favor especially if you find families with kids who do pony club.
 
i dont do house sitting because i have so many animals at home to see to but 5 years ago i gave up a very well paid office job and started doing freelance grooming & dog walking, also including small animal care & croft/farm watches
i have been very busy and love it, done a wide range of animals, i often find that people will have mothers/fathers or their older kids staying in the house but dont want to ask them to look after the animals so i will go in how ever many times per day they want to do it.
i did advertise in the local papers when i first started but it took off so well i havent had to do that again, i have some adverts in riding club mags and also posters in the local shops & vets, i find the vets pass my details on to alot of people so well worth checking with your vets if you are wanting to book someone.
i would also make sure any house sitters are insured, i am covered for looking after animals but not for staying in houses;);)
 
Thanks for the info. Very interesting. I've spent a few years abroad during my university years au pairing, so that could help too. This has really given me food for thought. I've got a well paid job that I hate, and am looking for ideas for leaving! I would think that the work peters out in winter though?xx
 
Honey08 I am not sure that it would I know my brother has sitter when they head off skiing in the winter months. Know he pays a lot as he is in London.
 
Our groom house sits for us, we pay her 60 pounds per day for 4 horses, 4 dogs and a cat.

I have used agencies in the past, they were fine for the dogs, but found them really unreliable when it came to the horses. They sent people who had never mucked out, could not put a rug on, etc.

In reply to another posted who posted about 'silly' requests, personally I want the person house sitting to follow my routine and deal with emergencies, not question the way I do things. For example, using different colour feed buckets makes a lot of sense to me as it can help prevent infections being passed from one horse to another, and my Fallabela gets a rug before any of the other horse because he just gets colder faster than the (fully clipped competition) horses.
 
As others have said you do need to trust the person you leave in your home to do your animals as YOU want it done thats why you are leaving them at home after all also to treat your home with respect .
I as I have said I have one person in the house doing those animals and assisting with the horse and a groom( who normally helps me on a day to day basis anyway) doing the horses .They have cofee together and liaise with each other .
I find having the chores split between 2 people a big advantage in case of emergency .
The groom once got appendicitise 3 days before I was due home and was rushed off into hospital and the house sitter stepped in and took over doing the horses for those 3 days.
The house sitter had a sudden emergency with her mum and had to return to her home for an over night visit and the groom walked and fed the dogs did chickens and fed cats.
They talk to each other and help each other out.
If someone is solo you need to know what happens in an absolute emergency i.e. rushed into hospital!!!
 
I house sit for two friends. One has four cats and the other has two dogs. I basically move into their houses while they are away and just look after the animals around doing my day job and horses.

The friend with the dogs is also the friend I loan my horse from and we are stabled next to each other so I also keep an eye on her horse while she is away, although he is on full livery so it's only treats and a groom so doesn't count really. I walk the doggies before work and nip home at lunchtime to let them out for wee's, then as she is also from my yard the doggies can therefore come up the yard with me in the evening :) I've done it for a couple of years now, whenever they go abroad or even if they have an over night stay somewhere. Works well as the doggies get to stay in their own home and the routine is even the same coming up the yard in the evenings, and the smallest doggie does come home from kennels rather stressed as she is a bit of a Princess so she is much happier staying in her own home :)

I stay over at the friends with the cats too but they are simple really as long as they are fed and watered and made a bit of a fuss over they are happy, they have a cat flap so come and go as they please - I just do a head count twice a day to make sure I'm not missing anyone!!

Both pay me £100 for a week (which can either be 5 or 7 days), they stock the fridge and normally throw in a bit of petrol money. I don't do it to earn money, just to help out friends, the money is a bonus to which I can't say no! And they say it is cheaper than putting them in kennels or cattery and the animals seem happier.

I only do it for friends though as don't like staying in people's houses I don't know or looking after animals I don't know! the doggies know me well as I see them every evening anyway up the yard so they are not the least bit bothered when Aunty Julie comes to stay!!
 
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