I paid $500 for the week for the same arrangement that you propose ... keep and eye on my dog and sleep over.

Yikes! Thanks, Jellytoast. Looks like I may be way off.

$350 sounds like plenty to me. I will never ever do it again though unless it's an adult that I either know extremely well or an agency (would have to spend more) who has been very highly recommended.

Hmmm, very wise approach mtn. I will try that. All the neighbours on our block usually help each other out by feeding pets, checking alarms, that sort of thing. The kids will usually get paid less than $50, but that doesn't involve sleepovers.

Justterrilyn, I know, right? It seems like a pretty simple thing, but so much can go wrong. This kid is not a partier and, like I said, her parents are just a few doors down, so I am hopeful it will go okay.

There are websites that link up housesitters with homeowners, and both get rated so you get some idea of who's reliable. This works better in certain areas than others, though.

My young adult was not a partier. The parents lived around the corner, were nice and trustworthy. It was coming home after a week and finding a weeks worth of dirty dishes petrifying across all counters and in the sink that through me off the deep end. I had to take a pic axe to some of the pans. The whole house stunk like rutabaga's.

Our dog sitter is a young adult, and she's thrilled with $50 per day. She spends most of her time here when she's dog/house sitting. Sounds like I'm getting a good deal!

I hate to be a wet blanket but even if the teen isn't a partier, a few innocent texts or messages can quickly create a situation that could spiral out of the teen's control. I saw this happen time and time again to "good" kids in my small town. They get guilted into opening the house to a few people, word spreads and then all of a sudden there is a huge party. Be very firm about no guests and be sure the parents know that no guests are allowed.

I believe the going rate for nonprofessionals in this area is around $50/day for a dog. In my experience a cat requires MUCH less effort .. and I kind of consider the sleepover part a perk for an (obviously older) teen as it gives them time away from the parents and siblings -- assuming you have all the amenities they have at home (or more).

I like Mtn's suggestion of asking the teen what they charge-- and then upping it by 25%. I'd also stock the fridge and/or pantry with favorites and leave a gift card for local pizza or similar.

Next week I have a friend's son, a college freshman, coming to do some yardwork and light tasks around the house. He'll take out a small tree that fell over the winter, clean the gutters, remove fallen limbs/clean up flower beds and wash lawn furniture. I posted to a neighborhood social media site to ask about the going rate for a teenager to do these tasks and was shocked to see the low rates people were quoting ($10-$15/hr). I was thinking $25/hour but was concerned that it would be too little. I've opted to stick with my intended rate. Why? He will save me a lot of work and the stress about getting it done-- he'll get it done much faster and with minimal guidance from me. Also, I respect that he's opting to spend spring break earning money rather than goofing off.

I also agree with d_gw. Those impromptu parties are all too common. I think I would talk to the parents about your concerns, not so much for their responsible teen, but her/his friends. Get it out in the open.

Funny, I wouldn't even think for a second that one of the teenagers in my life would have a party here-- forget the fact that all my friends/family would be able to sniff out such a plan, the kids just have too much respect for that.

PLEASE leave an extensive list of what needs doing. Change water daily(refrigerator or sink), dump any dry food back in bag then add fresh to dish, how much wet food/how often, medication and how/when to give it, treats(how often), scoop litter/add more. Leave all food on a counter also. If kitty has any unusual behavior, mention that. My little girl doesn't like to eat with my 2 other fur kids, so I feed her on the counter. She also likes to be petted while eating, odd I know. I take nothing for granted which I feel my sitter *should* know as she has no pets. Leaving a very detailed list(4pages!) gives me a little more comfort since I feel pets are already stressed when they are left with a stranger. If your kitty likes alot of attention or no attention, let her know this. Cats are so much different than dogs. Good luck. =^-^=

Rates depend on where one lives. In NYC, teenage babysitters get $25 an hr; where I live, it's $10.

My pet sitter charges $40 a day and stays here. She is here most of the time in the daytime as well as at night. Over the years, she's raised her prices, but she has always set the price.

I do hire the teenage boy next door to water all the plants on my terrace when I'm gone for a month. It takes him about 15 minutes to do this. He also gets my mail, sorts it, opens any bills, and emails me the amount I owe, to whom and when it is due. I then pay the bills online. I pay him $200 for 4 weeks and he's very happy.

Funky said, " I wouldn't even think for a second that one of the teenagers in my life would have a party here."

Where do you live? Maybe it's a regional thing.

Forgot to add I only pay my sitter $100 per day and she spends the night. I stock the frige/pantry, and leave $100 in an envelope in case she prefers to run out to get something. Since she lives in a very small apartment she loves having a stay in a house a few times a year(her words!). I feel fortunate to have her.

Funky, they don't plan to have a party. One or two friends come over to watch a movie. They do an innocent snap chat or an insta or a tweet. "So much fun watching movies while Amy house sits". Hundreds of friends and acquaintances might see the post. Another friend texts. "We're bored, can we come over?" or kids just head over to the house. Before you know it, there's a crew at the house. And it takes a very mature and confident teen to nip it in the bud.

Has this actually happened to you? There's no way in hell that my nieces, nephews or friends kids would tweet, snap chat or insta anything that would allow others to know where my house is. Would they do it at their own homes? Well, that's a different story-- but even still, I believe they'd be much smarter and more respectful. Parties were certainly a way of life when I was growing up and they still are.. they wouldn't bring their friends to MY house. And while I was very much a party girl when I was young, I'd never have taken advantage of my neighbors', uncles and aunts' or grandparents' houses.

We visit my in laws in Maine for a week or so almost every summer and don't bring our three dogs, so we have hired the older sibs of our daughter's classmates to house/dog sit, 9 or 10 years now, at least 5 different kids, 3 different families. We insist the sitter has a valid drivers license, and made sure they know using our car was no problem should they need it to take the dogs to the vet or for any reason. We leave a list of dog feeding/walking duties, phone numbers for vet and friends and instructions for using the washer and DW, a well stocked fridge and lots of snacky stuff and pay cash, up front. It has worked out fine, no parties, no damage, no nothing, well, one year my hanging plants outside suffered a bit, but that's all. I think it's unfortunate and unfair to assume the worst about young people, especially that they don't understand social media, they do, better than us.

Funky, I personally know of three good kids that this happened to in my small town. The point is that none of them intentionally set out to have a party. Innocent social media posts or hallway conversations are the sparks that turned the situations into a flame.

Most kid's social media accounts include friends of friends or acquaintances that they don't really know. And those second or third tier friends are often the ones that cause the problems for the so called good kids. Unless the teen is very mature and very careful about their social media posts, they really don't know who may be listening.

If your main requirement is that the student spend the night and give food and water once a day I think your price is fair, especially if you stock the fridge and pantry with snacks. I was thinking $25/30 a day based on what I pay for my prrofessional petsitter here. And I'd pay them when the work is done and you can tell there were no parties.

Thanks, everyone. Lots of great advice. I am cc'ing her mom on all texts and emails I send her about what needs doing, rules, etc. She has been best friends with my oldest DD since my DD was 15 days old, so she knows our house and routines like they were her own, but I know there are still things that could happen. Hoping for the best!

I like the idea of leaving money or gift cards for food in addition to snacks. She is such a homebody, that my biggest concern is that she will want to sleep at home rather than here and my cat will pee in the closet and rip up the sofa. Lots of snacks might entice her to sleep here each night.

I think paying a responsible teen neighbor friend is different than hiring a pro sitter. I would think $200 would be close to what she should be paid, but you'll know more once you've asked. I'd also be VERY direct, in person, asking her if she will be okay with sleeping there; that it's not an option not to and if she thinks she won't want to do it you'll have to find someone else. I think if you are explicit and she promises she will, if she's the kind of teen you've described, she will stay there.

I always lucked out finding college students living in dorms who would cat sit for very little money, just to have a nice place to live away from the dorms for a weekend or week or two.

Have a nice trip!

Has she slept alone in a house before? Alone in a house - that is not her own?

I think this is more of a "pet-sitter," than "house sitter" arrangement. You may want to contact your vet for referrals & comparable rates.

I think $200 sounds pretty good. When some friends of ours go out of town, they pay $10 per animal per day. They technically have 3 dogs and chickens, but the chickens are a unit and 2 of the dogs are basically a unit. Taking care of them requires travelling to the house 2 times a day to feed, take care of water, and let the dogs out so the amount of time involved is not insignificant. What you require for that week is not all that much, so I would consider $200 rather nice.

May want to compare it to cost of boarding pet w/ your vet. In my area that is $40-60/night.

D-gw, that is a silly comparison, really. What you seem to be talking about is teenagers having an impromptu party in THEIR houses, not where some one is taking care of another person's house. And despite your anecdotal evidence, people do know the kids, and parents, of those they are asking and entrusting with taking care of pets.

Really, the odds of a full on rager breaking out in a place someone is taking care of pets is pretty nonexistent.

Running, I have seen it happen with house/pet sitting teens as well. My concern is not anecdotal, I have personally seen it happen more than once. Any teen gathering can cause damage. It doesn't need to be a "rager". I voiced my concern and I am no longer going to hijack the thread by continuing to defend myself.

Three people liked my original post and eld echoed my concern. So while some here may disagree or not understand how it could happen, others seem to agree that the concern is not "silly".

I think the $200 is the right ball park. We did something similar about 2 years ago, a college student daughter of friends who was amazing with our dogs- was delighted to stay in our house (she shared a room at her home with younger step siblings). We stocked the fridge and pantry.She had a part time job as well and we said as long as she slept here and spent some time through the day with the dogs, we were fine. At the time, the kennel we would use charged about $30 a day so we paid the same to her and she was very happy and all went very well.

One time we did try rover.com and we were pleased as well. I think if I recall correctly you meet the people and agree on a price. As I recall, it was about the same price per day so I think $200 for a week sounds reasonable.

My sister (in NJ) pays a college student $50/day for dog sitting. Here rule is not to leave the dog alone for longer than four hours at a time and sleeping over. She's never had a problem with the student having guests over or any other issues. She leaves a very detailed list of even the most common sense things and she has to leave the list every time even though the sitter has worked for her numerous times or stuff will be forgotten.

Im thinking I underpay my sitter. She is an adult who is still working so is gone all day. She sleeps at my house and comes to stay after work. She usually cooks and although there is plenty of food in the house she tends to shop for herself. She is free to have friends (I am also friends with them) whenever she wants. So, she feeds and medicates the cat in the am (a pill in her food ) and again in the evening. She scoops the litter box. I usually pay her 20.00 per day plus I leave a gift card for either dining out or maybe a grocery gift card. Initially she refused to accept payment but I told her I would't ask her again.

She went through some bad times when her husband died and she realized how much debt he (they) were in. She ended up moving in with a friend but lives in a less than comfortable home so she likes having her own "home" at my house. I had been thinking that for some upcoming trips I would pay 25.00 a day. Is that enough?

It is hard to judge because we all live in different cost of living scenarios. In your case, she can go about her usual day.

in your case, she sounds like she is also a friend. I would keep doing what you are doing, but maybe add more to the grocery gift card.

daisy, since your daughter is the same age and good friends with the sitter, perhaps you can ask your daughter what she would would be comfortable with if she were sitting for her friend's family.

Every situation is unique. I have two felines who are happy to get their treats once a day, their meals in a timely manner and having a clean litter box (although the clean litter box is more for their humans than them).

The gem who looks after my furkids is an older woman who loves staying at my house and loves my girls. I pay her a bit more because she is in a situation similar to that of satine_gw's friend.

We have been paying the going rate for boarding, usually to some young woman (20s to low 30s) who appreciate the respite of roommate situations and a better equipped house. They have free reign of the food and the housekeeper keeps her schedule. The last one must of had a bunch of people over for dinner however, because they housekeeper said she came into a big mess in the kitchen, but it wasn't a big issue (although a bit irksome). If this was a pro, that would be an issue.

To me a dog situation is very different than a cat situation. Dogs need walking and a lot more attention and care.

Yes, our cat is very low maintenance. She hates being held, doesn't need any meds - just likes having a human around for part of the day. She needs to be fed twice a day and fresh water. The litterbox emptying is, like marlene says, more for the humans. I've decided to go for $250 and leave a grocery card for food. We live in a very low market in terms of cost (think the exact opposite of New York). When I asked, she declined payment, so I asked my DD. My DD thought $200, so went a bit up like mtn suggested. She is saving for a trip to Australia, and since she is a good friend, i also feel like I am contributing to that. Thanks everyone for the advice. Most helpful, as always!

Sounds good! "The exact opposite of New York" lol!

SInce you know she is saving for something special, I think going up is something you will both feel good about.

Oh man, I didn't even get paid when I did it years ago and those shelties did not like me at all. Ah but it was just two blocks from the beach you say......

Didn't make up for it at all. I would have loved to use the spa but it was off limits. All I remember was trying to sleep while 3 shelties barked. If I went out to the bathroom they were hostile. How do you say to a friend that her beloved dogs are just plain ornery and you wished you could have gotten out of the deal after the first night?