Dog sitting in York
Dog sitting in York, in your own home.
I stay overnight in your house and look after your dog there. Their walks, their meals, their garden and their own bed, in the order they are used to.
Overnight, in your home
£50a night
Each extra pet
£25 a night
Bank holidays
start at £60
Everything happens at your address, so your dog never travels. If a break in the day is what you need instead of a night, an hour-long visit is £22. The overnight format is written up in full on its own page.
Whether this is the right thing for your dog
Worth working out together before you book.
It works well when
- Your dog is happiest at home, and travels badly or hates the car at both ends
- They have a routine you would rather keep. A walk order, a feeding order, a spot on the sofa
- They are elderly, stiff, or slow on stairs they already know
- They are fine on their own for the part of the day you already leave them
- They are young and into everything, and you would rather that happened in their own garden
- You want the house lived in while you are away as well
When another option suits your dog better
- You want daycare, or your dog boarded at my house
- You want a dog walker to collect them and bring them back
- Your dog cannot be on their own at any point in the day
- Your dog needs handling we have agreed, when I come round, is beyond me
A night at your house, in order
The same order every night of the booking.
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Letting myself in
At the time we agreed, the way we arranged. Most dogs meet me at the door and I don’t make a performance of it, though I do enjoy the ones who bring a toy with them. Lead, food, care notes and your vet’s number all live in one place we picked together.
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The walk
Their route, their pace, the lead or harness you told me they get on with. If they pull towards a particular corner of the field, we go to that corner. Off-lead time is something we talk through beforehand: it happens where you have said yes to it and where I am confident it is right for them on the day. Back through the door, paws done with their own towel, never one of yours from the airing cupboard.
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Food, medication and the evening
Measured the way you measure it, in the order you do it. Some dogs eat before the walk and some after, and I go by what their notes say. Then I am in the house for the evening. Your dog gets the sofa or the floor, whichever they are allowed, and I don’t change the rule while you are away.
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Bed, and the morning
Their own bed, in their own house, in the spot they sleep in every other night. Out first or fed first in the morning, whichever their notes say. On the last morning the bowls are washed, the towels are in the wash, and your keys come back the way we agreed.
What a night includes, and what it doesn’t
Included at £50 a night
- Nights spent in your house
- Their usual walks, at their usual times as far as the day allows
- Garden time and toilet breaks in their own garden
- Meals measured the way you measure them
- Medication as prescribed, including injections such as insulin where agreed beforehand
- Mess cleared up, accidents included
- Post picked up, bins out, lights and curtains used normally
- Regular photos and messages, at a frequency we agree
- The house left the way I found it
Not part of it
- Dog walking booked on its own
- Daycare, and boarding at my house
- Training or behaviour work
- Collection and drop-off. I come to your address
- Anything that isn’t written down before you leave
“Tamara was great with Buster, he was super chilled out and had clearly had a lovely day.”
Verified Rover booking
The things dog owners ask me first.
How long will my dog be on their own?
We work that out before you book, and it goes into the care notes with the rest of it. When I will be out, what your dog is doing while I am, and what happens if a day runs long. It is a fixed part of the booking. If the answer we arrive at doesn’t suit them, I’ll tell you when I come round.
Do the walks happen?
Yes, walks are part of an overnight dog sit. I like to keep their route, so tell me where they go, what they pull towards, which gate sticks, and whether the harness or the collar is the one they tolerate. We agree about off-lead time before you go, and I go by that and by what looks right for them on the day. My own dog Skye and I do a lot of York Community Woodland, so regular dog walks around York are familiar territory.
My dog is nervous, or reacts to other dogs
That is exactly what the introductory visit is for. I come to the house and watch what your dog does when the doorbell goes, and when I stand up and move around a room they think is theirs. With a nervous dog I sit down, keep my eyes off them and leave them plenty of room to come over in their own time if they want to. I follow the cues you already use. If I don’t think I can hold them safely on a pavement, or settle them on my own overnight, I’ll say so then, before you have paid anything.
My dog can’t be left at all
Some dogs genuinely can’t, and a sit still has gaps in it. If that is your dog, say so in your first message. We will either find a pattern that works or I will tell you they need someone in the house all day, which is more than an overnight sit can give them. I’d sooner lose the booking than let them down.
Skye is a golden retriever, so wet towels by the back door and a coat that needs going over after a muddy field are already part of my day. Her idea of a good afternoon is sprinting circles round me at the dog park until she has had enough. I have a soft spot for the daft ones, and a lot of patience for the worried ones.
Overnight stays reach up to about fifteen miles from the middle of York, which takes in most of the villages people ask me about. If you are weighing this up against kennels, I have written about how the two compare, and all the prices are here.
Every booking starts the same way, with a free introductory visit at your house. What the first visit involves.
Questions dog owners ask me
All questions and answersCould you have my dog at your house instead?
No. Your dog stays in their own house and I come to them. If boarding is genuinely what suits them, a licensed boarder is the right call and I will say so.
My dog is on medication. Does that cost extra?
No. Medication as prescribed is part of the sit, and that includes injections such as insulin where you give me clear written instructions and we go through them together beforehand. We write the dose, the timing, where it is kept and what to do if they refuse it into the care notes before you go. I am not a vet, and I will tell you if a routine is beyond what I can take on.
Tell me a little about your dates and your dog.
Your dates, your postcode, your dog’s breed and age, and anything you’d want me to know before I ring the doorbell. I usually reply the same day, and we can arrange a free introductory visit from there.