Daytime company, in someone’s home.
You drop your dog off in the morning and pick them up after work. They spend the day in a house with a person in it, instead of nine hours on their own.
Free to browse · Meet your sitter before you book · You pay your sitter directly
How day care works
The same booking either way: you find each other, you meet, you agree the details between you. Nothing is locked in until both of you say so.
Search day care near you
Put in your postcode. Day care needs to be somewhere you can reach twice on a workday, so close matters more than perfect.
Ask about the day
How many dogs are there? Is there a garden? Is there somewhere quiet for a dog who needs a nap? A good sitter has ready answers.
Meet and try a half day
Do a meet and greet, then a short first day if you can. Some dogs love it immediately and some need a second go.
Settle into the routine
Agree the days and the price, and drop off and collect at the times you both agreed. Most owners settle into fixed days of the week.
Offer day care and set your rate
Turn day care on, set your daily rate and be realistic about how many dogs you can have at once. Say what your space is actually like.
Choose dogs that suit the group
You are running a small group, not a queue. Read the behaviour notes and turn down a dog that would not fit the ones you already have.
Meet before the first day
Meet the dog with the owner there, ideally where the day would happen. Watch how they are with your own animals if you have any.
Run the day and get paid
Feed and walk to the owner’s routine, post a moment or two, and hand back a tired dog. The owner pays you directly at your agreed rate.
What day care usually includes
Sitters set their own terms, so treat this as the shape of the thing rather than a guarantee. What a particular sitter offers is on their profile.
A day with company
The point of day care is that somebody is there. Sitters say in their profile how much of the day they are actually home.
Naps as well as play
Dogs sleep a lot. A good day care has somewhere quiet for a dog who has had enough, not just a garden full of activity.
Your feeding routine kept
Midday meals, portions and anything they must not eat all come from your pet’s profile, so nothing is improvised.
The practical bits
- Where it happens
- At the sitter’s home
- Usually charged
- Per day, at a rate the sitter sets and shows on their profile
- Typical reasons
- Workdays, puppies, dogs who do not cope with being alone
- Best suited to
- Sociable dogs who are miserable on their own, and puppies who cannot be left for a full day yet.
How paying works right now
PetDwelling Care does not process payments yet. A sitter’s rate is shown on their profile so you both know what to expect, but the money never passes through us.
You and your sitter settle up directly — cash, bank transfer, whatever the two of you agree. There is no platform fee and no commission, and a sitter keeps everything they charge.
The trade-off is worth knowing before you book: because we do not hold the money, we cannot issue a refund or settle a payment dispute for you. Agree the amount, the dates and what happens if plans change in your messages, where you both have it in writing.
Questions people ask
How many other dogs will be there?
It varies and you should always ask. Home day care is usually a handful, not a warehouse. If the answer is vague, that is an answer.
My dog is not great with other dogs. Can they still come?
Sometimes — say so plainly when you first message. Some sitters take one dog at a time and that is exactly what you want. Do not leave it for the sitter to find out on the day.
Is my puppy old enough?
Ask the sitter. Most want vaccinations finished before a puppy joins a group, and your pet’s vaccination record is on their profile ready to share.
What if I am late collecting?
Tell them as early as you can and agree what late collection costs. Sitters have evenings too.
Ready when you are
Search sitters near you, or set up a profile and start offering day care in your own neighbourhood.
