FAQ

  • Dog Walks

    Drop-In Pet Sitting

    Full-Day Pet Sitting

    Custom Visit Lengths

    General Pet Guardian Advice

    Referrals to Other Local Pet Pros

    Farm Services - Contact Me for Details & Limitations

  • Dog Dad 4 Hire does NOT offer:

    Overnight Pet Sitting (in your home)

    Boarding (in my home)

    Pack Walks

    Training

    Pet Taxi to/from Doggy Daycare

    Grooming/Nail Trims

    Veterinary Services

  • Yes, I can typically handle oral or topical medications without issues. I do not have hands-on experience with injections.

    It may be a good idea to schedule your initial consultation at the time when your pet(s) normally receive their medication so that you can provide a demo.

  • All services are charged by time spent. I offer sliding scale fees to allow for broader access to professional pet care services.

    Read more on my policies page.

    My standard rate or my most commonly booked service, a walk or 30-minute drop-in, is $25.

  • Payments can be made via cash, check made payable to Jasmine Bates, or Venmo to @dogdad4hire.

    As of June 1st, 2025 all payments via Venmo are subject to a fee of 1.9% transaction. This is a portion of the fee Venmo charges me per transaction.

  • New clients should first visit the Contact page and fill out a new client contact form.

    Current or returning clients can call or text at any time to inquire about availability or book services.

  • It really depends on how many pets you have, what your pets are used to, and what you are comfortable with.

    My minimum standard of care for pet sitting is 3 x 30 min visits a day for dogs, 1 x 30 min visits a day for cats or other small animals.

    Longer or more frequent visits may be required to provide adequate care, e.g., more than two dogs or three total pets, elderly animals, young animals, anxious animals, or farm animals.

    I am happy to discuss options with you over the phone or at an in-person consultation.

  • Yes! This is my full time job. I started Dog Dad 4 Hire in September of 2023 (and I am so glad I did, I love my job).

  • I have professional experience caring for the following animals (ordered from most to least experience)

    • dogs of a variety of breeds

    • cats

    • chickens

    • goats

    • guinea pigs

    • exotic birds

    I have personal experience caring for include the following (listed from most to least experience):

    • dogs

    • cats

    • chickens

    • rats

    • cows

    • guinea pigs

    • fish

    • turkeys

    • pigs

    • reptiles

    If you aren’t sure whether I am qualified to care for your pets or farm animals, please contact me to discuss.

    I will be honest about my experience and qualifications. If I am not a good fit, I may be able to refer you to someone more qualified.

  • Yes, I have liability and pet sitter coverage through Pet Care Insurance.

    If you have any questions about my coverage, just ask!

  • I am a Fear Free Certified Pet Sitter.

    Maintaining this certification requires completing continuing education and adhering to the Fear Free Pledge.

    Read more about Fear Free below.

What is Fear Free?

In a nutshell, the goal of Fear Free is to equip people with the skills + knowledge to ease the fear, anxiety, and stress of pets in our care. Fear Free certifies veterinary and pet professionals and provides education to the public.

As a Fear Free Certified Professional, I have a scientifically sound knowledge base in:

  • animal body language

  • dog and cat enrichment

  • administering medications

  • best practices for dog walking

  • behavior and training basics

  • and more!

View Certificate
View Pledge

In addition to the knowledge I gained through certification, I signed onto a Fear Free Pledge outlining expectations or how I will conduct myself as a pet professional. This is an important aspect of Fear Free Certification because:

Pet sitting is largely unregulated, anyone can call themselves a pet sitter. This can make it hard for pet owners to tell who is a professional and who isn’t! The prevalance of side-gig (professional and non) pet sitters can also result in “sticker shock” when prices are set to allow full-time professional pet sitters to make a living wage.

Signing on to be Fear Free is one way to communicate that I am a full-time professional delivering a high standard of compassionate, humane care who takes the physical and emotional well-being of all pets seriously.

There are a lot of out-of-date assumptions about best practices for animal behavior and training methods. Many pet professionals may still use or recommend out-of-date and potentially harmful methods that rely on using fear, force, discomfort, or even pain to motivate animals. As a Fear Free Professional I pledge to use scientifically sound, reward based methods and avoid methods that use fear or force to motivate an animal.

The full text of the pledge is included in my policies, which you can review here.