My wife will start her new job as a SAHM in a couple weeks. It's been a dream of hers ever since our child was born. Daycare is EXPENSIVE and plus we don't get to spend a lot of time with our child. We'll be losing some income but it should all be worth it. I'm looking forward to doing more things together as a family on my days off during the week. Anyway, now to the main point of this post. Any opinions/advice about us opening up a dog daycare so to speak? We won't become rich but every little bit would help. I fenced in my backyard a few years back and it's a nice area for a dog to roam. I do not have any shelter built for the dogs to stay in if it rains though. There are shade trees so at least they would be out of the sun. As far as how many dogs we'd allow at once is still undecided. Also, I'd really like for my wife not to have to deal with someone else's dog constantly all day long. I'm more in the mindset of just letting it roam around in the backyard. I'd have to worry about the dog digging out or fighting our or other dogs though. It kinda sounds like it could be more trouble than it's worth. What do you think? How much would you be willing to pay for your dog to have a place to play everyday? What would you want or require of the sitter? Here's the ad I posted. http://roanoke.craigslist.org/pas/4493631097.html Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
You better have a hell of an insurance policy....if something happens you are screwed You never know what you're gonna get with other people's dogs and especially when you throw a few in the mix together....if it was my wife caring for a child and being the only one responsible for the dogs....no way....just my opinion
you better have insurance for this... and I would guess that most people that are willing to pay for their dog to stay somewhere for the day, are going to expect more from you than just letting them run around in your back yard.
Sounds like it may fall under the requirements of a kennel. We thought about doing an actual kennel years ago at our place but found there are all kinds of hoops to jump through, let alone zoning.
I'd pass on the doggie daycare.... however, have you or your wife thought about her watching another child? Even just part time, not sure how the regs are in your state, but here a person can watch another child or two without all the daycare type hassle. My wife has a couple kids that she used to watch just off and on, especially during the summer. Helps provide a few bucks and gives the kiddo a playmate which can also free up time for your wife occassionally to do other things around the home. Just a thought.
this our nanny makes good money (ugh ) watching our kid (tuesday-fridy 10-4), then another kid on friday and saturday nights but she comes to our house...she also brings her daughter as well
Your homeowners insurance company will not provide coverage for a doggie daycare, and will cancel you if they know what you are up to. So, you would have to buy commercial insurance for both the property and liability exposures. In short, you will be paying quite a bit for insurance. Not likely to be worth it as a sideline. And, your neighbors could turn you in for violating a residential zoning ordinance. I know of a few stay at home mothers that make a decent amount of money doing some data entry or transcription on a computer at home. Its part time work and can be done at anytime during the day.
Being a SAHM will be a full time investment in your child's future and worth every minute. My children knew that when they got home from school every day Mom would be there for them. There's a big difference between that and someone else being there.
I'm so glad I asked...guess I wanted to be talked out of it. Definitely doesn't sound worth it. I'm not sure how'd she feel about watching someone else's kid either. That's an even bigger responsibility. Hell, she doesn't even know about the dog idea yet...just something I cooked up and was gonna spring on her. What do those data entry type jobs pay? It might be best if she just sticks to being a SAHM.
Just a thought Finch as my wife is a SAHM too. I thought there would be a bunch of time for her to do household things and possibly some type of work from home position, but it just doesn't work out that way. She's more stressed out than I am when I get home from a 60 hour a week job. There is really only about two 1-2 hour periods a day where the kid is sleeping that she's able to get time for herself. She usually ends up spending that time on something else anyhow other than relaxing. Being somewhat isolated from the rest of the world all day in a house and having almost zero time for herself will wear on her. If you can in any way afford to do it financially, if you can let her have those rare moments of quiet time during the day to herself it will make her life (and yours) much more enjoyable. Just a thought that might save you from figuring this out the same way I did.
No to dogs. But like has been mentioned if she can find another kid of the same age to watch, that would be good. Even better is get s teachers kid...that way she will have summers off so to speak.
Pet Care is a multi billion dollar business that is ever growing. But like people said get insurance. But you can make a killing.
I didn't even need you guys anyway. My wife wasn't too keen on the idea of dogs or another kid. She sounds like she's going to have her hands full with kids' day at the local libraries and SAHM groups. RJ, thanks for the tips. Always great hearing from someone with firsthand experience. Has she stayed home from day 1?
She stayed at home for the first two months, then worked for two months, then we have been able to keep her home after that. My son is 13 months this weekend. My wife does the stay at home mom groups, the library, swim lessons and every other social event we can find. Most of the time when she does this stuff there are things around the house that don't get done and I have to help with after work but it's well worth it knowing she's still got some social aspect to her life and she's got an opportunity to get out a bit. This all pays off when I want to go to the lease or get out on the boat.
Ok Im probably going to get flamed for this. However, I walked the walk for 2 years as a stay at home dad. First off there is not much time for work during the day. That is an undeniable fact. Kids schedules can be erratic and just about the time you think you can even talk on the phone, they will need/want your attention and make it known. Mine could be quiet for hours, but the minute I got on the phone with the cable company or something, they would be screaming or carrying on. I have no idea how one could do remote work like a call center etc. Now my unpopular part. There is no reason to believe that SAHM's or Dads are really that stressed on a day to day basis. I found that most of the moms I was around tended to turn it up a notch for their Hubbies to justify the guilt of being at home. Again I lived this. My wife is the one who commuted and had stress finding a parking space, then working and having meetings etc. If the weather was lousy we built a "tent" and watched kid shows, ate popcorn etc. My life was almost totally stress free. I had two boys 22 months apart for the record. I still cooked and straightened up the house everyday and did laundry and put it away. I liked to remind fellow SAHM's that you don't actually do laundry or do dishes. The machines do the work, you merely put them away. I still remind friends with SAHM's that complain of stress and kids etc. that if you have a SAHM and you are still paying for a house cleaner, still eating out 2-3 nights a week, still taking a vehicle in for oil changes on a Saturday etc. all you have is a bad roommate who doesn't pay rent. My point is skip the idea of work. Enjoy the moment. However, with choices come consequences such as maybe only having one car, vacation once a year, dinner out for special occasion etc. Don't fall for the lululemon mom syndrome. google it. For the record, we were well of financially since I had just sold a company I owned, but I still felt my contribution was having things in order. I work now and travel quite a bit and the SAHD time was a cake walk compared to missed flights, travel, meetings etc.
I do it all summer, I'm off in the summers so I keep my two boys. Have been with them every summer. Love it.
