To ask if you have, or know of, a dog owner who has had a bad experience with Borrowmydoggy?

[Hormonecure]

We are contemplating using BorrowMyDoggy to introduce us to people locally who might help us walk our gorgeous dog. Some weeks are crazy busy with work, and yet I don't always have after school child care. I thought it might help.

I'll be meeting and vetting anyone who shows interest, but I am nervous. Wondered what others experience of it was?

Out of interest how does it work? Do you give/leave them a key?

We used to be borrowers, and there are checks and insurance.
We did borrow a lovely doggy for a while until we got ours and we were very careful with him and looked after him really well.
Our issue was that we kept being approached by absolute piss takers who couldn’t or wouldn’t pay for dog walkers or sitters.
I was asked to look after dogs all day every day, be given a key and let the dog into the garden every lunchtime and other things I wasn’t comfortable with. There was also some emotional blackmail going on “if you don’t do xyz I will have to rehome him”
I appreciate that people might not be comfortable with it, I’m not sure I could let Ddog go to a stranger but if you take it slowly and have lots of meetings first then you might find someone you can trust and it could work . We were experienced dog owners with a secure garden and woods at the back of our house and we took very very good care of the dog we borrowed so if you found someone like us it would be fine

Hi, I really am not looking for someone to replace us, or a professional dog walker. I'm not looking to hand over dog and keys and bypass responsibility. Just an additional support, in case we need it. We've had a family walk him once a week for two years - friends - although I didn't really know them well. It worked well. They loved him, he loved them. It never occurred to me to ask about insurance!

I used them a few years ago and it was fine. A lovely young couple had our dog a few times for long weekends when we were away. The woman had grown up with dogs but they weren't allowed one in their rented flat, although landlord would turn a blind eye to occasional dogs. She was a student and he worked shifts so between them they were home a lot. They were very responsible and took her out A LOT as it was a novelty for them. They didn't let her off the lead (even though we do) which made me feel they were very sensible. They didn't have keys to our flat, as the dog stayed with them. But once I knew them a but I would have been ok with that, too. We only stopped using them because we moved away, and we didn't need borrowmydoggy after that because we had family locally.

I would meet some people and go with your gut!

I have a friend who Borrowed doggies via Borrow My Doggy.. she had a positive experience, however..

She had NO clue that she'd be legally responsible for anything the dog did in her care, and also no idea that the owners pet insurance almost certainly wouldn't cover things if anything happened.

So I would look into that and be clear on who is legally responsible, what happens in case of accident etc etc.

Otherwise, most of the potential pitfalls are pretty much the same as if you use a dog sitter/daycare/dog walker... I have heard of someones dog being stolen by their 'borrower' however the owner in question really hadn't vetted the borrower or their home and so had not realised they had lied about their address.

Vet people really well, check out the insurance angle and if you think it works for you and, most importantly your dog.. give it a go.

She had NO clue that she'd be legally responsible for anything the dog did in her care
That’s a very interesting point. My ex was recently convicted of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control, he was looking after someone’s dog while they were away, it escaped and while out attacked a woman. The owners weren’t prosecuted.

Yes, I have used the site, but no longer do so. There was no shortage of volunteers, as I live in a city with a lot of students who were often missing their own pets. They were all kind and loved the dogs, but of course there would be times when they were busy with essays, going home for the holidays or it was just too cold. No criticism at all from me, after all they were doing us a favour.

However, the dogs would play up certain people and refuse to go very far on the walk. Ultimately, we have decided that we would prefer to pay someone for the consistency and reliability and, most important, because the dogs have formed a bond. If you have a dog walker whom you trust and your dog loves, I would honestly just stick with it.

Most people on Borrow My Doggy are genuine and love dogs, but there is a reason why they don't have their own dog. I am sure that it can work out brilliantly but there is some luck involved, I think, but for me I just decided that I didn't want to go that route any longer.

How much do people pay for a dog walker, out of interest? We pay £12 an hour for two dogs, but they are often away for longer and also get to socialise with other dogs, which is good for them.

I registered as a dog owner. Everyone in my area wanted to be paid. Not an issue, I am happy to pay a dog walker, but I didn't understand the premise of the site. So have never used and to be honest think I would be scared to.

I found a beautiful dog to borrow on BMD and love her to bits.

The subscription covers insurance btw but my dogs owner said she'd pay any vet bills if something bad happened.

The only thing I don't like is that I didn't realise that if people don't have a crown they don't have an active membership and can't reply. Means it looks like there are more dogs on there than reality.