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The doghouse

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Original poster

do you think dog sharing could work?

15 replies

mckenzie · 31/10/2011 18:46

has anyone ever shared a dog with someone else, i.e. the dog has lived some of the time in one house and some of the time in another?

TIA

OP posts:
effingwotnots · 31/10/2011 18:51

My friend had a dog and when she went back to work, the dog went to live with her mum. Now the dog has sleep overs once or twice a week as a treat. He's one loved dog for sure. Neither could bear to be without him, so now they share. Works for them...

Original poster
mckenzie · 31/10/2011 19:12

thanks effingwotnots, sounds promising.

OP posts:
Scuttlebutter · 31/10/2011 19:46

Regardless of the sleeping arrangements, you (in the plural sense) will need to think about the following. Who has legal ownership? Whose address is registered for microchip? Whose address and phone number will be shown (as a legal requirement) on dog's collar and tag? Who has responsibility for insurance (and uses their address for it)? Who will take responsibility for holding and storing documents, vaccination certificates, booking in for annual MOT at vet, remembering to order wormer etc. Who is authorised to go ahead with vet treatment? Who is authorised to PTS, in the case of severe illness/accident/emergency? Do all cars/vehicles have appropriate safe carrying arrangements? Who has the authority to rehome/dispose?

If you can get all that sorted, then you will have covered most eventualities.

Elibean · 31/10/2011 19:49

My brother has an arrangement with his next door neighbour. He has (full responsibility for) a big pointer called Phillip - when he goes away, maybe once a month, the neighbour has Phillip for the weekend. Also occasional holidays.

Neighbour is very happy, loves dogs but can't have one ongoingly - and brother is happy too, and Phillip? Ecstatic. Though his favourite place is on my brother's lap Hmm

Original poster
mckenzie · 31/10/2011 19:52

thanks very much scuttle. I'd thought of a few of those issues but certainly not all of them. The dog in question is currently with his owners and i think it will be that they maintain legal ownership, legal everything etc and we will be like part time foster carers Smile.

Elibean - it's nice to hear positive stories. The dog in question used to go for regular holidays to another family but they now have their own dog and so do not want to still have this one to stay.

OP posts:
BeerTricksPotter · 31/10/2011 19:59

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Scuttlebutter · 31/10/2011 20:01

We used to dog sit for friends - it was a fabulous arrangement when our lives did not allow us to have a dog full time. She loved coming to stay with us, and our friends knew that she would be pampered within an inch of her life while she was with us. It can work brilliantly. [hsmile]

QuietTiger · 01/11/2011 10:26

I share my elderly 14 year old collie with my grandmother. I'm responsible for all the costs for her on a day to day basis, vet, food etc, her microchip is registered to here and I am the registered owner at the vet.

But my gran loves her, so she regularly goes there for 2-3 weeks at a time - partly to give me a break as she is very demanding, but also so she can be spoilt rotten given a break from the "hardship" of living on a working farm where she has to compete for attention with 3 other dogs and 8 cats.

It works brilliantly - Doglet (who is actually not very well) always returns from my gran revitalised and energetic and I am absolutely sure that because of the arrangement she has had a longer/more fullfilled life. My gran is only 15 minutes away, though, so if there are any problems I can deal with them myself.

When I was a child, we had a JRT that went to my gran in term time and stayed with us in the holidays. Again, worked brilliantly.

Providing everyone is clear on expectations/commitment it can work fantastically well.

Original poster
mckenzie · 01/11/2011 10:33

I'm getting excited listening to all your stories. Thank you.

OP posts:
Goldenbrown1981 · 01/11/2011 10:40

We have a kind of working share situation with our dog. She is OUR dog, she lives here and we take full responsibility. But when I'm working she spends every day with PIL, DH drops her off at 7am and I pick her up at 5ish. She also spends at least one weekend a month there, usually a couple of evenings too. It works really nicely for everything apart from food. MIL and I have very different definitions for healthy food for dogs (she thinks i'm 'cruel' because I feed dry food 90% of the time, she feeds her dog a whole cooked chicken (no bones) every day). We have really had to battle to get an almost workable food situation, although I'm still convinced she feeds her scraps from her plate

MrsRetchingBloodAndGuts · 01/11/2011 12:18

When dp and I split up I told him I wanted shared custody of the dog even though she was technically his he had been given her at the start of our relationship and I felt she was mine too.

It worked out really well actually and eventually dp and I got back together and still are 8 years on :)

But the dog share was great as it meant she wasn't often alone in either house.

MrsRetchingBloodAndGuts · 01/11/2011 12:19

Shock @ a whole cooked chicken! That dog eats better than me!

Goldenbrown1981 · 01/11/2011 12:24

yes retching, but not actually that good for a dog! He gets a tin of hotdogs for lunch and a whole cooked chicken for tea.

Original poster
mckenzie · 01/11/2011 20:31

that food sounds very strange for a dog, even to my inexperienced ears.

OP posts:
birdofthenorth · 01/11/2011 20:37

My friend and her ex share their two dogs, not sure of the exact arrangement but they definitely sleep some nights at both houses, seems to work.

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