Anyone used Borrow my Doggy?

[MothershipG]

I put my Mini Schnauzer up as, although we meet her needs, she would never say no to extra walks and extra fuss!

Someone has contacted us so I was just wondering if any one had any experience of it, from either perspective?

I wouldn't do this. It may seem like the perfect answer for busy people or people that cannot commit full time to a dog, but the checks aren't stringent enough for you to be sure that your dog isn't going to be stolen - whether for profit or to be used as a bait dogs for fighting. Friendly dogs are stolen for this and generally end up dead.

Sorry, but I wouldn't touch this idea with a barge pole

Sadly not close. That's a shame. But maybe we can all do a Mumsnet version of BMD?!

www.pawshake.co.uk

You're all worried about the borrowers stealing your dog or not being responsible enough which is understandable but as a borrower I'm worried about turning up at a strangers' house only to find, once inside, that there is no dog and never being seen again! How are we to know that the lenders are in fact real and that the dog even exists!
I feel the same about dogs as Hopping or Hearts but how does one go about looking after, playing, walking, fussing a dog without websites like BorrowMyDoggy. It would make me so happy to be able to do this but it's just a shame that we cannot trust one another.

Hello
I use this site regularly. .....as a borrower first and now as an owner. ....

We wanted a dog but with 6 children both of us working full time we were unsure if we would be able to offer the required commitment.

We met a local lady through the site and used to get together at the local park......After a few meets she let us take the dog to the park....after nd even had him for a weekend stay once when she went away......

Now we have our own.....and we have a lovely lad who's at uni...and missing his own dog who stayed home......and no he pops by and takes coop out for a walk in the eve once or twice a week.....coop laps up the extra attention and the lad enjoys his times with the dog.......win win all around.....

I'd be heartbroken if anything happened to cooper....but we discussed concerns and what would happen in the event of an accident.....
As for dog theft.....I think people need to have a little more trust in humanity :)

I have signed up for £9.99 per year as a borrower. There were 25 dogs in my area, but it seems that all of these have not paid subscriptions and therefore they are not 'delivering' on the dog side of things. I have had one interested person but they have a puppy, which is inappropriate against what my described interests are. You might be interested to know that I had to give additional documents (water bills) to verify myself as legitimate.

As far as safety goes, I think it important to have very careful meetings with an owner/borrower in a public venue. It would be easy to verify employment and make sure the people are solid. Frankly, we're talking about a very middle class enterprise here and it should be fairly evident that the people are legitimate. However, I think the safety issues are much more of a concern. A doggie is a family's baby and ensuring its safety paramount. As a borrower I am concerned for keeping the pooch safe my terror is of a dog getting away from me as it runs in a field and something bad happening. This is a reality for an owner too. It will be important to build trust with the owner and therefore being a borrower is a long term proposition. Accidents are a risk for all concern but prudent behaviour takes most risk away. Writing guidance notes for the care of the dog that are agreed by both parties in writing makes it very clear and binding -- would be an excellent idea.

I am sending off my 15 year old daughter to do an exchange in France. Clearly she is at some risk of something bad happening, but we are managing the risks to minimise her danger. The same thing must be achieved in such a scheme as this. Really, I think we're talking about a very high success rate as long as great care is taken.

Has anyone mentioned the Cinnamon Trust on this thread? I walk dogs through them and can recommend it to anyone wanting a dog to walk....

www.cinnamon.org.uk/home.php

Hi May I suggest you take a look at mydogbuddy.com Yes i am a sitter on this site and as far as i know its free to join for all. All you have to do is put in the post code of the area you want and your given a list of available sitters in that area. You can them message the one you are interested in to see if they are available on the required dates, read there reviews and arrange a meet and greet before making a booking with the sitter on the site. , The sitters fee on their profile page is for 24hr or you can request a quote from the sitter for the hrs required If you wish to make a cancellation depending on the sitters cancellation policy in ther profile some of them may charge a small fee but some like me dont charge at all. Once your happy with everything you pay the site direct with credit or debit card just for the amount. As A sitter I am insured by the site all the time I have your dog.

May I also add that at the time of writing i have a dog boarding with me now, any dogs that stay are treated like one on the family. At no time is any dog I'm looking after let off the lead when taken for walks. If you wish to meet a sitter several times before feeling relaxed enough to make a booking that is also possible. We also if requested sent text and photo updates. I have now been with the site about 3 months and Im happy to say owners have brought there dogs back again and I am also booked ahead by them. I was surprised to see when looking around before finding mydogbuddy that you have to pay a fee to become a sitter or to be able to find a sitter,so worth taking a look.

I have been a 'borrower' of a family of 2 dogs for three weeks now. I thought I'd share my experience. The dogs are a delight extremely well trained and the family could not be nicer. What I thought I was going to do enjoy a dog for a few hours -- has turned into something rather different. Frankly, what people are mostly looking for is a dog sitter arrangement. Someone who is going to give their dog a break from the long hours of confinement while the owners are at work. My doggie family needs cover from 7am until 6.30 pm. The pressure on me to take the dogs for more than once a week (could I do 3 please??) has been annoying and I see that this becomes a much bigger commitment each week as new things/needs creep in. The problem is that the two parties do not have equal incentives. For no pay, taking on a dog who is even mildly demanding can be irritating when it is a 8-hour stretch. You must be reliable to the owners or their lives go into meltdown (as they have jobs to get to and suddenly no way for the dog to have a pee). Dogs miss their owners and behaviour can be demanding/disruptive especially if you only have them for a day per week as they won't really be settled. My doggies are a delight in smaller doses but I find that this is fast losing its volunteering outlook and becoming a job. I wonder if the venture is going to survive as outlined: they probably need to have the volunteers being paid a modest amount to get a major uptake in borrowers. I have all kinds of laundry issues (from covering sofas), footprints on a chair cover and other incidentals that aren't worrying but are annoying. I keep saying it's like having toddlers in my house for the day.....lovely, but you're really glad to see them go back home! These doggies are exhausting! Not sure I'll be staying with the scheme.

Chappedhands I'm sure you're being taken for a ride! Maybe look for a different dog.

I thought of signing up to this - we have four dogs but one is much more energetic than the rest and so unless we walk her separately the walks don't quite cut it. My feeling was that any extra attention or walks she got would be a bonus - but I think to basically want a dog sitter is cheeky in the extreme!

One thing that stopped me is that the dog of ours who needs it most is probably the most unsuitable for a novice to take for a walk! She's cute, enthusiastic and friendly, but a very feisty and bright Jack Russell cross - bouncy, jumps up, is easily led astray on walks by pheasants - I'd feel very nervous about giving a stranger the responsibility. Our other dogs are calm and easy - but therefore might be less enamoured about going for a walk with a stranger and would probably not need or want to be borrowed!

I didn't pursue it in the end.

I really don't need a commitment, it would just be for fun, but the posts on this thread planted enough concern that I felt it wasn't worth the risk.

But I love the concept, my dog gets extra walks and attention and gets to make a dog lover happy. It seems like such a win, win.

Not sure what the solution is?

I subscribed Borrow My Doggy web for an annual fee about £35. To be honest, there is 40% chance I've encountered that the doggy borrowers might not be punctual, changing meeting time and dates last min. I guess I still prefer the idea of friends looking after my 8 month old poodle puppy.

I have found that distance can be an issue as well. I have had messages from 2 owners ( one of whom said they would have to rehome the dog if I didn't help!!!) and according to the site they are 3 miles away. Not sure f that's as the crow flies but depending on traffic it could take me from 15 to 30 minutes to get there, which might sound like a lot but it makes it hard after school etc. not decided what to do just yet

I am signed up as a borrower on borrow my doggy and although I walk a lovely dog now, I feel guilty whenever I can't walk him or look after him. Also, the fact that I actually paid £9.99 for the privilege of looking after someone else's dog for free jars with me now and I'm a little incredulous that I was sucked in by the marketing. Also, in all the time I was on the website, only two people contacted me. One was the owner of the dog I walk now, and another was someone looking for a free pet sitter to take her dog for a whole weekend!!! In a lot of cases I think it is exploitation! People who actually just want to spend a bit of time with a dog now and again end up getting roped up in to commitments which is the reason they probably didn't have a dog in the first place.

I borrow a dog from Borrow my doggy and think it is fantastic. I've had two dogs in the past but now working full time means it just wouldn't be fair to have one at the moment. Borrow my doggy means I'm able to help out someone who lives nearby who cant walk their dog long distances for health reasons. It's a win-win as the dog is happy going home to rest after long walks and I have all the benefits of having a dog (cuddles, play and walks) whilst I'm lucky enough to walk it. Anyone worrying about who you leave your dog with just get to know the person first, if they are genuinely interested they won't mind meeting a few times at their house, your house and on walks so you can get to know them and they can get to know your dog.

I've also signed up as a borrower, haven't met any dogs yet but I'm a little wary after reading this thread!

chapped surely it's up to the borrower to say how much time they have available?

Hello!
I have been with Borrow my Doggy for a few months now, as a borrower. They do background checks on the people borrowing, so they would have the sitters' phone number and address verified, and even their picture.

The borrowers need to pay a fee (yes, you pay for sitting other people's dogs...).
I found the whole thing very frustrating as when I joined, borrowers could not get in touch with dog owners, which meant that nothing much happened, but having to wait until someone contacts you.
This has changed now, but still -the number of borrowers outnumbers the dog owners by quite a bit.
There is an initial meeting, where you can decide if you want to leave your dog with that person....or make it two meetings, to be sure. You can ask to see the dog sitter's house or flat -it's a reasonable request that no sitter should mind.

From the point of view of a borrower, the whole thing didn't work for me as some people who agreed to meet didn't show up, one dog I sat regularly moved away and generally I got the feeling that dog owners didn't value much the fact that there are people who give up their spare time to take care of their pooch FOR FREE. I left the site after about half a year as it was just not worth it.

Hope this helps!

Is this a good time to mention the Cinnamon Trust again....

No money involved, just walking dogs for elderly people who can't get out to walk them properly. Therefore enabling to keep their pet, where they may have had to rehome them, otherwise.

Considering using borrow my doggy as my husband has to jury service at end of April and we don't know if we can claim for a dog walker. Also if we could we will need to pay out first. Our dogs always like to go out for walk and love to run in an enclosed space. It's a shame their isn't a dog sitting circle like there used to a baby sitting circle when my kids were young.

Hi Just found out about borrowmydoggy, sounds really good. However I have been trying to join and it is not accepting my payment, called card company and my card is fine, it is their site. Anyone in the Purley/Riddlesdown/Croydon area had any dealings with them. I need someone to look after my welsh springer for a week next month, just been let down by someone who was going to have him. Also anyone in this area fancy meeting up for dogwalks together.

Great idea, I have been trying to do this for ages with peopleI see walking their dogs, but they all have their own arrangements. Happy to join one in Purley/Croydon area.

See that's the thing margaretwyl, it's meant for people who want to occasionally walk / play with a dog because they love them but can't have them, not as a free pet sitting / boarding kennel service which is what you're expecting / wanting!

Not necessarily
We have had a dog to stay with us - it's more of a trial to see if a dog fits in our life rather than the fact that we can't have one here. We have been happy to be a free pet sitting service in this case and look forward to doing it again