Borrow my doggy

[MiriamShepherd]

I have a few questions

Has anyone used them?
Are the borrowers checked in any way?
How can you guarantee your dogs safety with the borrower?

I have not used them but I know a couple of borrowers.
No-one checked them - the onus would be on the dog owner to do that.
They have no insurance to cover injuries to your dog, nor damage to 3rd parties - their household insurance won’t cover ( usually) a borrowed dog
In both cases they are used as free boarding for owners who have not trained their dogs, but that may just be coincidence.
Nothing about it suggests I would want to lend my dogs.

I haven't used them but we did look into being borrowers in the brief period we weren't locked down. My understanding was that as long as you adhere to their terms - e.g. no money changes hands - borrowers are covered by the scheme's own insurance while they are borrowing a dog.

I've never used them and tbh, I wouldn't. They could be anyone. Yes, they're covered by insurance but they're not required to have any training or knowledge of dogs.

I think it's madness to leave your dog with a total stranger.

I am a Borrower and yes there are checks to verify identity. BMD provides insurance cover and the owner needs to give permission for off lead walking. With one of the owners we invited her to our house and played with the dog in the garden. Then we went on a walk together so she could feel confident about us. With the other (a bit further away) we went for a walk together and I told her lots about us, where we lived and it gave her an opportunity to see that I was confident handling dogs. Both work really well for both the owners and me (since my old boy was PTS in April). Because walkers are providing this free they are more at liberty to choose when they want to walk your dog rather than giving a daily commitment.

my old boy was PTS in April

That's exactly what prompted us to look into borrowing - our dear old boy died earlier this year and we desperately miss walking him, but we don't feel we could take on the commitment of another dog just at this time (elderly parents to look after.).

I imagine many borrowers are in that kind of position.

I have a retired friend who borrows a couple of dogs. Both owners have specific, valid reasons for needing their dog to mix with other people. My friend does not have the space to have her own dog, but she has owned dogs in the past and knows how to handle them. Both parties get a lot out of the arrangement.

Santas It's given us some joy in a much needed dog fix and genuinely helps out two time poor families.

We are members of Borrowmydoggy and some lovely people walk rookiedog sometimes and we have an amazing lady who stays in our house when we're on holiday.
Obviously these are not professional dog walkers so I go out the first couple of times and I ask them to keep the lead on until they are comfortable with rookiedog. There is insurance for both parties if someone were to happen.

These are all really helpful posts, thank you, so if I were to find myself working much longer hours there’s no guarantee they’d be walked daily?

Do those of you who borrow dogs have keys to the houses to walk them?

I really struggle with the idea of sharing my dog so I’m still not sure this is the right path for me, but I’m trying to learn and be open minded here.

Can you not afford to hire a professional a dog walker? I mean, what happens if the borrower is sick or unavailable and there's nobody to look after your dog? At least a dog walker has a responsibility to turn up and do their job - a random stranger could just decide they're not bothered one day, and there'd be nothing you can do about it.

As a dog walker myself I do worry a lot about services like this, although I appreciate they help a lot of people for various reasons.

My main concern is that the "borrowers" aren't required to have any kind of qualifications or knowledge about animal care. Would they know what to do if your dog got sick or injured in their care? What if, heaven forbid, your dog into a fight or bit someone? What if they slipped their lead or collar and disappeared?

We're thinking of using them.... friends have, lots:

One friend is a regular borrower and loves it - hugely reliable and has dogs to stay when owners are away once they'd build the relationship

Another friend has lent her dog to around 7 or 8 people - she found that just over half worked out... the other half didnt because either unreliable about turning up, or walked the dog too far or not sure what. But those that worked included some really fab people - such as a girl who took him to a dog cafe for a morning every week and he had a ball!

I've been a borrower for a couple of months. I'd love to get a dog but need to persuade DH that it's a good idea, so I signed up to Borrow my Doggy to enjoy some 4-legged company while I continue my negotiations with DH!

The owners live 10 mins walk away from me so it's super convenient. We went for 2 or 3 walks together first so that we could get to know each other a little bit. Since then I've been doing walks once or twice a week. They also use another borrower for 1 or 2 walks per week. They're wfh at the moment so I don't need to have keys to their house. HTH

Vanilla as an owner it's also up to you to take the time get to know the walker. Ask lots of questions about their experience and walk with them to see how they handle your dog. This is free to you so you need to invest too and as such you can't really expect a daily walking service. For that you need to pay someone. Both my owners are great at letting me set the expectation.

Oh and yes I do have keys for one of the family homes and the work place of the other.

@TheDogsMother

Vanilla as an owner it's also up to you to take the time get to know the walker. Ask lots of questions about their experience and walk with them to see how they handle your dog. This is free to you so you need to invest too and as such you can't really expect a daily walking service. For that you need to pay someone. Both my owners are great at letting me set the expectation.

Of course.

As a dog owner it's not a service I would ever even consider using. I don't want my dog going to a random person with no qualifications or knowledge of animal care, canine first aid or dog body language.

Who is responsible if something goes wrong, btw? Is it the owner or the borrower? Presumably there's no contract in place as it's an ad-hoc service. So if a dog is injured in your care, or slips a lead or bites someone, are you responsible?

That's my point Vanilla and your concerns could equally apply to paid walkers. My owners learned that I had 15 years experience owning a terrier, were welcome to arrange walks for us together as often as they wanted and were welcome to ask me any questions. I agree with your reservations though and I would also have had them about anyone walking my boy until I'd really got to know them.

@TheDogsMother

That's my point Vanilla and your concerns could equally apply to paid walkers. My owners learned that I had 15 years experience owning a terrier, were welcome to arrange walks for us together as often as they wanted and were welcome to ask me any questions. I agree with your reservations though and I would also have had them about anyone walking my boy until I'd really got to know them.

But my point is that a paid, professional walker has a contract in place. They have insurance outlining their responsibilities. They have qualifications (or should do) in animal behaviour, first aid and body language. A borrower doesn't have any of those things - they have experience of being a dog owner but that's not the same thing.

Also you haven't answered my question - if something goes wrong, who is considered to be responsible? You or the dogs' owner?

As an example, my insurance outlines specifically what I'm responsible for and what the owner is responsible for. I have signed contracts with every single client detailing what I can and can't do, what allergies their dogs have, vet details etc.

So I'm curious to know what happens in your case if a dog in your care gets sick or injured and you're found to be liable as the walker? Does the insurance cover you? What if the owner wants to take you to court?

I'm not picking on you by any means, it's just you're the only one who's responded to my comments

Vanilla. I do understand your concerns though I am not convinced that all professional dog walkers are as qualified as you would require. Thankfully my current arrangements work well for both the owners and me. Also I am very careful to ensure I understand the dog's personality, that they stay close and I am very careful about encounters with other dogs. I can see that you have concerns though so it's absolutely for the best that you (or any dog owner) only do what you are comfortable with.

But you still haven't answered my question - who is responsible if something goes wrong? Is that outlined anywhere in the insurance terms or is it between each individual to decide?

If a dog escapes or gets hurt or bites someone - is the borrower liable or the owner? If a dog gets sick in your care, are you responsible for getting it to the vet, for example? What about bills if you're found to be liable for an injury or sickness?

As for what I require - as a dog walker I have all those qualifications and my contracts and insurance cover what happens if a dog is sick or injured, or if they escape or hurt someone or cause an accident. I don't think it's too much to ask at all - my dog is my most precious thing - I want to know he's going to be as safe as he can possibly be.

Haven't used them but I think it's a case of where I would probably be fine to be a borrower there is no way would I lend my dog out.

OP from your second post are you thinking in terms of when you are working? I use daycare for mine. I don't think you should factor in reliable dog care unless you pay as any borrower isn't obliged to do regular walks and I doubt (but happy to be proved wrong) that they would have insurance for holding keys and entering your house.

@vanillandhoney all the questions you’re asking are questions I have, my dog is my family, I’m single and it’s always been the two of us, so I’m concerned over the same things you are. A number of the posts on jere are helping appease my fears though.

For all the others asking - long term I would pay for a dog Walker / doggy day care, I know of a fantastic place near me that I’ve used in the past who do collection and drop off and the dogs that go there have a great time. However, in the short term I would like to retrain to become a paramedic which means I would be paying a mortgage on very minimal money. The only thing stopping me currently is my dog as paramedics work 12 hour shifts and I can’t and won’t leave her for that long and unless I can find a way to make it work for her then I can’t do it. I have no one who could help out (they all have young kids or busy jobs) so I’m wondering about borrow my doggy, but they don’t seem to be regular either (understandable as they’re not paid) so it’s back to the drawing board I suspect.

I hope that’s all clear I’m not used to being up this early so am a bit brain fogged.

The problem is @MiriamShepherd that as a PP has outlined - they're under no obligation to do it daily or regularly - so what will you do if they choose not to come?

I wouldn't rely on anything like this for a regular commitment - your best bet is to speak to local daycares or walkers and sitters and see what they charge and how their services would operate.

I do have to say though - a 12 hour shift is a lot and presumably as a paramedic you'd be doing a fair bit of overtime too. What would happen in those situations?

I agree @vanillandhoney I am going to have to go back to the drawing board. These are all concerns I have and I can’t leave my poor girl alone for that long, I have always been taught there’s a way around or through every problem so this is me spitballing to try and work out how I could do this. My dog is at the centre of this decision she will always be, as I said we’re family. I know there is bound to be a way to make this work I need to find it though.

No way would I let anyone borrow my dog - sounds like a recipe for disaster, especially with the sharp increase in dog thefts. Insurance might cover the financial costs, but not the emotional costs.

Not on your Nellie would I lend my dog out, and in your situation, with wanting to train, you need reliable, professional dog care, not ad hoc strangers who can't be relied on.

I can see the appeal to borrowers. My daughter did it at weekends while away at uni as she missed having a dog around. The dog was perfectly safe with her but I'm still bemused that dog owners are happy to let anyone take their dog.