BorrowMyDoggy - Anyone using it?

[lovenotwar149]

Hi, I am on BorrowMyDoggy and I am now borrowing 2 different dogs each wk and its going very well. In terms of making arrangements each wk i.e. time/day etc ,we correspond via WhatsApp only. I think this is fine and wanted to ask others who might be on it too and if they too are corresponding via WhatsApp too and not via the BorrowMyDoggy portal page. Many thanks!

And that’s my worry. How do you know whether the well-meaning stranger is actually someone you can trust, as opposed to someone who’s owned dogs for years but just lets them run riot, for example?

I don’t want my dog going off with a stranger who may let him interact with other dogs while he’s on lead, or who would potentially let him off the lead. I want him to be with someone I can trust and who will follow my training and commands.

Yep. I’ve seen multiple threads on here over the years from people who claim to have had dogs all their lives and they treat their dogs in a way I’d never dream of treating mine.

I don’t want a well-meaning stranger to let my dog interact with another strange on-lead dog. I don’t want them potentially feeding him rawhide or other dangerous foods. I don’t want them to use a flexi lead on him or to yank him by his collar when he lunges or shows any kind of reactivity.

lovenotwar149 · Yesterday 13:20
What if what if what if....what if ....c'mon ppl

I apologise for this comment now. It was flippant of me. Sorry.

@faerietales I’ve found all the owners who we do BMD with go into detail about commands and treats and how they are with recall, leads, pooping etc and we follow that to the letter but yes I admit - that’s us !’ I have one lovely cock a poo who is allowed no treats at all and a beautifully trained lab who can have everything and it’s mother ( within reason of course)

@Crikeyalmightyi guess my concern is that there’s no guarantee your borrower will listen! I know that’s a risk whenever your dog goes with anyone, but for me, I just like the security of using a professional walker who I know has adequate insurance and training.

I wouldn't use it, I can think of TWO people i'd trust to walk my dogs for me, both of them dog trainers. What would happen if your dog was attacked by another dog while walking it? I would only choose someone I knew had great situational awareness, was willing to defend my dog, and knew how to walk a dog properly incase they accidentally let my dog go. What if they let the dog loose because they thought they knew better? What if they let it sniff an aggressive dog because "he was wagging his tail!". Not for me.

@faerietales yep - if I was wanting daily walking I agree I would probably be the same - we only do holiday cover - there are good people out there though ( we are) - often people who have owned dogs before . It is though as you say a bit of a minefield - I’ve refused to have 2 dogs more than the once as they were simply very poorly trained.

“I can guarantee you I know more about the breed I walk than its owner does.”

Sure

My friend loaned her dog out a lot when she was postpartum and it was a life saver for her. She made a little WhatsApp group of regular borrowers locally and everytime she needed dog sitting she had someone local willing and free who would totally spoil him. Everyone is a winner /takes a village

The borrowers have to share ID and they would call the police and have it returned.

I’m glad it worked for her but I’m not convinced and would never use it for my dog.

I think people forget that there are dog owners and there are Dog Owners. Surely we can even see that from this thread?

I walk a dog who lives in a completely inappropriate home. Fact. The owner should not even own the dog. Rightly or wrongly I walk to the dog and thoroughly enjoy it. I do have experience with the breed and know exactly what that dog needs and what it’s missing out on to have the life it deserves. Either the owner does but keeps it anyway or the owner doesn’t. From what I know, it’s the latter. But yea, I just came on a random MN thread and started talking shite. I’ll add there’s no abuse or neglect going on here, just a mismatch of dog and owner.

Honestly, people on here are absolutely fucking unbearable. I don’t think I’ll ever get a dog in case I turn into one of you.

a 2 month puppy from that site in my local area - some owners are disgusting

We used it once a lovely guy came took our dog and I spent the next hour panicking about him not being my dog back!! Never again, great idea in theory but I can totally see how it could be abuse to steal dogs.

oh he did bring my dog back!

People just love and worry about their dogs and don’t want to be condescended for having very rational worries about who they hand them to, nor that you know more about their dog than they do. You’re not a trained professional behaviourist or dog trainer, you’re just someone registered in a site to walk dogs so have a seat.

This