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Borrow My Doggy

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“A dog doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his.”― John Grogan

So, what is Borrow My Doggy?

It’s essentially a platform for pairing dog owners with dog lovers, to either help out with walking or looking after their dogs. This is a great way of meeting local dog owners and spending time with dogs without the stress of owning a dog yourself. That means that it’s excellent for people who would love a dog but do not have the time to give a dog, those who can’t have a dog because they’re not allowed pets at home, or students like Lois.

When Lois is at university she really misses giving me tummy rubs!

So, how does it work?

Lois heard about Borrow My Doggy from a friend who frequently walked a local cockerpoo and decided to try it out for herself. The free version of the website https://www.borrowmydoggy.com/ allows you to upload your profile and start searching for dogs in your area. You can change the distance and the size of dog, along with other alterations such as hypoallergenic (suitable for those with allergies) to neutered.

You’ll notice that some dog profiles have a crown, meaning that they’re verified users. Verified users can be both owners and walkers that have paid for their membership. Dog owners pay around £50 a year to verify their dogs, and verified walkers pay £13 a year.

Why should you verify your account?

Without verification, you can only read messages that premium users have sent you and browse the dogs, but you cannot reply to any messages nor send your own. The free version is mainly just to give you a taster of what dogs are available; if you like what you see then you’re likely to need a premium membership to get in contact with the owner/walker. Once verified, you can start messaging and your search for the perfect companion on long walks can begin!

Dog interaction is also proven to reduce stress and increase owner’s life span by up to 3 years. Getting out and about will not only help you to reach your target of 10,000 steps a day, but will also release endorphins and make you feel better. Along the way, you’ll be able to socialise with other dog owners and dog lovers who will stop you for a chat about all things dog!

Some tips and tricks

• Send as many messages to as many owners as possible. Some owners will not reply so don’t hold out hope that the first dog you fall in love with will reply. Lois sent out about 50 messages and got 5-7 replies in total. This might be because the owners have already found people who will regularly walk their dogs and don’t check their account or they may no longer need a dog walker or sitter.
• Don’t pay too much attention to the distance. The distance calculator can often be inaccurate, such as 0.3 miles away turning into 2.5 miles away. Lois has her distance set to 1 mile as she want to be able to easily walk to the owner’s house to pick up the dog. At a semi-quick pace, it’s possible to walk 0.5/0.6 miles in 15/20 minutes, so setting the distance to 1 mile allows you to check out those dogs which might be just over 0.5 miles as well as those dogs that live super close!
• Meet with the owner and talk to them for a while about the dog. The better rapport you can build with the owner, the more confident they will be about letting you look after their dog. They may then build a schedule with you for walking their dog, for example once a week. The beauty of Borrow My Doggy is that there are no obligations to walk or look after the dog – if it’s raining, you go on holiday or if you just don’t feel like it, then you won’t feel bad. Most owners are happy that their dogs are getting out and socialising, and they will allow you to choose when you walk or look after the dog by sending a simple text, e.g. ‘hey, is (insert dog’s name here) available for a walk today?’

Comment below with your experience of Borrow My Doggy so we can get a conversation started!