BorrowMyDoggy Etiquette | Keeping Our Community Safe

The BorrowMyDoggy community is such a pawsome place where we share and love dogs. As a member of our pack we hope, and expect, that you are happy to follow and respect these guidelines to make sure that our community continues to stay safe, trusted and loved.

If you ever have any questions or concerns we ask that you contact our team, we are always here to help.

Get to know each other really well

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BorrowMyDoggy is based on building trust and friendships within your local communities. Although all of our Premium members must complete our safety checks before being able to speak to one another, it is really important that owners, borrowers and dogs get to know each other really well before a dog is borrowed. This includes exchanging a number of messages, meeting a number of times and can even include house visits.

As BorrowMyDoggy owner Kate shared, "at no point was my borrower, Selene, a stranger. By the time that I decided Minnie was going to spend time alone with her, Selene was my friend."

Keep dogs on leads

When borrowing a dog, to ensure their safety please keep them on the lead unless you have received written permission from the owner. Once permission is granted please try and walk your borrowed dog in a safe and enclosed area where their owner has agreed they can be off lead.

Both owners and borrowers should keep our Off the Lead form handy to sign.

Don’t ask to borrow dogs for occasions

Dogs are very special members of an owner’s family. We understand that spending time with a dog can make someone’s day but please don’t message owners asking to borrow their dog for a specific occasion, they aren’t commodities.

Don’t charge or offer payment

BorrowMyDoggy is all about sharing the love of dogs and therefore money should never be exchanged between owners and borrowers. Not only is this not how our community works, but it will also void the insurance provided as being a Premium member.

Don’t expect too much of borrowers

As borrowers aren’t paid for their time please don’t expect them to walk your dog everyday at a specific time. Of course there are many borrowers that would happily do this just for the joy of spending time with a local dog, but as each match is different please keep an open mind to when and how often a borrower can lend a helping hand.

Have a set date, time and place for picking up/dropping off dogs

To avoid any confusion, we always recommend that you set a specific time and place when picking up and dropping off a dog. This is particularly important if your dog is being borrowed for a longer period of time, like a holiday. If you can get this in writing too to refer back to, that’s even better!

Before you borrow a dog for the first time, or if your dog is being taken on a walk or day out we always recommend sharing their Doggy Info Sheet. This includes all the information a borrower might need.

As a minimum please share your contact information (like your phone number) with a borrower or owner when borrowing a dog for the first time, as its always helpful to have this on hand if you have any questions. And make sure to keep your info sheet updated with any changes.

Be kind and respectful

It goes without saying but always be pleasant and approachable to other members of the community. We pride ourselves on being a kind and happy place, so please treat others how you’d like be treated - and as Thumper would say “If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all”

However if you’re ever worried about something you’ve seen on BorrowMyDoggy or on a member’s profile, please do not hesitate to contact our team directly who will be able to investigate further.

We hope everyone’s time on BorrowMyDoggy is happy and enjoyable. Please continue to share the love of dogs and to be kind!