Once you’ve set up your dog’s profile it’s time to take a look around your local area for their pawfect match. We’ve designed this guide to help you make the most out of using our platform and ultimately help you find the right match for your dog.
This guide will cover:
- Your profile
- Search filters
- Activity scale
- Liking
- Membership
- Messages
- The ‘Welcome Woof’
Your profile
The first thing borrowers will see when looking for a dog to borrow is your profile, so it’s very important to give them as much information as possible to help them decide if they are a suitable match for your pooch. Check out our top tips for creating your dog’s profile.
Search filters
We have several search filters that can help you narrow your search to find a suitable match.
You can sort your searches by nearest, newest, last updated or most active.
If you’re looking for a borrower to help at a particular time, like weekdays or weekends, you can check the boxes within ‘Available on’.
You can also search for borrowers who have previously owned or cared for a dog, those that have a garden or outdoor space and membership type (Basic/Premium).
Remember, borrowers sign up because they cannot have a dog of their own for various reasons. This may be because they don’t have a garden or haven't had a dog before and want to gain some experience. But don't let this put you off reaching out to them as a potential match if they don't have either of those things.
Borrowing a dog and learning all about your dog on a ‘Welcome Woof’ is a great way for borrowers to gain that experience they may be looking for. And you can discuss these details as you get to know one another via messaging.
Activity scale
Our activity scale is useful to see how often members are on the site and replying to messages. But don’t rule out sending a message to potential borrowers if they aren’t as active though, it may just mean they’ve not received a message recently.
Liking
A ‘Like’ is a member letting you know that they are interested in your profile.
Whenever a borrower likes your dog, basic or Premium, depending on your notification settings, you will be sent an email to let you know. When you log in to your profile and go to ‘Dashboard’, you can filter your activity to show ‘Likes’, to see all of the borrowers that have added your dog to their likes.
We recommend sending the borrower a message back to say thank you, and if you think they'd be a suitable match, ask if they'd be interested in meeting your dog to get to know each other.
You can also ‘Like’ a borrower, to do this go to their profile and click the little heart just below their photos. The heart will turn pink once you have favourited them. This is a great way to let them know you think they could be a potential match for your dog.
It’s worth noting you can only like profiles via the website and not on the app at the moment (our tech team are working their tails off to add this feature so watch this space!)
Go Premium
Basic memberships on BorrowMyDoggy are a helpful way for new members to have a look around and see if there are suitable matches in their area. Once owners decide they want to message borrowers, they need to become Premium members.
Why do I need to be a Premium member?
Safety is our top priority at BorrowMyDoggy. A Premium owner membership is just £48.99 a year and this includes safety verification, insurance (for both your dog and third party) and access to our 24/7 vet line.
Not only can you message borrowers with your Premium membership, but because they know you’ve been through all the safety checks, and the insurance and vet line are in place, borrowers are much more likely to message you too.
And remember, our borrowers are volunteers so you won’t need to pay anything else once your membership fee is paid.
Messages
There’s no rule on BorrowMyDoggy about who sends a message first, so if you see a borrower you like go ahead and take that first step.
Sending a message to a borrower is the ideal opportunity to introduce yourself and your dog and explain why you think they could be the perfect borrower for your pooch.
To message a borrower, go to their profile and click ‘Send message’ on desktop and ‘Message’ on the app.
Want help with writing the perfect message? Check out our top tips for messaging borrowers.
You’re welcome to message anyone you like, basic or Premium, but if the borrower is a basic member they’ll need to complete our safety checks before they can reply. Sometimes this can take a little while, but borrowers often go Premium and get in touch after seeing a message from an owner and their dog.
You can tell if a borrower is Premium from the gold ‘Premium’ banner and crown.
We recommend sending multiple messages. The more borrowers you message the more opportunities you have to get to know someone, and more importantly if they’re the right match for your dog. You can always have more than one borrower too!
The ‘Welcome Woof’
Once you've messaged with a potential match, got to know them and feel comfortable, you’re ready to schedule your first meet and greet, which we call the ‘Welcome Woof’.
This is an opportunity for an owner, borrower, and dog to get to know each other better and share important details. Find out more about the ‘Welcome Woof’.
If you ever need any support or would like to talk with us about your experience please reach out to our Help Team.