DogBuddy Reviews 152

I didn,t received an item I,ve ordered long time ago!
Didn,t get money back.They don,t unswer my e- mails.
I am suprised as the first order came on time!

Jake had a lovely time with Brian and Erica. He stayed with them for 3 days whilst we where having work done on house. We had lots of photos sent via whats app whilst he was on long walks with them and there doggies. Jake is exhausted!! We will definitely book with Brian and Erica again.

Dog Buddy now Rover seems to have lost my previous 1* reviews! Have just discovered that they are ripping us off in yet another way!

Not only do they add 15% to each day booked and take 15% off my sitter meaning that when it says £16 a day it costs me £18.4 and she gets £13.60 ie they make make £4.80 per day booked but they take my money at the time of booking and don’t pay her till AFTER the last day she has looked after my dog.

If I book 3 months in advance to guarantee she can have my dog in those dates Dog buddy pay her after 3 months getting the interest on the money too.

It is a complete rip off and they must be making millions from us with a horrendous app to boot.

As usual the 1 obligatory star is for introducing me to a great sitter Louisa

I first used Dog Buddy a few years ago when I was a Dog Owner. The Sitter "Alessio P." was excellent and got repeat bookings from me too.👍👍👍

I have since become a Dog Sitter myself on "Dog Buddy" which is now "Rover." As a lifetime Dog-lover, it has been an awesome experience! I have loved every single pooch so far and their owners are wonderful too! 💗🐶🐶🐶🐶💗

I am so very appreciative and graciously humbled, for the unexpected 51 Five Star Reviews I received from Dog Owners so far (and for their very kind gifts, repeat bookings, verbal assurances that I am doing my job right, and to their complete satisfaction). 👍🐶🐶🐶🐶👍

Also to my 34 Repeat Dog Owner clients, and my seasonal clients too: "On behalf of my family and myself, we sincerely thank you from the bottom of our hearts for choosing us to be your Dog Sitters; for letting us enjoy the honour and pleasure of loving and caring for your precious fur babies; and for your trust in knowing that we love and adore your pooches, as much as you do." 🥰🐕🐕🐕🐕🥰

Thank you all so much, my beautiful Dog Owner clients! 🤗🐶🐶🐶🐶🥰

DogBuddy's App was relatively straightforward to use. I am still learning how to use Rover's App, since their takeover of DogBuddy only happened recently. Their staff is always available by email, if I have any queries and I usually get a follow up response within a few days, often with a solution or an estimated time of when my query will be resolved and updated.

I have made some user-friendly, improvement suggestions to Rover to adapt from Dog Buddy (because Dog Buddy's system was very user-friendly for both Dog Owners and Sitters).

As far as Dog Boarding and Dog Daycare Licences are concerned, it is correct that Dog Sitters are required to be licensed in the UK. This is not the responsibility of Dog Buddy nor Rover, but that of each Dog Sitter.

Sitters can apply for Dog licences from their local Council, who will do a thorough inspection of the Sitter's home boarding premises to ensure total dog safety, record keeping is in order and up to date (and give advice which must be followed and implemented), before deciding whether that Sitter fulfils the very high standard criteria required to be granted a Dog Boarding/Sitting Licence.

Random inspections are then carried out annually, to ensure that Dog Sitters are still adhering to the terms, conditions, criteria and high standard requirements of their local Council, to be deemed a fit, well and capable Dog Sitter. My local Council has been very supportive and has excellent guidelines which have made me wanting to strive to be the best Dog Sitter I could ever be to my lovely Dog Owner clients and their beloved fur babies!

My inspiration to embark on studying a "Complete Canine Care Diploma" and a "Dog First Aid" Certified Course, followed by a "Professional Dog Grooming" and a "Professional Dog Training" Course .... have all resulted from my local Council's guidelines in becoming a Professional Dog Sitter.

Dog Buddy and Rover do not grant nor vet Dog Licences (because their Sitters are self-employed), however the company insures each Sitter for the dogs being cared for and for the duration of each booking. There is a 24 hour Vet line that Sitters can phone for advice too.

As a past Dog Owner and a current Dog Sitter, I hope my review of Dog Buddy (now Rover) is very comprehensive, useful and helpful to my fellow Dog Sitters and to (especially nervous) Dog Owners looking for reliable, capable carers of their beloved doggies .... using the (previously Dog Buddy) Rover App.

If you want to verify that my Five Star Review here, to Dog Buddy/Rover is genuine, my (Dog Buddy) Rover Profile is under the name "Lorraine T."

Thank you Dog Buddy and Dog Owners, for giving me my full-time, dog-loving career that I wake up feeling so passionately about, every single day! 🌞🤗🐕🥰🐾

Watch out for unscrupulous dog sitters that dog buddy do not check if they have a boarding/day care licence, oh yes, and you're not covered by dog buddies insurance if YOU the customer do not check and ensure your sitter has a day care / boarding licence. It's required by law for any animal carer sitting animals in the UK.

You can see on your local council website who is licenced.

Bottom line, you're paying for a service that will not support you if you don't do your home work.

Just to top it off, their customer service is awful!

Use with caution!

This the best experience I have with dog sitter.
No hesitation to recommend the to any dog owners.

Great app for finding potential customers and allows great communication between owners and sitters as well as the ability to track dog walks, photos and regularly update your calendar so you are always up to date with bookings. I have been using for a few months and have had lots of enquiries and you don’t pay have to pay unless you actually have a booking and it is only 15% commission. Defo recommend.

At Dogbuddy they offer good services and great dog sitters. Reliable company with good customer service.
App easy to use and well-thought.
I definitely recommend them.

We have recently used Dog Buddy to find a sitter and a walker for our two dogs. The service is great very much like AirBnB which we use all the time. However when booking the price listed on the app was different to the price paid. For example we agreed a price of £175 for a booking which is still listed on our bookings page. However £201 was actually charged out of our account. This happened for all our bookings. When I contacted Dog Buddy they sent me the terms and conditions which state they charge
15% of the booking fee but actually it’s 15% on top of the booking fee so what you get charged you need to add 15%. Therefore the fee is hidden.

Great company that helped befriend a beautiful dog. Every dog lover with spare time should use DogBuddy.

Plain fun! Well done Harriet and Sarah for making our experience so amazing

DogBuddy is very trustworthy, they handle payments quickly and there is always someone available to talk to.

I have booked a few times through dogbuddy and been satisfied

Lies, lies, and more lies!
We have had an awful experience with a local university student, claiming to be “very experienced with dogs”
The student left my dog in her outside coat and harness in 19 degree heat all day! My tiny dog was covered in a heat rash all over her tummy! I also told the student that my little dog was scared of bigger dogs, but she still booked a LARGE dog in for the day! When I asked about the other dog she lied and told me it was her “friends dog”
I didn’t receive any contact AT ALL, even though I dropped my two dogs off at 9.30 am. I eventually messaged at 2pm asking if my two dogs were ok?
An HOUR later I received three photos of my dogs! One of which was my Spaniel trying to shelter from the sun under a broken chair in the back garden, STILL with his harness on! Another was of my Mini Dachshund, sitting on her lap in the garden with her outside COAT on, and her harness! The final one was of the HUGE random dog sent by mistake! That was the reason my Dachshund was sitting on her lap - she was petrified of the HUGE random dog!
I sent all the photos and messages to DogBuddy who tried to reassure me that the student would be taken off their register! However the same girl is still advertising on DogBuddy and taking bookings two weeks later!
DogBuddy have no morals, and are unprofessional.
They are taking a share of the payments from both the owners and sitters therefore trying to keep everyone registered! I have now deactivated my account on this principle and will NEVER use DogBuddy again!
Please be warned ~ the sitters are NOT vetted! It is pure luck when you find a genuine person on their website! Your dogs are precious, please be careful.... x

I'm reporting this not because I care about the money we paid but because I am worried a similar event could occur in the future to another family and their pet:

I did a bit of research on DogBuddies and narrowed it down to a couple of people, eventually deciding on a woman named Helen who had positive reviews, lived locally and had reasonable rates. She seemed professional and asked all the right questions: “How old is the dog? What’s her vet’s number? How long can she be left alone? Etc.” She then told me she likes to meet the dogs and their owners to get a feel for everything before accepting the booking so we agreed to meet in a local park. Seemed normal...

When Helen showed up, she seemed friendly enough, but was definitely a bit eccentric. I asked her how many dogs she takes on and she replied “we only have two this time.” She handed out business cards to other dog owners in the park in a skittish manner. Still, she seemed to bond with the dog and had come across as experienced – despite being a bit strange – so I agreed to hire her.

A couple of weeks later we were due to fly out of Gatwick so I dropped the dog off at Helen’s flat. It was a tiny third floor flat, with no other dogs in sight. She was the same eccentric self we had met in the park but again asked all the right questions and said how excited she was to look after Angel. I left the dog feeling a little concerned about the size of the flat but generally secure that she’d be well looked after.

A few days into our holiday I decided to get in touch with Helen via Whatsapp. She didn’t reply. The next morning, I sent another message, then another, then another. After a seventh message went unanswered, I decided to call her. She sounded a bit off – confused, incoherent even – and she explained she had been busy. She told me they had been on a number of walks and then sent me some pictures of the dog in her flat – it was a bit like canine proof of life!

Anyway, I was satisfied the dog was at the very least OK and tried to get on with the rest of our holiday without worrying too much. We had no contact with Helen the rest of the holiday.

Upon landing back in the UK I messaged Helen stating I would be collecting Angel that evening rather than the following day as previously arranged. Instead of replying, she instantly Facetimed me. She was visibly impaired, slurring her words and acting very strangely. I told her I’d be there around 8 and she replied “8 sharp please” and seemed to wink at an unseen person in the room. This struck me as really odd so I got home fast as I could before going to get the dog.

“8 sharp.”

At 7:30 I called her to say I was on my way. She was now slurring her words worse than before and said “oh you’re early” and I said I’d be there in 5 mins. She then asked me the strangest question:

“Are you in the military or do you have any army training?”

“What?”

“Are you in the army at the moment?”

“Why?”

“Doesn’t matter. Will you hire me again next time?

“No.”

“I’ll buzz you up when you get here.”

My instincts went haywire and I knew I might be walking into a dodgy situation. I decided I wasn’t going up to the flat so I rang her and asked her to come down. She didn’t seem like she understood what I was asking. At this point my adrenaline was pumping.

10 mins later, at 7:50, I rang her again and she acted like she was gathering all the dog’s stuff. Moments later she came down with the dog, wearing two caps – one forward, one backward – and another hat on top of that. She’s completely concealing her face and she stinks of marijuana smoke. The dog’s lead is looped around her neck and she’s not wearing her collar. I take the dog and she runs straight to a tree where she wees for – and I’m not exaggerating here – 45-60 seconds straight. She must have been holding it for *ages*. Obviously, she hasn’t been outside for a long time.

“Where is her collar,” I ask.

“Must’ve gotten lost somewhere,” she shrugs, looking at the floor and hiding her face.

“Go and get her stuff please.”

She comes down two more times and I still don’t have all her stuff but I’m freaking out and want to get out of there so I put the dog in the car.

It’s 7:59 and three males show up at her front door. She greets them and they all look at me. One of them says “oh so that’s your dog?”

"8 sharp..."

I got in my car and drove off. At the lights, Helen runs out in front of me, facing away, dancing with her middle fingers in the air.

The dog was dehydrated and hungry. We didn't get all her stuff back. She hadn't been walked at all in my opinion despite the tracker being used. All the photos received were of the dog inside the flat.

Plus the obvious drug use and possible planned mugging...

While i was considering using this company for my pet, i emailed them asking for further information on their alleged insurance that they claim to have. I got the rudest reply from a 'Jennifer' she stated i was a third party not a customer and would not give out the information. She was rude and clearly needs more training on customer service.
Their competitor (Pawshake) emailed me with all the details i needed so i decided to use them and i am very happy i did, they were lovely and so helpful. Do not attempt to use this company as your pet will not be covered plus you will be sorry if anything does happen and you need support as you wont get any form their customer service. If i could give zero stars i would.

I have used dogbuddy both as a sitter and to find a sitter for my pet and would highly recommend them. The website is easy to negotiate and does what its intended for. Not had any problems with dogbuddy.

Did you know that to look after someone elses dog in your home for money requires a council license... i have checked sitters advertised on here and not found one to have that license and of course DogBuddy dont tell you any of this.. they dont want you to know because it cost hundreds of pounds for sitter to get this license ... use a professional and check with local council for list of licensed sitters..do not trust dogbuddy

DogBuddy- a buddy for dogs, Have a sleepover or a day out, with the added bonus of walks and a happy fun experience. All recorded on a simple to use helpful DogBuddy App.