Puppy Love: New Online Dating Sites for Dogs

There once was a time where pet owners could sign up for an online dating site called Date My Pet to express their love for their pets. According to TodayShow.com, new sites such as MatchPuppy.com for your dogs to meet other canine friends and SpotWag, a support service to help you find the best doggy hotel or sitter for when you travel can help man's best friend find love and happiness on the Internet.

When I first received a Facebook friend request from Neo McKibben, my friend's therapy dog at Northridge Hospital, it was the first of many pet profiles that arrived in my inbox. As one in ten pets now has a social media profile, it's no wonder that these niche dating and social networking sites are popping up on the Internet. Neo now has 264 friends and a relationship status of "It's Complicated." Neo graduated in 2005 from Therapy Dogs Inc. and has worked at several hospitals in the Los Angeles area, quite an impressive bio for another pet to consider friending or mating with.

We buy high-end purses such as the JCLA Boutique's Rescue Me Totes for our dogs to reside in while driving around town. We schedule neighborhood dog walks, and dress our pets in outfits and booties worth being viewed on Rodeo Drive. Shouldn't our devoted four-legged friends have an opportunity to find love online?

Would you post a social media profile for your pet?

Julie Spira is an online dating and cyber-relations expert. She's the author of the bestseller, The Perils of Cyber-Dating: Confessions of a Hopeful Romantic Looking for Love Online. Visit her at CyberDatingExpert.com for dating advice and follow @JulieSpira on Twitter.

 

 

 

Follow Julie Spira on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JulieSpira

Comments

[robertaruth]

10:44 AM on 05/01/2012

A pet dog's priority is YOU. They're like children. They have their friends and play dates, but Mom or Dad or family is where they want to be (human kids maybe not so much at a certain age -- but dogs always).

I have looked in the window of a local doggie day care center, and those poor doggies look miserable. They are happier at home, even when you are not there, with their own stuff and smells of their family, just waiting for you to come home.

[electros]

02:05 PM on 04/30/2012

I thought this stuff was illegal

[ullrules]

01:54 PM on 04/30/2012

I have never understood why/how people make their pets such a high priority in their lives. Doggie clothes...pet play dates...eating at the table with them at dinner time...
Now social networking for dogs? I'm sorry, but in my opinion, people who act this way about an animal need to be evaluated.

My children have pets, but that is it. A pet.

[robertaruth]

10:37 AM on 05/01/2012

Are you planning to keep your children with you at home for the rest of their lives? Will your husband/wife be around forever?

I'm sorry for you that you "have never understood" why some (not necessary all) of the people you ridicule might be filling a need. I also have a feeling that you are probably one of those who abandon their children's pets when they get old or sick.

[ullrules]

12:13 PM on 05/01/2012

No, I am not planning on keeping my children with me at home for the rest of their lives....but I will not replace them with animals that I consider my "kids". And, I am divorced..not married.

First off, I did not group the entire animal-loving-community together....I was referring to those over the top dog finatics.
Second, I said "IN MY OPINION".
Third, when my children's pets get old or sick I do what a normal person would...take them to the vet. I am not heartless, I just don't believe in treating animals like human beings.

Wow, I feel like I just wasted 3 minutes of my life defending the thinking of a normal human being...

[Awilda VelezRodriguez]

12:25 PM on 04/30/2012

Friendship of pets only, No Mating Allowed. Think about the shelters and rescue organizations that need help finding homes for so many animals every day.

[smcdtm]

12:03 PM on 04/30/2012

i personally would buy from a reputable breeder versus adopting from a shelter we have tried 3 times getting a dog from a rescue and pound and all three ended up in having the dogs returned or put to sleep when you invite them in your home your inviting all the problems and wondering if there going to hurt your kids point is you buy a puppy from a breeder and raise it yourself you know where that dog came from and if the puppy ends up misbehaving you can only blame yourself i get tired of hearing about the breeders the ones who breed to better the dog is doing the right thing have all the proper health checks and paperwork done on the dogs before they breed them they need to have a law to stop adopting out dogs with problems and issues that these people swear they fix so you can adopt them and all the money thats put into rescuing the dog then they end up putting it to sleep they need to save the money for the puppies that will fit in someones family versus the dogs that they have to put all the time and money into then the rescues ask for you to donate money or supplies because they spent it on the handful of ones that needed to be put to sleep in the first place! the old saying you get what you pay for is very true with an animal !

[Sally Secor]

11:31 AM on 04/30/2012

I totally agree with ChickEpoo ... Dogster is your best choice if you want to cyber socialize your canine child ... Bear has belonged for years (as has my cat Annie on Catster). Even if you don't socialize on the site ... they have great information and funny ... sometimes sad ... stories. We also belong to an excellent dog park in our town ... well managed and responsible doggie parents 99% of the time. This is were Bear has made his friends that he socializes with, shops with and goes on field trips. I have to agree with the comment that the cyber sites have the potential for being breeding sites ... please do not participate in these ... give a shelter dog a chance ... they will appreciate and return your love and kindness forever ... Bear does!

[cogentidea76]

10:44 AM on 04/30/2012

pooch cooch, yeah!!

[Pam Kupfner]

08:31 AM on 04/30/2012

I wish folks didn't feel the need to mate their pets when over 100,000 per month are being put to death in kill shelters in the United States alone!

[acarioti]

07:29 AM on 04/30/2012

It's not really a 'dating' site..more of a 'mating' site. Just like the human sites.

[ChickEpoo]

07:08 AM on 04/30/2012

THE best "doggie" website is ..... www.dogster.com ..... HOWEVER.....
it is not a "doggie dating" website, per se......

My Angel (now RIP) has had a page on there for 6 or 7 years....
www.dogster.com/dogs/335764 is her page..... You can get an
idea of what a "basic" dogster page is like...... You can even
"uprgrade" to dogsterPlus....which allows more pics/videos
and access to additional forums......

It is free.....has tons of forums.....and a great place to just "play".....
You can learn a TON of stuff from the forums.......decorate your
page if you wish......get "p-mail" (e-mail) from your "paw friends"......
put pics/videos of your doggie on their page...... they have contests....
TOOO many things to mention here. AND you meet some wonderful "humans".....

ANY question you might have re: dogs/dog care......SOMEONE
smart will be able to answer it in the forums for you......

They also have a sister site....... www.catster.com .....for
the kitties............

Back when I used to actively participate on dogster......there were
other "doggie sites" that popped up on the web......BUT...."dogster"
was the only one that was worth participating on.................

[psandysdad]

06:58 AM on 04/30/2012

Ummm.....how do the dogs perform the ritual rear-end sniff online?

[wakohnen]

06:34 AM on 04/30/2012

Once my dog learns to type on his own, I may consider letting him on a dating site. I do not need him to be corrupted by the internet. He is a good dog now, he listens to me and is loyal. I do not want him bullied by other dogs for his good behavior. My main concern is that if he goes on line he may start to mess in the house again and start staying out all night without calling home. Not to mention the perverted sexual predators on line....ohhh...the horrors....

[KirbyPryor]

10:51 AM on 04/29/2012

Absolutely! I tweet about dog stuff and my Washington Nationals baseball team.

[DrugSniffingCat]

05:41 PM on 04/27/2012

I absolutely love this idea