Want to Share a Dog?

“The owners need to be able to read the dog’s body language and behavior to gauge how the pet is tolerating and accepting change,” says Denenberg. Early indications of stress include lip licking, yawning, stretching, shaking (the way they would if they were wet), squinting and panting. Almost 99 percent of the time, you will see these behaviors before more overt ones like barking, biting, restlessness, whining and having accidents.

He explains that if the dog shows these symptoms, the transition needs to happen more slowly. Transitioning could mean having the dog stay in the original home longer, while the other person visits for a daily walk. Or the second owner could take the dog only for the occasional weekend to start, in the same way a child might visit a grandparent.

Leslie Sinn, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in Ashburn, Virginia, says her knee-jerk reaction to the idea of dog sharing was that it wouldn’t work out. Yet, three dog shares in her practice turned her into a “believer.”

Two of the cases involved divorced couples whose dog moved back and forth between households with the kids as part of a joint custody arrangement. The third was a widow with a Labrador puppy and some unforeseen health issues. Concerned neighbors with young kids reached out to help her with dog walking, and this eventually evolved into shared care of the dog.

“It’s proven to be hugely beneficial for the older woman, and the dog is happy, healthy and thriving,” says Sinn, who sees both parties together for vet appointments. The older woman takes the dog in summer, when the family is on holiday, and the family takes the dog when the woman travels during the year.

“I get teary [just] talking about it,” Sinn says.

How to plan for a dog share — and avoid pitfalls

Proper planning, an agreed-on “contract” and consistency are key to a successful dog share.

Here are some tips:

· Decide ahead of time on details: how to divide vet and food bills, what costly medical procedures you would sign off on, how the dog will be trained, food choices, walk times and amount of exercise. And whether the dog can be on furniture.

· Choose a mutually convenient time and location for pickups and drop-offs.

· Consider starting a dog share in puppyhood, when the animal’s routines are not already established.

· Be flexible with your co-owner. “You need to be communicative and open-minded, and not go in with a fixed idea of how things will be,” says Laura Bombier.

However, after 15 to 20 moves between the homes at whatever interval the two owners agree on (one week being common), if the dog is still not adjusting, you may need to give up.

“If you really love the dog, you have to let it go,” says Denenberg.

But that doesn’t mean giving up on having a dog altogether.

Alternatives

If you just want occasional canine companionship without the responsibility of ownership, you could:

· Register on an app like Rover to be a walker or sitter for dogs in your neighborhood.

· Volunteer at a rescue shelter.

· Join a pet house-sitting community like TrustedHousesitters. When you travel, you can get free accommodations in exchange for taking care of a dog or other animal.

· Foster a dog.

With the veterinarians I consulted concurring that dog shares can work for the animals and for us humans, I’m more convinced than ever this could be for me. Maybe I can have it all — a sense of unbridled independence and comfortable domesticity — so I can escape to foreign destinations and then return home to a furry friend.

Would you ever share a dog with someone? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments below.