Pawshake - Experienced pet care with peace of mindLoving pet sitters who treat your pets like familyAt Pawshake, we connect pet parents with friendly, reliable and vetted pet sitters. So whether you are going away, need someone to drop in to check on your pet while you’re at work or take your dog for a sniff around the block, we’ve got a pet loving sitter for you.Loving home environments - no cages!Your pets will stay in loving home environments and be treated just like family. Pawshake pet sitters are able to cater to your pet’s needs and are also a great alternative to dog boarding kennels or catteries.Get daily updates about your pet and relax knowing that they will get plenty of love and attention while you are away.Convenient, safe and flexible pet careSimply, search for a sitter, arrange a free meet and greet and then confirm your booking online. Payments are held securely by Pawshake until the booking is complete. There are no subscription fees and you only pay for the sitter you choose. Pet parents can also leave a review at the end of each booking to share their experience with other pet parents.The Pawshake Guarantee All bookings are covered by The Pawshake Guarantee which includes veterinary coverage, Happiness Guarantee and in-house customer support.
pawshake.com (pawshake.com) has 6,520 customer reviews on Five Star Index, with an average rating of 4.7 out of 5.
Website
pawshake.com
Category
Pet Services
Location
Portola Valley, California
Listed on Five Star Index
2026
About these reviews
Replies
The company replied to 10% of reviews.
Latest
Most recent review: October 2026.
Edits
Reviews are shown as their authors wrote them. The company can reply, but cannot edit them.
Score
This company cannot pay to remove reviews or change its score.
You have to go through 100 sitters to be able to make a booking.. absolutely no one wants to do regular sitting. Its almost like people have signed up as a sitter for the sake of it. Not a website that will get you in touch with serious sitters. Good for one offs.
Response from pawshake.comOct 14, 2026
Hi Sevinc,
Thank you for sharing your feedback with us, and we are truly sorry to hear about your frustrating experience trying to find a reliable, regular sitter.
We completely understand how disappointing it is to reach out to multiple sitters without success, especially when you are looking for long-term or recurring care for your pet. You should be able to connect with active, serious sitters who are ready to help.
Please know that we take sitter responsiveness and accurate calendar availability very seriously. We regularly monitor sitters' profiles, and if sitters repeatedly fail to maintain up-to-date availability or respond to inquiries, we step in to deactivate or unpublish their profiles from our platform.
We would love the chance to help turn this around for you. If you'd be open to reaching out to our support team directly with your location and care needs, we would be more than happy to personally assist you in finding suitable, active sitters in your area.
Kind regards,
Pawshake Support
KA
Kevan A.
Using an Apple device? Don't bother...
We have been using Pawshake for some years and are always pleased with our cat sitters and their professionalism. If only the app and website were as satisfactory. We use Apple devices, including mobile devices with the App installed. It is practically impossible to manage bookings. There is no "My Booking" section to enable end users to amend or delete past or future bookings. Being a website designer myself, what grates most is that nobody in Support will acknowledge these shortcomings, and nowhere on the Pawshake FAQs does the very limited compatibility with Apple devices get a mention. Poor Shake, more like.
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Further to your reply, I will reluctantly repeat the support correspondence that we have already had with you by email. I will also enclose copies of the Google generated AI responses highlighting some of the known technical issues for Apple users, as you still seem keen to ignore that these exist. Thanks.
Response from pawshake.comAug 26, 2026
Hi Kevan,
“Poor Shake” — punny. Haha. We’ll give you that one. 😄
We’re sorry to hear you’ve found the booking management experience frustrating. However, we do want to clarify a few points in your review.
Bookings can be managed on Apple devices, just as they can on other devices. There isn’t a separate booking-management system for different operating systems. While a booking is still awaiting payment, the “Change details” option in the message thread can be used to amend the booking. Once a booking has been paid for, any adjustments need to be handled by our accounting team.
We’re always happy to receive feedback about how these processes could be made clearer or easier to use, and we’ll certainly take your comments on board.
What is difficult for us to understand, however, is your statement that “nobody in Support will acknowledge these shortcomings”. We’ve looked through your correspondence with us and can’t find any previous contact where you raised these particular issues with our Support team. Had you contacted us, we would have been very happy to explain how booking changes work and assist you.
We’d much rather have the opportunity to help resolve an issue than have you left frustrated by it — so please do contact us when something isn’t working as expected.
Kind Regards
Pawshake Support
EDIT: **P.S.** Following your further correspondence with us, we can clarify exactly how to make the change you were trying to make. An enquiry is effectively a quote, so its service details and price are locked to what the sitter had set when the enquiry was created. If you want to change the service from two visits per day to one, you need to create a **new enquiry from the sitter’s profile** with the correct dates and service details. This is not an Apple-specific issue — the same process applies regardless of whether you use an iPhone, iPad, Mac or another device. This information is also already available in our 24/7 Help Centre: [How do I change dates or details of a booking?](https://support.pawshake.com/hc/en-ca/articles/23754988647956-How-do-I-change-dates-or-details-of-a-booking?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
GB
Gill B.
I am a new starter in the paid pet…
Update 2: So an extremely rude company to deal with too. The point is I am trying to build up a good portfolio, I have put a lot of effort into what I do, how I do it. The problem is only the photos. I have tried several times to add differing ones, hours spent writing about my services, contact by past clients for reviews as I haven’t really been one to ask for feedback, building a Facebook page, but as stated, I am just starting out formally and mostly independent cat sits. If photos are such an important part of being a carer on Pawshake then I really think it is a Pawshake problem. I’m more than willing to put in the effort but can’t get the golden photos that mean so much to Pawshake application criteria overnight…
Update : There we have it, the response shows that there is more focus on having photos of you holding people’s pets that any of verification or qualifications/experience. I’ve 100+ photos of my clients pets, feeding them, stroking them, playing with them but rejected, they want ones of ME in the photo like that is important. So if you are a selfie taker, then you are fine….
I am a new starter in the paid pet sitting world and have spent many hours trying to get set up on Pawshake however keep getting told I have to add more photos of me walking/engaging with pets to be able to pass the profile requirements. I have 5 photos on of me feeding, playing with and caring for clients cats and my dog. I don’t offer dog walking services and have never been asked to walk a cat! It appears then that I have been blocked from offering my vast experience, verified, insured and reviewed service as I just haven’t got the fun photos they think potential clients would need to have to book my services….. So yes, I do think it’s an issue with Pawshake. I still think it’s crazy that there is such an isolated focus on the ‘right’photos - I have many many photos of pet sitting clients, just not the golden ones it seems
Pawshake - It’s a shame that you feel my photos are not sufficient to advertise my pet sitting services.
I am just starting out on this journey professionally and my clients so far have been outdoor independent cats so opportunities for more fun engaging photos have been limited. I am a pet sitter not a photographer and I’m focussed on caring for my pets rather than making a portfolio for my future clients.
I am happy to build my portfolio of photos as I go along, it’s a shame that you feel this is mandatory to even get started
I’ll stick with Rover for the time being as I can’t magic up photos for this purpose but would inform you that any other platform I have looked as do not have such inflexibility on this small part of your profile and let their clients decide on the services offered, reviews, qualifications - not simply how wonderfully engaging the carers photos are - I believe they are a nice to have and might get you more enquiries but should not be a show stopper! Please review your requirements - photos come with bookings but you can’t get booking without a profile
Thanks
Gill
Response from pawshake.comAug 13, 2026
Hi Gill,
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback.
We understand that you are disappointed that your profile was not approved immediately, particularly as you are new to offering pet sitting professionally. However, we do want to clarify that the requirements you describe are not intended to assess whether someone is a photographer, nor are they specific to dog walking.
At Pawshake, a sitter's public profile is effectively their business card. It is the first thing an owner sees when deciding whether they feel comfortable entrusting their pet to someone. For that reason, we expect profiles to contain genuine, relevant photos showing the sitter caring for and interacting with pets. This helps owners get a meaningful impression of who they are potentially entrusting their animals to.
We don't apologise for having standards around this. In fact, the requirement is deliberately there to distinguish between people who are genuinely committed to building a professional pet-sitting profile and those who expect to be able to sign up and start offering services with minimal effort. Entrusting someone with your pet is a significant responsibility, and we don't believe creating a trustworthy and informative profile should be treated as a quick, five-minute task.
The fact that you have experience with cats, qualifications, insurance and previous reviews is certainly valuable, but those things don't make the profile requirements unnecessary. They are all different pieces of information that help an owner make an informed decision.
The purpose of the photos is simply to demonstrate that you are comfortable handling and interacting with the types of pets you intend to care for. If your existing photos don't sufficiently demonstrate this, then it shouldn't be too difficult for you to solve with a cameraphone.
We appreciate that you have found another platform whose lower profile requirements better suit what you are looking for. We genuinely wish you all the best with your pet-sitting business there.
However, we won't be changing our application requirements as a result of this review. They are designed to produce high-quality, informative sitter profiles and to ensure that the people joining Pawshake understand that offering pet care through the platform requires a degree of commitment.
Ultimately, the decision to use Pawshake is yours, just as the decision of where to entrust their pets is an owner's. Our role is to maintain the standards we believe are appropriate for the community.
Kind regards,
Pawshake Support
Updated response:
We are also disappointed that you appear to view this as a Pawshake problem rather than a profile-completion issue that is entirely within your control to resolve. Building a professional pet-sitting profile should not be a five-minute exercise, and we make no apology for expecting sitters to invest some time and effort into presenting themselves appropriately to potential clients.
If obtaining a handful of suitable photos is being presented as an insurmountable obstacle, then it is reasonable for us to question whether the level of effort required to build a professional pet-sitting profile aligns with your expectations of running a pet-sitting business.
DR
David R.
Lousy communication between Pawshake and the oppas.
All goes well until it doesn't and in that case communication by e mail or their site is slow and incomplete. Not the dogs problem, but not mine either. They weren't interested in my complaint and the owner got a full refund which is just not fair and against their cancellation policy if I understood it correctly.
Disappointing experience.
EB
Elisa B.
Appli TRUFFÉE d’arnaque
J’écris en tant que petsitter. Je n’ai jamais vu AUTANT d’arnaque sur un site de garde d’animaux, je me suis récemment inscrite sur l’application et sur 5 contacts j’ai eu 5 arnaques. Les personnes vous contactes pour faire garder leur animal, ils prennent le temps de discuter avec vous puis une fois que vous êtes en confiance, il demandent votre numéro de téléphone pour diverses raison mais la vraie, est pour vous vous soutirer de l’argent en faisant de faux virement avec du trop perçu qu’ils vous demande de leur rembourser. C’est à se demander la fiabilité de la vérification des personnes qui s’inscrivent que ce soit en petsitter ou même personne qui cherche à faire garder son animal. Je ne donnerai pas non plus mon animal à garder c’est affligeant et peu sécurisant, vraiment je ne recommande pas.
Response from pawshake.comNov 28, 2025
Bonjour Elisa,
Nous sommes désolés d'apprendre ce qui s’est passé.
Pour votre information, notre plateforme a un système de sécurité nous permettant de détecter les utilisateurs malveillants la majorité du temps. Ce système est mis à jour régulièrement pour que nous puissions les détecter le plus vite possible.
Malheureusement, il arrive que certains arrivent à passer en dehors des mailles du filet. C’est pour cela que Dave a pu vous contacter.
Il nous est malheureusement impossible d’avoir les mêmes exigences pour les profils des propriétaires que nous avons pour les profils des gardiens car leurs demandes peuvent être urgentes ou à la dernière minute.
C’est pour cela qu’il est grandement recommandé que les gardiens et les propriétaires maintiennent la conversation sur notre plateforme avant de se rencontrer avant de confirmer la réservation pour faire connaissance.
Si vous avez des doutes sur une propriétaire, veuillez nous en faire part dès que possible en contactant notre équipe en utilisant le formulaire sur notre site afin que nous puissions enquêter davantage.
Chaque jour, des milliers de personnes vivent d'excellentes expériences avec Pawshake, mais le plus important est que vous soyez vous-même satisfait du concept. Nous regrettons cette expérience négative et espérons qu'elle ne vous dissuadera pas de continuer à proposer vos services sur Pawshake à l'avenir. Notre communauté compte de nombreux propriétaires formidables.
Bien cordialement,
L’équipe Pawshake
JA
Jan
Twice used this service
Twice used this service. Both times something was broken and the sitter didn’t have the decency to let us know, just left us to find the damage. Neither did they communicate any enthusiasm or interest but did at least respond to queries
Response from pawshake.comSep 17, 2025
Hi Jan,
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We’re sorry to hear you’ve felt disappointed with bookings made through Pawshake.
Just to clarify, Pawshake itself is not the service provider — rather, we provide the platform that connects pet owners with independent sitters, who run their own pet care services using our infrastructure. If something went wrong with a particular sitter, we would very much like to know so that our team can investigate and take any appropriate action.
At the moment, we don’t have a record that matches your review. If you’d like to discuss this further, please reach out directly to our Support Team via the Help Centre and share the details of your bookings so we can look into this properly.
We truly value feedback from pet owners like you, as it helps us maintain high standards across our community.
Kind regards,
Jack
The Pawshake Team
MV
Marlijn V.
De ap werkt prima
De ap werkt prima. Ze hebben leuke lieve mensen om als dierenoppas aan te nemen.
Maar ik twijfel aan hun begeleiding van de oppassers.
Komen ze alleen voor een knuffel en eten geven, of maken ze ook de kattenbak etc schoon? Dit is niet duidelijk, en ik vind dat het bedrijf ook goede instructies moet geven aan de oppassers. Ik ga er zelf van uit dat ze professioneel zijn, en dat ik niet elke stap moet opschrijven. Nu kwam ik thuis na twee weken vakantie in een bevuild huis! Echt mijn vertrouwen is geschaad.
DM
Dorien M.
Als oppasser niet klantvriendelijk
Als oppasser vind ik dit niet altijd een fijne site/app.
Kosten van 19% vind ik best hoog en van zodra je niet onmiddellijk reageert op een bericht, word je profiel gedeactiveerd. Zelfs wanneer reageren eigenlijk niet nodig is.
Response from pawshake.comApr 16, 2025
Hoi Doren,
Bedankt dat je de tijd hebt genomen om je feedback met ons te delen.
Oppassers hebben 24 uur de tijd om te reageren op een boekingsaanvraag van een baasje. Als er binnen die termijn geen reactie komt, wordt het profiel tijdelijk verborgen totdat er wordt gereageerd. Houd er rekening mee dat als je pas na 48 uur reageert, je contact moet opnemen met ons klantenserviceteam om je profiel opnieuw zichtbaar te maken.
Dit beleid helpt ons om het vertrouwen van baasjes hoog te houden, aangezien zij snelle reacties verwachten wanneer ze op zoek zijn naar zorg voor hun huisdieren. We hopen dat je begrijpt dat het voor baasjes frustrerend kan zijn om langer dan 24 uur op een reactie te moeten wachten. We begrijpen uiteraard dat veel oppassers Pawshake combineren met andere verplichtingen, en daarom proberen we een balans te vinden tussen flexibiliteit en responsiviteit.
Wat betreft de 19% bijdrage aan Pawshake: dit blijft een van de laagste percentages onder platforms binnen de deeleconomie, zeker in de huisdierverzorgingssector.
Nogmaals bedankt voor je bericht en voor je blijvende betrokkenheid bij Pawshake.
Met vriendelijke groet,
Jack
Pawshake Support
