I was recently reminded of how important it is for dogs to have friends. I've known this for some time, it is after all what inspired me to start Dogshare, but I occasionally have moments where I think I am completely bonkers and it's nice to have a reality check to tell me otherwise!

I had the absolute pleasure of meeting an adorable local, rescue pup named Clementine when I arranged a puppy play date for my boy, Duke. You see, even though I have made lots of wonderful friends through Dogshare already, when Duke meets a dog-pal that he really gets along with, it just makes my heart soar.

I still believe that it is one of the most joyous moment of dog ownership... to watch my super exuberant  dog running around, tumbling and chasing another dog of equal energy. And that is what the Dogshare puppy play date is all about.

When I met with Clementine (the dog) and her lovely owner, we chatted for a long time about Dogshare, how it came about and what it's potential is. I am always very interested to learn from our users perspective what we could be doing better, differently, how they use it and most importantly that it is valued.

I flagged the notion with Clementines mum that "dogs need friends too" and she agreed wholeheartedly. "Oh yes, they absolutely do, Clementine has grown up with local dog friends and she truly recognises them and get's excited to see her dog-pals".

There is, of course, loads of research that supports the need to socialise our dogs. But socialising doesn't just mean throwing them into a enclosed dog park with all manner of other dogs. Not every social interaction is a positive one!

I've personally gained so much out of the lovely relationships that Duke has made through his puppy play dates and I'm very grateful (corny as it sounds!) that we've been able to facilitate these meet-ups through Dogshare where I can be in charge of 'sniffing out' both dog and owner and decide if that is the type of dog I would like to socialise Duke with. This results in less likelihood of meeting with the 'wrong' dog for Duke's specific personality.

The puppy play date then occurs on our terms. It is just two dogs meeting, rather than several at once, and this situation is much easier to manage and supervise. I'd much prefer to continue Duke's socialising through these types of managed puppy play dates rather than take my chances down at the dog park.

Here are some of our 'sharers who agree that #dogsneedfriendstoo