The Pack Get early access

The Pack

The members’ club for dogs and their people

More of the good bits of having a dog.

An app to find classes and walks nearby, make new friends who play nicely with you and your dog, and turn familiar faces into people you can count on.

Outside a neighbourhood café on a sunny morning: friends talking over coffee, with a golden retriever lying contentedly at their feet.
9:41

Tuesday

Morning, Otis.

Near you this week

Tonight, 6pm

Restaurant manners

6 going

Saturday, 9am

The canal loop

12 dogs going

Your pack

Fig is out with Joe5 minutes away
TodayMapPackOtis

You know every dog in the park. Their people, less so.

You know Biscuit. You know Biscuit’s ball. You’ve said good morning to Biscuit’s human for two years, and you still couldn’t tell anyone their name.

The best life for you and your dog.

A dog should open your life up, not shrink it. The Pack helps you go beyond coping and make the ordinary extraordinary.

Googling it at 11pm

Advice you can actually trust

Practical guidance and professionally led classes for real life with your dog, from people who know what they’re talking about.

The same walk, the same nod

Local adventures and new friends

Organised walks, classes and shared experiences that give you and your dog a natural way to meet people and dogs nearby, and see them again next week.

“I can’t go. The dog is with me!”

People nearby you can count on

Familiar faces become friends, and friends help each other out. Someone to ask when plans change, and someone who’ll ask you when theirs do.

One thing leads to another.

The app is only the start. The point is everything that happens off your phone. Here’s how it could go for you and a dog called Otis.

A French bulldog sitting politely beside a restaurant table with a plate of food on it, a diner in the foreground.
5:32

Tonight, 6pm · Live at The Anchor

Restaurant manners

Hosted by dog behaviourist Sam, and Mabel

Also going with Otis

Fig, with JoeLoves a play fight, just like Otis
Moss, with PriyaFriendly with intact males like Otis
Pickle, with TomNervous at first, so go gently
Bruno, with AliNot keen on intact males, so give him space

Based on what owners tell us about their dogs.

TodayMapPackOtis

1 Tuesday evening, a class at your local

Dinner out, with Otis under the table.

Learn restaurant manners from a professional. See who else is coming, and how compatible they may be as new friends for Otis.

A young man in a checked shirt at a pub bar, his brown spaniel sitting up beside him with paws on the counter.
11:24

Saturday’s walk · 6 dogs

Who was that?

spaniel from the pub
Fig is with Joe Loves a play fight, just like Otis

Next time you see him

Joe’s working on recall too. Fig’s party trick is stealing socks.

Also on the walk

Moss, with PriyaFriendly with intact males like Otis
Pickle, with TomNervous at first, so go gently
TodayMapPackOtis

2 Saturday lunchtime, at the pub, with Otis on his best behaviour

You remember the dog. We remember the human.

Forgot his name already? Everyone does. Search by the dog, and get an ice-breaker for next time.

Dogs of all kinds with their owners on a checked picnic blanket in a sunny park.
10:07

Joe & Fig

Round the corner from you

4walks together 2classes 5mins away
  • Well trained 12
  • Gentle 9
  • Calm 7

As reported by other pack members

Loves a play fight, just like Otis

Wednesday, 8am

Joe’s walking the canal

Fancy it? Otis is invited.

You choose who’s in your pack.

TodayMapPackOtis

3 A few Saturdays later, on the grass

A familiar face becomes part of your pack.

Build a local network of people and dogs you trust with Otis.

A person sits alone on a bench on a curved London Underground platform, looking down at their lap, a red train waiting behind them.
6:15

To your pack · 5 people nearby who know Otis

Train’s cancelled and Otis has been in since eight. Can anyone let him out?

Tom Can do after 7 if nobody’s closer.

Joe Round the corner. On my way, Fig’s coming too.

Joe arrives in 5 minutes
TodayMapPackOtis

4 One Thursday in March, on platform 2

And when you need a hand, you’ve got people to ask.

Whether it’s a cancelled train or an impromptu walk, one shout reaches people nearby you trust with Otis.

A brown spaniel fast asleep on a sofa beside a patterned cushion.
8:38

Only you can see this

Your pack score

240

Joe said thanks Fig didn’t want to come home. You’re a star.

Recent good turns

Had Fig for the evening+40

Walked Pickle on Friday+20

Put it towards

A class on us200

Coffees after Saturday’s walk80

TodayMapPackOtis

5 A month later, on your sofa

Good turns come back round.

Now it’s Fig asleep on your sofa. Every good turn adds to your pack score, which you can put towards classes and treats.

App screens show early thinking and will change as we build. People and dogs are made up.

What dog owners told us.

From research with dog owners and experts, on the way to building The Pack.

A few house rules.

  1. Say hello to the dog first.

    It’s only polite.

  2. Learn the human’s name by week three.

    It only gets more awkward after that.

  3. Everyone’s dog is a work in progress.

    Yours included. Theirs too, whatever they tell you.

  4. Everyone has an opinion on recall.

    We’ll bring someone qualified.

  5. Favours go both ways.

    If Fig gets your sofa, Otis gets his.

  6. Carry a spare poo bag.

    One day it’ll be how you make a friend.

Ross Fretten looking up at Sailor, a golden retriever, whose paws rest on Ross’s shoulders. Sailor is grinning.
Inspired by Sailor, now on his second venture.

Created with love, experience and plenty of hair.

Getting Sailor, my first dog, changed everything. I realised what a brilliant social catalyst a dog is, but I also lost the conveniences I’d taken for granted, like the spontaneous night out or the weekend away.

I’m lucky enough to be confident meeting new people. Not everyone is. And even I found it stressful trying to suss out whether another dog would get on with Sailor and be safe to introduce.

It took me years to work out how to live my best life with Sailor, instead of around Sailor. The Pack is how everyone else gets there sooner.

Ross FrettenCo-founder of Waggel pet insurance

We’re still building it. Honest answers so far.

What does early access mean?

We’ll let you know when there’s something relevant for you to join. That’s all. There’s nothing to pay and you’re not signing up to anything else.

Is it for me?

If you have a dog, yes. New puppy, nervous rescue or old hand, there’s no application and no dress code.

Who can see where I am?

Only people you’ve added to your pack, unless you choose to show you’re open to meeting new people. Then others nearby can see you and your dog.

How do I know I can trust people?

You choose who’s in your pack, and you can only add people you’ve actually crossed paths with, which the app can tell from your location. It’s friends helping friends, not a booking service.

Where and when will it start?

We’re building The Pack now, and sign-ups will help decide where we roll out first, which is why we ask for your postcode area. It’s partly down to you and your neighbours, so be sure to encourage others to sign up!

How much will it cost?

We’re still working that out. You’ll see the price before you decide to join anything.

My dog isn’t exactly a model citizen. Is that a problem?

Not at all. We want this to work for real dogs, not just the ones in the adverts, which is why you can tell people what your dog needs, like space or a gentle introduction. We’re still working out how best to look after nervous or reactive dogs, so if that’s you, we’d especially like to hear from you.

A small black dog trotting along a pavement past iron railings and a house with dark painted brick and window boxes.

Your dog’s already made friends round here. Your turn.

Help bring The Pack to your area first. Sign-ups will help decide where we start, so get your local friends on board. Friends further afield? They can get behind theirs.