1 · Getting started

Create an account

You need an account to use anything in American Dogs — there is no guest browsing. Accounts are for adults only: you must confirm you are 18 or older to sign up.

1. Open the app and tap Sign Up, or go to americandogs.com and choose Get started.
2. Choose what you are here for: Dog Owner, Dog Walker, or Both. You can add the other role later.
3. Enter your name, email, password and ZIP code. Your ZIP is what places you in a neighborhood, so it is worth filling in.
4. Turn on I confirm I am 18 years of age or older. — the button stays disabled until you do.
5. Tap Create Account. You are signed in automatically.

Signing in and passwords

You always sign in with your email address and password. There is no Google, Apple or Facebook sign-in.

• Not sure if you have an account? Tap Find account on the sign-in screen and enter your email.
• Forgot your password? Tap Forgot password?. In the app you receive a reset code to type in; on the website you receive a reset link to click.

Owner mode and walker mode

If your account is both an owner and a walker, you switch between them at any time:

• iPhone: a 🐕 Owner / 👤 Walker switch sits above the tabs at all times.iPhone
• Android: switch from the account menu or the button in the top bar.Android
• Web: switch from the account menu in the header.Web

Only have one role? Add the other from the account menu — Become a Walker or Add a Dog (Owner).

Language

American Dogs is available in 8 languages, chosen from the globe icon on the sign-in screen, the account menu, or the header on the web. Your choice is independent of your phone's language. Some reference screens (breed pages, food-safety pages, legal pages) are English only.

2 · Your dogs

Add a dog

1. Go to Dogs (app) or My Dogs (web).
2. Tap + / + Add a dog.
3. Enter the name, then add a photo if you like — you can drag and pinch to crop it square. iPhoneWebAndroid
4. Set the breed. Choose Purebred, Mixed or Unknown — if you don't know the breed, just pick a size instead.
5. Fill in age, weight, sex, spayed/neutered, activity level, and any health issues or allergies.
6. Leave OK with Pack Walks on if your dog is happy walking with other dogs, or turn it off.
7. Save.

Dog photos added on iPhone or the web show up everywhere, including in the Android app. You just can't add or change a photo from Android.

What a dog profile gives you

• Walk recommendation — minimum, recommended and maximum daily minutes for your dog, with intensity and breed notes.iPhoneWeb
• Diet & Safety — estimated daily calories, meals per day, breed food warnings, your dog's allergies, and a full list of toxic foods with symptoms, what to do, and the poison-control hotline. You can also log a possible poisoning and keep an exposure history. iPhoneWebAndroid
• Breed reference — browse breeds with size, energy, diet and exercise guidance. iPhoneWebAndroid

Removing a dog: on iPhone, swipe the dog's row left and choose Delete. On the web and on Android there is no delete — edit the dog instead, or remove it from the iPhone app.

3 · Walking & tracking

Record a walk

1. Open the Walk tab (app) or press ▶ Walk now on a dog card (web).
2. Tap the dogs joining this walk — you can walk several at once.
3. Tap Start Walk and allow location access when asked.
4. During the walk, tap + / − to count Pee 💧 and Poo 💩. On a multi-dog walk each dog gets its own counter.
5. Use Pause and Resume for breaks.
6. Tap Stop, then pick a mood (⚡ Energetic / 😊 Happy / 😌 Calm / 😴 Tired), add notes, and tap Save Walk. Not finished after all? Tap Continue walking.

Tracking while your phone is in your pocket

• iPhone: the route keeps recording with the screen locked. A Live Activity card shows the timer and distance on your Lock Screen, and a paired Apple Watch can adjust the counters, pause and stop. (A walk must be started on the iPhone — the Watch can't start one.) iPhone
• Android: an ongoing notification keeps the walk running and gives you a way back to it.Android
• Web: keep the tab open. If no GPS was captured you can type the distance in manually.Web

Walk history

• iPhone: Walk History with a filter by dog, a full walk detail screen (route map, duration, distance, pee/poo, estimated calories, mood, notes) and a Walk Calendar with monthly totals.iPhone
• Web: per-dog history with a 7-day chart and a walk table. You can also Share report, which creates a link anyone can open.Web
• Android: a simple list of past walks. Tapping a row doesn't open a detail view yet. Android

Being visible to neighbors while you walk

You are hidden by default. If you turn visibility on, other members walking nearby can see that you're out — as your first name, an approximate distance, and optionally one dog. Your exact position is never shown.

• iPhone: set Off, Friends Only or Everyone on the Walk tab, in Nearby & Friends, or during a walk. Turning it off removes you immediately.iPhone
• Web: use Go visible on the Nearby page, choosing Everyone or Friends only. You are only shown within about 2 km and it switches itself off after a few idle hours.Web

4 · Booking a walker or care

Find a walker

1. Go to Bookings → Find a Walker (app), or Find Walkers (web).
2. Tap Use my location, or type a ZIP code and search.
3. Set how far you'll travel with the Within radius.
4. Compare walkers on the map and in the list: star rating, manner temperature, how many walks they've done, how long they've been walking, and their rate.

Map pins show a walker's approximate area, not their address — walkers' street addresses are never shown to owners.

Make a booking

1. Open a walker and tap Book This Walker / Book.
2. Tick the dogs going on the walk. Two or more dogs makes it a pack walk.
3. Choose the date, time and duration — 30, 45, 60 or 90 minutes.
4. Choose how you're paying — see the warning below.
5. Add the pickup address and any access instructions.
6. Tap Request Booking.

What happens next

Cancelling: you can cancel while a booking is Requested or Confirmed — never once the walk has started. Walkers can only decline a request they haven't accepted yet. There is no reschedule: cancel and book again. Cancellations lower the manner temperature of everyone on the booking, so cancel early rather than late.

Booking pet care

Care bookings (drop-in visits, day care, overnight boarding, vacation care) work the same way: Book Care → pick a service → pick a sitter → choose dogs and dates → choose Free favor or Paid → request. Some services are priced per visit, per day or per night, so those ask for a start and end date.

If the care list is empty, no sitters are offering that service in your area yet.

After the walk

• Watch live appears on a booking that is In Progress and is being walked by a walker — you see their position and trail on a map.
• View report shows the route, duration, distance and the walker's notes.
• Leave a review — 1 to 5 stars plus an optional comment. Reviews can't be edited or deleted afterwards, so take a moment over them.

5 · Payments

How prices work

• Walkers set their rate per 30 minutes. A 60-minute walk is two blocks, 90 minutes is three.
• Multi-dog: the first dog is full price and each additional dog is discounted by a percentage the walker chooses.
• Neighbor pricing: a walker can give people in their own neighborhood a discount, or walk for free. You'll see the original price struck through and the discount marked.
• The price on the booking form is an estimate. The final amount is calculated when the walker confirms.

You are not charged up front

1. You request a booking. Nothing is charged.
2. The walker accepts.
3. You tap Pay. This opens Stripe, where you enter your card — American Dogs never sees your card details. This places a hold, shown as Held · charged after walk.
4. The walk happens and the walker saves it.
5. You tap Confirm & pay and the money is released to the walker.

Cancelling a booking releases the hold, so you are never charged for a walk that didn't happen. Stripe is the only payment method — there are no wallets, credits, tips or promo codes.

Getting paid, as a walker

• You must connect Stripe before you can receive anything. iPhoneWebAndroid Owners are blocked from paying you until this is finished.
• Earnings shows Gross, the 15% platform fee, and your Net. Only walks that were actually paid for count — free favors don't.

6 · Neighborhood & community

Joining a neighborhood

Your ZIP code places you in a neighborhood. A neighborhood's community page only opens once enough neighbors have joined — until then you'll see something like N more neighbors to go.

Lost dogs

1. Go to Community and choose Report a lost dog.
2. Pick which dog, say when they were last seen, and describe them — color, collar, where they were last seen, anything that helps.
3. Add up to 3 photos. iPhoneWebAndroid
4. Post the alert. When your dog is home, tap Mark found.

Lost-dog photos are deliberately public — they can be opened by anyone with the link, because wider reach helps find a dog faster.

Friends

Add neighbors as friends to see when they're walking nearby. You can share your friend link or QR code, or invite someone by email or phone. On iPhone you can also scan a friend's code with the camera.

Showcase and Puppia World

Showcase is a photo feed of members' dogs — post a photo with a caption, and like or save other people's. There are no comments. Puppia World is where you register Puppia gear, verify a product code, and issue a lost-dog pendant for your dog. There is no shop or checkout.

7 · Safety & privacy

What other people can see

Reporting and blocking someone

The safety tools available depend on where you are:

Reporting a lost-dog post does not hide it. That's deliberate — a genuinely lost dog shouldn't disappear because of one report. Use block if you don't want to see someone's posts.

Manner temperature and badges

Every member has a 🌡️ manner temperature that starts at 36.5°. Reviews, completed bookings and free favors raise it; low ratings and cancellations lower it. It is recalculated from your whole history, so it moves both ways. Tap any temperature to see exactly what changes it.

Members also carry a badge: New Neighbor to begin with, and Verified Local once they've been active in the community. Walkers are additionally reviewed and approved before they appear in search at all.

Deleting your account

You can delete your account and personal data permanently — from Edit Profile on iPhone, or the account settings page on the web. This cannot be undone and signs you out immediately. iPhoneWebAndroid

8 · Working as a walker

Apply

Signing up as a walker creates the role, but you are not bookable until your application is reviewed and approved. The application has six steps and saves as you go:

1. About you — headline, bio, years of experience.
2. Where you work — address (never shown to owners), travel radius, areas served.
3. Services and rates — solo and pack rates per 30 minutes, max pack size, available days.
4. Dogs you'll walk — weight range and what you're comfortable handling.
5. Your home — home type, fenced yard, other pets, children, smoke-free.
6. Photo and review — add your photo, accept the policy, then Submit application.

While it's under review the form is locked. Check Alerts for the decision — remember there are no push notifications, so you need to open the app.

Once you're approved

• Connect Stripe so you can actually be paid. iPhoneWebAndroid
• Set your rates — solo, pack, max pack size, and the discount for additional dogs.
• Offer care services — drop-in visits, day care, boarding, with your own prices and dog limits.iPhoneWebAndroid

Day to day

1. Bookings / Requests — tap Accept or Decline on new requests.
2. When it's time, tap Start Walk — this records the walk and lets the owner watch live.
3. Walking several clients' dogs together? Use Pack Walk, select the confirmed bookings, and start them all at once.
4. Save the walk. The owner is asked to confirm, and the payment is released to you when they do — or automatically 24 hours later.

Schedule shows your month, and Earnings shows gross, the 15% platform fee, and your net.

9 · What's on which platform

Everything essential — dogs, walks, bookings, payments, community — works everywhere. This is what differs.

10 · Troubleshooting

I booked a walk but the walker was never paid

The booking was probably left on ❤️ Free favor, which is the default. Free-favor bookings never charge anyone. Book again and choose Paid.

I paid, but it says “Held” instead of paid

That's expected. Paying places a hold on your card; the money is only taken after the walk is finished and you confirm it (or 24 hours pass).

I paid on Android and nothing changed

Leave the Bookings tab and come back — the Android list doesn't refresh by itself after returning from the payment page.

I never got a notification

American Dogs doesn't send push notifications yet. Open the app and check Alerts.

I can't pay my walker

If you see “the walker hasn't finished setting up payouts yet”, they still need to connect Stripe. Nothing you can do at your end — let them know.

My neighborhood is empty, or Community is locked

A community opens only once enough neighbors from that ZIP have joined, and people appear in the Neighbors list only if they opted in. Check your ZIP code in your profile.

I'm a walker but nobody can find me

Walkers appear in search only after their application is approved. Check Alerts for the decision, and make sure your rates and service areas are set.

The walk count on my walker profile says 0

The counter on your own Profile screen is not a live tally. Owners see your real record — “N walks · M in the last 30 days” — on your card in search.

I blocked someone by mistake

Unblocking is currently only possible in the Android app, under Blocked users in the account menu. Otherwise contact support.

Some screens are in English even though I picked another language

A few reference and legal screens — breed pages, food-safety pages, terms and privacy — are English only for now.