Something Strange Is Happening to Women-Owned Pet Care Businesses in Montreal

A closer look at suspicious reviews in Montreal’s dog walking industry

Rédigé par Charlotte Smith | Lecture de 5 minutes

If you run a small business — especially in pet care — you know how much trust matters. We rely on trust every single day to sell our services, pay our team and put food on our own tables.

Because at the end of the day, people aren’t just booking a service when they fill out the form and pay their invoices.
They’re trusting you with their dog. Their fur baby. The very thing that brings them joy and endless laughter.

So when we started receiving one-star reviews from people we’ve never worked with… and honestly, never even heard of! Well let’s just say, we were confused.

No messages anywhere.
No emails in the clean inbox .
No calls on the phone that lives in my hand.
No bookings on our apps.
No record of ever meeting them or their dog.

At first, we brushed it off.

But then we looked a little closer…

🚩 A Pattern That Doesn’t Feel Random

These weren’t just isolated reviews either.

Kind of like an overflowing archaeology site, the more we dug into it, the more we found, but there wasn’t a triceratops waiting for us, just one mean old T. rex.

The evidence of local guide reviews were all following a pattern that was… hard to ignore.

Multiple one-star reviews across different dog walking companies
No prior interaction with those businesses
Really fishy 5-star reviews for places like Place Bell and random restaurants (that were indeed yummy, personal shout-out to the company credit card for funding my investigations further)
And interestingly… consistent five-star reviews for one specific company

Some reviewers even mentioned being “out of town” while reviewing multiple local Montreal services – then in other reviews would talk about being a local!

Which, at the very least… raises questions.

🧠 When You Look a Little Closer

We started clicking into reviewer profiles. I mean, you can’t help it. When you run your business, you spend your mornings obsessing over your emails, your lunches concerned with scheduling and your evenings looking over every click on your wbesite. It literally becomes your life.

I mean, a lot of small business owners make the joke that we quit our 9-5 jobs to start working 24/7 – and that involves checking our Google reviews religiously, like we are a school kid hungry for praise. But when I looked in on a Tuesday morning, and I saw not the scrumptious fill of positive accolades, I will admit I dug deeper. Because I refused to swallow undeserved criticism with my morning cornflakes.

And that’s where things got even more interesting.

These accounts looked real:

Reviews for restaurants
Reviews for cinemas
Normal activity overall
That prestigious Local Guide badge that they had just enough reviews to qualify for

But when it came to dog walking services and pet-care? Well, that was a different story. The same pattern kept showing up.

Across multiple businesses. The worst reviews you could imagine – alleging everything from discrimination to businesses like Walkies not even being open! Calling companies a sham!

⚠️ And It’s Not Just Us

After speaking with other companies, we realized we weren’t alone. Several women-owned dog walking and pet care businesses in Montreal have experienced the same thing — including:

Wagging Tails
Pansa Dog Daycare
Walks and Wags MTL
Pawesome VIP Pet Concierge

Different businesses. Different clients. Same type of reviews. In some cases, this has been happening for over a year.

🗞️ This Has Been Reported Before

This isn’t just speculation. A recent Montreal news report highlighted how local pet care providers have been dealing with:

Suspicious review activity
Coordinated negative feedback
Even AI-generated reviews

Which, honestly, aligns a little too closely with what many of us are seeing.

⚖️ What We Can (and Can’t) Say

We want to be very clear:

We are not naming or accusing any specific business. We kind of wish we could but we aren’t looking to recieve a lawsuit – maybe just give one.

However…

When patterns repeat across multiple companies — particularly women-owned businesses with strong client bases and growing visibility — it’s hard to ignore.

And at the very least, it deserves a conversation, and we want to start it.

🧩 The Bigger Concern (Beyond Reviews)

Reviews are one thing.

But what matters more is the level of care dogs are actually receiving.

Because in this industry, cutting corners doesn’t just affect reputation — it affects animals.

We’ve heard concerns across the community about things like:

Dogs with separation anxiety being left alone against owner instructions
Regression in training after consistent progress
Walks being shortened to quick 5-minute outings for larger dogs
Lack of communication or follow-up

Now — every business operates differently, and experiences can vary.

But when patterns start appearing both online and offline, it raises an important question:

👉 What should pet owners actually be looking for in a trustworthy service?

View this post on Instagram

🛡️ How to Spot Questionable Reviews

If you’re a business owner (or even a client), here are a few things to watch for:

Reviews from people with no record of interaction
Accounts reviewing multiple similar businesses negatively
Inconsistent location claims
Sudden spikes in one-star ratings

🧰 What We’re Doing About It

Instead of getting caught up in the noise, we’re focusing on what matters:

✔ Documenting everything
✔ Reporting suspicious activity
✔ Continuing to provide consistent, high-quality care
✔ Supporting other local businesses experiencing the same thing

Because at the end of the day — trust isn’t built overnight.

And it’s definitely not built through shortcuts.

❤️ Final Thoughts

We didn’t really want to write this.

But ignoring it didn’t feel right either.

If you’re a business owner experiencing something similar — you’re not alone.

And if you’re a pet parent reading this:

Your reviews matter.
Your support matters.
And choosing a service you trust matters most of all.

🐾 Looking for a Dog Walker You Can Trust?

We’re a Montreal-based dog walking company focused on structured, safe, and reliable care.

👉 Astuce : Après chaque promenade, essuyez les pattes de votre chien avec un linge humide ou une lingette pour enlever les résidus de sel et de gadoue. Get in touch with us
👉 Or learn more about our services

Because your dog deserves more than just a walk.

Tags:

Patounes & Promenades