See which dogs are at the park.

Check in when you arrive.

One tap at the park. Geo-fenced to 0.10 mi, so it's real. Leave, and it ends on its own after five minutes.

See who's here.

Every dog checked in right now, friends and strangers. Tap any dog you like to add them — no codes, no numbers.

Get a ping when their friends show up.

Turn on alerts for a specific dog. Next time they're at a park, you'll know — and one tap says you're heading their way.

Every park you visit earns a stamp.

Check in at a park and your dog collects that park's stamp — dated, named, and drawn just for that spot. A year in, the passport is a record of everywhere you took them.

Stamps come from real, geo-fenced check-ins, so they're earned by turning up. Nothing to buy, nothing to switch on.

Milestones your dog picks up along the way. Your pals can see the ones you've earned.

Because of Lilu. She's a two-year-old Vizsla, and she loves every person and every dog she's ever met — but she's shy at first. Most trips to the park, shy Lilu is all we get to see.

Then the right dog shows up. She forgets to be shy, drops into full zoomies, and tears around the field like something came unplugged. Watching that is genuinely our favorite thing.

And we could never plan for it. You can't schedule a zoomie day — it depends entirely on which dogs happen to be there when you are.

So I tried to build something that would tell us. I'd never made an app before — if you'd asked me a couple of years ago, I'd have said it was impossible. I've made a lot of mistakes and rebuilt this thing more times than I'd like to admit.

I mostly just want Lilu to see her friends more often.

What is Puppy Pals?

Puppy Pals is a free app that shows you which dogs are checked in at your dog park right now. You check in when you arrive, see every dog that's currently there, and can turn on an alert for a specific dog so you know the next time they're at a park.

How is Puppy Pals different from other dog park apps?

Most dog park apps help you find a park. Puppy Pals assumes you already know your park and tells you who is there right now. It is built around live check-ins and a specific handful of dog friendships rather than reviews, feeds or messaging.

Is Puppy Pals free?

Yes — free to download and free to use. There are no ads and no advertising SDKs in the app.

Which dog parks are included?

11,800+ dog parks are built in, sourced from OpenStreetMap. Your park is very likely already on the map.

Who can see my location?

Your precise location is visible only to your confirmed pals, and only while a check-in is active. Other people checked in at the same park see your dog's profile — name, photo, breed, approximate age and a mutual-pal count — but never your coordinates. When you check out, the check-in location data is deleted from the server.

Does Puppy Pals track my location in the background?

No. The app requests “while in use” location only, and collects location only during a check-in you started yourself. Disable GPS or sign out and your check-in ends automatically. It does keep a record of which parks you visited and when, to power personal stats like streaks and your favourite park — that is park-level history, not continuous location tracking.

How does check-in work?

Check-in is geo-fenced to 0.10 miles, so you have to actually be at the park. Leave, and it ends on its own after a five-minute grace period. There is also Walk mode for when you are not at a park: your pals can see you, strangers cannot.

What is the passport?

Every park you check in at earns your dog a dated stamp, and twelve badges mark the milestones along the way — your first pal, five different parks, four weeks in a row. It fills in automatically from your check-ins, it is free, and your pals can see the badges your dog has earned. You will find it on the profile tab.

How do I add another dog as a pal?

Two ways. At the park, tap any dog that is checked in and send a pal request on the spot. Away from the park, type someone's exact PuppyTag — a handle like Lilu#4821. There is no search by name, email or phone number.

Is there chat, a feed or comments?

No. There is no chat, no direct messages, no comments, no photo captions, no feed, no likes and no followers. Pal requests and “heading your way” alerts are fixed templates that carry no user-written message.

How many dogs can I add?

Up to three dogs per account. Each dog gets a profile with breed, age, size, energy level, a bio, a gallery of up to ten photos, and up to five play-style tags chosen from twenty — Zoomie King, Fetch Obsessed, Gentle Giant, Shy at First and more.

Is there an iPhone version?

Yes. Puppy Pals is on the App Store for iPhone and on Google Play for Android. Both are free.

Who makes Puppy Pals?

Fehr Play Labs LLC, an independent studio in Portland, Oregon. Puppy Pals was built for a shy Vizsla named Lilu.