Mad Paws
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Reasonable buy if you're an Australian pet owner who wants home-based care instead of kennels and will vet sitters yourself.
New check
Comparison
Mad Paws vs Pawshake
Mad Paws and Pawshake both land on Depends.
Pawshake
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Reasonable for cheap, low-stakes bookings in cities with plenty of sitters, if you vet profiles yourself.
| Compare | ||
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Depends |
| Best for | Australian dog owners travelling | Budget bookings in dense cities |
| Who it's not for | Pet owners outside Australia | Owners of anxious, elderly or high-value pets |
| Privacy | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.² | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed. |
| Support quality | Booking dispute escalated to legal advice on Reddit | Multiple unresolved-dispute reports despite submitted evidence |
| Public sentiment | Owners generally like the care versus kennels, but some distrust the marketplace and payment-holding disputes surface on legal forums.⁵ | Reviews are sharply polarised: some owners and sitters report easy repeat bookings, while others allege weak vetting and poor dispute support.11 |
| Biggest gotcha | Money is held by Mad Paws after you approve a booking; disputes reportedly get messy⁷ | Service fee added at checkout, not included in listed sitter rates |
Pick Mad Paws when
- Australian dog owners travelling
- Cats needing home visits
- Owners avoiding kennels
- Sitters wanting side income
When Mad Paws is not a fit
- Pet owners outside Australia
- Anyone wanting fixed, published rates upfront
- Multi-pet owners on tight budgets
- People unwilling to prepay into a platform wallet
Pick Pawshake when
- Budget bookings in dense cities
- Casual recurring dog walks
- New sitters testing demand free
When Pawshake is not a fit
- Owners of anxious, elderly or high-value pets
- Anyone expecting fast, fair dispute resolution
- Sitters wanting balanced two-way reviews
- Guess: rural users . match quality depends on local sitter density
Sources
- Mad Paws official sitemadpaws.com.auofficial
- Mad Paws security pagemadpaws.com.ausecurity
- How does Mad Paws work? (FAQ)madpaws.com.auofficial
- Mad Paws App Store listingapps.apple.comofficial
- Reddit r/melbourne owner experiencereddit.comreview
- Reddit r/melbourne 'a bit dodgy' threadreddit.comreview
- Reddit r/AusLegal payment disputereddit.comreview
- Reddit r/AussieFrugal sitter earningsreddit.comreview
- Reddit r/MadPawsAU sitter/owner forumreddit.comreview
- Care.com dog sitter listingscare.comreview
- Pawshake Trustpilot reviewstrustpilot.comreview
- Thoughts on Pawshake? . r/petsittingreddit.comreview
- DO NOT USE PAWSHAKE . r/Petsreddit.comreview
review
- Pet sitting on Pawshake . r/Netherlandsreddit.comreview
- Pawshake reviews . ProductReview.com.auproductreview.com.aureview