Dog Sharing

I think two families sharing the same dog is different from renting dogs out for the day. The examples given where the two families shared one dog had a more structured environment for the dog to live. I don't think having different people take the dog out each day gives them a chance to really bond with any individual family. They are pack animals. It's the same to me as children. Split custody arrangements work well when both parents are on the same page, but are a disaster when the parents don't cooperate or there aren't any common ground rules. (I've had my fill of those with stepkids!) When you rent a dog for the day, the dog is expected to behave one way this day and one way that day depending on the person who rented them. I just think they need a more stable environment. We don't go to an orphanage and take a kid to McDonald's and the playground whenever we feel like having a kid. While I know dogs have different mental processes than children, I think they still need some stability.

ditto what Stacy said. Although I can see lots of problems on sharing if the two sets of people got mad or had vastly different ideas of what was acceptable dog behavior.