Doghuggy
Acquired2 known investors
DogHuggy is a Japanese marketplace that connects dog owners who need pet-sitting with vetted individual dog hosts who care for the pets in their own homes. The platform offers cage-free, in-home boarding with host screening, ID verification, pre-booking meetings, credit card payments, daily photo reports, and insurance coverage.
Also known as DogHuggy Inc. · ドッグハギー · 株式会社DogHuggy
Investors · 2
Company profile
researched Aug 2026DogHuggy (ドッグハギー) operates a Japanese online marketplace that matches dog owners who need temporary care with "dog hosts" — dog lovers who look after the animals in their own homes rather than in kennels. Bookable service types include overnight stays (お泊り), short stays (ショートステイ) and dog walking (お散歩). The stated positioning is to provide a "second home" environment: cage-free private housing, a host present with the dog 24 hours a day, and daily photo-and-message reports that owners can view from a smartphone or PC.
The booking flow has four steps: searching for a nearby host who has passed DogHuggy's screening, requesting a pre-booking in-person meeting (事前面談) to discuss the dog and the care required, sending a reservation request that the host approves, and handing the dog over on the day of the stay. Trust-and-safety measures described by the company include identity verification of both hosts and owners via scans of government-issued ID, the mandatory pre-meeting, liability insurance for incidents, and an optional mutual-aid (共済) scheme. Payment is handled entirely by credit card through the platform. Alongside the marketplace, the company runs DogHuggy Magazine, a content site covering dog care, training, health, breeds, products and dog-friendly outings, and DogHuggy Store, an e-commerce shop selling dog wear, carriers, harnesses, accessories, home and care items from brands including Moshiqa, maxbone and 2.8duepuntoOtto, with free shipping over ¥5,000.
Business model
Two-sided marketplace intermediating between dog owners and individual host households, with membership registration free and bookings paid by credit card through the platform. The company also operates a direct-to-consumer online store selling dog apparel and accessories, and an editorial media property.
Traction
Recognition and partnerships include selection for the Sharing Economy certification service (2020-08), designation as a Credit Saison privilege merchant (2019-08), inclusion in Relo Club's corporate benefits program (2019-07), a service tie-up with ANA Holdings (2018-09), and repeated national television and magazine coverage in Japan between 2017 and 2019.
Latest developments
株式会社DogHuggy joined the PetGo Group, a company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth market, as announced on 2025-12-17, and the DogHuggy service is served from a petgo.jp subdomain. On 2026-04-01 DogHuggy began offering a PetGo account linkage feature.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Described in third-party coverage as a Japanese pet-sitting matching service comparable to Airbnb for dog owners, and listed among notable Tokyo pet-industry startups.
Positions in-home, cage-free hosting with a host present around the clock as an alternative to kennel-based pet hotels, combined with pre-booking owner-host meetings, government-ID verification, liability insurance and an optional mutual-aid scheme.
Technology
Web platform providing host search by area, pre-meeting and reservation request workflows, in-platform credit card payment, ID-scan identity verification, and daily host-to-owner photo reporting accessible via smartphone or PC. An account-linkage integration with PetGo accounts was introduced in 2026.
Go-to-market
Dog owners in Japan who need care for their dogs while travelling or away on business, particularly those uneasy about conventional caged pet hotels or with anxious, timid or senior dogs; on the supply side, dog lovers willing to host animals in their homes.
Geography
Japan only. Hosts are listed across a wide range of prefectures and municipalities, with the densest coverage in Tokyo (including Setagaya, Minato, Koto, Shinjuku, Shibuya, Chuo, Meguro and Ota wards) and the surrounding Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba prefectures, plus listings in Hokkaido, Miyagi, Shizuoka, Aichi, Osaka, Hyogo, Fukuoka, Kyoto and many other prefectures.
History
An alpha version of DogHuggy was launched on 2015-05-20, and the dog-hosting service was formally released on 2016-11-01. DogHuggy Magazine, a media site about life with dogs, launched on 2016-11-11. The service subsequently gained media exposure in Japan, including NHK's "Asaichi" (2017-02), TBS's "Asa Chan!" (2017-05), Nikkei Trendy's 2018 hit-prediction feature (2017-11), BS Asahi's "Fresh Faces" featuring representative Nagatsuka (2018-02) and a Weekly Economist interview with him (2019-07). Corporate tie-ups followed with ANA Holdings (2018-09), Relo Club's Fukuri Kosei Club benefits program (2019-07) and Credit Saison's merchant privilege program (2019-08), and the service was selected for the Sharing Economy certification program in 2020-08. On 2025-12-17 the company announced it had joined the PetGo Group, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth market, and on 2026-04-01 it began offering PetGo account linkage.
Compiled by commissioned research from 6 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Timeline · 9
launches, deals, and filingsDogHuggy began providing a feature allowing users to link their PetGo accounts.
株式会社DogHuggy announced it had joined the PetGo Group, which is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth market.
DogHuggy was selected as a service obtaining the Sharing Economy certification mark.
DogHuggy was designated a privilege (優待) merchant of Credit Saison.
DogHuggy became an eligible service in the employee benefits program operated by Relo Club Co., Ltd.
Launch of DogHuggy Magazine, a media site about lifestyles with dogs.
The dog-hosting service DogHuggy was formally released.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 6
primary sources listed
- Doghuggydoghuggy.com · web
6 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Doghuggy do?
- Japanese marketplace matching dog owners with screened dog hosts who board pets cage-free in their own homes.
- Who are Doghuggy's investors?
- Doghuggy's investors include CARTA VENTURES, Inc., Colopl Next.