Dogfishing As the New Russian Women Dating Trend: Is It Harmless?

From “pocketing,” “cloaking,” “cookie jarring,” and “breadcrumbing” to “benching,” “zombie-ing,” and “trickle-ghosting.” Yes, there have been dozens of Russian women dating trends floating around the Internet.

If you complain about your Russian girlfriend not introducing you to her family (“pocketing”), a girl who’s stringing you along by showing very little interest or attention (“breadcrumbing”), or even getting in touch after “ghosting” you (disappearing from your life without any warning or explanation) for weeks on end as if nothing is wrong (“zombie-ing”),

If you’re trying to score a Russian date on online dating sites, you may want to be aware of the new trend on dating sites: Dogfishing. We see that you’re a little confused, so let us clarify: No, “dogfishing” has nothing to do with the activity of catching fish that somehow involves dogs.

Now that we’ve said it, let’s explain what “dogfishing” means in the realm of online dating trends.

So, What is Dogfishing?

Although dogfishing and catfishing may sound similar, they refer to two completely different things.

Note: Catfishing is when a person pretends to be someone they’re not on a dating site.

Although “dogfishing” has been around throughout the existence of online dating sites, it has become a trend in 2019. Even The Washington Post dedicated an entire article to this previously unexplored online dating trend.

Dogfishing refers to the practice of posing for a profile photo with a dog (or another adorable pet) that isn’t theirs. Why? Because they are trying to take advantage of the “aww” response triggered by cute doggies to get more messages.

Why Do Dating Users Engage in Dogfishing?

As noted by the Post’s author, Terry Nguyen, dogfishing isn’t technically “lying,” though the practice is misleading and deceiving Russian singles into thinking that the man in the photo with a furry friend is a dog lover.

Male dog lovers are presumed to be more caring, kind, and better lovers. In fact, even The New York Times wrote an article encouraging all those looking for a date to “get a dog” first.

But it’s not just single Russian women who can fall prey to this deceiving practice, as dating users – mostly men – take advantage of the new online dating trend on international and domestic dating sites all across the world.

Can Dogfishing Really Help You Pick Up Russian Women?

In the world where so many gorgeous Russian ladies can fall in love with a man for simply treating a dog well, it makes sense why the dogfishing trend works.

So yeah, dogfishing is a growing trend, and an increasing number of men seem to take advantage of the dogs’ pick-up prowess to meet Russian girls online. But is it really a big deal if a woman finds out that the dog is not yours?

Is Dogfishing a Harmful or Harmless Online Dating Trend?

People are debating about whether or not the trend is as harmful as other trends such as “ghosting,” “breadcrumbing,” “cooking jarring,” and a plethora of others.

That depends on the angle at which you look at it. From the one point of view, why would you borrow someone else’s dog to increase your odds of picking up Russian mature women? Don’t you have anything else to offer, like, for example, your sense of humor?

But from the other point of view, if you interact with another person – or, moreover, trying to build a romantic relationship with someone – simply because their dog is cute, then who’s really to blame?

If you are disappointed in another person because they don’t own the dog that appeared in their profile pic, maybe you picked this person for the wrong reasons?

Yes, it doesn’t make sense to pretend to own someone else’s dog. But it doesn’t make any more sense to date someone simply because they have a dog. You aren’t trying to date the dog, are you?

Why Dogfishing May Not Be Such a Big Deal

Some of you may have already gotten in on the “dogfishing” trend, while others will probably try their luck on a Russian girl dating site by uploading a photo with someone else’s dog after reading this article.

But is dogfishing really that big of a deal? Can a Russian lady get mad at you for trying to get more attention by pretending to own an adorable dog?

Well, think about this way. Do we get mad at women who borrow clothing, stylish handbags, shoes, the latest tech gadgets, and other accessories from their friends to take an appealing photo and upload it onto a dating site?

No. If you’re communicating with a girl simply because you were intrigued by her sense of style or trendy accessories in a profile pic, but later find out that the items weren’t even hers, ask yourself this: Didn’t her personality or other traits matter at all? Was your decision to communicate with her based on her fashion sense?

The same argument can be said about dogfishing. If the dog is the only reason why you decided to communicate with a person on a dating site, does it really make that person inauthentic? Or is it you who is not authentic for making a decision based on something that is not relevant to dating?

Yes, for some people, dogfishing is a big deal because the person who poses with someone else’s dog shouldn’t have deceived them in the first place. But for other people, pretending to own a dog is just their way of getting attention.