The Dog Lovers Guide to Dating Movie Review

When his girlfriend's dog misbehaves and causes problems for their relationship, Simon hires a dog trainer to help. Here's a look at the The Dog Lovers Guide to Dating which is the Hallmark channel's first original movie of the New Year.

The Dog Lovers Guide to Dating Synopsis

The Hallmark Channel kicked off 2023 with The Dog Lovers Guide to Dating as the first original movie to air in the new year. Hallmark must think that Corey Sevier is a good luck charm because he also kicked off the 2022 Christmas movie season. He was in Noel Next Door which aired back in October 2022.

Simon (Corey Sevier) is dating Chloe (Eliza King). She has a dog, also named Simon, who doesn't seem to like Simon. When he takes the dog to the park for a walk, the dog takes off and makes a mess of everyone and everything in his way. While Simon is chasing down the dog, he runs into Alex (Rebecca Dalton). Alex is a professional dog trainer who uses her skills to get the dog to stop and obey Simon.

When the dog destroys a bouquet of flowers that Simon brings to Chloe, he realizes that he needs some help with the dog. He reaches out to Alex to hire her as a trainer to help fix his relationship with the dog. He knows that if he can get little Simon to like him, that he'll be able to win over Chloe.

As Alex and Simon spend time together, there of course is an attraction. Alex is completely different than Chloe. Where Chloe is a designer and thrives on her influencer status, Alex is down to earth and focuses her life on saving dogs at the animal shelter where she volunteers. When the shelter is forced to move, Simon helps Alex pull off a gala fundraiser to help save the business.

The Dog Lovers Guide to Dating Book

The Dog Lovers Guide to Dating is based on the book by Deborah Wood. Although her book really is a guide to help people find romance through their dogs. The movie shows how dogs can bring people together, but it doesn't actually take you through the steps like the book does. So while the book and the movie share the same name, they are very different. Don't purchase the book expecting a rom-com. But, if you have a dog and you're wondering how you can use your love of animals to find your next romance, then The Dog Lovers Guide to Dating: Using Cold Noses to Find Warm Hearts is just the book you need.

The Dog Lovers Guide to Dating Review

The Dog Lovers Guide to Dating was a fun way to kick-off 2023. I am a dog lover myself so anytime there's a movie with animals I'm a fan. But, I have to say that I think the movie was also missing something. I found Chloe annoying. She was very superficial and all about her brand. There really wasn't any chemistry between she and Simon so nothing to root for in that relationship. On the other hand, Alex was much more relatable and she and Simon got along well.

Part of what annoyed me about the movie was the backstory for Alex. Her father walked out on her when she was little and as a result she doesn't trust guys. Now I'm not saying that isn't real baggage that people carry with them. But, I felt like in this movie it wasn't genuine. They were just trying to invent tension in the relationship and I don't think it was necessary.

The Verdict: Cute But Skippable. While The Dog Lovers Guide to Dating wasn't terrible, it's also not one that I would tell you to run out and watch. So if you're still recovering from all of the Christmas movies you watched the last few months. Or, maybe you still have some to get through. I would say finish those up first and if you miss this movie no big deal. I think there will be more memorable movies to watch this winter.