When navigating the online dating world, singles can spend months swiping right in search for 'the one'.
But as soon as they start a conversation with their match, things can quickly turn sour.
One woman has shared a major "red flag" hopeful romantics should look out for when scrolling through dating apps.
Speaking to Reddit, the woman has explained how she has caught men trying to 'dogfish' her into a date by including a picture of themselves posed alongside someone else's dog on their profile.
She said: "I keep seeing profiles of guys in their late 20s to early 30s, saying 'Don't date me unless you love dogs', 'This is my best friend in the whole world' or 'I'll delete this app when my dog likes you'.
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"Then I get to talking, and say what's your dog's name? And they admit that they don't have a dog. That's their sister's dog, ex girlfriend's dog, or friend's dog. They don't even know the animal's name.
"They start listing all the reasons they don't have a pet - allergies, too much responsibility, don't like smells, or don't actually like animals that much."
Fearing it's a bad sign, the woman is urging singles to 'get out while they can' to save themselves from future lies.
She added: "I'm a dog owner. It would be a major green flag when my prospective date also has a pet that he takes care of and loves.
"I think a lot of women with pets would want to match with someone with the same pet as themselves - be it a lizard, snake, fish, dog, cat or bunny."
Questioning whether she is being "too sensitive" about it all, she has asked other Reddit users for their thoughts on people including somebody else's pet on their dating app profile.
One user said: "The fact that these guys are too stupid to either remember the dog's name or simply make one up when asked kind of explains a lot.
"Like, you've got to expect that if you have a dog in your profile, people are going to ask the name of that dog.
"What kind of dummy doesn't have an answer to that question ready? Red flag for lying. Red flag for being dumb as rocks."
Another user added: "That’s a red flag. I’m a guy and remember reading somewhere that women tend to click on pet owners for the reasons you mention.
"It’s just to get dates not that they actually care about the animal, especially if they can’t remember their name. I remember everyone one of my pets as they were family."
A third user said: "If they don't mention its not their dog somewhere, it's bait.
"They just prove that they can't actually take care of a dog because of how much work it is but they want to reap the benefits of having a dog.
"It probably also translates to how they are in real life. Just keep that in mind while you go on your date. Any other red flags, run. They probably aren't worth your time"
Do you have a dog story to share? Email paige.freshater@reachplc.com.
