<p>Nancy Reagan said it best…</p>
<p>Just Say No.</p>
<p>How do you handle situations when your guests want to bring their dogs over when they come?</p>
<p>Of course, we’re not talking about Westminster Dog Show candidates here. We’re talking about the more typical, slightly hyper dog that might sit there and scratch at your door if let outside, or might jump on your furniture if it inside, etc.</p>
<p>For the evening or for an overnight visit? Do they need to bring their dogs because they are traveling or do they just take FIDO everywhere?</p>
<p>We have had dogs for the last 10+ years who do tend to go everywhere with us, but they have also been trained to love the car. I have gone to friend’s homes for the evening and brought the dog and left it in the car (cool climate) and he is thrilled to go for a ride, take a nap, have a snack, then take a nap.</p>
<p>We have traveled and brought our dog with us to people’s homes, but they are family, they are dog people, and they were asked first.</p>
<p>We have done this both when the dogs were young and still learning and when they were old and well trained. I do always try to be very sensitive to the fact that others may not love my dog or any dog.</p>
<p>What is your situation?</p>
<p>There are only 2 words that you can tell them in response to their question about bringing the dog to your house, “yes” or “no”. I would send them a polite yet firm message that your house is open for overnight stays to 2-legged creatures only, include a list of local dog-friendly hotels, and ask if you could assist with making reservations.</p>
<p>Dog guests at our house must be kennel trained. They must either be in direct view of people and being good, be in the crate (if they can’t be quiet, the crate goes to the garage), or outside in the fenced yard. They must have had their shots and be tagged with address/phone number in case of escape.</p>
<p>No dog guests here. Every time a relative has brought a dog here, it has either barfed or otherwise messed up our carpets. We will dog sit our neighbors very well behaved pooch…but relatives with dogs are welcome to either pitch a tent or stay at a hotel.</p>
<p>I like dogs, and wish we had a big backyard that would be great for a dog to play in. We a smallish backyard with a little grass, but unfortuantely our backyard has lots of pretty ornamental shrubs, and I just have too much concern the slighly hyper dog will not do nice things to the ornamental shrubs and plants. </p>
<p>And I’m very concerned about scratching at the door. This particular dog is used to being an inside dog, and I don’t think it’ll like being outside. Nor, will the owner be happy about it being outside. She’ll be worried about the dog being cold or wet or unhappy.</p>
<p>Let me guess. Is this your MILs pooch? ;)</p>
<p>I dont mind dog guests at all as long as the pet is well-trained. I, or rather my dog, might learn some new tricks during the visit c/o the guest/visitor dog-owner. There are some breeds though that I may have to say No no matter how well-trained such as a Pit Bull, Rottweiler, Akita, Doberman and Wolf-hybrid dogs. I dont have the demeanor to handle these breeds. I would do like BunsenB suggested, give my guests a list of dog-friendly hotels or a reputable kennel where the dog can stay.</p>
<p>I am a dog person and I happily welcome the dogs of friends and relatives into my home. But, I would never expect someone to welcome my dogs into their home. If someone offered, I might take them up on it, but I would never presume and I would never ask and put someone on the spot like that. You shouldn’t feel at all guilty about saying you don’t want dogs at your house or in your backyard. True friends shouldn’t be offended that you don’t want their dogs, they should be embarrassed they put you in the awkward position of having to say so.</p>
<p>I don’t think our elderly collie and Australian shepherd puppy would take kindly to another dog! It’s already too crazy around here.</p>
<p>I grew up with dogs, but don’t have one. If my Mom or brothers come visiting I always tell them they can bring their dogs. So far they haven’t done anything worse than get into trash cans when we left them alone too long. I always offer before they ask. It’s fine with me, but I know their dogs. (There’s one with a shoe fetish and you have to make sure they are not available!)</p>
<p>If you’re not comfortable with it, then say no. We bring our dog with us everywhere- but obviously only if the host is OK with it. We have passed on vacations before because Fido wasn’t allowed and we couldn’t find a pet-friendly hotel that allowed my type of dog. She’s just part of the family.</p>
<p>Dogs are always welcome at our house :). Although after our Christmas tree went boom last year, we have learned to not allow them into our living room with decorations up :D</p>
<p>Most dogs aren’t going to be able to do much damage to a mature shrub.
Flowers however are another matter. My dog liked to sit in the middle bed ( which was mostly bulbs & perennials at the time) of our planting strip while she waited for me to throw the tennis ball down the sidewalk. ( Yes, she was a lab- all 75 lbs of her, how did you know?);)</p>
<p>We have only allowed this twice ever. Both dogs (lab and long haired dachshund) had very calm, laid back personalities and couldn’t have been better behaved.</p>
<p>"Most dogs aren’t going to be able to do much damage to a mature shrub.</p>
<p>:) You should have seen my GSD pup chewing up a Japanese maple right in front of our realtor as we were trying to set the listing price. We LOLed and said that the property value went instantly down by a couple of hundreds of dollars :)</p>
<p>Most responsible dog owners will respect the host’s requests and wishes (just look at the replies from dog lovers here in this thread). If the visitors get offended that you are not into having their Fido in the house, it is their problem, and you should not feel guilty.</p>
<p>If this is an acquaintance, just say you don’t allow dogs in the house. I say I don’t let any animals in the house because of allergies. This happens to be true in our case.</p>
<p>If this is your in-laws and your wife is okay with their dogs in the house… that is a different discussion.
:)</p>
<p>It’s your right to refuse to host your guest’s dogs as family pets add another layer of imposition on the living space and its owner. </p>
<p>If the pet owners are miffed, they’re the ones who have an attitude problem and need to get it adjusted as it’s your house…not their’s. </p>
<p>To be honest, it would never occur to anyone I know…pet owner or not…to even consider bringing pets with them when they are guests in someone else’s home. The usual practice is to have a trusted neighbor/local friend house/pet sit until they get back.</p>
<p>^We have neighbors who asked us to bird sit, but they wanted to turn down the heat in their house, and bring the birds to our house. We did it once, but discovered that birds are messy and noisy. We hated it, and have said no ever since. I loved birds when we lived in Tanzania, but we had servants who swept up after them and they lived in a big cage in a double story room that was open to the elements on one side, so if they were chatty, I never really noticed. (And we had a second more indoor living room to escape them if we wanted to.)</p>
<p>At any rate, I think it’s fine for anyone to say no, and if it’s hard to say no plead allergies or pets that don’t like other animals.</p>
<p>My husband always wants to take the dogs with us when we go to local family members homes for dinner. My mother is happy to have the granddogs, but my sister in law is not at her home. It bothers me that my husband begs his sister when he know how she feels; I always say no and he still wants them to go. While we do take the dogs with us for rides when the weather allows, and we go out to lunch on the weekends to dog friendly locations, I understand when someone else doesn’t want the dogs around.</p>
<p>That said, we host Thanksgiving every year and my nieces are allowed to bring their dogs if the weather is nice and the dogs will play outside. We have a few that don’t like dogs, so the dogs stay outside until most of the guest have left and the food is out of reach 
After that, they are allowed inside and most are ready to nap by that time. My two are so worn out that when the last guest leaves, they fall asleep wherever they were standing at the time the door closed for the last time!!</p>