Having a dog as a guest

[PCcrisps]

We've never had pets. DC would have liked them, but we've always worked long days, wouldn't be fair etc and if I'm honest I'm a bit scared of animals, although getting better.

DS1 (adult) has a girlfriend from a family of animal lovers. They have a youngish dog (9mo) who DS is absolutely smitten with. He often stayed at her house during the "new baby" stage and appears to have been involved a lot, they take the dog out for long walks, teach it tricks etc.

GF and her family are going away. DS has volunteered to have the dog.

I don't want a dog in my house, I like my easy low cleaning maintenance house.

How much extra work is it really? DS will do it, but he's not thorough!

What sort of dog is it? The hair shedding can really vary. And how long would it be for?

Some sort of Labrador cross. A week.

Your house will smell and hair everywhere, not to mention poo and wee in your garden. I honestly don’t get the appeal of dogs

You need to tell DS that he cannot volunteer to look after a dog when it's not his house. He needs to politely tell them it won't work out after all. No way would I want someone else's dog in my house! Doesn't he know he should check with you before inviting guests?

Labradors are one of the worst dogs IME for hair and smells , it would make much more sense for your son to look after the dog in its own home . At 9 months it is also liable to chew anything .

If it's a well behaved, house trained, clean dog it won't make your house smell.
They should send it with clean bedding and a bag with plenty of old towels to put down.
Have ground rules: son hovers and washes the floor every day. Walks it (including regular short walks for toileting) and clears up any mess in the garden right away.

Lab crosses are pretty hairy, but also very friendly. You never know, you might like it!

Ime part and parcel of your dc growing up is to accept their choices and support them. Your ds is invested in an animal lover family. Extend that courtesy of helping with the ddog and you will reap the rewards in your relationship with ds and your possible dil!!
My ds has a gf with an absolute whirlwind dc.. All my dc groan when they are coming but we welcome him and tidy up afterwards!!

Isn't part of DS's growing up also knowing when to ASK if he can bring an animal into a house he shares with others?

I doubt ds expects you to allow it to wreck your home. Ground rules on poo picking and vaccuming are a must.
My adult ds got a dpuppy and brought it every visit. If I had said no ds would have been over a lot less. And that ddog was a bloody nightmare!!

Could he dog sit in his girlfriend's home rather than bring it to your home?

I have a Labrador and can confirm that they are hairy and smelly. It’s also prime moulting time although with the weather we’ve been having, mine still has a full winter coat 🙁. Can he stay at the girlfriend’s house with the dog for the week?

This.
mer had to turn down looking after a pet and do their house instead as we would have had to strip all our furniture/decoration.
Do you like your sofa/carpets? Garden?

Absolutely not, I wouldn't have any dog/cat in my home.

DS can go and stay in the animal's home instead if he's so besotted with it.

@PCcrisps

Could DS not stay at their house, better for the dog & better for you.

labradors do shed a lot!! The 'cross' part might reduce that somewhat.

tell DS he's in charge of cleaning up after it.

you might want to do another clean after DS, once the dog has gone home, it's only for a holiday, not permanent.

use the opportunity to help you stop being scared, they're complete softies!

Why can’t your son go and live in their house and take care of the dog there? My mum has a lab that I regularly look after and I always stay at hers to do it - doggo is way more settled in his own environment with his pwn things and familiar smells. Labs are big home lovers too and love their routine.

We have a Labrador and I can confirm it's shedding season! I've just brushed hours and got enough hair off him to make a decent wig for someone!

At 9 months they are also still a teenager so will have the zoomies, want plenty of stimulation and might still be a little nippy

This is fine if you're a dog lover but you clearly are not (also fine!!)

Can your DS and his GF not stay at her parents house and dog sit there where he's more familiar with the environment and they have everything to hand?

At 9 months old it will be adolescent and still prone to chewing stuff up and general bad behaviour. Mine chewed 3 TV remotes, the stair carpet and all the chair legs at that age plus he dug holes in the garden and generally wrecked the joint. Now at 3 years old he's stopped doing all that and is much more pleasant company but having an adolescent lab to stay. No thanks.

This. If he wants to look after the dog he can offer to housesit.

New baby stage- assume you mean puppy stage?

Eh? What if DS had embraced heroin addiction?

Why can't he houses it for them and care for the dog.

The dog may be stressed in your home .

Definitely tell DS he can stay at GF house and look after the dog.
We've had guests come to stay with a labrador. Much as I love my friends and don't mind dogs, their rules on what their dog was allowed to do did not match mine!

As others have said why can't he stay there to look after the dog? How old is he?

Of course he can look after the dog - at their house.
i wouldn’t be welcoming a smelly dog to stay at my house, I’ve chosen to not have dogs for many reasons but number one is the smell and hair.

They're lovely and loving and adorable and affectionate and worth every moment looking after them.

Being loving and adorable doesn't stop the smell though.