Air bnb owner ott or do we deserve to be chucked out?

[Pilloh]

We were forced out of our house due to a water leak in the house. The insurance company said we had to move out due to the severity of the work.

A bit of a nightmare for us as we have a large dog. He’s been called a wonderfully mannered dog by a qualified behaviourist outside the house who really doesn’t care about people/other dogs. But he is a breed used for guarding and therefore very barky at home (we have a command that gets him to be quiet but it doesn’t stop the impulse to bark initially). Not to make excuses, we were working on this with the behaviourist pre-pandemic but our progress stalled so we just manage the situation. Ie we have gates all around our house/garden, don’t allow strangers and the dog to meet inside the house (he’s totally fine with people when they are not on “his” property). Our house is basically Fort Knox and only DH and I are here so it’s all pretty easy to manage.

We told the air bnb owner that please tell the cleaner not to enter house or garden without telling us as dog will run up and bark at strangers. He agreed. We explained the situation and he said he understood.

Yesterday pm, cleaner comes into the garden when I was playing footy - she was fetching something from shed. Dog ran towards her and barked. I gave the recall command which worked initially but then my dog ran back to cleaner and barked. It’s no doubt intimidating. After 20 ish secs dog was in the house and I apologised. Recall is not full proof hence why we never rely on it. We would never have found an Airbnb where we were not assured we would be informed of any person entering the property.

Owner has messaged now saying the cleaner won’t return whilst we are here and that means we have to leave as the owner is not ok with the house not being maintenanced.

Cleaner has visited 4 times without incident as the right procedures were followed.

Who is being unreasonable?

I have a professionally trained guard dog. I would never guarantee anything 100% because he is of course still a dog with doggy impulses but I’ve just accepted that dealing with some extra difficulty is the price we pay for having him. I can understand why nobody wants to take the word of me, a stranger, that a large dog is not a threat. I do think YANBU thought because they agreed initially. I’d offer to have the cleaner come and meet the dog and see that he won’t harm her but ultimately it’s their choice. Although I don’t think the cleaner is meant to be turning up to an Airbnb unannounced anyways!

I’m still curious as to what breed? Have I missed the answer to that question???

I’m not vilifying the breed.

I generally don't like dogs, but I am on your side in this.

They promised you a warning before a third person enters a rental, so they should just do it from now and it will be alright

Good cleaners are really hard to find! We were on a waiting list for two months to get Adrijana. She made it quite clear from the start that she didn't work for just anyone. I've spent months looking for a Christmas present that will make her happy... the latest Dyson models are so expensive!

Much much easier to just get rid of the dog.

Dogs are not disposable objects.

OP I agree that your Airbnb owner screwed up on this one. The fact that your dog is not exactly as well trained as you want it to be is kind of missing the point - he agreed to something then didn't follow through on what he had agreed with you. You are allowed to be annoyed about that.

Good luck with the doggo :-)

If the owner did not want the hassle of texting cleaner whenever unscheduled visited were to be made he should have declined £1k/week from the insurance company.

Give the OP's comments about having depression and 'thats why there is no quick fix' because its somehow prohibited them from training the dog properly this is part of the problem; the OP irresponsibly choose a breed of dog they aren't fully capable of looking after in a way thats not going to be a problem. No dog is perfect but a responsible owner will pick a dog suitable for their ability and personality.

This is why I get REALLY peed off. Dogs NEED to be matched with the right owner and vice versa. Thats not anti-dog, thats anti-people-who-don't-understand-that-the-type-of-dog-they-pick-matters-and-has-an-impact-on-others.

Either train the dog, or give it to someone who can cope with the dog rather than making exuses or coming up with 'workarounds' or 'lying' that the dog bites because of the 'severity of the issue' [the real issue being the fact you can't control the dog, because you haven't trained it because you've got issues and you've got the useful excuse of the panademic].

I don't want a dog. I'd be a shit owner. I'm responsible enough to understand this. Instead I ensure DS, who is desparate for a dog, gets to spend loads of time around dogs - who are well trained and have good owners - and he sees how much work and how difficult looking after a dog can be. Cos thats ultimately the best I can do. I don't have a problem with dogs who are well looked after. I do have an issue with dogs that aren't under the control of their owner at all times. Cos a good owner will have the self awareness to understand that the level they should be trained to, should be to cope with the most nervous non-dog lover out there, without issue. Otherwise THEY are the problem NOT the dog.

Even more reason not to home one you can't manage in the first place then...

Seems the owner screwed up here.
Good luck finding somewhere else, OP.

The arrangement hasn't worked out.
He no longer wants the £1k/week.
He isn't obliged to keep taking the money.
He isn't obliged to accomodate you as you are a temporary let not a tenant.
He's saying no now.
Which he is within his rights to do.

I don't think it's usual for people to have to live like they are inside "Fort Knox" just because they have a dog. Or to have to issue warnings to people not to come near the house and need laminated signs up on the doors warning folk.

What exactly is it that you're not getting OP? Situations change! At the start, the arrangement was one he felt able to keep to. Now, for all you know, he's having teenager issues, or an elderly parents had a fall, or his other job is getting too stressful etc. There are a multitude of reasons why he mightnt have text the cleaner. Now he realises that ita not sustainable going forward, for whatever reason, he's asked you to leave.

Situations change!

You literally started the human comparison in your first post - 'If I aggressively ran at the cleaner shouting and threatening to physically attack her then I'd take it on the chin and leave'. My follow up was that there may be scenarios when people could do that when startled but you were too narrow minded to think of someone like my brother and called such people 'aggressive humans and potential murderers'.

My point is there are all sorts of reasons people don't want to be burst in on unannounced and it is their right to have this privacy whatever the reason.

I think this just comes down to people. The owner needs or wants to maintain the relationship with the cleaner more than he needs to keep you happy. It kind of doesn't matter what is fair or that it was the cleaner who broke the rule - he is not going to risk losing that person, in whatever way, over your dog.

I appreciate this puts you in a hole but I think you're relying on goodwill to get someone to accept you with a big and difficult dog. And now he's scared the cleaner you're just not going to get that.

You bought her a Dyson I hope you are joking

I think you’re being given a hard time OP. You were clear with the hosts what you required and they haven’t maintained their commitment to that. That’s poor and I’m sorry you’ll need to move again. You sound like a responsible owner and in time you’ll be able to work with your dog to change his behaviour at home x

She could have been doing naked gardening and then the cleaner turns up announced. The bloke is a prick end of.

That doesn't answer the question of what people expect a dog to do when an unexpected stranger appears in their home.

The OP knows the the dog is reactive in their home and has made every precaution to safeguard the dog and anyone else by ensuring they get some prior warning of visitors. I doubt the OP has notes at their actual home but when you're in a temporary space where you have no idea who will try and enter (landlord, cleaner, gardener etc) it is courteous to prewarn them that there is a dog on the property and to let the owner know of your presence so they can secure the dog.

The cleaner decided to ignore the set protocol - let the OP know ahead of time that they are coming - and common courtesy - knocking and not just letting yourself in to someone else's space and was surprised to be confronted by a barking dog. This is 100% a situation caused by the cleaner

Can't imagine why

Honestly, that sounds like a pain in the arse for the owner. The cleaner he pays can't clean his property and there's a large dog living there. I'm surprised you were allowed to rent it with pets, especially a large dog. Is it a long term rental?
It sounds like there's some missing details from your 1st post as most people wouldn't ask you to leave simply because a dog ran to and barked at the cleaner one time 🤔

Hes not at all (as the majority of replies attest)

And what does that mean you must be right???

Then I don't think you were unreasonable and anyone entering one of our properties whilst being let without giving the guest notice would get short shrift from our bosses because it's unacceptable to do that, except in cases of unavoidable urgency and even then we'd try contacting first unless it was something that was immediately life/property threatening.

However the situation occurred though, if the owner wasn't aware the cleaner was going in or was and forgot, or it may even be that the owner didn't get any message from the cleaner about going until it was too late and she'd been because he wasn't expecting it either. It has occurred and the owner has weighed the situation and decided that he doesn't want this situation happening again. I do think you're entitled to a full refund of any money that you have paid upfront that you won't get to use though, because of the cleaner arriving unannounced - regardless of the dog.

On another note, I do realise how tough life with a reactive dog is, I have one. And as pp have mentioned, certain breeds have certain traits that are inherent and even bred into them because they were/are desired for different reasons. German Shepherds guard, collies round up, spaniels carry things etc etc. It's not always possible to completely eradicate those traits. But OP, those types of dogs are usually quite trainable with the right approach and I do understand that you aren't well and the effect mirtazipine can have too, it removed what little motivation I had for anything when I took it.
But, you obviously love this dog a lot - could starting training with him again and continuing with it give you a focus - it's not for you it's for him? If he ever did get away from you, or someone did get in contact with him and he reacted badly it would be to his and your detriment as well as the other person and you starting with training again and following through could prevent that from happening.

All the best OP. Hope things work out for you.