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?

YABU for not continuing to train your dog after the pandemic. I think you've done them a real disservice it's not normal to need a house like Fort Knox because you can't control your dog.

OP, I don't know if you just mistyped but it's fool proof not full proof.

@MissJoGrant I am dyslexic

I'm with you OP on this one. I would find it intrusive having people coming into the Airbnb unannounced even without the dog issue. The owner should of made sure the cleaner was following protocol and explained why it was important. It was a completely reasonable set up for you to take the dog out when the cleaner was coming. If the owner wasn't comfortable with your dog situation, he shouldn't have taken your booking.

YABU
As is anyone who owns an out of control, intimidating dog

Sorry but no, it's your responsibility when you have a big guard breed to make sure it's training is as close to fool proof as humanly possibl, or to keep it restrained in unfamiliar surroundings. Stalling during the pandemic isn't an excuse, you can do the work yourself at home and you've had 2+ years since then to crack on with it again.

I say this as the owner of three big dogs that love to woof. When I say "down, paws" all three lie down and put their heads on their paws, no matter the situation. A rabbit could've hopped across the path in front of them and they'd do as they're told. When you have a big dog it is your responsibility to ensure they're safe and well trained, for their sake as well as everyone else's.

It doesn't matter if the air b&b owner originally was ok with the dog, if the cleaner has said she's scared to enter the property and do her job, he's allowed to change his mind.

Ah, apologies. Didn't know if it was a bone-apple-tea moment.

We are not here by choice.

No YANBU. You gave fair warning but the cleaner chose to ignore what you said and is now bleating to the owner that she won't do her job.

I couldn't be bothered to argue the toss and would move out. Can you find somewhere more suitable with a fenced off area for the dog?

I would use this as a sign that you need to crack on with the behaviour stuff and get this sorted. If this happens again it could cause you a bigger headache.

The last lockdown was over two years ago.

Yes we can move on. Putting dog in kennels is not something I am willing to do.

Just think it’s a bit rich to give assurances/take money and then kick us out.

YANBU because the owner agreed to let you know when the cleaner was coming and knew about your dog. But if they want you to leave then really there is nothing you can do.

Also lockdown was ages ago, did you not continue to train your dog after lockdown?

Lots of dogs are territorial and will vocally protect their owners like this, regardless of breed. It does not make the dog untrained, just... normal.

Personally, if someone is renting somewhere, I would expect to be informed that someone is coming in, regardless of whether there's a dog or not. I think it is unreasonable for the cleaner to just turn up like that.

That's why it's best to just STFU with the grammar nitpicking on a public forum; it saves you embarrassing yourself and is almost never wanted or welcomed by the victim. There's a pedants' corner for pedants.

It absolutely does make them untrained 🤦‍♀️

OP I can see both sides of your problem, but it's the owner's property, so best to just find elsewhere (somewhere that will be more accommodating) and move on with life. Ideally, somewhere that gives you notice of the weekly clean so you can take the dog out for a long walk. I can't stand being at home for the cleaner, it's too awkward!

Have you tried just reminding to Airbnb owner of the need for the cleaner to confirm arrival and you'll be out? Unusual for an Airbnb to be cleaned while guests are there though

You are being unreasonable by neglecting to train your dog effectively, having given up after the pandemic over two years ago (very weak excuse!).

You and others are also missing the very important fact that it doesn’t matter at all whether or not you were informed that the cleaner was coming - the point is that your recall doesn’t work, your dog isn’t adequately trained not to intimidate or approach people, and therefore even if you HAD been given fair warning the cleaner cannot be expected to feel safe in that environment. Your dog cannot be effectively controlled.

Sorry OP but YABU

In this day and age of badly behaved dogs, an unacceptable number of attacks etc dogs in other people’s properties need to have an absolute zero tolerance approach to this kind of thing. Big barky dogs are terrifying to many - poor woman just wanted to get on with her job! Why on Earth didn’t you restrain him as well the first time?

100% I’ve messed up with not picking up training. Not to make excuses but I’m on Mirtazapine for severe depression which has caused a 4 stone weight gain. I only leave the house to walk the dog. My issues have definitely made me fail dog. We will pick up with the behaviourist when return home.

in the behaviourist’s report he refers to my dog as “exceptionally obedient [outside the home]” and “lovely”. The vets refer to him as the “best [breed] at the surgery”. It’s just a shit show inside the house.

It’s always going to be an issue when using something like air bnb really. When you first made the request it was no problem, it has now become a problem for the owner and the nature of the transaction is they aren’t unreasonable for wanting you our. To be honest, I love dogs and have my own, but nobody should have to deal with an intimidating dog while doing their work, so I can see why the cleaner is refusing to come back, and at the point the cleaner won’t come back I can see why the owner’s want you out, so no, they aren’t being unreasonable. This is a “your dog, your problem” issue I’m afraid, I do sympathise though because it is difficult when you’re trying to train your dog, just something you have to accept for next time

This is such an unusual request, the host has probably not been asked that before, and thought it would be OK. But it turns out that fannying about pandering to a poorly trained dog is more of a pain in the arse than they expected, so they have asked you to move on.

We had a trainer day 3 of dog being in the house. And spent thousands on training him. It’s not for lack of trying.

Dog attends agility, scent classes with no problem. Is even a favourite at the local pub. We know there is a problem with him in the house hence why we live the way we do.

Looks like the only option we have is staying at sister’s flat.

I was just thinking that! You haven't bothered since all the restrictions and stuff were lifted?

The owner obviously works with this cleaner and the cleaner doesn't feel safe. So not much owner can do.
Sort your dog out.