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?

Its a dog which behaves in a way that causes people to be scared. And no wonder with the horrific tales of folk being killed or seriously injured by dogs. This is entirely on OP to not inflict this dog on other folk. IMHO.

But the only reason the person was there to be scared was because they let themselves into the OPs property without warning!

(And when I say OPs property I am aware they don't own it but for the duration of their rental they are entitled to expect privacy and exclusive use which essentially makes it their property)

The OP did not inflict their dog on other people, people inflicted themselves on the OPs dog! The OP literally did the opposite of inflicting the dog on people by making it explicitly clear that their dog was reactive (both ahead of time to the host and with written instructions at every entrance to the property, so nobody could claim they weren't warned) and set up basic safeguards to ensure their dog was never in the property when other people needed access to ensure the dog was not inflicted on them. They cannot do more than that if people blatantly ignore those safeguards to waltz into their private property without warning

YANBU. People who are saying the OP cannot control their dog, it clearly states that training has been ongoing and dogs do not have an off button, they aren’t robots. OP clearly did their best to manage the situation. OP made the air bnb owner explicitly aware of the situation, any concerns around the dog being there and ability for the cleaner to gain access should have been aired then.

I think there's a lot of people who aren't reading what you're actually saying OP.

You were completely upfront and asked for some very basic common courtesy - don't barge into our temporary home without notice - and this was ignored.

Pointless fucking question about what breed it is too - I know everything from dachshunds to golden retrievers that will do a pretty intimidating impression of a guard dog to visitors but - like yours - not go beyond barking.

Do you know how long it will be until you can return home?

You say the dog is fine when people arent at "his" property, but this isn't his property. It's an air b and b and the owner has the right to have cleaners come in. Train your dog properly and dont make this other peoples problem or fault.

Put the dog in a Kennel.

What has that got to do with anything? The dog is a liability and by the sounds of it has scared the cleaner, so clearly it isnt "lovely" to everyone.

The cleaner is the one making it other people's fault by claiming to be scared/bothered because they were confronted by a dog doing a perfectly natural thing when someone comes into their space unannounced, IE barking, despite the fact they were aware that there was a dog in the property, they ignored all of the warnings/requests to give the OP notice of visits so they could remove the dog and they didn't even have the courtesy to knock before waltzing in to a property that the OP has rented under the explicit expectation that they will have privacy and not be disturbed unless forewarning has been given.

The owner only has the right to have people come into the property during a reservation with the express advance permission of the guests who have rented the property and at an agreed upon time, not just randomly turning up whenever they feel like and letting themselves in unannounced as the cleaner did on this occasion

The guest has the right to privacy and not to be intruded on, maybe the owner needs to train their cleaner not to walk into a rented property without permission and without knocking instead?

There’s no need for a compromise as that’s exactly what she WAS doing, and what they landlord was aware of, she was taking the dog out of the property when the cleaner was scheduled to come so there was no issues, everyone agreed to those terms.

the problem arose when the cleaner inexplicably turned up unannounced and let themselves into the garden.

the landlord has seemingly made his mind up and OP has already found somewhere else to stay.

Respectfully, your dog reacts that way to strangers because he's not properly trained.

As PP have said, the cleaner should feel safe when doing her job, and should have the flexibility to enter the property as and when she needs to.

Unfortunately, I'm with the owner on this one...

Except she is not supposed to enter the property while the OP is there unless she has explicit permission from the OP, as per AirBnB rules (and just basic courtesy to the occupant)

Additionally the cleaner was not there doing her job (IE cleaning the property) she came to take an item from the shed on the property to use elsewhere without even having the courtesy of knocking first.

It would be like if you were staying in a hotel and housekeeping just strolled in to take the extra blanket from the top shelf of your wardrobe, because another room requested one, without even knocking or acknowledging the fact you were stood in the middle of the room getting dressed when they barged in so you shouted at them to GTFO.

Again, though, you are regarding everyone/thing else as the 'problem', and not addressing the actual problem: your untrained dog!

But the actual problem is the person who broke the T&C's of the rental agreement, waltzed into a private residence without even knocking, ignored the signs saying the dog is on the premises, did not communicate with the OP in any way regarding the visit (despite knowing there was an agreement for the OP to be forewarned when they came to the property so that the dog could be taken out) and then acted shocked when a dog did what most dogs will do when a stranger comes into their space and barked at them ... That person is not the OP

That's literally not the same thing at all. But OK.

People can argue about the details of the 'agreement' all they like. The problem here is an untrained dog. The End.

It is the same thing though - someone employed by the owner of the property you have rented enters the space you have paid to be in without warning and is treated with an angry reaction from the person in the property who is shocked and wants the person to leave.

Whether or not the dog is trained should not matter because the only people who should be affected by the dogs training would be the OP and their partner as there was an expectation that nobody else would enter the property without their permission.

The cleaner knew the dog was in the residence.
The cleaner knew the OP had an arrangement with their employer to warn them of any visits so the could take the dog out.
The cleaner broke the terms of the AirBnB contract by entering the property without permission, which she should have been made aware of by her employer
The cleaner did not heed any of the written warnings at the entrances regarding the dog being on the premises.
The cleaner did not knock or announce her arrival in any way that would have allowed the OP to secure the dog elsewhere before she entered the property.
The cleaner had no right to be in the property
The cleaner cannot then act surprised when a reactive dog reacts by barking under the circumstances.

I get where you coming from, OP, and you have admitted your dog has an issue and you have sought help and attempted to work at it, which is more than most people manage but it is not your property. The Air BnB can ask you to leave for any reason.

I also find it worrying that your dog guards in such an aggressive way even when you are home. That's not typical behaviour for a guarding breed. They would normally only react like that if people were outside, you were afraid and they were picking up on that or you were not home.

I'm not for a second suggesting that you have your dog PTS or anything drastic like that but you need to recognise that this is a potentially serious issue and you need to work to fix it now.

It is the same as if a cleaner was to walk in on someone naked in a hotel room, after being told always to knock first. If they dont knock then it is hardly the guest's fault!

You do know that a naked man and an uncontrollable dog are two VERY different things, right?

Dont follow rules - you get what you get.

And we all know what someone might 'get' with a volatile dog in the equation. Seriously!?

None of the agreements, written warnings etc matter - the dog should be trained.

I'm frankly stunned at those putting the 'rights' of a volatile dog over the safety of ACTUAL people.

That's quite a strange theory.
It is just like saying that somebody threatening to punch you in the face is not dangerous, they are just threatening you.
Dogs bark for reasons. Given the context provided, barking was meant as a warning and a way to incute fear, to be followed by an attack if the intruder did not back off.
Guard and attack dogs do not limit themselves to barking, dog breeders make sure of that, owners pay good money for that. That's similar logic, not a matter of opinions.

With all the recent and factual news about people being attacked, the landlord would be a fool to keep the guests and the dog. If anything happens he might well be sued for negligence, having agreed to the whole thing and done nothing after the incident described. OP clearly described not being in control of the dog, in that context, and the cleaner must have noticed.

Really not worth losing a cleaner and running a legal risk.
OP is better off staying with family or leaving the guard dog with someone trusted. If not a kennel, maybe with the vet or the trainer for a fee? After all they are very happy with the dog and, in the case of the trainer, perhaps more able right now to control it?

Regarding the cleaner entering with no permission, of course it is not right. But that does not excuse the threat. If you have a certain kind of dog, behaving in a certain kind of way, it might be a lovely companion in certain situations, but it still a loaded gun.
Sometimes I think that if the law was less lenient with the owners of dangerous dogs which happen to kill or maim, it would be better for everybody.
People would know that there is a risk to end up in jail or financially ruined for indirect responsibility, and they would simply act and plan more sensibly.

The postie just knocks on the door to let me know he's made a delivery. The dogs bark for 30 seconds maybe. He's not trying to come in. We have a screen door. I know they aren't a thing in ENgland for some random reason. SO people who do want to come in, are either friends/ relatives who the dogs greet with love or a new person who I tell the dogs to settle. Once they step over the threshold of the door way they are very calm with them. Go back to snoozing under the table.
If I stand at the door and don't let the person in then the dogs will get a bit defensive. .It's really not hard. I think the person who says that their dog wouldn't react if they found a stranger in the backyard has accidentally bought a cat.

Can you apologise and restate the previous info about dog and ask to negociate?
Can you purchase a cage and put the dog in the cage unless you are right there beside it with it's lead?
Can you put in a tether line with a chain attached and the dog has a secured run and is never off roaming the yard?
Can you negociate to never be at home a few morings per week to give the cleaner more than one available cleaning time?

Would the owner agree to a trial like that?

The owner is not being unreasonable.

This sound to me like you are trying to train your dogs nature out of him.

It sounds like he has a strong drive to guard and you are training him away fro that.

Poor dog.

Send him somewhere where he can be a brilliant, appreciated guard dog.

This is fucking nuts 😂

The cleaner was not allowed to enter without notice.

She was told that, if she entered without notice, there’s a high likelihood that a dog would bark at her.

She entered without notice and a dog barked at her.

And a dog barking does not, and should not, void a contract.

The cleaner was being really very stupid.

Not a cleaning day. Did not expect cleaner at all. Cleaner came randomly.

Maybe she came to pick up something she left behind, maybe she got her days mixed up. Stuff like that happens.

Expecting everyone in the world to dance to your tune by informing you they are coming round is just weird. Unexpected things happen all the time. That's life.

Fact is, you believe your dog which has not been trained properly has rights above human beings. Fucking weird.

Not surprised the owner wants you out. Who wants to deal with that shit?

I have friends who run AirBnBs and have been bitten by a dog as a child.
I'm with the owner and cleaner on this. Like said upthread, a good cleaner is like gold dust. (I was a good one lol).

My guess is Alsatian, and that the neighbors were complaining about barking or the owner was worried the dog was a liability - he might be responsible if the dog injured someone on his property, so used the cleaner incident as an excuse to get rid of you.