When did it become a thing to bring your dog to other peoples houses ?!

[Flowersandforests]

DH & I bought a house last year & have been really enjoying having friends / family over - but I’m getting soooo fed up of people asking / assuming their dog is invited too!!

I spent all of last Saturday cleaning my house & then friends bought their dog along so I had to reclean the whole house the next day to get rid of all the dog hair etc. I even found dog hair in my bed the next day 😱

We even had a friend who bought some manky sausages & asked us to cook them for the dog!!! I was trying not to gag.

I’ve started trying to say no, but find people take it soo personally if you don’t embrace their dog too. We’ve also had friends say they can’t leave the dog so would have to cancel (an hour before they were due to arrive) so I feel like my hand is being always being forced.

Has this always been a thing ??!! AIBU to think it’s rude and you should leave your pets at home.

Depends where you are though really.

When I could walk him, I used to walk him to the town to nip into the pet shop and then to get a coffee before return trip home. He comes to the pub with us occasionally as he enjoys people and the treats he gets.

If we're on holiday he comes everywhere with us as holiday let's don't normally let you leave them unattended.

His shit always gets picked up though

It's not a thing. It's a CF/entitled thing. I wouldn't dream of taking my dog anywhere, unless I had asked first, and if the answer was negative, I would make arrangements for the dog or send my apologies if we were going to be longer than 4 hours max and unable to find someone to look after her. In the same way that if DH and I are invited to dinner, I wouldn't turn up with my four children in tow.....;-)

I'm surrounded by dog lovers but no one would bring their dog to my house! I don't know anyone who would be rude enough to do that tbh. Quite aside from anything else I wouldn't want my house smelling of dog.

Now you sound like hard work. I completely get not turning up with a dog-but not even being allowed to ask! That seems a bit silly.

A ready made excuse!

My MIL ALWAYS brings her dog. They are now a package and she won't leave it ever. Me and DH hate dogs and this one is forever running upstairs and onto our bed 😤

Shut the bedroom door then? 🤯

I agree, dragging dogs around shops is just weird.

Sounds like a MIL problem. I don’t get offended if people say no, but for me if I can bring my dog then I can stay as long as we like- if I leave dog at home then I’m out for 4 hours including travel time. 🤷🏻‍♀️

@Haydenn I’ve always been very upfront about the fact I don’t like dogs. So anyone asking IS putting me in an uncomfortable position.

If your friend invited you over for dinner, would you ask if you could also bring your Mum?! If the invite isn’t issued upfront, I think it’s rude to ask.

Back in the day, items sold on eBay were labelled "from a smoke and pet free home" as a selling point.

Is it now the case that items are sold from dog- and vape-friendly homes as a selling point

They should leave the dog in the car if visiting. Then they can take it for a short walk or a longer one when leaving.

I wouldn't have a dog in my house. It all centres around the dog then. It's rude.

Just say no if they ask beforehand and if they turn up unannounced, don't let them in. If you lose friends because of it, then so be it- they obviously weren't good friends to start with.

Never needed to drag my dog anywhere. Like I say, holidays are surely an exception?

I'd rather have a well-behaved dog than a 'spirited' toddler visiting my house 😱
<runs away>

Hahaha! I wondered when this would descend into a “dogs are better than kids” slanging match!

maybe, but no one has tried to change a dogs nappy on my cream carpet or feed it a yogurt on my sofa!!!🙈

There are certain people I know where I'm frankly crestfallen if they haven't brought the dog because it's the dog I actually wanted to see.

we always take our dogs with us to my parents, they have a dog too. my in laws do not allow dogs in their house nor do they have a dog. we can however walk to visit them and they allow the dogs to have a drink of water in the garden.

I would never take my dogs to a friends unless they specifically invited my dogs too.

Drives me mad when the in laws brings theirs. They live 3 1/2 hours away so finding someone to have her is difficult for them. The dog is getting on a bit and very subdued. She just lies there farting the most soul destroying smells and gets the squits as she seems to get a nervous stomach when away from home. She eats all our cats food so we have to remember to move it out of the way. Their dog then ends up throwing up from the cats richer food. Can't leave the dog in the room with my kids, I could go on and on. She's the sweetest dog but there are many reasons to why we don't own one ourselves. The in-laws have said they are finding a way not to bring her next time...yes!

From what I have seen I think it is people who got lockdown puppies who are not used to being left alone and therefore they take them everywhere with them.

I was at an out of town clothes retail outlet last week and the amount of people wandering along looking at their phones and trailing these poor wee frou-frou dogs around behind them was ridiculous. A man tripped over one and accidentally stood on it and there was an unholy row that ensued.

A friend told me that she saw a couple at a restaurant putting their dogs in a bloody high chair at the table FFS.

Much as I do like dogs I would have to decline allowing one in the house as it would terrify the cats.

We have family and friend's who do this too. Now we have a rabbit my MIL is sooo sad that she can't visit the grandchildren as they can't leave the dog for a few hours 🙄

I also absolutely hate the way people drag their dogs about getting under everyone's feet thinking they are wonderful. They're not.

Was your friend having you on?????

Difficult. If you have a pet you must prioritise it but at the same time it’s wrong to expect you to have an animal you don’t want in your home. Talk to them and see where the compromise is.

The “compromise” is to leave your animal at home. You may have welcomed it into your home but nobody else has to.