To expect pet friendly to mean a dog can go everywhere

[Fluffyelephant]

We arrived yesterday in a holiday house for a family trip that was booked because the place described itself as pet friendly. On arrival though we were presented with very intense written rules regarding dogs - they were in bold and used terms like ‘under absolutely no circumstances with no exception can your dog…’

If we had been told these rules in advance we would never have paid to stay here as they absolutely won’t work for our dog and we know that. The main rule causing issue is that he’s only actually allowed in the living room and part of the hall so 75% of the house is off limits including the stairs. He’s well behaved and good natured and is a breed that doesn’t shed hair. But he’s a clingy breed and follows us around and always sleeps on the floor by our bed otherwise he gets very distressed.

The owners know a dog was coming because we told them and we paid an extra £50. But none of these rules were mentioned. If he caused damage then of course I would pay (as I would if it was caused by a child or adult) but this seems to be rules to preemptively prevent any damage from occurring in the first place.

Last night in an attempt to follow the rules I tried sleeping on the two seat sofa in the living room next to dog but this was horrendous so we just came upstairs. My partner says it’s impossible to relax so we’ll just have to drive gone today!

I feel like places say ‘pet friendly’ to get your money when they actually aren’t at all! AIBU?

Are the restrictions mentioned anywhere in the advert, booking details or confirmation?

If not, ignore it? Let the dog around the house.

Totally agree. We have a velcro dog who loves being close to us so we wouldn't stay either.

If you don't want pets, that's absolutely fine just be honest in adverts.

Seems ridiculous that you weren't given all the rules in advance. YANBU.

Seems like they wanted the dog fee and not the dog. Ignore and enjoy your holiday. Leave a review afterwards

Maybe one room say the dining room/space being out of bounds, but not as you seem to be saying. Whether your dog is well behaved in yours or even other people's eyes is not the issue.

It is to be blunt, a deception of sorts, misleading advertising.

YABU. because it is not normal for dogs to need to use every room in the house (same with on furniture). If you have a special needs dog then it is up to you to investigate further.

How will they know if you take him upstairs though? As long as he doesn't cause any damage and you vacuum after yourselves.

I agree this is ridiculous. If you have paid £50 for your pet then they should be able to go everywhere within reason. Sometimes at hotels you may only be allowed in the bar for food rather than the main restaurant for example, which is fair enough, but to have booked a house and be restricted is just odd.

I tend to follow the rules, but if you have a dog that doesn’t shed, how would they even know it had been in the bedroom? I would just crack on & let the dog roam free!

That’s really unacceptable they didn’t have that info available before booking or at least sent in advance, I’d be livid & also wouldn’t have booked.

I’d probably just ignore it, and write a very factual review afterwards.

I can understand (and would expect) strict rules - imagine if no rules and someone stayed with their dog, and let it run all over the house covered in mud say! Most dog owners are extremely responsible and wouldn't allow it but sadly there are those that let others down and tarr us all with the same brush.
That being said - I would absolutely expect the rules of taking a dog to a pet friendly accommodation to be visible upon booking. Thus making those rules part of your contract. If these rules weren't included ANYWHERE other than when you arrived then I don't see how they can really be enforceable.
If your dog is well behaved and isn't going to leave hair/mud everywhere then enjoy your holiday, clean up after him etc which I'm sure you would anyway x

We knew in advance that dogs weren’t allowed upstairs/on the bed and an additional charge would be made should dog hair be found on the beds. They didn’t offer anything to block off the stairs tho, so we had to barricade them with chairs.

If your dog doesn’t shed, how will they know?

That’s out of order. I’m generally a rule follower but I’d put a blanket or towel on the bed and completely ignore.

What can the property owner actually do if you break these rules?

If you are confident that your dog won't actually do any damage just ignore the rules but do a really thorough clean in the "no dog" areas before you leave, to remove all evidence.

Surely the worst they can do is charge you for any actual damage done.

It's not their fault you have a neurotic dog. Most dogs could be shut in one room without issues. Please don't let the dog upstairs as that's gross for future guests.

No, it’s on the owners to make sure they give all the info in advance before people book their property, as a customer you shouldn’t have to integrate the owners, info should be readily available.

I specifically book accommodation that advertised no pets because I presume those that allow dogs will have had them upstairs and all around the house including sitting on sofas etc.
In which case I’d just crack on with the holiday and let your dog go where it wants, enjoy the holiday and come home again. Check the listing carefully though and any communication made before the point of payment to make sure you haven’t missed any sneaky small print.

This happened to us and we ignored it because it wasn't in the original listing or booking just on a list of rules when we got there.

Dogs not allowed on any furniture or upstairs.

We put blankets on the sofas and the bed in case the dog got on in the night and just vacuumed really well before we left.

We did try and leave the dog downstairs but she then pissed on their sofa because she was scared as she's always been allowed up with us.

The 'dog friendly' garden wasn't even slightly secure either. It was a really difficult holiday.

I left them a really shitty review and they lied through their teeth in their reply.

When we had our dog we would just take a pile of blankets with us and throw them over furniture, let the dog go anywhere and then clean like fury before we left. We never had any problems and the feedback was always 'let the house very tidy".

I've found anywhere that says it allows dogs has similar rules. But they have always been sent with the booking confirmation. One place said the dog wasn't allowed to poo in the garden! Now, obviously we would clean up any dog mess. But we wanted somewhere with a garden specifically so the dog could go out. Not necessarily to poo, but if you allow your dog in the garden, how exactly do you stop it pooing?! (We cancelled that one so didn't have to try in the end)
All other places have said not upstairs, in bedrooms or on furniture. Our boy doesn't go upstairs or in bedrooms in our house so that's fair enough. Although I've yet to find anywhere that actually provides a gate to stop them - we've always taken our own baby gate. The problem for us is that our dog sleeps on the sofa. So no chance he is going to sleep on his bed on holiday. We get round this by taking loads of clean throws to completely cover the sofa and removing any loose cushions. To be honest I would probably do this anyway.

Anyway, point being, I am yet to find anyone allowing dogs that doesn't have similar rules. I do sort of get it - I don't even want my own dog in my bed!

My experience of holiday cottages that are marketed as dog friendly is that the rules state dogs must never be left in the house alone, they’re not allowed on any of the furniture or anywhere upstairs.

So I wouldn’t take ‘pet friendly’ to mean free to roam the whole house, but they should state at the time of booking what any restrictions are. Is it definitely not stated somewhere on their website or within their T&Cs?

What? 😄

The owner should have been clearer on the listing but

But he’s a clingy breed and follows us around and always sleeps on the floor by our bed otherwise he gets very distressed.

You need to urgently address this with a behavioural therapist, what would happen if you were all ill or another circumstance meant the dog needed to stay elsewhere. You need to ensure you have a happy, confident dog or it’s irresponsible ownership.

tell me you're not a dog owner without telling me you're not a dog owner 🤣

YANBU. Ignore these ridiculous rules as 1. They are not enforceable and 2. They weren't mentioned when you made your booking so don't actually form part of your contract.

Enjoy your holiday with your lovely pup!