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?

I don’t understand why people who don’t like dogs are in uproar about them being in a bedroom but ok about them being in the kitchen?! You know, that place where you prepare & eat food, and good hygiene is actually important…..

Are they the same people who think sitting on the bed in ‘outdoor clothes’ is ‘minging’? And even if the dog went on the bed, I would sincerely hope that duvet covers, sheets etc are changed between guests!

I don't get why people who don't like dogs are outraged about minor rule transgressions in pet friendly cottages that most of them say they would never go to?? Not your circus...

No, he doesn't.

We have just had a similar situation, booked holiday cottage for a short break. Advertised dog friendly, paid additional fee, got to cottage, stunning. However child gate top of stairs. Dogs not allowed upstairs or on furniture. Hadn't stopped at this cottage before, but most dog friendly places have these rules. So I took a throw to cover their settee. Took my own bedthrow, incase they jumped on the bed. We booked this cottage as it had a garden, but couldn't let the dogs in the garden without us or off lead, as it wasn't secure. Great that people allow us to take our pets, but they always have these restrictions.

YAbU because you should quietly ignore these rules. Leave the accommodation exactly as you found it and no one will be the wiser.Enjoy your break - you sound like a responsible and considerate person.

I hate that! so annoying found that people say dog friendly and then you find only service dogs allowed. When looking for accommodation with our dog, (mainly Airbnb) I check and double check , will ring or message the hosts or hotel.
The fact that your place took 50 off you for your dog and then left all those rules is bad, ours also goes everywhere with us and have had her in bedrooms with us, but made sure she stayed on the floor (usually sleeps on the bed). One place we stayed said was dog friendly, host had a dog, but her dog wasnt dog friendly and they suggested we kept our dog in the car!! if it wasn't the fact we had driven a long way and were unlikely to get anywhere else to stay, we would have left there and then , but our dog needless to say didn't stay in the car.
Take your dog in the bedroom with you, as long as you leave the place as you left it , can't see a problem. or find somewhere else, but that's probably not an option knowing how hard to find dog friendly places, plus more expense

We had this. Paid £50 per dog. I let them go everywhere. Ridiculous rules.

🤣 gross for future guests?! There's this thing called cleaning. Look it up.

I would just ignore what the rules say. We have our dog on our bed at home and will be when away. The duvet cover can be washed.

You clearly have no experience of dogs!!

Everyone ignores these rules on holiday, pet friendly is pet friendly they should be allowed to do whatever they do at home

I always directly message the owner about details. Too many times bitten by rules not specified in listing.

I am guessing upstairs is out of bounds to stop dogs sleeping on the beds, your dog may not but others would / jump up etc and it’s not nice after a while as places start to smell of dogs, fair enough downstairs but upstairs it’s not so nice.
however as you’ve paid and I doubt they’ll know I guess that’s up to you.

In all the dog friendly places I have stayed I have never had restrictions on where our dog could go in the house so I really don’t think it’s the norm. For people saying that to OP should just follow the rules if you arrived at a holiday home that said children welcome but then on arrival they said actually your children aren’t allowed in any room unsupervised, they can’t go in the living room or the master bedroom at all, would that be acceptable? Whether you like dogs or not isn’t the point. The point is the rules should be clearly set out when booking so people can make an informed choice!

I’m not a dog person, but would assume that if someone advertises a place as dog-friendly that the dog can roam everywhere.

I think you have done the right thing. Just hoover up the evidence before you leave. If people want to set rules, they should make the customer aware of them before they book.

CaptainOliviaBenson · Today 17:43
Bewareofthisonetoo · Today 09:10

Dog owners always say their dog doesn’t sleep in their bed, as they realise how scuzzy it is, but if the dog is in the bedroom then yes it comes in the bed 🤢

No, he doesn't.

Our old girl didn’t either, she slept on her armchair. Never got onto the bed unless invited.

There’s this thing called training.

Every place I've stayed so far with my dog that states dog friendly on booking has turned out to be what I call dog tolerant and these rules are never in the advert.
The last place had a lovely secure garden which was a plus for us but the rules for house were no dogs upstairs (impossible as the stairs were open plan with no gate) , not on sofas and weren't allowed to put them in the bath. So unable to wash down after a muddy walk which was ridiculous.
We also have a velcro non molting poodle Cross who at home sleeps on our bed.
I ensure I keep him off the bed in holiday places, bring blankets for the sofa and used the bath just very carefully (it was a plastic bath so think they were worried about scratches)

It really annoys me that these dog house rules are not clear on the advert.

I agree.
Most dog friendly cottages tend to say not on furniture and not upstairs..

We use to take our dog's crate with us with an extra bed.

I dispose of any bedding etc that I take to dog friendly places as I can't guarantee that any other dogs that have been there have been vaccinated, wormed and takes flea and tick treatment.

I often think it would be good if 'dog friendly' accommodation asked for up to date vaccination cards etc.. I have to do that if I have had to a kennel or a home from home

I think every holiday home we have taken the dog to has had that rule. This thread is the first time I have thought about it. Obviously OP's owners don't mean overnight. Also no dogs left unattended or allowed on furniture is standard. A list of rules would be helpful beforehand, but we would expect dogs in bedrooms to be a no-no.

We always barricade the sofas and armchairs at bedtime too just in case the dog gets ideas when there is no-one around watching her.

As someone who owns multiple pet friendly air BnBs we state in our house rules - on the site as well as in the home that pets are not allowed in bedrooms or on any soft furnishings. The reason is because the carpets are deep pile and getting dog fur out of them without a professional carpet cleaner is difficult for any further guests with allergies. We also advertise so clearly that we are dog friendly that we advise those with serious allergies to not book our home as we cannot guarantee it will be 100% per hair free.

The rules should absolutely be published in advance of the booking or at the time of booking with the option for you to cancel, cost free, if they don't suit you.

I assume they haven't done so because no one's knowingly going to pay an extra £50 to keep the dog confined to a single room all holiday.

I've looked at "pet-friendly" places to take my cat with us on holiday. Imagine trying to get a cat to only stay in a tiny part of a house 😂.

I would assume that the whole house was included unless it said something like "steep stairs so dogs not allowed upstairs" or something.

the rules for house were no dogs upstairs (impossible as the stairs were open plan with no gate)

@sgtmajormum - I’m surprised by this assertion. Don’t you train your dogs to respect where they can and cannot go?

Our dogs were not allowed upstairs and never needed stair gates or barriers beyond being puppies because they were told No and they obeyed.

If they were told they weren’t allowed somewhere when we were on holiday or visiting other people, they stayed in the area they were permitted to be in.

They are dogs. The fact they are easy to train is why they make good pets, unlike keeping cats or birds.

(I also have cats and birds and they don’t pay a blind bit of notice to anyone)

Surely this depends on what rules they have though in everyday life?

Our dogs would struggle not to go upstairs because they have had years of their lives being allowed upstairs. They are allowed to go upstairs and it would be a hard habit to break over a few days. By the time they got it, we would be in the car on our way home back to their upstairs life!

Our dogs aren't allowed in the kitchen at home, and equally find it tricky when we stay somewhere where they are expected to hang out there because they are trained to not go there, just like they are trained to go upstairs

Longterm it's no problem but for the sake of a few days, and especially tricky if you can't shut it off so have to monitor all the time

Having booked dog friendly hotels and cottages in the past , they always smell of dogs and are the tatty rooms , obviously dogs been on sofas etc
stopped taking my dog away with me
now I have someone stay with my dog at home, totally fed up with dirty dog friendly place
have a holiday let myself which I have a strict
No pets policy !
why because people let pets in the furniture beds etc