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?

Just wash the bedding before you leave a give the bedrooms a good sweep. I always take big covers with us wherever we go so that I'm less likely to need to keep him off the sofas/ bed. But no you're not being unreasonable especially when you pay extra.

If if was advertised as pet friendly, I'd expect my dogs to be able to go anywhere I do.

One of my dogs is trained to provide DPT to my legs as I'm disabled. He sleeps on the bed. Lovely to hear that apparently it's gross.

Humans shed hair, skin, sweat, bodily fluids, grime etc. I've even seen some absolutely disgusting stories on here about men leaving shit stains on the sheets. That's utterly repulsive and I'd much rather share my bed with my clean, groomed dog than a human.

Exactly! I missed that point in my post 👍

''Special needs dog''...Only on Mumsnet!

Probably Autistic or has ADHD

Or SA {Separation Anxiety}

I do own a dog, but am very wary of other dogs coming into the house in case they pee or poo. {Have unfortunately had this- one Cavalier King Charles pissed and ran around literally shitting as it ran - the 'friend' turned up with the dog without checking first- I found out later that no one locally would look after it as it wasn't house trained!

The owner said ''He's just a puppy''...... The dog was three years old.

Males especially pee up things indoors if they can smell where another dog has been.

All dogs aren't created equally.

A well mannered Whippet is very different to a large slobbery hairy breed.

Ignore the rules and let your dog go where he wants to. Hoover if there’s any hair shed.

Ridiculous to withhold the rules until you’re there. On their own heads be it.

Yes they could be allergic ? Given that so many places are dog friendly and those of us without have to accept that it’s only fair that those with dogs abide by the rules ?

When we had a dog, we ignored any unreasonable rules if they weren't mentioned when booking. So we wouldn't let the dog on the beds or soft furnishings, but other than that we ignored rules.

We rented one air bnb that had an upside down layout (lounge and kitchen upstairs, bedrooms downstairs) that tried to say the dog wasn't allowed in the bedrooms or upstairs! That's maybe fair enough in a normal house where you only go upstairs to sleep. But you can't claim your house is dog friendly if the dog has to spend the entire time you're in the house in the entrance hall and isolated from where everyone else is going to be. Definitely unreasonable and a rule we happily ignored.

Hi OP, I think that it's fair that the dog can only go in the living area and not upstairs. I agree that the advert and information needs to be less subjective but they probably don't want dogs lying on beds etc. Irrespective of how well behaved dogs are, some people would prefer not to sleep in a room where dogs have been. I hope you are able to enjoy rest of holiday

This really annoys me. We'd booked a place a few years ago that said similar. Sadly our dog passed away before we went but when we go there. Dog was only allowed in the living room & not allowed on the couch.

I left a review stating rules as I was so annoyed. Out dog would've whined all night at being left downstairs & there actually wasn't a door to stop him anyway so was a pointless rule

I'd complain & get £50 refunded

I'm a bit split on this one as my dog comes everywhere with us and would be very confused to suddenly be shut in another room in a strange place. You can leave her alone no problem to go out but she'd know we weren't out. Most places have some level of rules when they state pet friendly so I'd always check what they are as some are more extreme than others. You probably should have checked, although it would be useful if they'd put it in the small print.

If your dog doesn't shed though, how will they ever know? Make sure they are clean and dry before leaving the designated areas! The last place I stayed was no dogs on the furniture- no issue in living areas as she'll just sit on your know so not touching the furniture, but she sleeps on my bed - I brought a blanket to put over the bedding. I saw no hairs when we left however I stripped the beds anyway so no evidence was left.

But it doesn't bother you that other humans have been sweating, drooling, shagging etc in the same bed?

I don't think they are unreasonable rules to have BUT they should have been upfront and made you aware at the point of booking.

Yes, it's really common. In fact, I don't think I've stayed anywhere with our dog where they are allowed upstairs, or in bedrooms if it's a single storey place.

YANBU I blatantly ignore those rules. If they weren't on the listing I didn't agree to them. Same as when you get there and get given a long list of chores. I didn't agree to this when booking the place, if they complain ask them to refer to the part of the listing or booking agreement where these rules were advertised.

I expect no dogs to be left alone in the property and no going on beds or furniture as standard but I do think any conditions need to be flagged on booking so you can make an informed choice.

Once we turned up at a place and the owner tried to make me put our dog (who was booked and paid extra for with no mention of this) in an outdoor kennel. I politely declined to abide by that without prior warning and she did accept it

It also pisses me off when they have rules that are unenforceable eg no dogs upstairs but no door or stair gate. Surely not many peoples dogs are so well trained that they just stay downstairs in a new place because they were told to.

Also no dogs upstairs AND no dogs on sofa can be tricky to enforce. My dog is used to sleeping downstairs and we bring his bed but if he gets a shot at a sofa he'll be up it and how can we stop him if we are upstairs asleep. Many places are open plan so can't shut him in hall or kitchen. We go with bringing lots of throws to cover the sofas and hoovering afterwards.

Problem with pets is even the non shedding do still loose fur lets be honest here.

How many pet Owners can honestly honestly say when they clean their own homes even there is not one single bit of fur left behind… none of you can. I say that as a previous dog owner now cat owner.

I’ve stayed in caravans claimed to not be pet friendly and found dog fur in the grill like one there shouldn’t of been a dog there but I’m damn sure the dog wasn’t in the actual grill, yet the fur still got there.

The £50 is for extra cleaning in the areas allowed for the longer time spent cleaning up the fur and presumably regular flea treating of the premises. The more rooms the dog can go in the more rooms that need extra cleaning as well as the risk of damages a stray piss or poop. Cleaners can only fit so much in before it’s more hours and more charges 🤷🏻‍♀️

Lots who claim to of let their pets in bedrooms and such when asked not to may well of found that although the owners didn’t say anything you found your contact details listed as a not to book again. That’s what we did with rule breakers when we had holiday let’s.

Dirty dogs. Why would pet friendly mean its ok for a dog to run around beds and other furniture etc. Discusting

I've booked many pet friendly places and every single one forbade dogs upstairs. Unfortunately my ddog (always slept downstairs in his bed so no issue) would move to more comfortable accommodation aka the sofa at night! Ironically if in our bedroom at night eg in a hotel he stayed in his bed. Also it's normal not to leave them unattended in the house etc. i usually used an agency do it standard for them

It’s not entitled to think that any rules regarding dogs in a property should be made clear to you before you book. If you arrived at a self catering property and there was a sign saying you couldn’t use the hob then you’d be annoyed, if using the hob was part of your plans.

How is it being a CF to have a dog in a dog friendly cottage? 🤔
And the vast majority of dogs don’t slobber. The obsession with dogs slobbering is something I only ever seen on MN.

We have dog holidays every year. Pet friendly usually means allowed in downstairs rooms but not on sofas or bedrooms.

I had a clingy dog and slept on the sofa with him on the floor beside me.

I think it’s fine and normal for a dog to not be allowed upstairs. Dogs should be trained to sleep downstairs anyway

Why?

I've also got a dog that needs to be in the same room as me overnight in a strange place. If it's a dog friendly bungalow I allow him in my bedroom but never on the furniture. I hoover before I leave and he's (obviously) not allowed in the house if he's mucky. My logic is that if anyone is allergic they are not going to book a dog-friendly cottage, it means I can keep an eye on him, and actually him lying on his bed on the floor of my room is better than him sneakily getting up on the sofa at 2am!

That's what I would have assumed and seems to be the case for many properties, certainly the last two.

@crumblingschools

Exactly. My ddog stays downstairs at home too, since when did it become normal to have dogs in bedrooms anyway?