Taking the Dog on Holiday Without Telling the Caravan Site… Am I Mad?!

[oceanmountain]

So I’m going away in a couple of weeks and had a dog sitter all sorted… and now they’ve just cancelled because of a family emergency.

I’ve tried everywhere and can’t find anyone else to take the dog on such short notice, and I really don’t want to cancel the trip and upset the kids. So I was thinking of just taking the dog with me and not telling the caravan site.

Has anyone ever done this? My dog’s tiny and doesn’t shed, so I honestly don’t know how they’d even notice.

My friend said I shouldn't do it but I cant see any other option?

I don’t have a dog allergy but I am very allergic to cats. Even with antihistamines, they make me feel very unwell. My eyes and nose would be streaming constantly and I would not be able to enjoy a holiday at all. This lasts for several days.

I think people who don’t suffer from allergies can’t always comprehend how serious they can be!

Also, the saliva.
Not just asthma which can be life threatening. But also anaphylaxis, due to allergies.
It's horrible to experience and witness.
Please, @oceanmountain , don't do it.

The entitlement of some dog owners is staggering. I blame the madness of COVID and surge in ownership.

See also the recent thread about another deluded owner being horrified that someone had the audacity to park their car next to her precious, untethered pooch.

Am not sure why your poor planning would mean my daughter and I should have to spend our week wheezing and coughing. I am careful to book pet-free accommodation and you should be careful to book pet friendly accommodation. I don't hate dogs - I'd probably have one if I could - but I really hate feeling sick for days and days and I very much hate watching my daughter have an asthma attack.

Obviously I have to deal with dogs on buses and trains and in a startling number of shops and cafes (still think it's inherently kind of gross to have a dog running around food) but it's usually quick'ish and I can move seats or move tables or just not go in if there are too many dogs. If I'd paid for a week away, there's not a lot of options.

Asthma can be life-threatening. It can kill.

Don't be such a selfish arsehole.

No point in starting this thread at all, unless it was to initiate a bun fight.
Job done it seems.

No you shouldn't but you know that already, won't make a difference you will do what you want regardless so not sure why you bothered to post in the first place

Then you can continue with your smug and entitled life can’t you? Or you could, y’know, do the right thing and not take your dog.

On threads where people with dog allergies complain about so many places being open to dogs, they're told in no uncertain terms "just book something/go somewhere that doesn't welcome dogs, dog-friendly spaces are popular and the norm."

Up rocks OP and her selfish ilk to ruin that for them.

Happy to consign someone else who's paid for a space dogs haven't been in to a miserable holiday so she doesn't have to be inconvenienced herself or put her precious pup in kennels. Don't worry about potentially ruining someone else's holiday that they've worked hard to pay for, eh?

Our school holidays are the week after yours so it is selfish for anyone sharing your van.
As for shops we take precautions but don't sleep on the floor- your dog will be all over the caravan.
I really don't know why you posted as you clearly will take your dog and won't listen to any opinions that don't support yours.

My dad is severely allergic to animal fur and dander, even hypoallergenic dogs. They trigger an asthma attack which could literally kill him. We would never book animal friendly accommodation when travelling with him because he wouldn’t be able to breathe.

You may love your dog but no one else does. Please don’t ignore the rules because it doesn’t suit you!

OP, I have a dog that I love and take with me on holiday every time we go. We don't do kennels or dog sitting and haven't been abroad in years because we'd rather not leave her.

You CANNOT just expect to take a dog somewhere they are expressly not allowed. There are reasons for this, it's not just people not liking dogs. Even breeds which don't she'd do drop hairs occasionally, and dander, which even if you gutted the caravan and bleached it before you left you wouldn't be able to guarantee you'd got rid of it all.

You don't want to ruin your kids holiday and that's understandable. But imagine your kids had an allergy to something. Anything. And you had specifically booked to take them somewhere that this thing was guaranteed not to be. But when you get there, they have an allergic reaction because the person before you has ignored those rules. That's the holiday ruined for someone else's kids if this is the consequence of you breaking those rules.

It's not fair to everyone else for you to just do what you want. And it's really unkind and inconsiderate of you to do it.

Again, I ALWAYS take my dog wherever I'm allowed to. But she stays home if we're going somewhere dogs aren't allowed. You're going somewhere dogs aren't allowed. Either change it because your circumstances have changed or find a different solution.

Are you serious? Severe
asthmatics who are allergic to dog dander do and have ended up in hospital or they have died when exposed to dog dander in a enclosed space such as hotel rooms & caravans. This is why people with more severe reactions take far more serious precautions. Incidentally this includes choosing dog free caravans where dander has settled. We're not taking about walking past a dog in the fresh air where dander hasn't settled. Dogs are welcome indoors in certain establishments nowadays but you can guarantee the people who have this allergy avoid them like the plague.
What a naive & uneducated attitude. By all means take your dog to a dog free caravan but be prepared to face the consequences when it's reported. Oh! & read the room OP. You asked for opinions & you got them.

I take my dog on holiday and even when you stay in dog-friendly accommodation, they absolutely do not allow you to leave the dog unsupervised, even if it's "an hour or 2 in the evening while we see the entertainment on site/arcades for the kids"
Where is the dog going to pee and poo while you're on site?

Edited to add:
I always assumed that this is the reason why everything is dog friendly in the popular holiday spots. If tourists can't leave their dog in the accommodation, and they can't take it into the pub, how do you get them to spend money?

It’s not just perfect health or death FFS. There’s a whole spectrum of possibilities in between those extremes. A trip to hospital probably won’t result in death, but do you seriously think that’s an ideal situation for anyone? You don’t want your children to miss their holiday, but you think it’s ok for someone else or their children to be exposed to your dog’s dander and either have a miserable holiday or end up in hospital. You have led a very very privileged life if you have never had to worry about any member of your family suffering an allergic reaction. Do you think people choose dog free accommodation just because they don’t like the thought of dogs having been there? If DP walks into a room where dogs have been, he will probably be ok. But if he lives his life in that room, sits on the furniture for a prolonged period or sleeps there, that’s a build up of allergens which will eventually cause breathing issues. For some, the progression is much much faster. Seriously, catch yourself on.

I can imagine the OP is the sort to send her kids to school with peanuts because “why should they miss out when some parents are being dramatic?!”

TBH this is thematically similar to boarding a flight hiding the fact a child has started developing chicken pox. If you don’t get caught then hurrah didn’t that work out well, we got home without incident - but you don’t see the downstream consequences of who from the flight comes out in chicken pox 2 weeks later.

And if she doesn’t get clocked having a dog in a non dog caravan the OP will be congratulating herself on a job well done but wouldn’t see the likes of my DH coughing and wheezing as the next guest with allergies and triggered asthma who thought they would be safe.

Don’t be a dick OP, plenty of people book non animal accommodation for a reason.

Well explained. I am the same. If I walk into the room & out of it or in a bar at a distance I'm OK. If I sit around in the room where the dander has settled my eyes become red, itchy & swollen. If a dog licks my hand the area will break out in hives. I realise there are far worse reactions which is why I've expressed strong opinions on this thread.

Dog owner here OP and your selfishness here is gobsmacking. Ok, severe dog allergies aside,
there are also a lot of children and adults who have not so severe allergies to dogs.

now imagine the family who in a cost of living crisis have saved up, put money aside, gone without for a nice break in a caravan and have to go in yours after you.

One of the children could be miserable and kick off all week due to feeling poorly, their sibling as a result will also have a grumpy week and as a net result their parents will have a terrible break just because you want to take your little Fido away with you.

Whether it’s your fault or not that plans have fallen through it’s not OK to break a rule like this, it’s there for a reason

What type of dog @oceanmountain , and where are you roughly? I WFH, and one more tiny dog being here for a week would be barely noticeable due to DD's penchant for collecting chihuahuas.

That's what I thought!

One tiny dog in a room causing dander to settle creates as much reaction to dog allergy sufferers as a whole pack of great Danes. The dog doesn't need to be present.

Read the thread or are you the type that would open a packet of peanuts in an aeroplane when sitting next to someone who has warned you they have a nut allergy after they see the packet.

I think @Frequency is offering dog-sitting services. That’s how I read it.

We have five dogs here already, and 2 cats, so people who are allergic would probably avoid our house. I was offering to have OP's dog here, not go with her on her holiday

As someone who has a DH and DD both with life threatening allergies (plus my own less serious ones) this thread is just a confirmation of how little clue some people have about the effects of allergens and why it is necessary to keep others safe. I have had people give my DH food they cooked with nut oil because even though I said he was ‘deathly allergic’ they ‘didn’t know it would be as serious as all that.’ A friend gave me a blanket her cat had slept on and then was ‘surprised’ when (even though I had said ‘is this free of animal hair I’m really allergic’) I broke out head to toe in hives and had to abandon my overnight stay with her. People cooking for DD in the same pan where they just cooked her allergens because even though I said ‘she can die if she even has trace amounts’, they thought I was exaggerating. It’s tiring and really bloody makes me angry to see the selfishness of OP. I hope she has a terrible holiday.