Advice needed - do I pay for my dog's mistake?

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My puppy has a liking for bags, pockets and anything like socks etc. After numerous trips/calls to the vets after swallowing.chewing undesirables I now warn all guests to put things out of his reach including handbags. It is an ongoing joke with my friends about how he is and the things he has chewed - batteries, paracetamol, face cream etc so far. Anyway one friend this morning did not heed this advice...she stayed at my house last night and left her handbag within reach of the dog in her bedroom...when she went to the bathroom he picked out her glasses and chewed them to pieces. Now I am torn as what to do. As a decent person I know it is my dog's fault and therefore as a responsible owner I should foot the bill but on the other hand, this person is well aware and has been told on numerous occasions to keep things out of the reach of his mouth! Do I pay for a new pair? Do I offer a token gesture amount or do I expect her to pay for the new glasses? Any advice would be welcomed!

I'd offer to pay. My dog is a terrible thief, but luckily only hoardes his booty so it can easily be retrieved from his bed. I'd be mortified if he destroyed something. Now we've got 'Leave it' pretty much nailed, he's getting much better.

Yes you pay for a new pair, and you also keep the dog out of the guest room.

Yes, of course you pay.

I would offer to pay, and also make sure the dog does not have access to the bedrooms at all.

And also keep it away when people visit. Do you have a cage ? Would be best just to have it out for a short, very supervised period, and then back to the cage.

Oh dear! If you warned her numerous times I would perhaps offer a contribution. It may be a good idea to say something like "gosh I hope they weren't too expensive" and wait for a reply before you offer to pay for replacement specs. Mine cost over £200 for lenses alone!
Can she get (drive?) home without them?!

no, it's not your dogs fault. it's your fault.
you know your dog is a thief and chewer and shoud have him somewhere, where he couldn't get into trouble and possibly injured.
yes, pay the bill.

Umm perhaps guest left bedroom door open while in bathroom. Hardly the OPs fault.

Ooh tough one. I would probably base my decision on the financial situation of us both. If you are sure she has been categorically told not to leave anything where he can get it then I think it is her own fault but perhaps your dog needs more training.

My old dog once managed to drag a bagful of new clothes off the kitchen side and destroy the clothes, we stepped up our efforts and she didn't do it again!

she did leave the bedroom door open while in the bathroom, that door is usually kept closed and he doesn't have access to it.

Of course you should offer to pay; is your friend a dog owner/lover? Lots of people, myself included are not used to pets and wouldn't really assume that dogs roamed around upstairs, in fact as a guest I would be pretty horrified.

Sorry, it seems harsh, but it is still your dog and your responsibility. If you had a toddler that had a tendency to cut up things, in this situation you would be offering to pay, surely?

I would absolutely offer to pay (and hope she said no please its fine, because i woudlnt be able to afford it - my dog chewed my glasses and i have had to use my old glasses and put up with the headaches) as your dog chewed the glasses and you are responsible for either A)training him not to chew (easier said than done i know!) b)stopping him from going in the bedrooms (my DDs room for example is out of bounds and she knows to keep anything of "value" in there) and c) ANYTHING that your dog does wrong is your responsibility. So its not his mistake at all, he is a dog, he doesn't make mistakes, he just "bes a dog"

I can't believe you think it's her fault or your dog's. It's your responsibility to keep the puppy supervised or safe. Pay for YOUR mistake and invest in a crate at the same time.

When our dog caused damage to a neighbours car our home contents insurance paid for it. But it was totally our fault as DH went out the house and the front door didn't shut completely

In this case, it's different, you had warned her and as she left the door open knowing the puppy was about it is her responsibility to look after her belongings. It would be different if she was a day visitor and had left her handbag in the sitting room while going to the loo.

Assuming you live in a house, not a flat or bungalow, would you consider having a stair gate to prevent your puppy going upstairs?

Our old insurance policy for our dog, used to cover for damage to other peoples properties, maybe yours does soon but i am not sure it woudlnt push your policy through the roof, but worth a try.

Thank you for your comments

In response to crates...I refuse to have a crate as I believe that it is cruel to keep an animal in such a confined space in order to control it, I would not expect ppl to put their children in another room when I visited. I find the crates oppressive and it doesn't actually teach the dog anything, it only keeps it out of the way...it will still need training when it comes out of the crate! That, I see it, is merely not dealing with the root cause of the problem but merely stopping the symptoms!
Yes the puppy is in training and as Lucyellensmum pointed out - it is easier said than done and does not happen immediately in the same way children learn....it does not happen overnight!

Belinda....I was in bed asleep at the time. If you read below, renovation work is being carried out and so the dog has access to the upstairs at present...in an ideal world we would all live in super perfect houses that did not need repair work doing but when this happens, as I am sure you are aware...circumstances change for a short duration.

Hope forever, I have a stair gate on different doors (kitchen etc) but at present due to renovations being done (plastering literally finished yesterday so still wet) there is no stair gate on that area. It will be put back as soon as is possible.

pop corn anyone?

In response to training...the reason the dog can actually access things is because I bought him educational toys where he learnt to open, slide, press, turn etc using both paws and teeth at the same time to access treats and now he uses these skills to open a zip on a handbag, open poppers, buttons, clasps, turn things over to open them....he can open kitchen cupboards and so toddler style fastenings had to be applied. At the time I thought I was doing the right thing by buying these toys to teach him, keep his mind active etc but it has brought on endless problems since and so am in the process of rectifying it....

Oh dear.

Leaving the crate aside -which, most dogs actually love the security of and chewing is a symptom of anxiety- glasses are expensive. I'm entitled to free lenses and mine still cost me over £100. I'd be livid if I was your friend.

It is not your friends fault that your dog has not been trained properly.

i hope you are sharing lucyellensmum!!

Can you not shut the puppy in a room with a stairgate?

I think you pay for the new glasses

Your responsibility it's as simple as that.

Yes D0oin it is not her fault he is in the process of training....if u know of a way to make training instantaneous then pls let me know....if not, then is it wrong of me to forewarn guests while the process is happening?

Tbh, if you, your family or friends cannot remember to keep things out fo the way of the dog (is it a dog or a puppy, if it's a puppy, it seems to have chewed an awful lot of things!) then you might find a crate a good idea and it will keep your dog safe. If your dog has chewed so many things, especially batteries, rather than being a laughing matter, you're quite lucky your dog isn't dead tbh.

You're right that crates shouldn't be used to 'control' a dog instead of training, they should be used as an aid to training. So, at times where you can't supervise the dog 100% (cooking dinner, in bed at night etc) the dog goes in the crate. By him only having access to things he can chew when you are present (and this should be most of the time if you have taken on a puppy) he will quickly learn what he can and can't chew. I only really use my crates at night or when I go out without the puppy, which is never very long as I devote my whole time to the dogs, but nevertheless, we have never had anything chewed up that I can remember, except for our older dog for some reason best known to herself, having never chewed a single thing, decided to chew our telephone up one day.

But yes, you should pay for the damage to your friend's bag. Your dog, your respnsibility and seeing as you asked if you should pay for your dog's mistake, not your friend's, then presumably you don't think it was your friend's mistake at all and it cannot be your dog's mistake, since... well... it's a dog.

If your dog had damaged something in public the law would hold you responsible, I don't see why it is any different in your home.

Definitely your responsibility.

The best trained dogs I know have had crates as a safe haven. Friend is puppy walking guide dogs and uses crate during and alongside the other training that is done outside of the crate. The puppy has somewhere safe and cosy to go and if she needs to keep her away from something briefly then the crate can be shut without the dog being upset because the crate is HER place.

That's by the by though. As a guest your friend left her bag in her bedroom and your dog broke her glasses. Your responsibility.