I am doing the family Christmas this year which at the moment means hosting for 20 people of which 2 are babies (one walking, one crawling), someone in a wheelchair and someone on sticks who is wobbly.
My brother came to visit last weekend and brought his new ££££ cavapoo with him which is about 3 months old. My brother is not an experienced dog owner, and the dog pooed in the house every time it needed to go - just to the left of his puppy pad, played tug of war with a baby's sock and chased our anxious rescue cat who has only just come back. My brother is insisting on bringing the dog with him for Christmas as it is cruel to ask him to stay in either kennels or his AirBnB on his own while he is out. He also doesn't believe in crating.
I suggested that the dog should not be in the house during Christmas due to the poo with moving babies and being very easy to trip over and that it should be put in the enclosed garden with a crate borrowed from a friend with a blanket / toys / food etc. This is also cruel and the dog should be treated as part of the family.
I'm getting quite stressed about this and wondered if that really is cruel and if it is, whether anyone has any suggestions for how to manage Christmas Eve and Christmas Day if crating and kennels are also off the table.
Just to be clear, I have no issue with the dog itself. My brother on the other hand...