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The doghouse

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Original poster

Dog Friendly Holiday Cottage

35 replies

KILM · 31/12/2022 15:47

Minor moan!

We have a much loved teenage dog who goes on the sofas and beds at home - very affectionate, cuddly dog who wants to be close to you. Fine. Not everyone's preference which is also fine! She will get down if asked, but will try her hand again because you know, teenager. We're working on it.

I wanted to book a holiday cottage, so spent hours looking for one that didn't say 'dogs not allowed on furniture' in the listing or small print as I'd be spending the whole time telling her to get off and she'd be upset because she wants to be close.

I also wanted one with a proper enclosed garden so I could just let her out the door without going out myself, as it's December.

Lots of cottages saying 'dog friendly' but no enclosed garden. Annoying, but ultimately fine, not for us.

Lots of places saying 'no dogs on furniture' okay, totally understandable! Not for us, keep looking.

Find one where its advertised as dog friendly, looks very homey and not fussy, there's an enclosed patio and separate enclosed garden. Great. Read EVERY bit of small print for it on 3 different sites it's advertised on.

No sign of 'no dogs in the garden' or 'no dogs on the furniture'

Great - I book it. Pay the £40 extra they charge for the dog. Read through the confirmation stuff, nothing about furniture or garden.

2 weeks before we arrive, lovely welcome email with details about entry, bits about the fire, bins etc. Nothing about the dog or garden.

Get here - house rule book.

'Dogs not allowed on furniture or in beds'

'Do not go into the garden'

ARGH. So now to let the dog put I have to get boots and a coat on and walk past the garden, out of the property and to a nearby grass verge as the fussy bugger wont wee on pavement/paving unless absolutely desperate (as I've been teaching her not to, trying to be a responsible dog owner!)

And I'm spending the whole time telling her to get off the sofa and getting the sad eyes.

Please can someone tell me they've also had something like this happen - or are you all much more savvy than me and email the owners to double check this stuff beforehand...

Time for more wine 😆

OP posts:
Original poster
KILM · 31/12/2022 15:48

Oh god, not sure why the formatting gone mad but it's been doing it to me in comments too - jumping around and creating space when I've not asked it to!

OP posts:
Ineedwinenow · 31/12/2022 15:51

I own a dog friendly lodge and allow dogs on furniture and beds ( with blankets provided) we don’t have a garden ( we have enclosed decking though) as it’s on a park so hundreds of walks outside the gate but it’s odd that they don’t allow them on furniture! Try looking in the Lake District ( that’s where our lodge is and it’s very dog friendly all over Cumbria)

Hopeyoursproutsarealreadyon · 31/12/2022 15:54

We just take loads of huge throws for sofa. Surely you just poop scoop the garden? How will they know if you don't leave poo?

SauvignonBlanche · 31/12/2022 15:55

I got to one that said no dogs upstairs but only once you got there.
The living room was upstairs! 🙄

MagentaRocks · 31/12/2022 15:59

I have booked a couple of airbnb holidays. I always message before I book asking if 2 dogs OK. They then reply with restrictions. One just said not to leave dogs there alone so they don't bark and annoy neighbours. I know what you mean about having to read through. I always check the reviews too. That gives a good idea.

CMOTDibbler · 31/12/2022 16:04

We went away last year to somewhere that touted itself specifically as dog friendly. We knew we needed to take throws for the sofa, but it didn't tell you that dogs weren't allowed upstairs at all. The garden was enclosed, but it didn't tell you that sheep were nose to nose with your dogs through the wire fence (ok for my dogs but the adjoining peoples dogs were losing their minds). There was also a million rules plastered everywhere.
This year we booked through East Ruston Cottages which were truly dog friendly and very clear on the website

Allmyfavouritepeople · 31/12/2022 16:09

I let mine on the sofa with a blanket (from home). However he doesn't shed so you'd never know he was there. The garden thing is very annoying though.

Velvetbee · 31/12/2022 16:10

We spent thousands on a very special dog friendly holiday house to be told when we got there that dogs had to be confined to the kitchen. Fuck that.

FarFlungFlamingo · 31/12/2022 16:13

No dogs on the furniture is not unusual but no dogs in the garden is ludicrous without making it very clear in the listing. I'd ignore it probably.

It's a pain in the arse trawling though listings to be honest, we've been caught out a few times, e.g. the dog friendly enclosed garden that had free range chickens, a no dogs in bedroom rule, a request for dogs to toilet on the gravel and not the lawn. My pup has never weed on a hard surface in her life, I'm not going to spend my holiday attempting to train her to!

There's a Facebook group called Really Really dog friendly holidays for dogaholics where places are advertised with restrictions clearly listed. I've got a few places bookmarked.

whataboutsecondbreakfast · 31/12/2022 16:16

We just take loads of huge throws and cover all the furniture before we let him in the property. We also take our own bedding and let him on the beds - never been an issue lol.

babysteps22 · 31/12/2022 16:27

My friend runs developingdogsholidays.co.uk/ which is dog focussed

ilovesushi · 31/12/2022 16:40

Oh no that's off! We stayed in a lovely cottage in the Peak District and there were blankets provided to protect sofas etc from dog hair. The garden was enclosed but unfortunately the wall was quite low in places and she leaped over first time outside so we had to keep her on the lead when taking her out for a wee which wore a bit thin.

I would just pop blankets over the sofa/ bed and vacuum like crazy before you leave. Did you book via a dog friendly site? Did the reviews mention lack of garden access and no sofa rule?

Ilikewinter · 31/12/2022 16:41

Oh I feel your pain, weve only been holidaying with DDog for the past year and feel we are learning fast!. We stayed at a place called Bainland lodges, they were proper dog friendly with fully enclosed, properly fenced gardens....but the whole site was overrun with wild rabbits.....which was a total nightmare for our teenage collie 🐶🙈

Original poster
KILM · 31/12/2022 16:46

So glad its not just me! Agree it's very common to have a no dogs on the furniture rule which is fine ! Just... why not put it in the listing 😭(probably because they know people are less likely to book!) I've given up and snagged an old fitted sheet out of the linen cupboard to stick over one of the sofas that i'll wash before i leave. The garden thing -

its one of those where you are on their land and the garden is in full view of their house so I don't want to risk a confrontation.

I'm so annoyed that I spent so long researching - someone mentioned reviews and I read all those too! Thanks so much for all the recommendations, I'll definitely have a look at those in the new year

OP posts:
Original poster
KILM · 31/12/2022 16:47

ilovesushi · 31/12/2022 16:40

Oh no that's off! We stayed in a lovely cottage in the Peak District and there were blankets provided to protect sofas etc from dog hair. The garden was enclosed but unfortunately the wall was quite low in places and she leaped over first time outside so we had to keep her on the lead when taking her out for a wee which wore a bit thin.

I would just pop blankets over the sofa/ bed and vacuum like crazy before you leave. Did you book via a dog friendly site? Did the reviews mention lack of garden access and no sofa rule?

No mention at all! and when I'm telling you I read every bit of info on this place that's available I mean EVERYTHING.

OP posts:
longtompot · 31/12/2022 16:48

I feel for you @KILM having recently been on holiday to a dog friendly cottage to find out they were only really dog tolerant. Not allowed on the furniture and a stairgate across the hallway to stop dogs going into bedrooms. The furniture wasn't so bad as she likes lying in front of the log burner, but we did one night of her in the hallway where she found her inner wolf and howled until she fell asleep😥Thankfully I was in email contact with the owners who said it should be relaxing time for us and to allow her in the room phew! We we're thinking about doing this anyway but it was nice they said we could. We always take our own blankets with us to use on the bed so that helped.

So, sorry, no I don't have any suggestions but am hoping to see some on here.

I wonder if a grading system of dog friendliness could be brought in?
Dog tolerant = allowed in the living room not on beds or furniture or in the garden
Dog friendly = allowed on furniture and in the garden, not on beds
Dog lovers = dog is part of the family, where you go so does your dog!

FarFlungFlamingo · 31/12/2022 17:05

There is a site that has two options, dogs allowed and dog friendly. I can't recall it right now, will try and find a post later. I've never used it though so can't say if dog friendly is really friendly

Alexandernevermind · 31/12/2022 17:08

I think most people would assume dogs aren't allowed on someone else's sofa as a manners thing. Not being allowed in the garden though is just odd.

Ineedwinenow · 31/12/2022 17:09

I’m not putting my holiday let link on here but if anyone wants totally dog friendly accommodation in the Lake District just PM and I’ll send you the link! It doesn’t have a garden just enclosed decking but they can go wherever they want in our lodge ( the humans have to stay in the hallway though 😆) honestly as a dog friendly let owner I never knew most places were limited! So sorry you’re all finding the same! My dog wouldn’t just stay in the kitchen I can tell you that 😆

whataboutsecondbreakfast · 31/12/2022 17:21

Alexandernevermind · 31/12/2022 17:08

I think most people would assume dogs aren't allowed on someone else's sofa as a manners thing. Not being allowed in the garden though is just odd.

It's not really dog-friendly accommodation if dogs aren't allowed in most of it, though.

Quveas · 31/12/2022 17:35

I stayed in a place in the summer that had an enclosed garden. If you ignored the fact that there was a deliberate 4 foot gap in the "enclosed garden" and the fencing could have fit a GSD through the slats with ease. Should I mention that there were horses going up and down right outside from the owners stables that they also forgot to tell anyone about? My dog is service trained, so actually he was fine, but the garden was far from suitable and not as described. And despite several reviews note saying this, they are still advertising it as dog friendly and enclosed.

HavfrueDenizKisi · 31/12/2022 18:34

Ha well yes. We booked a place place last year, dog friendly, that said no dogs upstairs in the 'welcome' pack upon arrival. DDog sleeps in our room usually. We tried the first night with her downstairs. Nope that did not work. She came upstairs after that. Nobody knew...

To be fair she's a small poodle so doesn't shed or smell really. Probably more difficult if it was a Labrador etc.

NewMoonPhase · 31/12/2022 19:13

Just cover in blankets op!

Spanielsarepainless · 02/01/2023 18:20

Fed up with these issues when booking cottages. Dogs welcome. But can't be left alone unless crated. Nowhere to wash them after winter walk - an outside tap or a watering can would be nice (we now take our own!). Not really welcome at all. The two best cottages weren't advertised as dog friendly but I asked the owners and we didn't even pay a supplement.

Spanielsarepainless · 02/01/2023 18:21

Fed up with these issues when booking cottages. Dogs welcome. But can't be left alone unless crated. Nowhere to wash them after winter walk - an outside tap or a watering can would be nice (we now take our own!). Not really welcome at all. The two best cottages weren't advertised as dog friendly but I asked the owners and we didn't even pay a supplement.

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