Puppies

[Yorkshire Lass]

A guest who has just booked has just let slip that the 2 dogs they plan to bring are actually puppies. My immediate reaction coloured by the experience of raising my own dog from a puppy is to offer them their deposit back and cancel the booking. I just wondered what everyone else who takes dogs thinks about this. Am I over-reacting?

[Bunny]

Interesting scenario. I personally think you are right to be concerned but if your rental agreement does not specifically prohibit puppies then I don't know where you would stand legally by cancelling the booking. I've no doubt doggie friendly cottage owners can give you lots of experience/advice about how to manage the situation successfully but it would be interesting to hear views on the legal position too.

[Normandie]

What are your floors like (tiled, say, rather than carpets ) and have they defined 'puppies'. Puppies to me are anything from birth to about 6 months old. If they're good owners, 6 month old puppies can be perfectly manageable but with bad owners, any dog can be a nightmare.

Do you take a damage deposit? And if the pups are <6 months old, I'd probably increase it.

[KathyG]

I try not to take any dogs under a year old, one of mine - admittedly a rescue - chewed the seat pads on 4 dining chairs (while we were sitting at the table ) when she was 9 months old.

[Yorkshire Lass]

We have a tiled kitchen and wooden floors on the ground floor with carpets everywhere else. There are a few young children coming with this party too which I think adds to my worries because I can imagine the puppies running all over the house. In fact it is the chewing issue I'm particularly concerned about because my dog managed to destroy a lot of things including even gnawing a chunk off a fitted wooden kitchen cupboard and in his case the chewing didn't stop till he was well over one year old. I do take a small damage deposit and I suppose I could try and increase it but I've decided to ask if they can find anyone to look after the puppies while they are away and failing that have offered to refund their deposit and cancel the booking.

[amandajane]

Personally I would be tempted to cancel. Many reputable breeders advise against two puppies together because a pair are are so very difficult to train, and with young children opening doors........


My booking form asks for the breed/type and also the dogs age. I have just turned down a guest with a puppy because I don't want accidents on the carpet, or chewed furniture.

[Normandie]

Two are a challenge - we've done it twice and it does take a specific approach - but we grew two litters of puppies (chocolate labs, 8 - 9 in each litter) in our kitchen and utility room and neither litter trashed the joint. We did have some repainting of a couple of the walls to do, though - but that was after 8 - 10 weeks of energetic puppyhood. And this was pre our chambre d'hôte life.

If, for eg, the pups had crates for night time and any periods when they weren't being totally supervised, and they had loads of chews and toys then damage isn't a given but sadly, I wouldn't trust many guests to be that careful.

The training aspect is less related to peeing, pooing and chewing in the house but obedience training outside. They really need to be split up otherwise they're too busy watching each other and not interested in listening to / learning commands.

[Wakensea]

I had this done across me twice last year , I only got told the day before with one as it was through sykes , I went in tho complete panic . I insisted they bring a crate for over night and all was fine , but why people want to take a young puppy I don't know , I currently have a 12 week old border collie pup and the thought of taking her to someone's holiday cottage would be unbearable you need eyes in the back of your head! We are dog friendly in our cottages and apart from a bit of chewing here and there and the odd scratch on the door , they are very well behaved . I also make a point of asking now how old the dog is when people contact me .

[amandajane]

Normandie. I agree completely that the training thing is about the difficulty of "obedience" training. (I find training a puppy much easier if they have an older house mate who they tend to follow). I think what I meant to imply was that two puppies means it's highly likely they will be generally less well trained and so perhaps less controllable.

Our worst experience was a dog who had been having the most wonderful time on the beach and in the sea. Unfortunately he swallowed too much sea water and the consequence was all over the cream sitting room carpet an hour or so later. Fortunately our dog and our cottage. It entailed a quick trip to the nearest carpet shop and a plea of "what have you got in stock that can be laid this week?"!
On the positive side, puppies/dogs on holiday often get more exercise and general mental stimulation so are usually ready to have a snooze when they get back to base.

[SandyBeaches]

I think if you are confident of rebooking that week I would cancel it and give them their money back saying that sorry you don't accept puppies. Depends how old they are though. Ours are normally house trained by 12 weeks at the very latest and hardly ever chew.

I would ask if they will be crated in the evening/night time and/or stress they can't be left in the house alone.

Do you take a damage deposit?

Our experience of guests with puppies hasn't been good. One lot brought a puppy without telling me and I only found out halfway through the week. We found dog poo in one of the bedrooms after they had left. We also had a puppy staying over Christmas/New Year. The people had booked then casually tossed that in at the last minute but as they had other dogs I felt they knew what they were doing. However, we had stains on the lounge carpet which I suspect were from dog wee.

Personally I wouldn't be wanting to take a puppy on holiday with me. Why on earth would I want to be running round after it to house train it and stop it chewing when I could be sipping a nice glass of wine instead?

[Nemo]

Having no experience of this, what would the dog owners amongst you think of having a six month old Bernese mountain dog stay, crated at night?

[SandyBeaches]

I'd say that would be fine Nemo. Burnese are only marginally bigger than a large retriever and they are very gentle dogs. They can be a bit nervous and generally timid.

Crated at night would mean they won't wee and by 6 months they should be well house trained anyway.

[Nemo]

Phew, I thought it would be ok, so I had accepted the booking.

[bessie]

Having no experience of this, what would the dog owners amongst you think of having a six month old Bernese mountain dog stay, crated at night?

Love those dogs its the Jack Russell's like mine that have mad moments .

[Normandie]

Having no experience of this, what would the dog owners amongst you think of having a six month old Bernese mountain dog stay, crated at night?

Assuming they are good, responsible owners I don't see that he'd be any more of a liability than a 2 year old dog. However, he might be around the property more than a 2 year old dog in that I wouldn't be walking a 6-month old very far yet - especially one as big as a Bernese. Rule of thumb used to be 5 minutes of walking per month 2 or 3 times per day although if he's running around on a beach (which is a great benefit of your property, Nemo, iIrc?) that rule is more flexible... though sand can be abrasive on young pads.

But that's for them to manage.