Lay My Hat

In the middle of March, I took a booking for a high season week from a guy who has stayed at our house before (I don't know which party though as the name doesn't match any previous lead name). So far, so good.

Yesterday, I had an email:

Hi. my daughter who is in the party has just bought a puppy And wants to bring it with her she has a cage where the dog sleeps in And it will be in the kitchen

We positively welcome dogs. However, on our web pages it is quite clear that we don't allow puppies. Dogs have to: "be over 9 months old and not have destructive vices". Not that anyone bothers to read all the junk that I write.

So, we should really just say no. But that means that he will either have to cancel, resulting in 9 unhappy people and a diminished chance that they will ever want to book with us again. Or, he will have to leave his daughter behind: unhappiness again.

I know very little about dogs. I know that I don't like being licked, sniffed, slobbered on and deafened by barking. I'm just not a dog person. I do know that I'm in a minority and most people seem to love being licked etc. Consequently I don't know about the likelihood of a puppy being messy and/or destructive. The puppy is 10 weeks old. Can anyone enlighten me?

We normally take a £200 damage deposit. Do you think that increasing the damage deposit substantially will ensure that the puppy is suitably controlled?

A 10 week old puppy will probably poo and pee anywhere it is allowed.
So much depends on the owners, and the puppy breed.
Do you trust them to keep it in a cage in the kitchen and not on adoring daughters lap whilst she is watching telly from your best settee?

I would say that the way his email is worded (my daughter *wants* - has she just said, "Daddy please just ASK and they may say yes..."?) means that she will find alternative arrangements if she is not allowed. There are such things as kennels.

It is up to you to say no and see what happens - you can always negotiate but I think you will have a worrying time while it is there.

You took the booking without the puppy being involved. They made the booking, without a puppy being involved so it would be up to them to cancel on that basis. You are being perfectly reasonable in your refusal as you have to assume that he can read and has read your rule about the age of a dog.

I love dogs - and puppies - but there really is no way I'd have a 10 week old puppy to stay. It's probably only 2 weeks away from its mum, it won't be house trained, it'll want to chew everything, it probably hasn't had all its jabs so really shouldn't be mixing with other dogs ...and so on and so on. So yes, it will be messy, and it will be destructive. Not wilfully, but just in the nature of puppydom.

Poor wee thing. 10 weeks is far too young to take a new puppy on holiday to a strange place. It's not a toy

So for me it would be a no.

Thanks to all of you. It's nice to get a unanimous answer. It's going to be a gentle "No".

FelicityA wrote: There are such things as kennels.

Not disagreeing with your final analysis, Ben, and i agree that I wouldn't have a puppy in my place, but be aware that you risk provoking a cancellation. Kennels for a 10 week old puppy is a horrible thought for an owner. I hope they have a more humane alternative.

Yes, I did not pay full attention to the age - just that it was under 9 months.. I think you are ok from 12 weeks ( as I recall from vaccination schedules) but there are some wonderful kennels out there which are more like home from homes and often the breeder will have a puppy back for a few weeks. There are lots of alternatives. I had someone come and live with my dogs - a free holiday for dog minding.

Most breeders will take puppies for a few weeks holiday, that might be a solution.

russellt wrote:

FelicityA wrote: There are such things as kennels.

Not disagreeing with your final analysis, Ben, and i agree that I wouldn't have a puppy in my place, but be aware that you risk provoking a cancellation. Kennels for a 10 week old puppy is a horrible thought for an owner. I hope they have a more humane alternative.

I doubt any kennel would accept a 10 week old puppy. It wouldb't have completed a full course of vaccinations.

FelicityA wrote: There are lots of alternatives. I had someone come and live with my dogs - a free holiday for dog minding.

We do this too and it's an excellent alternative to kennelling - especially for a young puppy who will need plenty of attention, But it isn't easy to find a reliable sitter at short notice in high season - as we found to our cost last Christmas when we had to return to the UK at short notice.

Well, I said no and explained why. I got a reply saying "my daughter will make other arrangements".

I really wonder though. Does "other" mean bring the puppy and keep quiet about it?

Ben, just ensure your t&c's are quite clear re this issue and be sure to drop heavy hints in any correspondence and I cant see a lot more you can do, other than to accept the puppy with a much increased returnable damage deposit, which most honest folk will understand and gladly pay when they consider alternatives.
A few years ago we had Americans in who asked us if a relative could stay on their final night to drive them to the airport for their early flight and we agreed without hesitation. The next day our local caretaker called us to say he had seen a spaniel puppy running in and out of the house to the beach and back as the guests were loading their luggage into a car. We have a strict no pets rule and by coincidence our next guests had explicitly asked us about pets when they booked as one of their children had allergies. We had to inform the incoming guests by mobile phone about this as they had already set off, and assured them our housekeepers would deep clean prior to their arrival, we also suggested a heavy discount and they accepted. When we contacted the previous guests about returning their damage deposit we mentioned the above and the only thing we received from them was silence! We put their £100 d/d towards the discount along with a pile of extras for them to enjoy and it turned out ok.

Just updated my T&Cs to exclude puppies under a year of age.

Rosie wrote:Just updated my T&Cs to exclude puppies under a year of age.

I've just updated mine too, to exclude adults under 40!

Ben, I was in exactly the same position last year. A returning guest got in touch before their stay to say they had a new puppy and would they be able to bring it along, despite being aware that that particular property did not allow dogs.

Anyway I remained firm and said no and they said they would make alternative arrangements but guess what - when they came to stay my cleaner saw them taking a dog into the house. The dog apparently belonged to friends who were just visiting for the day