Hosting with a grumpy dog

[Ashleigh-Anne0]

Hi hosts! 

We have an old dog who likes to bark - not all the time, but he does bark at people who walk past the house, or at guests when they walk past the window. He is kept inside/out the backyard and does not come into contact with the guests. 

We have only been hosting for a month, and we have had two negative reviews with complaints about our dog. I'm not sure what we can do - can't get rid of our dog! 

The latest review was 2 stars! 😞

Any ideas? 

Thank you! 

[Bronwyn100]

Big decision. Either you stop the dog barking or stop hosting. Sorry.

[Rebecca]

Hello @Ashleigh-Anne0, 

Welcome to the community, and sorry to hear that you're having some trouble with your dog's barking! Have you tried mentioning it to the guests, both on your listing and in your initial communications? Setting the expectations can work wonders sometimes. 😊

I also wanted to tag in a few fellow hosts who are also dog owners, in case this is something they have had to manage in the past: @Tamara170 @Rick17 @Kevin1322 @Haley207 @Ema39. Do you have any insights you could share with Ashleigh Anne? 🌟 

[Helen3]

I think if hosting is both upsetting your guests and your pet what you can do is to stop hosting @Ashleigh-Anne0 

you didn't really go away for the night and leave your dog alone did you as your latest guest review suggests ? 

you may find Airbnb takes the decision out of your hands as it sees any ratings under 4.6 as poor and can suspend or ban hosts from the platform who regularly fall below its standards. 

[Frances3408]

@Ashleigh-Anne0. I think you need to do a hard think about whether you can do this with your old dog.

Dogs dont need to see your guests to be upset. In fact the worst reactions often happen when they cant see, just smell and/or sense a stranger, especially if you're not there.

You could try an anti bark collar combined with socialisation and de sensitive training and hold off any further bookings until its under control.