Guest is Terrified of Host Dog

[Ashley-and-Derek0]

My ad clearly states that we have dogs, including a not-quite-trained and very excitable puppy. I even have pictures of them in the ad as the 4th and 5th pictures (right after the pictures of the guest room). 

So the guest arrives tonight and is clearly TERRIFIED of the puppy, cowering through the doorway and twisting away and saying she's not used to "such big dogs - I'm used to little cats." He's 50lbs, and the smaller of our two dogs. He was jumping, which we are working on training out of him, but being very friendly, as anybody who's ever met a dog should have been able to see, and as our many reviews confirm.

I got him off her quickly and put him in his kennel to calm down while she brought her luggage in, but now I'M scared. She's here for four nights and even if the puppy is miraculously well-behaved and does no puppy things while she's here, which seems unlikely, just knowing that she is that scared and inexperienced around dogs is going to have me on edge the whole time.

It's late so I'm obviously not going to kick her out tonight, but is there any way we can end this reservation early? I frankly don't feel safe having her here, as I worry that her fear may prompt her to injure herself out of overreaction or may even cause him to be more aggressive with her.

[Lyndsey2]

I have a... let's call him "aggressively friendly" dog as well so I totally sympathize! I think I would speak directly to the guest about your concerns that she may not be comfortable, ask if she would like to learn the commands the dog is working on in a calm (leashed) environment so she can become more comfortable interacting with the dog. That might go a long way to both making her feel more comfortable but also opening the door to open conversation if she is uncomfortable, in which case you can try to deal with it rather than just hearing it through a bad review later on.

I do think some people who are inexperienced with dogs will react that way, but perhaps are not put off staying in a home because of it. This could be the case too-- I hope so!

[Ashley-and-Derek0]

I did try to bring it up, but she just said again that she's used to cats and I didn't really get anywhere with it. I can try again tomorrow.

[Ashley-and-Derek0]

An added complication: she claimed during this arrival period that he was biting her. I believe that she sincerely believed that, but this would be very uncharacteristic and I didn't see it, so either a) she was confusing other touches for biting or b) her fear was prompting an unusual and VERY undesirable response. She was not injured that I can see so if it happened, at most it was a playful **bleep**, but even so, it is not a situation I am comfortable with having continue.

To answer Steve's question, either I am home or he is in the kennel (our older dog, who she didn't seem scared of, roams free). And they both sleep in our room, so there should never be unsupervised contact.

[Ephraim0]

First let the guest understand that your puppy must "love her very much" and that the puppy can always sense "caring loving people." Then explain that unfortunately your pup is still young and she is in the process of being taught to limit her excitement, and you certainly understand how it may be overwhelming for some. Explain how you would never want anyone to be fearful of anything in your home and it saddens you to know that she is scared. Suggest that perhaps she would find more comfort in a home without dogs and you would be very happy to provide a refund for the day, and airbnb is excellent at finding guests alternative homes. Support your guest with love and understanding, and make her transition to another location as seemless as possible.

I have a family member with an irrational fear of dogs. So bad that she shakes if she sees a dog. When I visit my family I have to get a petsitter because she is unable to even enter the house if she knows my dog is there, even if the dog is behind a closed door. It's a phobia, why she's terrified no one knows but it is her fear and I respect that, no matter how irrational. I would not ask her to deal with your dog on a leash because if anything seems aggressive to her you will have just made matters worse. 

Be supportive and help her, just do not cancel the reservation yourself.

Good luck.

[Julie131]

If she is claiming the dog is biting her then you need to get her out of the house ASAP before you end up in a lawsuit.  If she gets a bug in her bonnet to go to an ER claiming she was bit, the city will come take your dogs and quarantine them and that will be very expensive.  Tell AirBNB she has to go.  It's worth it to take a ratings or income hit to get her out.

[Steve2743]

I can't say I've got any sort of solution in mind. Are you home during the day? If not, are the dogs in their kennel while you're out, or do they roam freely around the house?

At the very least, I'd mention their fear of dogs in your review, so that other hosts with dogs can avoid this situation. 

[Sandra126]

I have no advice about this guest, but you can very quickly stop the dog from jumping by turning your back on it when it jumps. I have a big dog which was crazy jumping when I got her (adopted, untrained) but very quickly she learned that if she sits when greeting people she gets attention. If she jumps, we turn out backs and she immediately sits down on her own behalf and can get a pat. Good luck.

I used to tell people she was greeting to not do or say anything if she jumped up, but just turn and it was a minor miracle how fast she sat when they turned and ignored her. She is better now!

[Annette33]

clearly, you are not a good match for this guest, both parties are highly uncomfortable. Best is to end the stay asap. The smoothest might be for the guest to change her reservation and just limit it to one night, or cancel. But then be careful not to accept her cancel request, cause then you'll get penalized also and those days remain blocked.  Work it out with her and find a solution both sides can live with, perhaps let her do all the cancelling, then agree to refund her a certain amout, just so you won't get penalized from Airbnb and she won't get stiuck with fees. It's worth  the peace of mind for everybody!

By Airbnb rules, "if there is a complaint from either party, notice must be given to Airbnb within 24 hours of check in", so something should get worked out tomorrow morning. Good luck!

[Steve2743]

I tend to agree with Annette & Curtis. I'm fairly new to Airbnb, so I've never had to deal with cancelling a guest, let alone once they've arrived, but if she's making accusations of aggression, it sounds like it would be worth it to (preferably  mutually agree to) part ways, and take a hit on your income. 

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

Do you have dog gate that you can keep him in an area of the house away from where she needs to be on a daily basis - like away from the upstairs or keep him penned to the kitchen?  This might help.  

We once had a husband who booked and his wife was terrified of dogs - he was trying to break her of the fear.  He was gone all day at a conference and she never left the house. Gah!  Good thing our gal was old and slow.  

[Julie131]

That is such a peeve of mine!  I don't know why people rent rooms where they KNOW there are pets if they are not comfortable with pets.  Ugh.  I had a man nearly break my couch when he jumped up on it screaming because my chihuahua approached him to sniff him.  

[Genesis16]

Something similar just happened to me today. Guest reported my puppy as a dangerous animal and now my account has been suspended. This lady booked for 15 days, she came with her poodle and 2 cats and she knew we had a dog. The dog is 7 months and 50lbs, he is in training and gets really excited but he wouldn't hurt anything or anyone. He rarely comes out of his crate because he's under heartworm(not contagious) treatment and the doctor said he needed to remain calm and not exercise at all. Before the treatment he has roamed around our 5 cats and my 7 and 3 year old little brothers and has never attempted to hurt anyone. Now this lady reported him last night at 2am, stating that the dog had injured her, but she's a nurse and works night shifts, she was at work when she filed the complaint and I doubt anything happened before because I'm always home and he doesn't roam around the house without my supervision. If he's roaming around the house he's next to me, and I have repeatedly asked her if she's bothered by the dog at all because it was really obvious she didn't want my dog anywhere around her poodle, to what she answered it was fine. The other thing is, how come the dog injured her and we didn't hear anything, nor she said anything about it and still was able to go to work no problem? What to do? She has 5 days left and now I feel really uncomfortable.

[Jane89]

People just dont read before they book - but saying that, no one should allow their dog to jump up on anyone !

[Aloisia2]

I wrote this reply to another person on here who said my dog was  displaying bad dog behaviour even though my guest hit my dog in their first half hour of arriving it happened in my kitchen in front of me !!

 I stand corrected on my little dog's greet and jump behaviour, which she does every now and then when she is excited.I also stand corrected that in this one area I have not trained her properly, therefore I'm at fault more than my dog. Otherwise she is perfectly behaved in every other aspect. 

 

But on comparing human behaviour to little doggy behaviour, don't use bloody political correctness. I  take objection to the fact that better behaviour is expected from a dog than that of a nasty, arrogant, disrespectful 6 foot tall human being who is supposed to be of higher intelligence and who is a guest in my home. 

This is as unfair as saying the stranger who slaps someone's child has that right simply because that child is not behaving correctly. 

Although I understand what you are pointing out Sarah you are still wrong!  

 

Nobody has the right to behave like the above in anyone's home when a guest, and if he wasn't a paying guest I would have told him & his partner to collect their bags and get out of my home. 

I will not tolerate bullies and rude behaviour from any humans in my home,  they should watch their behaviour too and know better than an innocent animal.