Bad Dog!!! And how to review their owner?

[Alexandra316]

Okay, the dog wasn't really bad: the owners were't so responsible, though.

We had a couple stay with us who had nothing but glowing reviews. They stayed with us for one night, and they left a mess. There  muddy dog paw prints on everything: the couch, the futon, the bed, the floors were disgusting, and they wiped the dog's paws off on our bathmat and towels, including facecloths. It was just gross. We do have rags and other cloths available for this kind of thing, which they obviously didn't use at all.

What also gets me is that they didn't apologize or even mention it. I'm still kind of annoyed a few days later, and I keep writing the review then not posting it because it feels churlish, but it was so dirty! We've hosted many dogs, and no one has ever left a mess like this, even during the winter when there is snow, or when the stay has been weeks long. It just feels like they were extremely disrespectful.

So any tips? I don't want to use "better suited to a hotel".  So far, I have:

Blank and blank communicated well. They were okay guests overall: there was some extra cleaning after their one-night stay due to their dog, with muddy paw marks left on soft furnishings and other amenities. I would host again without the dog, or if more respect was agreed to be given to the space.

[Noel63]

@Alexandra316I think that is a fair review.

[Alexandra316]

@Noel63 Thanks! Glad to hear it doesn't sound too mean.

[Catherine1242]

yes

[Emilia42]

@Alexandra316, I would post that review and I would probably give them a thumbs down. The dog likely can't help it but the owners can! Who knows if they would be good guests even without the dog?

[Alexandra316]

@Emilia42 Yeah, I agree with that. It's not the dog that was disrespectful: definitely wasn't her fault!

We travel with our dogs and always bring paw towels, poop bags, dog beds, etc. etc. etc. so we don't leave a mess. I think it speaks to a lack of respect.

[John1080]

@Alexandra316, I think that review sounds fair and reasonable. I travel with my dog and would never dream of allowing the dog to track in mud, let alone leave prints on the furniture! The more I host, the more I find it amazing what some people think of as acceptable. 

I used to have on my listing, "Please treat this home as if it were your own and keep it as you would your own," but then I realized that some people live like pigs and I wouldn't want them to leave my home in the state they leave their own! 

[Alexandra316]

@John1080 Yeah, I get lots of guests bringing dogs - like 50% of my guests at this point - and most of them are like you. I even had a couple travelling with their border collie who brought their own vacuum along to take care of the mess. I don't even mind the floors, but when it comes to the soft furnishings, I feel like it's gone too far.

And totally agreed! I used to have the same thing and removed it too, for the same reason as you. You never know what precedent has been set at home.

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

I have a similar phrase about treating my house in my house manual: 

Basically, please treat our home like you would treat your mother's home because we all know we are way more careful at Mom's than when we are home. She gets really mad when you mess up her stuff.

[Victoria567]

HaHaHa......good one!

[Sarah977]

@Alexandra316   I think you were quite restrained in that draft review. If it were me, I'd be even more specific about the dog issue. "Guests used good towels, bath mats and wash cloths to clean the dog's muddy paws (which also didn't prevent muddy paw prints all over floors, sofa, and bed), in spite of there being rags available for this purpose."

[Rachel0]

@Alexandra316 I agree with what @Sarah977 says.  I would not even mention that you would host the guests again without the dog as it was not the dog that was the problem, it was the owners.  They are definite candidates for the "thumbs down" award.

[Robin4]

@Alexandra316

Yep, that is why I stopped hosting guests with dogs.

I had this enquiry from a guest who had two dogs which she wanted to bring along....Why on earth would someone want to go on a holiday with two dogs?????

I looked at the request for a while and I asked her in the message stream what sort of dogs they were!

She replied..."Oh, the're about the same size as your Betts!"

I thought about it and thought, oh well, maybe good company for our dog Betts ....why not!

Well bloody hell, these people arrived with two Burnese Mountain dogs! They were the size of roadworking machinery...the sort that cuts tunnels through mountains!!! Each must have weighed at least 70 Kgs (160lbs) and our poor garden was absolutely devistated! It took months to recover! All the guest said on leaving was...."I hope the dogs were not too much trouble!" Jeeeeeeezzuussss

Another guest brought along a little dog....once they get below 8 Kgs they are just....little dogs to me, I have no idea of breed! And I guess the description 'little dog' is not entirely accurate! When they are that small, they are not so much a dog, as a bladder with four legs! 

This little 'thing' tried to piddle on my shoe when it arrived and at one point rushed through the rear doorway into the house and threw up on my carpet! All the guest would say is..."Oh the poor little dear must have eaten something that disagreed with him" ....YES I KNOW IT WAS....IT WAS MY FLOWERS IN THE GARDEN!!!

Guests do not look on their little treasures as we do...they think whatever they do is....cute!

Say in your review, "I have reluctantly come to the conclusion animals and hosting don't mix. As lovely as these guests were, their dog undid all they great work. I would love to recommend them but, their dog, I am afraid does not make that possible"!!

Cheers......Rob

[Sarah977]

@Robin4   Haha, I feel the same about little dogs- the breeds are lost on me. They're either the fluffy type or they're the mushed-in-face noisy breathers, that's about the extent of the distinction.

And in my experience, small dog owners do tend to think that everything Fifi does is cute (large dog owners do sometimes as well, but not so frequently) . I especially love it when you sit down on the sofa, wearing clean clothes and their dog immediately jumps up on your lap and dirties your clothes. "Oh, he really likes you!" This is supposed to boost my self-esteem or something, to be liked by their dog? A client who had 3 little rescue fluff balls told me "Of course they've dug up all my flower beds." Of course?

I've never allowed any dog I've had to get up on the furniture, which to me is for humans. Dogs don't just naturally get up on sofas and beds unless you haven't provided them with their own dog bed- they have either been encouraged or allowed to do so by their owners.

[Emilia42]

"They were the size of roadworking machinery...the sort that cuts tunnels through mountains!!!" HAHA!