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.

[Robin4]

@Emilia42

Bloody hell, have you ever seen a Bernese mountain dog Emilia????

It's about the size of a John Deere tractor and it levels anything it passes through....which of course is what John Deere tractors are supposed to do!

I wanted to find an image of a full grown dog to put here but all the images I could find were all cute little 8 week old puppies which give absolutely no idea of what is to come in a couple of years......This is about the best image I could find.....

I guess that little girl is about 5 years of age and these two, 'things' would eat her and not even known a morsel had passed their slobbery lips

As soon as Betts saw them she just cowered in fear....and she is a Shepherd, (an Aussie Shepherd) her job is to round up strangers....she sulked into the house and wanted nothing to do with these two 'Transformers'!

Our garden looked like the aftermarth of 'Battlestar Gallactica' when these two left so, I said....'F*ck it, I don't care if it's a goldfish in a bowl....it's not welcome here!!!

Cheers......Rob

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Alexandra316

I think your review is very restrained and nicer than those guests deserve. Definitely thumbs down~!

Personally I would delete"They were okay guests overall" and "I would host again without the dog", instead I'd add  "There was evidence that our bathmat, towels, and facecloths were used to wipe the dog's paws off and there was damage to other fabrics in the guest space." "I would not welcome these guests back, regardless of whether the dog accompanies them." 

[Kelly149]

I agree with the others. You’re letting them off light. 

Thumbs down, 1* cleanliness 

Then, do your rules address cleaning up after yourself or no animals on furniture?? If so dock house rules accordingly. 

And communication, shouldn’t they have said something??

this isn’t a dog problem, this is a people problem. What if the people had gotten in mud and this was how they left the space??

“Xxx left our listing so covered in mud that I cannot in any way recommend them to other hosts.”

[Alexandra316]

@Kelly149 Yeah, you're right regarding communication: they definitely should have said something, or asked, or something.

We don't say no animals on furniture. When the weather starts to get messy, we provide old sheets that they can put down.

I have to admit that my own dogs are the worst: you couldn't keep them off of the furniture if your life depended on it. Now that it's cooler, after walks my Spanish rescue RUNS at full speed - and he's a greyhound, so it's a little like a freight train - from the front door to the bed so he can get back to snuggling the duvet. But we wipe paws and bring old sheets with us when we travel so it doesn't make a mess.

I also have to admit that our rules didn't previously cover it. I've added specific wording on it now.

[Kelly149]

@Alexandra0here is an example of how this is supposed to work from my guest just 2 seconds ago

"We’re heading out.
I did want to let you know that I think my wife or I’s face wash ended up leaving some bleach marks on a hand towel. I’m sorry about that, but please add that to the cost of the stay so that we can cover the cost to replace it."

now, what will happen next? I won't feel slighted when I see the towel, in fact I probably won't charge him anything. But the 'wreck the place and just walk away' guest... That truly is unacceptable.

[Alexandra316]

@Kelly149 100% that! I've had people tell me they've broken glasses, plates, etc. and offer to pay, and I've never taken anything. It's not about the money. It's about the disrespectfulness of leaving a mess without saying anything.

[Kelly149]

@Alexandra0 exactly, and in my case the guest probably didn't realize that the face cream would damage the towel. But everybody who owns a dog knows what will happen when a muddy dog comes inside. That isn't an "accident", that is "woohoo, I don't have to clean up after the dog bc we're leaving anyway."

[Rebecca160]

@Alexandra I am a host with a very big dog who is allowed on my furniture, but not when he is muddy! He is not even allowed in the house muddy. He gets washed and dried off outside. 

I am totally appalled that a guest would allow their muddy dog in to your place, let alone up on your furniture. Why ever would they use good towels to wipe off their dog? Ugh.  Their behavior is intolerable and I would not want them in my home and I allow dogs. Please write an even stronger review of these dirty guests and give a thumbes down. Future potential hosts will appreciate it. 

[Linda108]

I have a dog, rescued greyhound, that is very restrained, never gets up on the furniture, and is very clean.  Now that I sound like I am bragging, once when we were on a road trip and stayed at an Air BNB, she threw up on the carpet and I could not get the stain out. 😛  Of course I reported it to the host who fortunately was able to get out the stain.  Accidents happen and I think we all understand that, but deliberate behavior like you describe is not to be tolerated.  I agree with the thumbs down review.

[Michelene2]

I think other hosts will appreciate a more candid / direct review.  Write what you wrote here!

[Daniel1992]

I rescued a dog a few months ago, and she's well behaved (mostly).  The only piece of furniture she gets on is my bed, even though she's allowed on the couch and chair (she doesn't like the material their made of).  I wouldn't allow her to be on my furniture while muddy, so why would I on someone else's?  Granted, there is the possibility that they didn't know or caught the dog in the act, but not cleaning it up is innexcusable.

[Michelle1045]

I think you're being too kind in this review. I would be really annoyed too. I understand how hard it is to mark people down. I don't like to do it either and really think hard about what words I choose and whether it's worth it. This however wasn't one or two little paw marks left by accident. It was a real mess, required quite allot of extra cleaning and all for just one night! I would take out the part about "they were ok guests." I would  say "they could have done more to clean up after their dog as there were muddy paw marks...etc" I wouldn't say that you would host them again. Just leave that out. The truth is, you probably wouldn't want to with or without the dog.

[Cormac0]

Stop being immature and post the review, they did not give a danm about your feelings.

[Alexandra316]

@Cormac0 Dude, take it easy. No need to get personal.

[Cormac0]

They come into your home and leave the place like a dog bound, and you find it difficut writing a review, give me a break!