How do you deal with guests who don't like dogs?
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We only have friends who like dogs  |
| My dogs, my house.
If you come over, they will be here! |
| I have few friends that aren't pet lovers and those are the ones Lulu is relentless when it comes to giving them her paw. I would love to post these on my front door.
TO ALL NON-PET OWNERS WHO VISIT AND LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR PETS: (1) They live here. You don't. (2) If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. That's why they call it 'fur'-niture. (3) I like my pets a lot better than I like most people. (4) To you, they are animals. To me, they are adopted sons/daughters who are short, hairy, walk on all fours and don't speak clearly. Remember, dogs and cats are better than kids because they: (1) eat less, (2) don't ask for money all the time, (3) are easier to train, (4) normally come when called, (5) never ask to drive the car, (6) don't hang out with drug-using people; (7) don't smoke or drink, (8) don't want to wear your clothes, (9) don't have to buy the latest fashions, (10) don't need a gazillion dollars for college and (11) if they get pregnant, you can sell their children |
| Well if that's how you feel then I think you answered your own question.
We used to make our guests deal with it, but since our puppy IS overbearing, we take it upon ourselves to put him upstairs while we have guests ...or in the garage. ...or if people are coming over NOT by choice but as a service to us (repairman, private teachers, etc) then I automatically put the dog away. I do think it's my duty to be respectful to my guest and absolutely not tolerate my dogs jumping on them, and if my guest seems to be giving me the vibe that they hate my dog... I do try to call my dog to my side. Otherwise, I do leave them in the room, and I ignore bad vibes if I see my dogs are doing nothing wrong. |
| when we have guests (not too often actually) we do confine the dogs, to places they feel safe and comfortable. It not only makes for a relaxing night - hey I didn't want my kids around all the time either- it ensures no one feeds them anything that may end up in an upset stomache or worse.
I think its my responsibilty to ensure my dogs are safe and comfortable all the time and they didn't ask me to invite guests over. |
When we have guests that are not all dog lovers...(my brother and his wife).... I will put them (the dogs, not my brother/wife  ) in our bedroom until everyone gets settled, then I take them out one by one..((.except for Coz...He gets a great bone and is happier that way!!!)))
First Pearl, because she is more settled and just walks over to everyone, 'allows' them to pet her, and goes to her tuffet. Then the terror, Heart....she thinks everyone is there for her enjoyment and pleasure, but I take it as a training opportunity..so she is directed to the tuffet and told to stay next to Pearl. Since Pearl IS laying calmly, it helps Heart realize that she is to lay also. Every once in a while one of them will pop up but a strong down from me or Dino is all it takes!!!
Many of our guests will actually go and sit with Heart and Pearl or call them over to the couch which is fine with me, as long as my dogs are not intrusive or obnoxious they can circle the room for greetings and pets...
When the crowd begins to thin, they are allowed to be 'free' and I let Coz out so he can get some social time....   |
| I don't really have any friends that don't like my dogs, and if I do they certainly don't come over. I'd say more than 75% of the time if we have friends over they bring their dogs too. We have a tiny apartment but we have stuffed 7 dogs in there before! |
| Most of our friends love our dogs. Though, I keep an eye on the dogs to make sure they don't get over-excited and start to paw, or in Wendel's case, tries to lay in their lap.
For those that cannot handle so much dog, like my 82 year old neighbor, I'll put them outside. |
HeatherRWM wrote: I don't really have any friends that don't like my dogs, and if I do they certainly don't come over. I'd say more than 75% of the time if we have friends over they bring their dogs too. We have a tiny apartment but we have stuffed 7 dogs in there before!
I have the best visual of that. I can only imagine the neighbors below you and all the clicking of doggy paws on the ceiling! |
barney1 wrote: HeatherRWM wrote: I don't really have any friends that don't like my dogs, and if I do they certainly don't come over. I'd say more than 75% of the time if we have friends over they bring their dogs too. We have a tiny apartment but we have stuffed 7 dogs in there before! I have the best visual of that. I can only imagine the neighbors below you and all the clicking of doggy paws on the ceiling! Thankfully our walls/floors are all concrete, if we lived in a normal apartment building we would have been evicted long ago! |
| All of my friends & family love dogs and accept that mine are part of the family. However, we do have a few acquaintances that get nervous, especially around my big three. For the safety and sanity of my pups, I will put them in my bedroom with a 'dog' movie on & toys/bones. Or, if it is nice weather outside, they used to go play in the backyard. Although the visitors always assume I do this for them, it is really just b/c I don't want my dogs to have to deal with negative/nervous energy. It is too great a liability that they would reflect it back and bark or heaven forbid they give a paw and scratch someone.
When we have puppies and prospective owners come to visit them, I always make sure all the dogs except for mom are somewhere else. They tend to be protective of the little ones!  |
| I should add - all family and virtually all friends of us are dog people. After all, Todd and I met at dog training (his mom did the paperwork for the school, and 2 younger siblings were also there taking classes w/ their dogs.)
I grew up with dogs and had people at our place all the time for dog events. We did hunting/field training, 4-H dog training and other dog sports with our home as the site or the hub/meeting place. We have family and friends here several times a week for dog sports all year round - rally training, herding classes, carting and sledding, duck hunting, pheasant hunting, coon hunting, etc...... |
| Usually not an issue for us, as I cant imagine having friends who dont like dogs, and we are fortunate enough to have all dog-people families on both sides!
However, I agree with Jo about service folks...they dont need my dogs pestering them, so they go to the yard, or in a bedroom depending on the weather. Besides, if those people do love dogs, you may never get rid of them! My UPS delivery guy is like a sheepie-stalker I practically have to shove him out the door! 
I also sometimes have customers come to my home to pick up artwork, and in those cases I always ask if they like dogs or not...if they do, I take the pups down to the studio with me, as people seem to really enjoy meeting them This has turned into a slightly odd situation with a couple of customers who now insist on always coming to the house to buy (rather than from a show or gallery) because they "want to visit the sheep dogs!" |
| If they just dont like dogs but my dogs are behaving then I ignore the bad vibes like Mrs J but if Tiggy is in a mood and wanting to jump all over the guest then she goes on lead and is told to behave.
If she wont settle by the time everyone is settled 15 -20 mins then I put her outside in her bed. She can still see everyone but she cant sit on them. |
| That's why my family doesn't come to visit!! Fine with me. I figure if they really wanted to see me (instead of me going to see them--which I've quit doing) there are several upscale hotels and resorts that fit their budget (not mine).
If the guests are just there a few hours, the dogs can be put away. Houseguests.....then look to local motel for them and they can come visit during the day. |
| yes my house and the dog's house too. but i do have elderly parents and the sheepies are extremely happy to see anyone and greet by jumping on them. not good. so now i have them on a leash and they(sheepies) must calm down before anyone can look at them or pet them. it is a slow process. hope this passes. they can knock down the older folks. |
| I became, to all our friends, "that crazy dog lady" the minute I got the girls. Not only did my friends have to deal with them in my house, but if we were invited somewhere, I often asked if I could bring the girls along. (I got over that.... mostly). So people know that my house is a dog house, end of story. No one has ever asked me to put my dogs away, and I don't think I would if they did. But it does hep that my girls are well trained, and I can command them to sit in their "place" if I think their attention is unwanted. |
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