Question for all you dog people out there

[NoHall]

A friend of mine is coming to visit me, and I just got an email from her that said, "Emma will be in tow, so she will be a part of, at least, some of the plans. (She will have her travel crate to hang out in while we go do things like church, etc.)"

Emma is her new dog. :shock:

I know lots of you have dogs in the house, and I have a thousand questions about this that I need to tactfully ask my friend. Most involve my allergies and my fear of a young dog chewing up my belongings, but here's one small question that perhaps I can ask you: Will Emma destroy my 50-year-old oak floors in the course of a weekend, or would that take a longer visit?

 

[DD]

If she's being crate trained, she shouldn't. As long as they're in their crate, they won't go--and when she's out, your friend should be taking her out periodically and watching her. Good luck.....

 

[30A Skunkape]

Your floors might smell like fritos for awhile, but I don't think the beast will destroy them. Might I suggest you go to the pet store and get a small bottle of petzyme for the impending 'spills'.

 

[seacrestkristi]

and a bag of rawhide cheweez

 

[Mermaid]

Any practical information you want to know about dogs, ask jdarg. Is this Emma a Catholic dog or a Protestant dog?

 

[jodiFL]

Well, I see the most important question not being asked...."what kind of dog is it?" The problems or lack thereof are very dependent on this.

 

[Teresa]

Nohall - if you have dog hair allergies you may want to ask your friend to not bring the dog. Or stock up on allergy med ahead of time.

otherwise, just go with the flow. hopefully your friend will have everything under control regarding her dog and you won't have to worry about a thing.

I've had many dog visitors and they are usually just great. However, one of my very best friends brought her two dogs once and they were not at all friendly or well-behaved. I had to tell her not to bring them again, and so she boards them. If it doesn't work out well, then its just not good for anyone.

 

[ThatPersianGirl]

Nohall... no worries. It will all be fine. Even if it isn't the best experience... you both will learn to not have Emma over again. However, it would take a LOT for the dog to cause permanant damage to the floors. I have a really hard time believing that someone would bring a terror to your house... it sure would be brave. There may be a few mishaps, but as long as the humans are conscious... it will be fun!
I do suggest, however, being wise. We have a friend that sometimes brings their dogs. Once, one of the dogs had a small accident on a nice rug. It didn't destroy it, but since then I always pull up my good rugs before they come... just for the trip. I also suggest being conscious of keeping doors to other rooms closed.
Doggie proof, but don't worry. Let us know how it went!

 

[NoHall]

Y'all are awesome. I knew that you would come to the rescue! Every one of those posts was useful to me.

Your floors might smell like fritos for awhile, but I don't think the beast will destroy them. Might I suggest you go to the pet store and get a small bottle of petzyme for the impending 'spills'.

Because of my allergies I only have two small rugs in the whole house, and I doubt she'll hurt them--they're not fancy.

Nohall - if you have dog hair allergies you may want to ask your friend to not bring the dog. Or stock up on allergy med ahead of time.

otherwise, just go with the flow. hopefully your friend will have everything under control regarding her dog and you won't have to worry about a thing.

I've had many dog visitors and they are usually just great. However, one of my very best friends brought her two dogs once and they were not at all friendly or well-behaved. I had to tell her not to bring them again, and so she boards them. If it doesn't work out well, then its just not good for anyone.

I hate to ask her not to bring her. She's been trying to visit me for months, and has cancelled because of undescribed "issues" with her mother. I think this dog has become her best buddy, and I want to be accomodating.

I'm going to ask her what kind of dog just out of curiousity, but my allergies are funny. I can be very allergic to some short-haired breeds, and not at all allergic to other dogs. I dogsit for a Boston Terrier that doesn't bother me at all, but another friend's Labs make me wheeze!

I don't want her to sleep on the furniture, because the dander tends to linger there. Hopefully that won't be an issue.

I'm glad to know that a weekend on my floors probably won't be fatal!

Any practical information you want to know about dogs, ask jdarg. Is this Emma a Catholic dog or a Protestant dog?

I'm not sure yet. My friend grew up Catholic, but is now Protestant. I just hope that Emma doesn't handle snakes!

 

[scooterbug44]

I find it rather rude that she announced (rather than asked) that the puppy would be joining her, especially if she knows you are allergic. My family frequently travels w/ dogs and it is always discussed prior as it creates extra work, scheduling complications, and cleaning for the host.

If you have strong allergies, I strongly suggest the crate/dog be confined to an area w/out a lot of upholstery, curtains etc that can easily be cleaned after the visit.

Her ability to destroy the house depends on a variety of things - what your house is made out of, what breed/size dog she is, how well behaved she is, and how vigilant her owner is, but unless she's a free range chewer and you have wood stairs (dog nails can destroy those like crazy in one fell swoop), my main concern would be your allergies. Anything else would just be post-visit laundry, some presents in the yard, or some cleaning of piddle puddles.

I highly recommend you set boundaries up front (feel free to use allergies as your excuse) so that your friend doesn't feel you don't like her dog and are reacting to her behavior. You can always relax the rules, but it's hard to enforce them retroactively. Criticizing someone's dog is on par w/ criticizing their kid and could ruin a visit.