When non-dog lovers come to your home...

 We don't have people here too often, but when we do, it depends on who it is. My friends usually want to see the dogs also, so they are left out. One of my friends does not like Georgie, because she isn't really very well behaved. She is big, constantly up in your face, and doesn't repsond to commands from strangers. Hell, she doesn't always respond to me. So, for her, I only used to leave Max out, and now only Luke. She expects to see Luke, and even took him for the day for me once, and will do so sometimes for the summer. Other people are truly a case by case basis as to whether one, the other, or both dogs can and will be left out.

I keep Joker and Fynn put up when we have company. Unless we're outside. The boys get too happy when people come over. Now outside they are good to ignore everyone and go about their business.

I will crate Kujo if she's being a pest and trying to lick too much or bugging to sit in a lap.

Cheyanne and Lillie dont pay attention to anyone unless there is food involved. I do put Cheyanne up then because she is a begger. Lillie will listen and go lay down somewhere if she's told. Now if I can get the others to do that!

Not many people come over and the ones that do know I have dogs. If they dont like dogs that's fine I will do what needs to be done for everyone to have a good time.

 It depends. When someone new comes over, I'll put Maze up for a few minutes and give the guest a brief rundown on Maze's personailty.  If I see they're not comfortable with 50lbs of dogs in their lap then I'll put them up. But most times the people encorage Maze's leaning and Sandy's licking. Lol.

Forgot to add: If there's more then just my two dogs over, I'll put Maze up as she'll herd them and protect Sandy. I'll also put them both up if there's food out and they won't listen.

This post actually got me thinking about how rude Joey probably is when visitors come over.  I have never been able to break his jumping habit (and I confess to not trying very hard because I don't have that many visitors) and I know it's annoying.  He does calm down after the initial greeting though.  But there are people who come over who just aren't dog friendly (my sister especially) and I generally let him figure it out for himself.  She ignores him or pushes him back when he comes to sniff and he finally gets the hint.  There have been times when I have put him outside if I feel like he's going to be too rambunctious.  There have also been many times he'd much rather go outside if the visitors are being loud.

I will say, in Joey's defense, that my landlord has nothing but good things to say about his behavior when the house is being shown.  (We are moving out, he needs to show potential renters.)  Everyone has commented that he's such a friendly dog.  I guess friendly could go a bunch of different ways, including overly friendly, but at least he's not fearful of all the commotion.

I had to laugh a little when I read the OP's comment about wanting to scream "would it kill you to pat the dog?"  It seems like such a small thing to you and me, doesn't it?  How silly they look, all drawn up, trying to keep from touching the thing wiggling at their feet.  My sister makes this face, as if Joey were contagious, and holds out her arms to keep him away.  While it's funny on the surface, it does hurt my feelings a little.  But then I try to put myself in her shoes and imagine what it's like when I go to a stranger's house and it's dirty.  I mean really dirty.  I hardly want to sit down, much less eat there or anything else.  And while the two aren't really comparable, it's all about being put in situations where the home owner feels everything is 'normal' but you as the visitor are rather uncomfortable.  If that homeowner knew your ick factor, maybe they would clean up a little before you visited?  So should I try and help Lana out when she visits.

Bailey is a member of the family. I dont see any reason he should have to be locked in a room or put outside when people are here. Hes well behaved, he doesnt jump or lick. If someones here thats not a "dog person" then fine, but they will have to deal with him being around. I dont mind if they dont pet him or anything but there isnt any need to be rude about it. One time we were having kind of a picnic at our house and our family was here and one of them brought a friend that i didnt know. Bailey was just walking around in the crowd getting pets from family he knows. Not jumping on anyone or being pushy at all. I watched him walk over to the friend and he was super mellow just wagging his tail not crazy bouncing all over the place or anything. And the second he got within 4 feet of her she threw a empty bottle of soda at him and started yelling at him. Bailey seemed kind of confused and before i got over there to get him he picked up the empty soda bottle thinking it was a game (i sometimes let him play with empty soda bottles in the yard, its the one "toy" he actually likes to chase around) and when he picked it up and came closer to her she smacked him on the nose... She wasnt to happy about what i said to her about that. I was pissed... I know it didnt hurt him but still, he wasnt even doing anything to deserve that!?!? She hasnt come to our house again....

Spazzy

Bailey is a member of the family. I dont see any reason he should have to be locked in a room or put outside when people are here. Hes well behaved, he doesnt jump or lick. If someones here thats not a "dog person" then fine, but they will have to deal with him being around. I dont mind if they dont pet him or anything but there isnt any need to be rude about it. One time we were having kind of a picnic at our house and our family was here and one of them brought a friend that i didnt know. Bailey was just walking around in the crowd getting pets from family he knows. Not jumping on anyone or being pushy at all. I watched him walk over to the friend and he was super mellow just wagging his tail not crazy bouncing all over the place or anything. And the second he got within 4 feet of her she threw a empty bottle of soda at him and started yelling at him. Bailey seemed kind of confused and before i got over there to get him he picked up the empty soda bottle thinking it was a game (i sometimes let him play with empty soda bottles in the yard, its the one "toy" he actually likes to chase around) and when he picked it up and came closer to her she smacked him on the nose... She wasnt to happy about what i said to her about that. I was pissed... I know it didnt hurt him but still, he wasnt even doing anything to deserve that!?!? She hasnt come to our house again....

That's where the "respect/manners" issue comes in for me. Would it be polite to whack at someone's furniture? What about their kids? Then why would it be okay to whack at someone's animal??!

For me, I keep Rascal confined with most visitors as much for his comfort as theirs. He shouldn't have to put up with stupid people, and people who don't like dogs shouldn't have to put up with him.

Honestly, while the guest in your situation was WAY WAY out of line, she clearly was really uncomfortable with a loose dog. I'm a firm believer in "manage the situation and set it up for success," whether it's with people or dogs, and in that instance it would have entailed not having the dog running loose in a crowd of (some-unknown) people.

What about someone's pet snake that is "part of the family"? Would it be okay to let the snake roam around freely without consulting the guests first? It's understandable that some people might be really uncomfortable about that, right?

You know what? I actually LIKE when non-dog friendly friends (lol) come over because they leave my dogs alone. All our friends and family that love dogs are hanging over the dog so much it's annoying (to me AND the dogs)! DH's father is the worst (it aggrivates me to even talk about him and the dogs...) he loves the dogs but is so rough with them and teases them (trying to be funny/playful, but still annoying), I wish he'd just leave them alone. Ex: When the dogs are sleeping at night and we're just having coffee and relaxing he'll suddenly knock on the wall to make it sound like someone is knocking on the door to see them get up, get excited, and run to the door....grrrr.....

BlackLabbie

You know what? I actually LIKE when non-dog friendly friends (lol) come over because they leave my dogs alone. All our friends and family that love dogs are hanging over the dog so much it's annoying (to me AND the dogs)! DH's father is the worst (it aggrivates me to even talk about him and the dogs...) he loves the dogs but is so rough with them and teases them (trying to be funny/playful, but still annoying), I wish he'd just leave them alone. Ex: When the dogs are sleeping at night and we're just having coffee and relaxing he'll suddenly knock on the wall to make it sound like someone is knocking on the door to see them get up, get excited, and run to the door....grrrr.....

Hmmm.. That sounds familiar.. A guy that comes over with his dog does that.. Or when we're watching a movie, he'll ask "who's there?" and set all 3 dogs off.. Highly annoying when you have a headache.

BlackLabbie

Ex: When the dogs are sleeping at night and we're just having coffee and relaxing he'll suddenly knock on the wall to make it sound like someone is knocking on the door to see them get up, get excited, and run to the door....grrrr.....

Yeah, I dislike this type of guest more than the type who don't want to interact with my dogs.   Not funny the first time or the five hundredth time. I put my dogs out of this type's reach.

If someone is coming by who I know is not comfy around my dogs, I put them outside or in crates and don't take it personally.  If the person is neutral, I let the dogs remain and the dogs sense the lack of interest and go off to their respective spots. 

As long as our dog can sniff the person he's content to ignore them after that.  If it is a repairman going in and out we put him in our bedroom so he does not accidently get out.  It does not bother me if it is a non-dog lover as long as they do not bother him.

 Tootsie will ignore strangers, but if she knows them she will approach and wag her stump. On the occassion that she gets excited, she doesn't bark, but does her corgi talking. I think its cute, but others not so much. Out she goes and sometimes, like one time I had a candle party and she knew no one, she actually jumped in a strangers lap. So embarrasing. If kids are involved, no go because shes so cute and little they maul her and she gets very uncomfortable.

It would depend. I have offered to put the dogs up for some people, but everyone has insisted i leave them out. I have 2 friends that are afraid of large dogs (one had 70 stitches in her face because of an attack) and they both actually grew to really love my boys. I have a lot of people over often, and they always do so good. To me, i would think Josie annoys people because she's constantly climbing in their laps, but people eat it up!! I have multiple parties with 30+ people and the dogs love to mingle, and are usually the highlight of the party!

I take my lead from the person. If they are talking to my dogs from the other side of the door or gate, then I assume they want to meet them and are comfortable with them. If they are looking warily at my dogs I assume they don't want to be forced to deal with them face to face. If they ignore the dogs I would generally keep the dogs away from them, but sometimes it's a tradie of some sort and we are walking all over the house and inside and outside. That to my dogs is the height of exciting things that happen in my house and if I prevent them from accompanying us they'll cause trouble. So I only bother if the person clearly doesn't like them. Kivi has this habit of following the stranger around with a sock or something in his mouth. Some people seem to be disconcerted and not entirely comfortable with being followed around so closely, but I confess that there's not much I can do about it. I don't have a "leave the man alone, Kivi" command, and I'd rather not confine him for doing his favourite thing. It would be a punishment for him. I can call him away, but he'll be back to playing shadows as soon as we move again.

I don't think I have a single friend who does not like dogs. My house is extremely animal friendly - and a lot of people bring their dogs too when they come over. Casey never bothers people in the house - he usually minds his own business anyways, but that's just his nature. The pups and fosters I never lock up - I see visitors as a fabulous opportunity to socialize. Lots of people come over just to see the new animals!

Chances are - if you don't like animals - you're not coming into my house. Not becuase I wouldn't invite you in, but because I have so many animals all over the place.