Pet (Dog) Etiquette when Entertaining
Follow the Pet (Dog) Etiquette rules when Entertaining, so everyone has a good time when dining together–both the guests and the dog!
When you host a dinner party, there are so many etiquette rules and ideas that you are expected to follow, right?
We all love our pets, but, sadly, this doesn’t mean your friends and guests will, too. We’re always trying to make sure our pet behaves, and that everyone has a good time (both the dog and the guests).
Pet (Dog) Etiquette when Entertaining
Yes, we had a dog, Haggis Barley McStitch, a Cairn Terrier who we were so in love with. Because we have Alder now, and we entertain a lot, we already know our little dogs have never been angels!
In the past, when guests would come, we’d corral Haggis out in Paul’s office (separate from our house). He’s not good with kids. He was, until one kid ruined that for him when he was a puppy (we know exactly what happened), and now it’s impossible for other kids to be able to love on him.
Once he grew up, we’d let him stay inside to see if he could behave himself when we had company over. Behaving himself, for Haggis, meant to contain his excitement, and not jump up on the guests when they walked through the door.
Talk about hospitality! Our dog LOVED to greet people at the door! :)
We didn’t want our guests to be annoyed, but on the other hand, he was a part of our family.
How to know if you should put the dog out:
- Evaluate your guests’ body language: Are they pet lovers? Do they seem to like your dog or animal?
- If the dog can’t stop jumping up: Especially when excited, usually when greeting the guests, who are often bearing gifts of delicious platters of foods in their hands!
- If the barking is out of control: Our dog is a protector, so one thing can set him off (which can be scary or alarming when you’re not expecting it).
- Beggars at the table: If the dog can’t leave your guests alone, chin in laps or annoying, slobbery behaviors.
- Stealing food: If you’re entertaining casually with food at easy reach, watch out.
- If your dog is super-protective and nips at people he/she perceives to be a threat to you (even when they’re good friends).
We have friends who keep their dogs in the laundry room or garage, or crate them. Usually these are larger dogs who can literally make you fall over if you run into them.
Alder the Whoodle
Now with Alder the Whoodle, many times we’ll let him calm down, and he does pretty well. If it’s warm out, we put him in the Sprinter van (with water, his ball), because he loves to sit in the drivers seat, no matter what, and just watch. He’s happy there.
We’re still in the process of teaching Alder now to be a gracious guest. We’ve yet to break his initial excitement when people come through the door. He usually settles right down, but if not … out to the van he goes.
We know he’s not perfect, and we’re always thankful when our guests are gracious in return, as we are when we go to friends’ homes with pets!
Here’s the question today:
Do you keep your animals in the house when you entertain? Or, do you do as we do, and watch the “body languages” of your guests?
Dog recipes to try:
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
we actually have never had pets since we’ve been married. I grew up with inside animals, but my hubby is NOT an animal lover and most definitely not one that would be inside. We do plan to get an outside dog this spring for our girls (they’ve been wanting a dog) so it will need to learn manners as well. So with that said, I’ll answer as a “guest”. I personally don’t have a problem going to a home with pets in the house. I love animals, will take time to pet them, etc. I do get “put off” (not sure what word to use) when the pets will not settle down and want to keep licking, etc…because my hubby doesn’t care for animals he can tolerate this less than I will. Usually it’s bigger dogs that do this. Or if the home that has dogs and cats is not well maintained in the sense that there is animal hair everywhere..that’s not fun either. When we first got married I would sometimes dream of having an indoor animal again but then had friends with allergies, so thought “gee, how would that work if I wanted to have them over”…of course hubby’s aversion solved that problem quickly. We have several friends that have small dogs and when we go over they are very well behaved or respond well…and these friends give permission to their guests to tell their dogs to get down, etc… they also know my hubby doesn’t care for animals so they make sure the dogs mind their P’s and Q’s. Great post sandy…it’s a topic that is huge, but probably overlooked by many..
Kirstin, I agree … dog hair is gross! That’s why we got Haggis – he doesn’t shed. But he has annoying behaviors, too … sigh … Let us know what kind of dog you end up getting!
We usually keep our dogs outside or put away, at least at first. Our “old girl” just stays in our room, the puppy (biggest golden retriever I’ve ever seen) stays either in his crate or outside. We have a dog bed tucked behind a couple chairs, so even new friends know we have dogs. The crate is in plain sight in a less-used room, so that has helped friends who are nervous about big dogs get more comfortable in a very safe way. When someone asks, we let the dogs in, but they ALWAYS have to leave when the food comes out – they’re thieves! Or cat is a non-issue, she disappears so well it has taken some friends years to realize we have one!
This sounds like my cousin Anni’s dogs. They have their space when company comes, but IF WE BEG to let them out (we love their dogs) they are all over the place and very entertaining. I think they love food, too. :)
Oh, some of this is our sweet Bella. Such a great dog. (If she could read, I would have said person, since she is not aware she is a dog) The only time she barks is to tell us someone is here…even if she knows them, she thinks the only way we will know is if she tells us. And….though I make her lay down if under the table, my husband thinks it is so sweet when she lays her chin in his lap. So, how do we train the husband? lol Bella is the best dog we’ve ever had, hands down. So easy to train. She is a people pleaser. I have two ‘pet’ peeves though. A dog who jumps up towards or on me and one who insists on smelling my privates! And that goes for little dogs too.
Watching the body language of guests is good advice. Great post.
We loved meeting Bella, Peggy! Oh … yes … I’m so glad Haggis is short. No sniffing … if you know what I mean. I hate that when dogs do that!!
My friends and family know we are “dog” people. I grew up in household where our St. Bernards were just younger brothers. I don’t necessarily think that was my dad’s opinion but my mother was an amazing person who my dad adored! We have a 6 yr old German Shepherd/Greyhound mix that is extremely protective. We put her on the porch until she calms down and see the other two (13 yr old Black Lab and 3 yr old fuzzy mix) getting lavish attention. She’ll come in and wander around the perimeter of the room and eventually calm down to where you hardly know she’s there. My in-laws are not dog people at all which seems to stump my dogs. They (particularly the Shepherd mix) make it their mission to make my in-laws like them. My husband has trained our dogs to not be beggars, to lay down when told and to basically do whatever he says. I don’t have that authoritative type voice but they usually mind me when I point to place for them to move. It is very unusual for my dogs to be put up when we have guests. I am mindful of the dogs’ body language though, as well as, people.
It sounds like your dogs are very well-behaved, Clare! Lucky owner – you! :)
My very active three year old border collie/lab is allowed in to say hello after the guests have been seated. She usually will bark at them for a minute upon seeing them as she enters the house but then she will either go lay down or want to go back outside. She has been known to sit by me at the table when we eat, but that’s her custom and she is not a beggar to others. She eats with me as is her custom, and then is back outside.
I DO have an issue as at all our family functions all relatives bring their dogs!! (AMAZING!) In my home I am MOST ANXIOUS about potty accidents and I am a basket case “casually” following the visiting fur-relatives around to make sure they don’t have an “accident” while sniffing my carpets… My family knows the dogs are most welcomed to come, but they should stay outside with my dog. After people start leaving, or we’re cleaning the kitchen, invariably, a dog or two or three or four will wander in the house, but by that time I’m not as nuts about it and the owners — my family — knows me well enough to keep an eye peeled and after a few minutes corrale them back outside!
Patricia, this was an interesting perspective that I did not address in the post. We never bring our dog with us to other homes, and friends don’t bring their dogs here. So it’s been pretty easy for us, with that in mind. :)
Great post, Sandy! We have a medium size dog (35 lbs.), and she is very friendly but also very protective. We crate her in our mudroom when guests first arrive, where she barks like crazy every time the door bell rings and someone new enters. Towards the end of the party, after everyone has been here for a while, we like to let her out and “introduce” her to everyone. She loves meeting new people and she quickly becomes the center of attention, which of course she loves!
I think that is always a nice approach, Kim. After all, she is a part of your family!
We have two really big dogs (45 lbs and 100 lbs) so we really try to get a feel for how guests feel about dogs beforehand. They totally freak out the first 5 minutes people are here and then they retreat to another part of the house to lay around, but those first 5 minutes can be intense!
Heather – they just get so excited! It’s nice they calm down and it’s only the first 5 minutes. LOL
Great post!! And Haggis is such a sweet dog! My biggest “issue” with dogs is when they “sniff” guests {you know what I mean!}…and I think it’s the owners responsibility to tell the dog no when they are doing something they shouldn’t be doing {sniffing, jumping, begging}, not the guests!
Good point, Holly. I hate the sniffing part, too. Yes, it’s the owners responsibility. That’s why I like to hold or put Haggis away when the guests first come … I’m glad he is not a sniffer!
We had a good old girl Chocolate Lab until about a year and a half ago and while she was incredibly well behaved in her ripe old age we still confined her to a separate room when we have friends over. She was 13 and would usually wonder off to her quiet spot, the powder room but we have friends who are seriously NOT dog people. We now, a year and a half later, have finally added a new fur baby to the house in an English Bulldog puppy. He is a happy fella and is not old enough to be very protective yet but man is he happy to see people come in because after all surely they came to play with him. We are found out already that just confining him to our bathroom, where he stays when I run out during the day, is just the easiest way to handle him and our non dog loving friends. Oh and for some reason our cat never makes an appearance either :-)
Samma, same here. Our cats RUN and HIDE when guests come. I guess they don’t want the extra affection or attention like dogs do!
oh Haggis, what a sweetie.
the last several years it has just been Basil, our dachshund, as the lone dog in the household. he is calm and sweet and after barking at the door, he settles down and is GREAT with guests. in December, we rescued a second dachshund, Rosemary. while she is ALSO sweet, she is young, she is fiercely protective and … uses her voice ;) when we had a full house of events for the holidays, we would crate her (she actually feels protected and calm in there, so I feel GOOD about this rather than bad) for the majority of the time.
I definitely watch body language of guests, if I don’t already know how they feel about pups.
I look forward to another Haggis post!
Kristina, I’ll have to think of another Haggis post. LOL I love that name, Basil!