I was recently reading a couple of articles about breed-specific legislation (where municipalities ban certain breeds of dogs because they are viewed as being aggressive or dangerous) and which breeds are really the most aggressive. You can read the articles here: The Three Most Aggressive Dog Breeds and Dog Bite Statistics. Many people will find the truth surprising.
Getting sued or getting your dog taken away for biting somebody is every dog owner’s worst nightmare. Even if your dog isn’t aggressive, it’s a possibility — you can’t control how people are likely to act, and as the second article discusses, courts routinely ignore personal responsibility. People aren’t held accountable for what they were doing to the dog before they got bitten.
One of my biggest fears when I first started traveling with my dogs was that they would do something that would get me into trouble with the local municipality, such as run off or act aggressive toward someone. Although I don’t worry about that as much anymore, I do think that anytime you are traveling with your dogs, you have certain responsibilities. You are their owner, and you do need to protect yourself and them as much as possible.
Your responsibilities while traveling:
- Pick up after your dog. If your dog poops at a rest stop or outside of your hotel, pick it up. Dog friendly hotels and businesses will remain so as long as we don’t abuse the privilege.
- Do your best to keep your dog from going potty in the hotel room. If you are going to travel with your dog, you have a responsibility to make sure he or she gets taken out often enough to avoid messes in the room.
- Follow local leash laws. If your dog is supposed to be on leash, do it. It’s not worth a ticket. Personally, since I don’t want to have to worry about finding my dog in a strange city, I keep my dogs on a leash at all times when not in the car or the hotel room. It’s just not worth the risk of losing one of them.
- Know your dog’s limits. Honestly, if you know your dog feels threatened by people wearing funny hats, and a woman with a potentially fear-inducing hat starts walking toward you, turn around and walk the other way. I’m being a little silly, but my point is, it’s best to avoid trouble whenever possible.
The other day when we were at the dog park, the owner of the dogs the girls were playing with said something about how rare real “dog people” are. It’s true — a lot of people don’t like dogs, or can’t handle messes, barking, hair everywhere, etc. That’s why finding dog friendly hotels and businesses can be such a hassle. It’s important for us “dog people” to be fully appreciative of dog friendly businesses, and be sure to act as respectful and responsible as we possibly can.
Tags: aggressive dog breeds, dog bite statistics, dog friendly businesses, dog friendly hotels
As owner of a pet-friendly cabin rental business, and owner of a Rat Terrier named Toby Jax who travels with us, I appreciate what you’ve written. These suggestions that you’ve pointed out are really just common courtesies that anyone with a little respect toward others and any degree of consideration would automatically do. Yet they need pointed out to help those few individuals who abuse the privileges they are given.
I will say that the vast majority of our guests are very good about taking care of such things, and making sure their animals don’t leave too much of a mess. But there are a few individuals who simply don’t care. Those are the folks that have the potential to ruin it for the rest of us, and make us business owners want to stop allowing pets.
Truthfully, the common courtesies that pet owners should bestow upon others are no different than those that should apply to the rest of society. The simplest and most encompassing of which is known as the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” If everyone followed this simple guideline, the world would be a much friendlier place.
Stan Horst
Owner: CabinCreekwood.com