Afraid of dog getting out of room from a "pet friendly" hotel while you're out?

[BC]

I have a 10 yr old dachshund that has been through a lot lately, so we do not want to leave her at the kennel for a week. However, I have a fear of someone opening the door to the room (maids, staff, etc) and her running out before they could catch her. She is very nervous and would freak out if a stranger came in the room. I know you will all say the answer is to crate her, but even so, what if someone intentionally opened the crate and she got away. I know I am paranoid, but just wondered if anyone else thinks about it?

 

[ilovepcot]

You and I have many of the same thoughts. Only thing, we don't crate our dog and if we were in a pet friendly hotel, he'd be resting on the bed. I'd be too afraid to leave the room for fear he'd run through the maids legs and out the door....never to be seen again! This isn't the only reason we won't stay in pet friendly hotels but it's the most scary. Not that I know because I've never had reason to ask, but are dogs *required* to be crated when staying in hotel rooms?

 

[golfgal]

Put the Do Not Disturb sign up so the maid doesn't come into your room or could you bring a rope and have her tied up somehow so she could roam but not get out?

 

[poohandwendy]

Ok, not to make you worry more...but maybe it would be a good idea to leave a note on the door stating that a dog is in there (in case of fire). Seriously, that is the first thing I thought of...not would he accidentally get out, but what if he couldn't get out, needed to and no one knew he was in there?

 

[C.Ann]

The safest method - for the dog, for you, and for the hotel staff - is to crate the dog.. If you don't want to do that, I can't really see how you could bring the dog and not spend the entire time worrying.. It's highly unlikely that a hotel staff member would open the crate and as someone else has suggested, you could simply keep the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door when you're out..

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

I was owned by a feisty mini dachshund for 17 years. He was my first baby and deeply loved. In his later years, having him kenneled was the last possible choice for us. He was also a very nervous type, didn't care for most people and probably would have taken off down the hallway if we left him in a pet-friendly hotel room and someone opened the door.

Our solution was to have someone come to our house while we were on vacation. Being at home was less stressful for him than traveling was. We knew that he was being fed, watered and taken outside on a regular basis. The petsitter was familiar with his routine and would even give him his meds. It wasn't like having us home with him, but I really don't think he would have been happy in an unfamiliar hotel room, either. Short of never vacationing, it was the best solution. Maybe this would be an option for you too?

 

[disykat]

I've stayed at lots of pet friendly accomodations and they have all had rules against leaving a dog unattended in the room. It surprised me when I read on the other thread that this is allowed at some.

 

[BC]

It has almost come to "no vacation" for us because of our "Heidi" girl. You all are right as far as worrying if she wasn't crated in a room, but I also feel bad leaving her crated in a strange place with all unfamiliar smells and surroundings. She would probably shake for the first few hours! I have thought of hiring someone to stay at our house with her, but she is so afraid of strangers. I have family members that have been over many times and she still runs and hides under the bed until they leave. We have kenneled her before, but I really hate doing that too. I know everyone says they don't think like humans, but it sure is hard not to feel like she does. We missed our Key West and Disney trips last year due to her being sick. I know there are no pet friendly hotels on Disney property ( which we prefer), but I have thought of staying at Universal, which is pet friendly, and driving over. Our vet says it is more stressful on them to go with us and we should just leave her at the kennel. Oh well, guess I'll be home again all year!

 

[Disney_1derland]

Most hotel policies will say that you must crate them when they are unattended. Their staff is not allowed to open crates. If you would like to feel more secure, put a lock on the crate.

 

[Stitch1404]

I will admit that my dog is INCREDIBLY spoiled!!! She is my baby. Whenever we go on vacation she stays with my aunt. She likes my aunt okay I think, but she never eats her food while we are gone. The vet said this is a normal reaction to having changed surroundings. That's not really my point and I realize this is not going to sound encouraging, but when I am gone I think about her constantly. I really do mean constantly. However, when she is with my aunt she has her basket from home that she sleeps in (she is very small) as well as all her toys and treats and I know my aunt does exactly what I tell her to do with her. I get especially nervous because my dog has a seizure disorder and has to be medicated the exact right way every day or there will be seizures. So I guess I am saying have her stay somewhere where you know she is very well cared for. You will know she is okay even if she isn't as happy as she could be.

On another note, we went to a pet friendly hotel and we kept the do not disturb sign up and brought her basket and she just slept while we were gone. We also got some rawhide that takes her hours and hours to eat so she would be distracted by that when we were gone. We made sure not to be gone more than 2 hours but I guess that probably wouldn't work in Disney. Best option is to leave them at home. They really are happier at home. If your dog is scared of strangers, could she be left with someone she knows like a relative? or could you get someone to visit her frequently before you left so she would know them?

 

[scarlett873]

When we would travel with our Jasmine, she would be crated if we were not in the room and the do not disturb sign was on the door. If towels or something else were needed, I'd go to the front desk and ask for it myself.

Now that we have 2 big doggies, we don't travel with them. Too much hassle. We'll either have the neighbor gal tend to them for us or we'll kennel them. We have a really nice kennel that we take them to...no cages...they get 6 hours of playtime with other dogs everyday...outside time...and when it's bedtime, they have their own little dorm rooms to go to. They are fed their own food. This place is awesome! Webcams...the indoor play area looks like a daycare...it's just for doggies! Toys everywhere, even one of those big plastic slide thingies that they have for kids! It's a little on the pricey side, but if we're gone for more than a few days, it's worth it to us...

 

[Disney Doll]

I would not leave my dog unattended in a strange hotel room, even in a crate.

We are fortunate that when we go away, my parents watch Ted, and he likes it htere better than home!!!!

I also have a nirghbor and a very good friend who would watch Ted if, for some reason, my parents were unavailable.

 

[LiteBrite]

The only times we've ever taken our two doggies to a hotel were when we were evacuating for Hurricanes Ivan and Dennis. In both cases, we were at a suite hotel that did allow dogs, and their policy was that we would leave the dogs in the bedroom of the suite with the door closed and a note to alert the housekeeper that they were in there. We left our dirty towels in the living room, and she exchanged them for clean towels without ever going into the bedroom where they were.

The hotel didn't have a policy about not leaving them alone there, but we still tried not to be gone for more than about 3 hours at a time.