Dogs are (still!) welcome here, subject to the following rules of etiquette.
You agree to be responsible for any damage caused by your dog(s).
Please no dogs on the furniture.
Please don’t just put dogs out the front door to find a place or allow them to relieve themselves in the guesthouse parking area or anywhere near the guesthouse or main house; instead, walk them briskly up the driveway and have them use the woods on either side of the road.
Even solid, reliable dogs are susceptible to lapses in judgment when they’re thrust into a strange environment. Normally excellent dogs left alone in a strange place (unfamiliar sights, smells, sounds) can become very bad dogs: distressed, agitated and hyper-vigilant, barking, chewing, scratching at the door and walls. We strongly suggest taking canine family members with you when you go out. (Search the phrase "dogs separation anxiety" to see what the experts say.)
If you can’t take your dog with you, then confining your left-behind dog in a blanket-draped crate in the back of the guesthouse is a kindness. He feels safe and secure, relaxed and off duty. If you don’t travel with one there’s a loaner crate in the bedroon walk-in closet – an open wire affair, not the plastic shell used for airline travel.
We have one dog these days: Cupid, a spayed Dalmatian-terrier mix (medium size; white with black spots). She is indoors all day except for accompanied off-leash walks at dawn and dusk. She is normally the only dog up here and therefore can be somewhat territorial.
Your dog, on unfamiliar territory and suddenly meeting our dog, may become aggressively or defensively territorial and a fight could ensue, or your dog might run off and disappear into the woods. To avoid chance encounters with unknown consequences, we all – you and we both – will use a simple signaling system to coordinate use of the (dog) space. If you’re out with your dog, we’ll wait to walk ours until yours is back in; if we’re out with ours, then you please wait until we’re back inside before bringing yours out.
The signal is a red card strung on a lanyard, hanging from the retaining wall beside the stairs to the hot tub. If it’s present, you’re good to go, so remove it and keep it around your neck for as long as you’re out with your dogs. Walk your dog, get him / her back inside, and then replace the lanyard on the wall for us to use. We’ll do exactly the same.
No chance encounters!