Paws Welcome: The Ultimate Guide to Preparing Your Home for Dog Guests

In 2024, a study was released showing that 37% of dog owners choose to travel with their furry friends. This means that if you want to increase your chances of a visit from your dog-owning friends and family members, you may need to start preparing your home for dog guests as well.

I know this can be intimidating for people who don’t have pets and even long-time dog owners. How can you safely have someone else’s animals in your house without risking damage to your home or your relationship with the dog’s owner?

As a dog lover who travels frequently with their pups and who opens her home to houseguests and their four-legged friends, I can tell you the best way to get your house ready for future canine visitors.

Preparing Your Home for Dog Guests 

When you invite dog owners to stay with you, you may wonder what’s the best way to get your home ready for your incoming furry visitors. Like any guest, you want the visiting pups to be safe and comfortable during their stay. To make it as easy as possible here are 8 simple steps that will set your visitors up for success:

1. Successful visits start with clear communication! Before you agree to host your family member or friend (and their dogs) you both need to know what to expect. Clearly go over your house rules and expectations so they can decide if it’s worth bringing their pups to stay with you.
2. Bring up any concerns about having new animals in your house before they arrive. Don’t forget to find out what their concerns are and what they may need or expect. This includes any medical or behavioral information that will help you set up a safe environment for them. This way you both will be on the same page.
3. Dedicate a safe space for the visiting dog. Ideally, this area will be in a quiet, calm, and out-of-the-way place. This should be where they can go if they get overwhelmed or need to decompress.  This could be a guest room, an office, or a basement. If you have limited space, this could also be the kitchen or part of the living room.
4. Before your guests arrive, put away all decorations and items that aren’t dog-safe or look like potential dog toys. This includes putting all toxic plants out of reach.
5. Remove all pest repellents and poisons from in and around your home. This includes anything that emits high frequencies to keep animals away. The sounds they make can be very stressful to pets. 
6. If you use incense or diffusers in your home, check that all scents are dog-safe. Many popular essential oils like peppermint and eucalyptus are toxic to dogs.
7. Keep tables and counters clear of food and other items you don’t want the dogs to grab. Remember that dogs tend to be opportunistic. If they see a chance to get something they want, they will probably take it.
8. Once your guests arrive, go over the house and yard with the dog parents to see if they see anything that may need to be adjusted to keep their dogs safe. Don’t forget to tell them about wildlife in the area and any neighborhood animals that share a fenceline or run loose.

Our guest room is set up with a dog bed, water bowl, sound machine, TV, and record player. We also set up dog gates at each door to prevent any and all animals in the house from unplanned introductions and extra crates of all sizes if needed. (We foster so we keep a wide selection).

A pet owner’s biggest fear is their pup going missing or becoming sick or injured when traveling. To help your favorite dog parent out, here are a few extra steps you can take to keep everyone safe during their visit. 

1. Have baby/dog gates available to help keep dogs safe. These gates can be used as a barrier between animals that don’t get along, keep dogs out of areas that haven’t been doggy-proofed, or give pets a break from small children. 
2. Set up a secondary barricade to prevent dogs from running outside. This is especially important if the dog is an escape artist, or the people in the house aren’t used to dogs. All outside doors that do not lead to our fenced-in yard are blocked by another gate system to prevent dogs from running away. 
3. If you have small children in the house, you should always closely supervise the kids when they are around the dogs. Children are the most common victims of dog bites. so it’s important to pay close attention to the dog’s body-language. During the times when you can’t closely watch the dogs and kids make sure you child-proof the area that the dogs will be in. 
4. Provide local veterinarian information in case of emergencies. 

Extra Tips to Help You Prepare for Dog Guests

We have covered all the basics when preparing for four-legged houseguests. But I still have a few extra tips that can help you be a good host even if things aren’t going exactly as planned.

1. If you are worried about keeping your furniture safe from dog hair and nails, cover your chairs and couches with a cover or sheet. This trick works great for us when we stay at vacation rentals with our pups!
2. If your doggie guest has frequent bathroom accidents in your home, encourage the use of dog diapers to prevent future messes. These are available at pet stores and online. You can also surround your furniture with cardboard “skirts” in a pinch.
3. If your house turns into a “Westside Story” remake (your dogs and theirs aren’t getting along) you can take turns on which dogs are allowed in the main part of the house or outside. This means that each group of animals will still get exercise and socialization without the risk of dog fights

Most importantly, it’s okay to let your human friends know that you aren’t able to accommodate their pooch during their visit, even if they’ve brought their pets before.  It may be harder to plan a visit, but ultimately it is what is best to keep all animals safe and the human relationships intact.

We have had to say no to furry house guests because of our pet’s health issues,  personality conflicts with visiting dogs, and construction. We have also been told “no” to bringing our dogs to stay with friends and family for different reasons like lack of space or because they weren’t comfortable around dogs.

Creating a Home Away From Home for Your Furry Houseguests

Preparing your home for dog guests is more than just crossing things off a checklist. It’s about creating a safe, welcoming environment for both visiting pups and owners. Doing this doesn’t have to be stressful and time-consuming- it just takes a little thoughtful preparation to turn a simple visit into a memorable experience.

With these proactive steps and open communication between you and the pup’s owner, you can dog-proof your space and make the upcoming visit smooth and enjoyable for everyone. Remember, every dog is unique—what works for one may not work for another, so stay flexible and patient. With a little effort and planning, you’ll be able to see your pup-parent friends and family more often!