# Hotel Havanese Horrors



## SPLAbby (Oct 11, 2014)

We took Benjy on a one-night trip to the big city. We stayed at a "pet friendly" hotel. When we got there, I walked Benjy around outside and he went potty before going to the room.

We brought our suitcases and Benjy to the room. He immediately jumped up on the bed and pee'd on it! He sleeps on our bed every night with no problems. He is about 95% housebroke at home. Fortuneately, all the hotel will have to do is wash the sheets and a very thin comforter. We might as well get something for the $75 a night non-refundable pet fee.

The surprises didn't end there. The next day we went to a relative's house. I was sitting in the living room and I scanned the area to see where Benjy was. He was leaning against a wall with his leg lifted, peeing on it! How embarrassing!

He just started lifting his leg outside a couple weeks ago. He has NOT been neutered yet. Is it too late for neutering to do any good to curb this activity? Or would it have made any difference any way? Actually, he has been lifting his leg for a couple months. But until recently, he was doing it in the middle of the yard and not hitting anything.

BTW, when we got home, we discovered left our big suitcase in the hotel room. I called the hotel and they said to call back tomorrow during the day and they would make arrangements.

Thanks,
Jeff:frusty:


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## NickieTwo (Jun 17, 2013)

Benjy is so cute! He knows what to do at his own house. The hotel and your relative's house were both new to him.


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

How old is Benjy? I've taken Emmie to dog-friendly hotels and have had no issues; however, until she was over 2 yrs old I only let her sleep in a crate at other people's homes and hotels, which led to no accidents. I did not want her to pee on anyone's bed as it's impossible to get rid of.


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## FancyNancy (Oct 7, 2009)

Ive had this with my own well trained dog on occasion also. My guess is that they know not to pee in their OWN house but everything else - including hotels and other peoples houses - is the same as "outside" to them. In addition, it is possible that some other dog peed on the bed or in the hotel room already. The scent never goes away to a dogs nose and they are attracted to pee in that spot.


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## Karen Collins (Mar 21, 2013)

I always use belly bands for boys and potty pants for girls in hotels. (Yes, girls mark too. My aunt calls it checking their answering machine.) New smells make it very tempting for even the best trained dog to want to mark. Its a courtesy to the hotel. And peace of mind for you.

Leg lifting is an individual dog thing. Neutering doesn't necessarily stop it. It may cut down considerably, but no guarantee. Belly bands are your friend!


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## Brady's mom (Dec 1, 2006)

We watch small dogs in our home. We have some males who visit and would never dream to lift a leg. Others that lift as soon as they walk into our house. Belly bands really are my best friends. My Brady will mark at my Mom's house, but my other two boys won't. It just depends on the dog. Most of the time, our visitors will stop marking after a day or two. Then, there are some who need to wear belly bands the entire time they are here. 

Neutering should help, but won't necessarily eliminate the problem.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

yeah neutering reduces the frequency somewhat but not the marking urge entirely.


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## SPLAbby (Oct 11, 2014)

We thought we had come prepared and had things figured out. We brought Benjy's favorite bed and toys. And we brought some bath towels to layer on the bed both to protect it and to give Benjy something to nest in. We had no intentions of ever leaving him in the room alone, and we didn't. We all three went to Cracker Barrel. Sue and Benjy sat on the porch while I went in and ordered our meals to go and to eat at the motel. 

We thought it would be a controlled environment -- test out things a little at a time. But Benjy is a good little fooler. What we hadn't taken into consideration was the fact the bed at the motel was low enough for Benjy to hop right on it. At home, the bed is much higher and we have to lift him up to the bed. He was on the bed at the motel before we had it ready for him and could supervise. I can't promise the outcome would have been any different. But we were making the effort. Benjy has always found a way to escape carriers. At home, we have an exercise pen in the kitchen for when he needs to be confined.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

We have taken Kodi with us everywhere since he was a puppy. That includes hotels and staying with relatives as house guests. When he was younger, we always beought either a hard sided (escape-proof) crate and/or an ex-pen with us. When he wasn't in one or the other, he was tethered to one of us or in one of our laps, so he absolutely couldn't get into trouble.

For several years now, he has been completely reliable away from home. We bring his litter box along unless there is easy outside access, and a sheet to keep any potentially muddy footprints off hotel bedding. We can leave him in the hotel room with no problem, as he his always quiet in his crate. We also always leave our cell number with the desk in case of an emergency.

Right now, we are staying in a hotel at the Havanese National Specialty with a friend and her two dogs. We each have an adult dog and a (young) puppy with us. Kodi is no problem at all. Her stud dog needs to wear a belly band in the hotel, as he is likely to try to mark if given the opportunity. The puppies have been AMAZING!!! We brought their crates, of course, and also an ex-pen, which we lined with a heavy duty shower curtain. We placed a UgoDog in the ex-pen for them. The first day, we kept them in the pen unless we could have eyes on them. Once we were sure they were using the UgoDog, we opened the side of the pen, so they had the run of the room when we are there to supervise them. They have been 100% reliable about running to use the Ugodog when they've needed to, though we have also taken all 4 dogs out regularly too. When we can't be in the room, and they can't be with us, (because we are showing another dog, eating, etc.) they are crated with a water bottle. They've all been great. The puppies are 4 1/2 months and 5 1/2 months old.


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Jeff and Sue, you remarked in your opening comments that Benjy is "95% housebroke at home." I personally didn't consider Tucker housebroken until he was 100% reliable at home. And proved it for a year. Still, while traveling with him this summer (he is 8 years old,) I watched him like a hawk in the hotels, kept him on leash until he had a day or so of being taken out of the room, down the hall, out the doors, to an outside potty place. And, of course, when I had to leave him in the room alone he was in his crate. Tucker has a VERY strong sense of smell and love of sniffing, so I don't give him any chance to decide to mark an interesting smell unless it is in an appropriate place.


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## SPLAbby (Oct 11, 2014)

It's definitely going to be a long time before we stay at a motel again. Really have to take in all your advice and rethink this. Thanks!


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## boomana (Jul 9, 2015)

Although I haven't taken my little Havanese out and about to other places other than outside restaurants and the like, it took my other dog about a year before he got the pee outside everywhere, not just when at home. I'd never heard of belly bands before this forum, but it would have saved me some embarrassment and cleaning at friends' homes back then.


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## SPLAbby (Oct 11, 2014)

SPLAbby said:


> We thought we had come prepared and had things figured out. We brought Benjy's favorite bed and toys. And we brought some bath towels to layer on the bed both to protect it and to give Benjy something to nest in. We had no intentions of ever leaving him in the room alone, and we didn't. We all three went to Cracker Barrel. Sue and Benjy sat on the porch while I went in and ordered our meals to go and to eat at the motel.


I forgot to mention that we met some people from another continent at the porch at Cracker Barrel. There was a little girl who had never seen a dog before. Benjy was the first one she ever saw! She even got to pet him. Benjy really liked her.


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## Savannah Kalista (Jul 1, 2015)

I always have Savannah go outside before taking her in to a new place so she knows where to do her business. We've never stayed in a hotel with her but will be later this year. She is house trained and doesn't use pee pads. Any suggestions for our trip? We plan to drive and stop early so we can walk her because she doesn't really like car rides and will need to "de-stress". We'll also take several breaks during the day...for both her and me.


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

Here's a picture of Emmie at The Shorebreak Hotel in Huntington Beach. It's a very dog friendly hotel and there's a dog beach nearby. I also rented a beach cruiser and drove Miss Emmie to the beach and along the bike path to Newport. :biggrin1:


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## siewhwee (Sep 24, 2009)

We have taken our Hav, Ralphie, across the country, and on vacations. He has never marked in the hotels we stayed in. I always make sure to follow him around the room initially upon entering it. While he is sniffing around, I just kept saying, " No marking". He seems to understand that, and never did it. He loves staying at hotels! Here's a picture of him at a hotel near the Syracyse airport.


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## Karen Collins (Mar 21, 2013)

I prefer stopping at rest areas along the interstates to potty my dogs. They are always clean and have designated dog walks. Always scoop your poop. And don't walk your dog where others have left their poop. Too many germs. I go to the least used area.

As I said before belly bands and potty pants are for insurance and peace of mind. I always say, if a dog has teeth he can bite and if he has plumbing he can potty. Dogs are often unpredictable when out of their element.

The other thing I do, and karen R already mentioned is I leave my dogs crated in the rooms when I'm not there. And I leave my cell phone number with the front desk in case someone starts barking and disturbing the other guests. I let the front desk know I'm not going to be gone long or far and I will come back immediately if they call me. I always get a big smile and a thank you when I do that. 

My dogs love staying in hotels. They love the elevator and meeting the other guests. Its fun to travel with them. And they have learned to have very good manners.

Another thing to keep in mind, sometimes, not always, my dogs will need to potty extra when we're traveling. My dogs never ever ask to potty during the night at home, but occasionally they will at a hotel. So, I'm alway prepared to get up and take them out. A room close to the stairs or exit is always convenient. So we can slip outside in the shortest amount of time.


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## SPLAbby (Oct 11, 2014)

I don't know where all of Benjy's pee comes from. He seems to be able to generate more at will. I tried to drain him before going in the hotel. But he must have a reserve. 

This is a new thing. Sometimes when I walk him he appears to want to go back in the house. And I will have to say, oh no you don't. You have to pee some more and I lead him back into the yard. And he goes quite a bit.

Having Benjy is a wonderful adventure. He is always changing. He still has puppy ways or look, but you can see how he is losing some clumsy behavior and is better at expressing his emotions in a positive way. He sat on my wife's lap today for half hour getting petted. He has always been affectionate and wanting to be close or to be held. But he wants petted more than he used to.


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## Nicm (Feb 28, 2014)

siewhwee said:


> We have taken our Hav, Ralphie, across the country, and on vacations. He has never marked in the hotels we stayed in. I always make sure to follow him around the room initially upon entering it. While he is sniffing around, I just kept saying, " No marking". He seems to understand that, and never did it. He loves staying at hotels! Here's a picture of him at a hotel near the Syracyse airport.


He is one cute lil man! He reminds me of my Darla!!!

Nic & Darla


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Benjy is a handsome boy. I love his coloring.


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## SPLAbby (Oct 11, 2014)

Sheri said:


> Benjy is a handsome boy. I love his coloring.


Thank you. That is one of the reasons we got his hair trimmed. The white on top was growing down and covering some of the light brown. We will keep it trimmed, but don't plan to go any shorter. We are very pleased that his coloring is holding. I think the brown is a little softer color than a few months ago. And some of the tan in his face has been replaced with white. But I like the changes. We were told not to pick a Havanese solely on the basis of color because that can change with time. We would love him invisible or star-spangled banner!


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