We used to ask Emmett's godmother to put their dog away when we came over. I didn't think it was that big of a deal. The dog was biggish, untrained and rambunctious (but sweet). But Emmett was a toddler and the dog would knock him down, and hard, multiple times. He was getting hurt every time we came over.

Also, the dog would steal food off your plate if you weren't constantly vigilant. She was a sneaky, fearless, bearded collie that needed an entire herd of sheep to keep her entertained.

I don't think the guest has the right to ask for accommodations, but it's incumbent on the host to make them comfortable.

I do believe if the dog's not trained and jumping on people then it's on the owners to ensure the dog isn't all over the guests. If that means crating him for a couple hours then that isn't exactly going to hurt the dog.

I don't think...

But in an attempt to mitigate that, we tell EVERYONE - push him down if you don't want him.

...this is okay. Nobody should have to push Ollie off a dozen times. That's your responsibility as owners to keep him off, not theirs.

bonny, I just left you a voice mail message.

I don't think the guest has the right to ask for accommodations, but it's incumbent on the host to make them comfortable.

I think guests have every right to ask for accommodations. However, the time to do this is BEFORE accepting the invitation, not at the front door.

However, the time to do this is BEFORE accepting the invitation, not at the front door.

It's not a one-off dinner party, though. It's a regular game night. So it's not that formal, and if they've asked for it before then there's an expectation that's been created.

For good or ill, it's a situation that's evolved (devolved?) because there are unspoken expectations on both sides that probably need to be addressed directly.

If Aimee and Joe are unwilling to put their dog away they should alert their friends before the next game night.

Sue, I'm glad your dad's home. I hope you have a blast at the show!

My mom was in the hospital again last night, but everything's fine. She was having chest pains, but none of the tests found anything wrong.

Yeah, I've been thinking about this, and I agree with David. I don't think it's an unreasonable request to ask that the dog be out of the way of the baby. We put the biscuit in his kennel for most visitors, or at least most of their visit, and he's a well behaved, quiet dog. But he is an affection-seeker, and I don't want to tell guests to push him away, because not everyone is comfortable with that, and people sometimes will put up with it in an effort to be polite when they don't really enjoy it.

We especially do it for Navajo and Apache guests who have cultural objections to the dog being in the house at all.

Yeah, a dog bigger than about 20 pounds jumping up on me or barking in my face will freak me out.

In a perfect world, no one's pet would initiate contact with me, ever. I dig that it's not a perfect world, and it's my job to keep them off me. I appreciate it when it's an easy job, though. If I had to consider keeping a dog off my kid I'd probably just not visit, though. That seems like a full time occupation.

If Ollie is the kind of doggie that would knock over a toddler, I would put him away when one came over as a matter of course. One of our cats is cranky, and we put her away if there are kids too young to understand not to pet her. For she WILL bite you, oh yes. If it was a regular thing like game night, I'd make a deal, like maybe you trade off-they only bring the kid every other time or or something like that.