City Dog: How to Stay in a Hotel with Your Dogs

Even though we live a mere 2 miles from downtown, we realize that we don't always take full advantage of everything the city has to offer. This year for Spring Break we decided to make like "Tourists in our Own City" staying at a hotel and taking a family staycation hotel. Even being mere miles from home, staying in a hotel really did make us feel like we were on a vacation, plus if anything went wrong we were still close enough to be able to stop back home. It has also given us a good sense of how it might work if we go on bigger trips with the pups. These are some things we've been learning as we've been vacationing with the pups:

Coordinating Bathroom Breaks

This has always been the thing we've been most nervous about because we don't want to set a bad example by being the ones whose dogs pee in the hotel.
Before we even enter the hotel, we explore the outside to find the place where they can pee. We look for that elusive downtown patch of grass. The pups will also go on tree grates, especially if they can smell that other dogs have gone pee there too.
Once we find that spot, we mark the peeing behavior there by giving a lot of praise and good treats. We've find that this helps the pups return to this specific spot as their place to pee.
We also pack clothes that are easy to put on early in the morning, slip-on shoes and a hat, to make sure that we get the pups outside right away so they don't have any accidents.

Leaving Dogs Alone in the Room

Besides the bathroom situation, we were also really nervous about leaving the pups alone in the room. One hotel we stayed at in St. Louis had a policy that if dogs bark and disturb other guests they would be responsible for paying for their room.
We know many dogs in new situations could bark just because they're stressed out, or they could also be reacting to the unfamiliar sounds and people they hear walking in the hallway.

We made sure to take the dogs on several long walks to tire them out before we would leave. We also brought their kongs to give them that added mental exhaustion. And of course, Mr. B had to bring some of his favorite stuffies which helped add some familiarity to an unfamiliar room.

Setting a Good Example

It's always important for us to set a good example so people will think well of dog owners. Especially because we have large, pit bull-type dogs.
We know that not everyone likes dogs so we make sure to give people space and not take blind corners in the hallways; we don't let our pups approach unless the people ask to meet them. Though we have also found that their coats, scarves and hoodies make them more approachable.
We keep our pups close to us in the elevators (I've also heard this is good because there are horror stories of people letting their dogs off the elevators first, the doors closing, and ending up on different floors). When given the chance, we also choose to take the stairs.
In the room we try to be extra clean because we don't want people to think poorly of dog owners. We take out all the dog-food related trash ourselves, we continue our wiping feet routine, and we don't have the pups on the furniture (the pictures of them on the bed were for our photos only).

Support Hotels that Support Our Dogs

We know many places have size, and even breed restrictions, so we like supporting places that allow dogs of all breeds and sizes. For this trip we were excited to try out Hotel Palomar Chicago which is a Kimpton hotel. We liked that they allow any size or number of dogs without extra fees. They also supply large dog beds and pet bowls, which made packing that much easier; I've heard they also have dog crates. We loved that they welcomed the pups with their names on the dog chalkboard sign, and the whole staff was beyond friendly and welcoming. Their hotel restaurant is Sable which is perfect if you want to get good food and drink and you don't want to leave your pooches for too long. They also have a complimentary wine hour each day at 5:00 and the pups were able to join us. It was a fun way to meet other travelers. The hotel also works really hard to give extra touches, like letting you raid $10 worth of items from the mini-bar, and when they found out we were celebrating my birthday we were even upgraded to a suite.
We knew so many of our dog-friends swear by the Kimpton group, and we're excited to try even more locations. We were overwhelmed by everyone's kindness, our stay was absolutely fabulous from when we checked in to Miss M's tear-filled check out, she was not ready to go back to just two people waiting on her hand and paw. We really cannot wait until we have another excuse to stay at the Hotel Palomar Chicago.

We're still learning as we go along. We'd love to hear any of your tips on traveling with your pups!

Also:
If you only have 1 day. Or a full 36 hours.
How to catch a cab with a big dog