4 Walt Disney World Resorts to accept dogs

[jaklgreen]

My opinion on this... I have nothing against dogs or other animals. I think most are better then some people. But they do not belong most places that some owners take them. In my 44 years, I have seen an overwhelming amount of bad dog owners over good ones. I have seen less then a half dozen dog owners that had well trained dogs. Most are like our old neighbors where they allow their dogs to bark continuously at anyone walking in the area or coming to the door. Or let their dogs take off or approach someone who is close by. A well trained dog should stay at your side and not try to sniff someone's butt as they walk by or jump up. I think most people have no business owning a dog because they do not have the skills or knowledge on how to behave with or train a dog. As someone else posted, they are pack animals and require a strong alpha. Just watch a couple episodes of dog whisperer and you will see this. Very few owners have complete control over their animal which is why I think that bringing a dog to a place like WDW and leaving them in a strange room all day is a very bad idea. Every dog owner I know thinks that their dog is "the best dog ever" and they overlook bad habits or think they are cute. The rest of us do not think that they are cute. Wanting your dog with you is for YOU, not the dog. An untrained dog, unlike a service dog, is more likely to get stressed from the noise, smells, sounds of WDW. From the dog's point of view, you travel to an unknown location and get left in a strange room all day while hearing loud noises(leaf blowers and housekeeping, children, fireworks, etc). Tell me your dog thinks that is a great vacation. There are places that are a better option to travel with you dog, WDW is not one of them.

 

[GoofGoof]

My opinion on this... I have nothing against dogs or other animals. I think most are better then some people. But they do not belong most places that some owners take them. In my 44 years, I have seen an overwhelming amount of bad dog owners over good ones. I have seen less then a half dozen dog owners that had well trained dogs. Most are like our old neighbors where they allow their dogs to bark continuously at anyone walking in the area or coming to the door. Or let their dogs take off or approach someone who is close by. A well trained dog should stay at your side and not try to sniff someone's butt as they walk by or jump up. I think most people have no business owning a dog because they do not have the skills or knowledge on how to behave with or train a dog. As someone else posted, they are pack animals and require a strong alpha. Just watch a couple episodes of dog whisperer and you will see this. Very few owners have complete control over their animal which is why I think that bringing a dog to a place like WDW and leaving them in a strange room all day is a very bad idea. Every dog owner I know thinks that their dog is "the best dog ever" and they overlook bad habits or think they are cute. The rest of us do not think that they are cute. Wanting your dog with you is for YOU, not the dog. An untrained dog, unlike a service dog, is more likely to get stressed from the noise, smells, sounds of WDW. From the dog's point of view, you travel to an unknown location and get left in a strange room all day while hearing loud noises(leaf blowers and housekeeping, children, fireworks, etc). Tell me your dog thinks that is a great vacation. There are places that are a better option to travel with you dog, WDW is not one of them.

Dogs and their owners are all different. I’m sure some of the dog owners will disagree with your assesment.

I agree on the basic concept that WDW is not the best option for a dog friendly vacation but to each their own. If people want to bring their dogs that’s their prerogative. I do think that Disney could do more to make the place more dog friendly if this pilot program works out. I doubt the parks will ever be dog friendly and probably not Disney Springs either due to logistics and crowds but they could look to add some more dog areas like the dog park at Fort Wilderness. I would also not be surprised if they made some outdoor dining areas dog friendly at least at the resorts where dogs are allowed.

Fort Wilderness dog park:

 

[jaklgreen]

Dogs and their owners are all different. I’m sure some of the dog owners will disagree with your assesment.

I agree on the basic concept that WDW is not the best option for a dog friendly vacation but to each their own. If people want to bring their dogs that’s their prerogative. I do think that Disney could do more to make the place more dog friendly if this pilot program works out. I doubt the parks will ever be dog friendly and probably not Disney Springs either due to logistics and crowds but they could look to add some more dog areas like the dog park at Fort Wilderness. I would also not be surprised if they made some outdoor dining areas dog friendly at least at the resorts where dogs are allowed.

Fort Wilderness dog park:
View attachment 239903

I think that it is cruel to take a dog to a place like WDW that is not trained, like a service dog, to handle all of the eventualities I listed above. I also think that most people do not have command over their dog so there is too high of a chance that there will be issues. I know some owners will disagree because they think they have command over their dog. But ask yourself, does your dog run up to the door and bark when someone rings the doorbell and you have to hold him back? Does your dog run up the the fence and barks if someone approaches? Does your dog pull on the leash and try to get to other dogs or people? Then you do not have command over your dog. Dogs are animals and and are dangerous. And as others have said, if your dog acts like a dog and bites someone because you do not have control over him then it is the dog that will pay the price for your actions. I love my pets, the last thing I want to do is put them into a situation that can put them at risk. Is it really worth it? Are you doing this for your dogs benefit or for your own selfish needs?

 

[GoofGoof]

I think that it is cruel to take a dog to a place like WDW that is not trained, like a service dog, to handle all of the eventualities I listed above. I also think that most people do not have command over their dog so there is too high of a chance that there will be issues. I know some owners will disagree because they think they have command over their dog. But ask yourself, does your dog run up to the door and bark when someone rings the doorbell and you have to hold him back? Does your dog run up the the fence and barks if someone approaches? Does your dog pull on the leash and try to get to other dogs or people? Then you do not have command over your dog. Dogs are animals and and are dangerous. And as others have said, if your dog acts like a dog and bites someone because you do not have control over him then it is the dog that will pay the price for your actions. I love my pets, the last thing I want to do is put them into a situation that can put them at risk. Is it really worth it? Are you doing this for your dogs benefit or for your own selfish needs?

I’m in between dogs right now so I can’t answer all those questions currently. I’m old school when it comes to dogs and pets, but I understand that some people are different. My previous dogs would not have faired well at WDW and would have gone to stay with a family member or went to the kennel. People are bringing dogs more and more places these days so maybe some dogs are trained enough to handle it. I don’t think attacks or aggressive behavior will be a major issue but I do have reservations about people leaving their dogs in a strange hotel room for 7 hours or more since the time limit is not easily enforceable. I wouldn’t personally do it, but I’m not trying to tell others what to do either. It’s their pet.

 

[jaklgreen]

I’m in between dogs right now so I can’t answer all those questions currently. I’m old school when it comes to dogs and pets, but I understand that some people are different. My previous dogs would not have faired well at WDW and would have gone to stay with a family member or went to the kennel. People are bringing dogs more and more places these days so maybe some dogs are trained enough to handle it. I don’t think attacks or aggressive behavior will be a major issue but I do have reservations about people leaving their dogs in a strange hotel room for 7 hours or more since the time limit is not easily enforceable. I wouldn’t personally do it, but I’m not trying to tell others what to do either. It’s their pet.

Even putting aside whether or not a dog can handle being in a strange room by itself all day and any other concern for the dog itself. It does not just affect their pet. This is a big resort with lots of people. Letting a dog owner owner have free reign to walk about the resort(except for a few areas) where they can run into any number of people or other dogs, is not a good idea. Your dog can be the best trained dog on the planet certified by Cesar Millan himself, but all it takes is 1 dog with a bad owner who treats their dog like a "fur baby" and not an animal to spark an incident. I wish that all people who owned dogs(or any animal) had the training and the temperament for it so that dogs and humans could co-exist in all public spaces. But that is not the case. The way Disney is handling this is a recipe for disaster.

 

[Cousin Huet]

Not sure if anyone else is in the same situation, but myself and my family will be checking into POR this Sunday, so I will make sure to report in this thread what the actual situation is at one of the "dog friendly" WDW resorts. Please note that I am fairly neutral on this subject, and I will be reporting what I see/hear with as little amount of bias as possible.

I saw no dogs at Yacht Club last week, so it will be interesting to see when the policy lines up with the guests wanting to use it. I really can’t wait to be lunged at by an untrained German Shepherd while running down to the market for a croissant for my daughter.

 

[GoofGoof]

I saw no dogs at Yacht Club last week, so it will be interesting to see when the policy lines up with the guests wanting to use it. I really can’t wait to be lunged at by an untrained German Shepherd while running down to the market for a croissant for my daughter.

Everyone knows that a German Shepherd would prefer a nice Apple Strudel to a croissant. Now if a French Poodle happens to walk by while you have that croissant...all bets are off

 

[Lucky]

Everyone knows that a German Shepherd would prefer a nice Apple Strudel to a croissant. Now if a French Poodle happens to walk by while you have that croissant...all bets are off

I'm sure I don't have to ask what sort of pastry a Great Dane prefers...

 

[GoofGoof]

I'm sure I don't have to ask what sort of pastry a Great Dane prefers...

A Great Dane is bigger than I am. He eats whatever pastry he wants

 

[Chrisgraz]

Worst idea ever! I have been a Disney fanatic forever in fact I just now booked our 46th trip for June 2018. Our favorite resort is Riverside I may need to change that now if they continue with this absurd ridiculous idea!! This is the first time I can actually say I'm terribly disappointed in WDW

 

[David L.]

We recently cancelled our reservations for ten nights at POR because of this trial. We have called and cannot get a straight answer as to where the dog rooms will be located. I was first told only rooms in buildings 15,24,80 and 95 would be dog rooms. Then I was told that all available standard and garden-view rooms, with no floor restrictions, would be used. Also, that they will have four designated areas so the dogs can "go". Now I see that only 250 rooms out of all the resorts are to be used. really! What is the correct answer?

 

[disnyfan89]

I think most people have no business owning a dog because they do not have the skills or knowledge on how to behave with or train a dog. As someone else posted, they are pack animals and require a strong alpha. Just watch a couple episodes of dog whisperer and you will see this. Very few owners have complete control over their animal which is why I think that bringing a dog to a place like WDW and leaving them in a strange room all day is a very bad idea.

Except if you knew anything about Dog Training and behavior you would know that Cesar's techniques are terrible for the dog and makes things worse for the owners once he leaves.

"
Two of the best-known names in the world of dog behavior are Dr. Ian Dunbar and Dr. Nicholas Dodman. Dr. Dunbar is a veterinarian and animal behaviorist who received his veterinary degree from London University and a doctorate in animal behavior from UC Berkeley. Dr. Dodman is a veterinarian and behaviorist at Tufts University where he is the Program Director of the Animal Behavior Department of Clinical Sciences.

Both of these behavior scientists have the following concerns with Mr. Millan’s punishment-based dominance approach to dogs (their thoughts have been summarized and paraphrased):

• Wolf behavior in the wild does not translate well to domestic dogs.
• Dogs that are afraid of certain things (e.g., vacuum cleaners, skateboards, humans, etc.) can’t be cured by a single session of intense exposure. This exposure is called flooding and merely gets the dog to shut down temporarily. Not long after this exposure is over, the dog’s fear will return – most likely even more intensely.
• Using finger jabs, alpha-rollovers, choking and leash-pops to gain compliance from dogs is not as effective as positive reward training where the dog voluntarily performs the behaviors requested. Training done with positive techniques produces more durable results too.
• The approaches used by Mr. Millan can be abusive and inhumane.
• Some of Mr. Millan’s techniques are unnecessarily dangerous. [There’s a reason that “Don’t try this at home” messages appear throughout his television shows.]"

 

[21stamps]

Except if you knew anything about Dog Training and behavior you would know that Cesar's techniques are terrible for the dog and makes things worse for the owners once he leaves.

"
Two of the best-known names in the world of dog behavior are Dr. Ian Dunbar and Dr. Nicholas Dodman. Dr. Dunbar is a veterinarian and animal behaviorist who received his veterinary degree from London University and a doctorate in animal behavior from UC Berkeley. Dr. Dodman is a veterinarian and behaviorist at Tufts University where he is the Program Director of the Animal Behavior Department of Clinical Sciences.

Both of these behavior scientists have the following concerns with Mr. Millan’s punishment-based dominance approach to dogs (their thoughts have been summarized and paraphrased):

• Wolf behavior in the wild does not translate well to domestic dogs.
• Dogs that are afraid of certain things (e.g., vacuum cleaners, skateboards, humans, etc.) can’t be cured by a single session of intense exposure. This exposure is called flooding and merely gets the dog to shut down temporarily. Not long after this exposure is over, the dog’s fear will return – most likely even more intensely.
• Using finger jabs, alpha-rollovers, choking and leash-pops to gain compliance from dogs is not as effective as positive reward training where the dog voluntarily performs the behaviors requested. Training done with positive techniques produces more durable results too.
• The approaches used by Mr. Millan can be abusive and inhumane.
• Some of Mr. Millan’s techniques are unnecessarily dangerous. [There’s a reason that “Don’t try this at home” messages appear throughout his television shows.]"

Caesar Millan uses choke techniques?

I’ve never watched him or read anything... I didn’t know anyone used those techniques in current times. 11 years ago when my dog attended training school it was strictly reward based.

 

[GoofGoof]

We recently cancelled our reservations for ten nights at POR because of this trial. We have called and cannot get a straight answer as to where the dog rooms will be located. I was first told only rooms in buildings 15,24,80 and 95 would be dog rooms. Then I was told that all available standard and garden-view rooms, with no floor restrictions, would be used. Also, that they will have four designated areas so the dogs can "go". Now I see that only 250 rooms out of all the resorts are to be used. really! What is the correct answer?

The roll out is a complete mess. The info in the LA Times article that mentions 250 rooms is probably coming from a PR person maybe not even in FL. It’s clear from the tone they are attempting to mitigate negative reaction by downplaying the potential impact to other guests. The people you are talking to on the phone don’t have the same story and then there’s a third group running the actual hotels.

I get that it’s a pilot program and they are working out the kinks but they should not have rolled out the program without having a solid plan that all of the employees were trained on. They also should have anticipated some negative reaction.

 

[disnyfan89]

Caesar Millan uses choke techniques?

I’ve never watched him or read anything... I didn’t know anyone used those techniques in current times. 11 years ago when my dog attended training school it was strictly reward based.

I must admit I never really watched the show per say... it has been on at my families house when I would go to visit as my Grandma loved the show and thought she could stop my mothers corgi from barking while playing. From what I've seen of the show he was very aggressive with the animals. I only learned how bad his techniques where cause my Husband was a certified pet trainer and was offended when my grandma suggested we watch a couple of episodes to help train our new Golden Retriever puppy lol.

 

[jaklgreen]

I must admit I never really watched the show per say... it has been on at my families house when I would go to visit as my Grandma loved the show and thought she could stop my mothers corgi from barking while playing. From what I've seen of the show he was very aggressive with the animals. I only learned how bad his techniques where cause my Husband was a certified pet trainer and was offended when my grandma suggested we watch a couple of episodes to help train our new Golden Retriever puppy lol.

My point of bringing up the show was not to highlight his techniques but to show how so many people have little to no control over their dogs. I am not a dog trainer or claim to know how to train a dog. But it undeniable that way too many people have no clue on how to behave with or command a dog and probably should not own one unless they get the training.

 

[21stamps]

I must admit I never really watched the show per say... it has been on at my families house when I would go to visit as my Grandma loved the show and thought she could stop my mothers corgi from barking while playing. From what I've seen of the show he was very aggressive with the animals. I only learned how bad his techniques where cause my Husband was a certified pet trainer and was offended when my grandma suggested we watch a couple of episodes to help train our new Golden Retriever puppy lol.

That’s always been my fear about boarding schools.. even when they claim to be reward based.

 

[disnyfan89]

My point of bringing up the show was not to highlight his techniques but to show how so many people have little to no control over their dogs. I am not a dog trainer or claim to know how to train a dog. But it undeniable that way too many people have no clue on how to behave with or command a dog and probably should not own one unless they get the training.

Except your basis for the claim is a TV show that is about individuals who have difficulty training their pet which as a source is biased as often these style of shows involve scripting and harsh editing to make things more dramatic and theatrical to entice viewership. I'm sure the dogs on that show are hardly an accurate representation of the 78 million dogs that can be found in 44% of the homes in America.

That's like saying most parents can't raise their kids and have little to no control over their kids based on watching a show like "Supernanny" and should not be allowed to parent a child without proper training.

Based on your logic I should expect to be attacked by a misbehaving child as much as I should a dog when using Reality TV as a sample spread of the average American Household.

 

[Chrisgraz]

Who can we complain to about this ridiculous idea?!? Surely the repeat and loyal WDW guests should have a BIG say in this atrocity?

 

[Chernaboggles]

Who can we complain to about this ridiculous idea?!? Surely the repeat and loyal WDW guests should have a BIG say in this atrocity?

Actually, repeat and loyal WDW guests probably have the least say, precisely because we keep coming. Repeat guests are a known quantity, Disney already know what we'll do, how we spend our money and what we'll put up with before sayin "no more!" and going elsewhere. People who travel with dogs are an untapped market for them, one that currently gives their money to other companies. Disney makes money by appealing not to a loyal core, but by appealing broadly to as many different revenue streams as possible.