If you’re taking your dog on a visit to family and friends knowing how to help your dog conduct his or her self will make a lasting impact. Dog guests and hosts alike often assume that a dog’s visitation will be easy and hassle free, but a smooth visit requires planning and communication.

Before you go to visit your friends and family, inform your host that you’ll be bringing your pet with you. If your dog has any special needs that might affect your visit, be it a food allergy, dietary restrictions, or needing to be curled up in their human’s bed to sleep at night, inform your hosts ahead of time. By being clear on your pet’s needs there will be less unpleasant surprises for your host and everyone will be happier. Also make sure to ask about the rules for pets in their house. You will likely find that many of your host’s pet rules are different than your own. Don’t try to change your host’s point of view, but instead make sure to apply rules that are different from your own while you’re in their house.

Make sure to take your own dog food, toys, bedding, bags to pick up your pooch’s poop, and a kennel. By being prepared you can ensure that your dog feels comfortable in a new environment. Even though you might think a kennel is unnecessary, after all you’ll be there all the time, you never know when your four legged pal may need a little alone time, and his or her kennel is the best place for them to feel at home.

When you get there, try restrict Fido’s access to the household pets until you have greeted your hosts, then make sure to do the pet introductions before you get engaged in visiting. Since we all love our pets dearly, making sure introductions to new animal buddies go smoothly will keep the peace between the humans as well.