Dogs Everywhere

I’ve always wanted to stay in the Bodmin Jail Hotel. But if there’s dogs in the breakfast room, I’ll give it a miss.

Good idea to do the research if you're dog avoidant.

I’ve always wanted to stay in the Bodmin Jail Hotel. But if there’s dogs in the breakfast room, I’ll give it a miss.

Sweet Jesus Christ.

Not even made it off of the first page before someone compared them to kids 🙄🥱

And tourism is not Cornwall's main industry. Agriculture is a bigger contributer.

Dear me.

“he’s friendly, he just likes to say hello to everyone”

Ah the slogan of the entitled dog owner.

My response to that is always “well I am not so get your mutt away from me”. It tends to work and I really don’t care if they think I am rude as the feeling is mutual

Yes, they are everywhere! I like dogs, but they really don’t belong in shops and restaurants. When we had a dog someone waited outside shops and when we ate it was fish and chips or we sat outside in the pub garden. We certainly didn’t demand to take them inside. There were dogs in John Lewis the other day. It’s completely over the top.

I’m a dog lover but the dog population has exploded in the last few years and now I’d avoid somewhere ‘dog friendly’ because some owners don’t supervise their dogs properly!
I have days when I can be a bit unsteady on my feet, some days I look like I’m ambling along when actually I’m walking as fast as I can. Due to this I have been jumped on by numerous uncontrolled, off-lead dogs mostly accompanied by their owner yelling from across the park “he’s friendly, he just likes to say hello to everyone”. Really? Most dogs don’t need to knock me over to do that but apparently yours is allowed because he’s curly and cute. So no, I don’t want to sit in a coffee shop or a restaurant with the curly crew while we discover what else their dog hasn’t been taught (along with reliable recall)!

And tourism is not Cornwall's main industry. Agriculture is a bigger contributer.

My post literally said "Hotels." If Cornwall got similar numbers of tourists but more of them stayed in hotels, they'd still get plenty of tourist money, with fewer distorting effects on local property markets.

Don't go on holiday to probably the most famously dog friendly tourist destination in the UK... or go out of season perhaps.

Places that depend on the tourist trade will do whatever they need to do to make their money in season, its irritating as it may be, they have to survive!

Well people want to take their dogs on holiday.

Cornwall's main industry is tourism so doubt they would be pleased if people didn't take up self catering holidays

Out on the pavements I have no issue with. It's inside shops and cafes that annoy me, these are spaces to be enjoyed by humans. Just seems more people are incapable of leaving their animals at home or outside a shop anymore. I wouldn't frequent a dog friendly cafe or anywhere that sells food.

As for “holiday cottages won’t let dogs be left in the house” - the solution, for those who simply refuse to leave their bloody dogs at home in kennels, is to have some dog-friendly hotels that have facilities where dogs can be left for a few hours under the hotel’s supervision. In Japan, we have some hotels that are like that. They have a doggy daycare/kennelling facility onsite. Given the housing crisis in Cornwall, we should all be moving away from the “Holiday cottage” style of tourism anyway.

Totally agree, OP. And they stink.

Having visited Devon and Cornwall a few times this year, I have noticed more dogs around out of the holiday season before or after term time. Not that we were particularly bothered. Lots of loud families on beaches too. Up until now we too have been tied to school holidays only so that's why I noticed. There certainly are many dog free cafes/restaurants in both counties and around here in Hampshire UK. I have never been to a pub that smelled of dogs. Dog friendly UK eateries usually have well behaved dogs in them IME

Why shouldn’t I treat my dogs better than I would treat a random person or even a distant relative I don’t even like?

I would always treat my dogs better than People as in a random stranger... I mean I mostly ignore them.

I don't ignore my dogs, I love treating them, give them cuddles and have fun with them!
The same applies to my family... DC, DH and myself often have fun with the dogs.
So everyone gets lots of fuss and attention!

Even my friends come to my house and give the dogs attention. I sometimes think some only come because of the dogs... I mean a trip to the park and free parking? It's attractive if it's £4.- a pop. (We have a yearly subscription that works out cheaper. )

But given random strangers as in people any type of attention & affetion? Nah - that would be wired!

We’ve been asked before now by friends if they can stay over, with their dog, en route to their holiday destination. Luckily we were away ourselves but it would have been a hard no from me otherwise. I can’t imagine even asking, I would never in a million years have taken my dog to anyone else’s house.

Do you think it's never happened before?
No comment on these specific situations but you were talking in general terms. No, it's not the norm to prioritise your dog over your kids (and both my kids AND dog get told off if they act in appropriately and that might be at different times!).

It probably has happened before but just not so visible coz folk never brought their dogs everywhere, all the time like they do now

This was exactly the case back when I was growing up,
We always had dogs but they were not allowed on furniture and certainly never taken everywhere with us such as shopping, eating out, events, holidays.
The dog stayed home.
I have a dog - I love my own dog but am not so keen on sharing spaces with other people's pets who I do not know. My dog mostly stays home now.

Oh I’ve witnessed this. It does happen. Two people I know will fawn and mollycoddle their dogs in that cooochy, wooochy, who’s my best boy voice, and then will speak to their kids in an awful way. It’s cringe and frankly horrible to witness. If I can pick up on the vibes, then the poor kids certainly can and know exactly where they are in the pecking order.

Agree seen this .

Do you think it's never happened before?

Oh I’ve witnessed this. It does happen. Two people I know will fawn and mollycoddle their dogs in that cooochy, wooochy, who’s my best boy voice, and then will speak to their kids in an awful way. It’s cringe and frankly horrible to witness. If I can pick up on the vibes, then the poor kids certainly can and know exactly where they are in the pecking order.

Treating them better than you’d treat another person or family member is weird
Who said they are treated better! It's very possible to make everyone happy!

I’d put my kids family and friends welfare before an animal any day