To dare to think that the Cult of Dog has gone too far?

What a stupid remark. My grandson was terrified.

@8dateslater is absolutely spot on here. People with dogs are more likely to holiday in the uk and in areas where tourism is a major source of income.

I am. Taking one fur the team.

🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕

But all most dogs are better than all most kids!

And yet here you are

Totally agree. As a mutiple dog owner for 30 years I dislike with a vengeance the new entitled dog owning brigade. More often bought for status and tik tok effect, no thought to the breed or its provenance, no basic understanding of dog welfare or behaviour and certainly no sense of responsibility to the rest of society. I love all dogs, admin for a rescue charity and help locate lost and found dogs. This massive expansion of dog owning has now led to rescue centres full to bursting and more abandoned dogs than ever before. Breeds being currently dumped in their hundreds; Fenchies, pugs, every prefix doodle under the sun and Malinois. Quelle surprise! And no doubt every one at some stage referred to as a furbaby. There are no winners here.

Eugh the misogyny in this post.

Absolutely unbelievable!

I have a dog. During my walks the dog owners I encounter are the friendliest people. You have obviously met with the opposite. But I have to say the language you use to describe others is unpleasant and makes me wonder about you. Maybe some give and take would be a good thing?

Well, both your grandson and the dog have horrid recall.

I agree with the OP. I took my young grandson to the park. A dog started chasing him and grandson just kept on running. He got so far away from me I was worried sick. He didn't hear my calls to stop. The dog owner was oblivious to the distress caused. I eventually caught up with him but he was actually at the gate to the road. Horrible bloody dogs.

It’s not the dogs - it’s the humans. I am the biggest dog lover and I used to love to run my boy on the beach - however I made sure I went to puppy classes and agility classes and socialised him from a pup and beyond everything I trained him not to go over to other people. Yes training a dog is hard work and time consuming and therein lies the problem. Idiots buy dogs and never commit fully so the poor things have no boundaries or manners. Then people turn against dogs - it’s not them it’s the stupid, entitled lazy owners!

I don’t know where you live, but most beaches have dog free zones.

I have never come across any of the behaviour you speak of, and I live in a rural town where most people have dogs.

Took three toddlers to a lovely managed wood today for the first time. Little did we know that one half of the wood was dog free and the other, in which we were, was not. Sat on a bench to eat our picnic and had multiple dog encounters. Only a minority took little notice of the fear in the children’s eyes as beasts significantly larger than them came bounding up to investigate. By far and away the majority leashed them or called them to heel, and many kept their animals at a safe distance whilst asking whether the children would like to stroke or get closer to them. Following one encounter in which our son was visibly shaken the owner came to apologise and seemed genuinely concerned. She was also the one who explained that our chosen spot was firmly in the centre of dog-territory and whilst we were of course welcome we might have a more sedate picnic on the other side.
I suppose what I’m saying is that I totally get some dog owners can be arrogant, entitled arseholes, and their proclamations that ‘he’s only being friendly’ hold little weight with a terrified two year old, but our experience today is that most owners are well mannered, kind and decent, and do appear to understand that their animals could cause distress for others.

I get your point, but the reality is that those who don’t own dogs either don’t mind them being there or simply choose to ignore them and continue with their lives, rather than becoming fixated on their presence. Some might even enjoy the chance to see a pup or two. Dog and cat cafes are popular international tourist hotspots for a reason. If dog-friendly spots weren’t in demand, they wouldn’t be thriving like they are.

Was in there a shark in there too? Did you jump over it?

I’m bloody sick of it. 3 Newfoundland’s and an otter hound in my swimming pool today at the village hotel. When I mentioned it, all I got was ‘there aren’t any ‘no dogs allowed’ signs!’ Unbelievable!

This. There's been a few occasions where I've read on Twitter about guide dogs being refused access. Luckily the owners have named and shamed the companies and I would also like to see them prosecuted.

I went in to my local M&S food hall on Thursday, I had to look twice as there was a dog in there. I didn't think dogs were aloud unless guide dogs? I then went in to a clothes shop on Friday, there was a dog in there too. I couldn't think of anything worse than buying new clothes that a dog has brushed against, possibly leaving hair attached to it.

Totally agree @Funnywonder.I'm quite badly allergic to dogs which didn't used to be a huge problem as dogs weren't in shops, cafés etc. I've lost count of the times I've had to leave cafés, restaurants and shops in the last few years because people insist on bringing their mutts wherever they go.

People who drag a dog to places they are not comfortable in are not responsible dog owners.
Many dog owners know what their dogs like and dislike. My own dog likes cafes. She gets a treat, the staff say hello, and she gets to be in the company of her favourite person. She is relaxed and often has a little nap, because we go to the cafe after her walk. I am relaxed because she is with me, and I can reach down and stroke her and feel a serene sense of calm.

What a ridiculous comment. I’m allergic to dogs, as are DP and eldest son. People with allergies have managed perfectly well with the presence of assistance dogs precisely because, relatively speaking, there are so few of them. For years I didn’t have to check whether any dogs were on the premises because it was vanishingly rare. The issue now is that all dogs are allowed in lots of shops, so the chances of encountering one are much higher and the chances of having an allergic reaction are correspondingly much higher.

I think there has been a shift towards a relaxation of previous rules relating to the presence of dogs in places there were precious unwelcome and this is largely due to the massive increase in dog ownership during lockdown. Businesses were under pressure to make money where they could post lockdown and part of that meant allowing dog owners to bring their pets everywhere.

i don’t think it’s beneficial for dogs to be in shops and cafes/restaurants. They want to be outside with their owners, not in crowded spaces surrounded by strangers. Unfortunately people want to make their pets fit into their lifestyle, often ignoring their needs and often obvious discomfort. I have yet to see a dog in a crowded shopping centre showing anything but anxious body language.

YANBU, do you live in Horsham by any chance, you could be describing my home town.

I like animals as a rule but I do think the fawning over dogs and the stupid tribalism that exists with some people between dogs and cats is ridiculous, but that is a long way from being the most irritating thing. The most annoying things around my area are dog owners that have zero situational awareness. They stop for a chat in the perfect position to block two or three footpaths simultaneously, in some cases fawning over each others dogs in the middle of the road, and people who let their dogs off the lead to go charging around but have no voice control over them. Dogs have the same effect on some people as mobile phones. My impression is this seems to be worse in SE England. When I visit family in NW England or go hiking in one of the national parks up there, people walking dogs do seem to be a lot more considerate and aware of their surroundings, and the dogs seem to be better trained. Don't get me started on people who put their dog's faeces in a bag then think it is ok to leave the bag on the path or hanging from a tree branch, which is what I came across a couple of times yesterday evening walking around some local woodland. Take it home and bin it you lazy bastards.

I suspect that many of the subset who think dogs are much better than people and who try to cherry-pick the worst examples of human behaviour to justify that, are the same people who regularly engage in antisocial or thoughtless behaviour because they can't be bothered to think, don't want to take responsibility for their behaviour, are constantly dealing with people who are calling them out, and fail to accept that if they think everyone else is the problem, it is them, since they are the only common factor.

Of course, not all dog owners are like this but where I live, there are enough of the thoughtless ones to sour my opinion and mean I am automatically extra vigilent when coming across dogs if I am walking in the countryside.

As an owner of 3 dogs - I agree. I would like to eat without being bothered by other dogs, or tripped up by them, or step in their dog shit.

On the other hand, I fins people like yourself equally as irritating and also wish you wouldn't frequent public establishments where we go for a bit of happiness, only to be greeted by disgruntled Karen's who look like they've just walked out of a Ukranian war zone.

First World problems of the entitled and precious snowflakes, I suppose?

In a nutshell- I wish you and the fur baby brigade would stay indoors.

I say this as an owner of 3, large dogs.

I await the incoming comments of the tissue wielding, nose dabbing, precious entitled lot.

In the meantime - Please enjoy my solo performance with the worlds tiniest violin.