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

We have a relative with a rescue dog. It was very nervous and growly when it arrived, which is understandable. It's still the same over a decade on and I have run out of sympathy.
I don't enjoy visiting them; it's no fun sitting there waiting for the dog to start snarling and baring its teeth because you dared move half an inch. I'm certainly not inviting it into my house so - because they can't go out without the neurotic creature - it means the owners aren't invited either.
The dog has practically ruined our relationship with them.

Oh dear. I grew up in Pembrokeshire. People used to be very sensible with their dogs.

Are you North or South Pembs OP?

Dogs in my local pub and the owners keeping them on long leads - they then wander off causing a fucking trip hazard 🤦‍♀️

sitting near the table of whoever is eating, wanting food from them and begging.

it’s not the dogs fault, it’s the owners

I agree. I like dogs but I do not want them to be in a cafe or a shop - it’s unhygienic and a nuisance.

Apologies. Im new to the site and thought I did. Thank you for letting me know 👍

@BasiaN you might want to start your own thread

Totally agree.

I am in the US and saw this sign yesterday...

Aye - but I recently got rid of my pearls since I became obsessed with Swedish death cleaning. I'll have to make do with clutching my handbag.

Oh yessss... I live in a semi-rural commuter village and dogs are very much a lifestyle statement. The village Facebook page is pretty much exclusively just folk moaning about dog shit, people walking dogs off lead, dogs attacking other dogs, kids walking dogs and not picking up poo or being dragged around by the dog, dog walkers etc. I don't go to the once lovely local cafe because it always smells of wet dog and the leather sofas always have dog hair and muddy paw prints.

The fur baby people make me laugh too. I knew a woman who was an aspiring actress. She banged on and on about her little fur baby. How shit it was that all of her friends and family bought the children of the family gifts at birthdays and Christmases but no one had bought her fur baby anything. She loves him as much as they all love their kids. About two weeks later she was back on Facebook asking if anyone wanted him because she was off to the states for pilot season. Cos yeah we'd all just do that with our kids.

YANBU about the out of control dogs

your ageism is horrible and in that YABVU

Now for my perimenopausal harridan rant....
To open, I love dogs, recently lost my own. I also love to be away from them.

We just spent a few days in a hotel on the south coast over the BH. Every morning, we were woken up by the dog in the next room being let out, not on a lead, charging up and down the corridor barking in excitement to get outside. At 6.30am. That is not acceptable.

Same venue, at breakfast, woman with a different dog sitting on her lap, eating from her plate. Also over meals, dogs at different tables starting scrapping. Extending leads across the dining area, causing trip hazards to staff and garotting risk to small children.

All of this is poor owner behaviour. But, as more and more places allow dogs, everyone ends up exposed to badly trained and incompetent dog owners gazing indulgently at their unruly cockaschitzapugadoodle, oblivious to the desire of other people to sit in quiet. There are so many first time dog owners who acquired puppies during COVID but were unable to properly socialize them or get access to training. I look forward to a time when that cohort of dogs are gone. Maybe only then, the previous sensible balance will be restored.

Oops, am gonna get accused of misogyny now😶

Dont have pain, so got no excuse 😂just in the midst of the menopause. 😛
God aren't some women just always looking for a reason to clutch their pearls

I think what you dislike are the awful dog owners. Controlling your dog and making sure they behave is something you have to teach. People are lazy. Same with some parents, they just can’t be bothered.
I do go to dog friendly places but those generally have special areas and the dog has to be well behaved. I definitely prefer well behaved dogs to a lot of people.

Give it another 5-8 years and I think there'll be far fewer dogs. Loads of people I know who bought dogs during lockdown regret it terribly and will never have another. The cost of owning a dog is through the roof and unlikely to come down.

As a perimenopausal wild eyed harridan, I take issue with this post.

I love dogs but agree, there are terrible dog owners around. Also to highlight that some people are genuinely very scared of dog's. My partner does a job where staff get bitten & often. Dog's are a huge responsibility.

Didn't we just do this thread two days ago?

Totally agree. I have dogs. They are treated as animals. Live outside (well a dog house) and they don’t go inside ever, our house or anywhere else. Pretty typical for farms around here.
I am always astonished how many dogs there are in shops and cafes. It’s madness.

My kids don't go into my neighbour's garden and scare the garden birds, they don't go in her house, upstairs or wrap around her feet while she's hanging her laundry. My neighbour can leave her downstairs windows open w/o worrying that my children will climb in. They do not jump in her car when she is a hurry to get somewhere. They do not stand on my fence and hiss at each other (though to be fair their human version is pretty annoying too).
I know 'cats will be cats' and I don't dislike them as such, I just find them really annoying.

'Perimenopausal mad eyed harridan'. I think thats me :-)

I have a dog and I agree with 99% of what you said, I’m not too thrilled with the “Peri-menopausal wild eyed harridan description “ that could apply to many of us ! But many of us wild eyed peri meno harridans don’t inflict our animals or our children on others .

I remember a few years back when my son was a preschooler taking him to the playground in Victoria Park in east London. It has huge slides coming down a hill ending in sand, and is surrounded by a fence with no dogs sign. My son comes flying down the slide and is met at the bottom by a very large dog, which he was terrified of. Dog meant no harm but ffs why was it in the playground in the first place! It had a vast park to run around in. Doesn’t help that same day I trod in dog shit running through the grass!