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

959 replies

MariLlwyd · 25/04/2025 11:43

There is now not a single public space in my home town that is dog-free - and that includes cafes, restaurants and even the library. Local beaches, once a quiet escape, have turned into asylums for the fur baby/pupper brigade to inflict their poorly trained animals on others with children getting chased, people jumped on and tripped over and all to the sound of hysterical barking and frequent dog fights.
80 year old woman knocked over by uncontrollable dog? 'You got in his way'.
Ask politely that you take your dog away from our lunch table? 'Go fuck yourself'.
Sit on the most remote bench you can find? Peri-menopausal wild eyed harridan lets loose 3 dogs from her 4x4 to jump all over you and laughs that it's 'their spot' and turns unhinged when you push them away.
Yes, this is a rant and yes I hate most dog owners.
This weird cult that values darling dogs over human beings is actually pretty worrying.
I shall await the inevitable and hilarious 'incoming' from the emotionally stunted Doggo Nutters.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
7
TheGander · 25/04/2025 14:30

They are allowed everywhere because venues don’t want to/ can’t afford to lose a very large market- the dog owner market. I was looking at booking a holiday home with the landmark Trust, all their properties are dog friendly, except on Lundy island ( because it’s basically one big sheep farm).

NeedASafeSpace · 25/04/2025 14:30

NorthernGirl1981 · 25/04/2025 14:24

So why is it called Dog Ice-cream if it’s not specifically for dogs?

Because is it made from bland ingredients that are safe for dogs (no dairy milk, no sweetners etc).
Humans can eat it, but they probably wont enjoy it.

Didshejustsaythatoutloud · 25/04/2025 14:30

ArtTheClown · 25/04/2025 12:58

Honestly I'm a peri-menopausal wild eyed harridan, and I was not offended by that. It's such a valid description.

Me too, tickled me
😂

RampantIvy · 25/04/2025 14:28

JamieCannister · 25/04/2025 14:27

Which is why anyone who wants a better life needs to avoid places that welcome dogs, even if they really want to go.

The point the OP was making is that the number of dog free places has reduced quite significantly.

SatsumaDog · 25/04/2025 14:27

YANBU. I love dogs and grew up with them, but there’s absolutely no need for them to be allowed everywhere. I don’t believe dogs want to be in cafes, restaurants and shopping centres, surrounded by strangers. Every time a see a dog in that situation their body language screams nervousness and discomfort. It’s just selfish bloody minded owners hell
bent on continuing their lives regardless with no thought for the animal.

EntropyCentral · 25/04/2025 14:27

It must have been at least 48 hours since we last had a dog moaning thread

I suppose that's because people are really fed up of dogs everywhere.

NeedASafeSpace · 25/04/2025 14:27

ImAFancyLady · 25/04/2025 14:22

I think we would both agree that breakfast for a child is a necessity of life. Ice cream for a dog is not.

Yes, but me buying an ice cream for my dog does not mean a child is going without breakfast somewhere.
You sound like my mum when I was little. Had to eat my left overs because of starving kids in Africa.

JamieCannister · 25/04/2025 14:27

EveryLastSecond · 25/04/2025 14:16

There’s only one reason that businesses allow dogs and that’s because it makes them more money!

Which is why anyone who wants a better life needs to avoid places that welcome dogs, even if they really want to go.

BadAmbassador · 25/04/2025 14:26

gotmyknickersinatwist · 25/04/2025 12:58

Wouldn't matter if I agreed with you or not,
Peri-menopausal wild eyed harridan has lost you the argument.

OP has apologised for this twice now. She even admits to being one!

Sansan18 · 25/04/2025 14:26

My dog really doesn't want to spend every minute of the day with me, hybrid working has shown me that he lies on the sofa with his legs up for a few hours every day.He loves his walks but he has definite likes and dislikes,sitting in a coffee shop or library with me wouldn't work for him.
Presumably these people baby their dogs from day 1 and that's where the issues lie.

Hippobot · 25/04/2025 14:26

Yep! I'm fucking sick of it. Can't go anywhere anymore without having to endure out of control dogs frightening my child and being a general nuisance and often a danger. I long for the days of my own childhood when I was able to enjoy playing on a beach or at the park without hundreds of stinking dogs ruining it. Don't even get me started on the dog piss and shit everywhere. Gross.

AcquadiP · 25/04/2025 14:26

pigsDOfly · 25/04/2025 12:14

Where on earth do you live that dogs are given such freedom?

All the beaches I know of on the South Coast near where I live have dog free areas during the warmer months and in the small town I live in very few shops, and certainly not the library, allow dogs.

I have a dog, though I'm not a 'Doggo Nutter', nor do I refer to my dog as my 'fur baby'.

And whilst I agree that some dog owners aren't controlling their dogs properly your reference to a 'peri-menopausal wild eyed harridan' is pretty offensive and as pp said your rant does, indeed, sound pretty deranged

Maybe take a few deep breaths OP.

Agreed. Where do you live, OP, where dogs are allowed such freedoms? Frankly it all sounds massively exaggerated to me and I've kept dogs for 35 years.
I live in a small market town. Some of our pubs will allow dogs but only if the owners sit at one of tables in the beer garden. We have a large park, dogs are allowed off lead in one part of it but not the others. I've never seen a dog in a shop here or in our closest large town.
I holiday at the coast with my dog twice a year. It has a dogs-allowed beach and a humans-only beach, is that not true where you are? I've never seen a dog in a shop at our holiday destination either. There are a couple of cafes and pubs which allow dogs but the rest don't. Even the dog-friendly caravan park we stay at doesn't allow dogs in the onsite restaurant, shop or launderette; and dogs have to be kept on lead whilst on the site. (I have no issue with these restrictions.)
I totally agree that dogs should not be causing a nuisance to other people and I would also call it out.
But the rest of OP's post sounds unhinged.

Brocsacoille · 25/04/2025 14:25

We all have to share the world with others. I’m sure you do plenty that pisses other people off

NorthernGirl1981 · 25/04/2025 14:24

NeedASafeSpace · 25/04/2025 14:05

Dog ice cream is actually perfectly edible for humans.
Ice cream manufacturers making dog ice cream is nothing to do with people starving. Nothing.

So why is it called Dog Ice-cream if it’s not specifically for dogs?

Aizen · 25/04/2025 14:24

The whole issue is too polarised and will never be solved.

TheGander · 25/04/2025 14:23

I agree the dog love thing has gone too far. The environmental impact is obvious. All owners will cry “ but I pick
up after my dog” but how often do you see a dog taking a dump while the owner walks on in front and oblivious? Also, I do litter picking and what’s with the discarded bags full of dog poo? 🤢.
Furthermore it’s so hard to find dog free spaces now. DH works with people with learning disabilities, several of whom are terrified of dogs. Even in areas where they are supposed to be on a lead owners let them run around and so DHs clients are excluded from yet another place.

ImAFancyLady · 25/04/2025 14:22

NeedASafeSpace · 25/04/2025 14:20

You could make that link between every single thing we consume. And down that path, madness lies.

I think we would both agree that breakfast for a child is a necessity of life. Ice cream for a dog is not.

bigkahunaburger · 25/04/2025 14:22

I completely agree with you and I am a massive dog lover (literally I used to have St Bernards). I lived in Australia and thought that was a nation of dog lovers. Moved here recently and coming here was draw dropping. Why are dogs in restaurants and cafes and shops!!! Insane. I saw a dog pissing on clothes in M&S once. Massive lab put its face on the edge of our table when eating in a pub, and no-one batted an eyelid. Pursed lips when a toddler is a bit loud, but a dog fight breaks out or dogs are barking in a restaurant - perfectly fine. Just insanity. I did laugh about peoples hysterical reactions to dogs being out in the heat as well. What do you think people who have dogs in Oz, and the med and other warm climates do? I saw someone being screamed at for having their dog on the pavement on a warm day - it was like 22 - I was absolutely baffled. Also the craziness about doggy day care, 11 walks a day, dog sitting, dogs can't possibly be left alone for more than 2 hours nonsense. And the obsessive grooming, paying thousands for vet care, and handwringing and angsting over rehoming when it doesn't work out. It all seems so over the top to me. That is not an oz thing. We treat our dogs like...well dogs. They are great, they are part of the family, sometimes working dogs, but they are dogs - not babies ffs. And if a dog needs thousands spent on it to survive, then it probably needs putting down and its selfish not to.

Vent over..lol. Im with you OP.

Craftysue · 25/04/2025 14:22

I never used to mind dogs but I'm getting sick of their owners. The dog mess in my area is beyond a joke - I have a regular visitor that shits on my path . I also have mobility issues and have a walking stick. The amount of owners that allow their dogs to run up to me and jump up, always saying - he/she won't hurt you! Maybe not deliberately but I'm unsteady on my feet!!
I don't blame the dogs just the inconsiderate owners!

Boredlass · 25/04/2025 14:21

Could be worse, it could be cats which would be far worse. Completely pointless creatures

RampantIvy · 25/04/2025 14:21

Glitchymn1 · 25/04/2025 13:03

Ahhhh we haven’t had a dog bashing post for ages lol

“Sit on the most remote bench you can find? Peri-menopausal wild eyed harridan lets loose 3 dogs from her 4x4 to jump all over you and laughs that it's 'their spot' and turns unhinged when you push them away.”

You sound unhinged 😂 I feel the same way about traffic, people in general and children lol.

I don’t see any of the situations you describe in my day to day life regarding dogs, so can’t relate. I would like to see more dogs, there aren’t many here at all.

It’s really the people, the owners that are the problem though isn’t it?

It never happened to you so it nver happens - OK.

Dogs don't jump up on me, but I know it does happen.

NeedASafeSpace · 25/04/2025 14:20

ImAFancyLady · 25/04/2025 14:11

There's a definite link that you're choosing not to see.

Some people can afford to pay for their dogs to eat ice cream. Some people cannot afford to pay for their child's breakfast, let alone ice cream. That is the sign of a dysfunctional economy and society.

You could make that link between every single thing we consume. And down that path, madness lies.

IWishIHadntDoneThat · 25/04/2025 14:19

Rummly · 25/04/2025 14:00

This more or less explains your earlier reply to me.

Like it or not, humans are who we are. The world is how it is. You may have a misty-eyed view of a fantasy world in which dogs, cats and gerbils are as important as people. I don’t, and no thinking person does.

There are three revealing things about MN threads complaining about dogs.

One is that dog lovers come along to say “oh no, another dog hate thread” without bothering to think of all the doghouse threads that stink the place up.

Another is that dog lovers compare their dogs to children.

The third is that dog (and other animal) owners will never accept that the appeal of a pet animal is that it can’t speak: it can’t tell you that it doesn’t like you. Unconditional love is your projection.

Anyway, I hope you and your dog live happy and fulfilled lives. Just don’t bring your dog into any shop or cafe I’m in. Ta.

A dog can't speak our language but he can certainly speak. They communicate in many ways mostly using body language (which come to think of it do humans not do 90% of their communicating this way too).

A dog that can easily outrun me in the park (and thus escape) chooses to return to me.

A dog that has his own bed/sofa, chooses to come and sit beside me on my sofa.

A dog that chooses each night to climb up onto my bed and snuggle into me while I sleep rather than sleeping in his own very expensive dog bed.

A dog that brings me a 'present' of his favourite toy to welcome me home.

I can assure you dogs can and do talk very clearly. There is no projection on my part.

They turn their head when they don't want something, they use their ears to communicate and their tails. They growl or bite to communicate.

If you don't know any of these things about how dogs communicate then it's a bit silly to post on a thread like this.

It's quite simple - for people with children, the children are most important.

For people with dogs, the dogs are most important.

Some dogs are annoying (not trained by adult humans). Some children are annoying (not trained by adult humans).

If the cafe allows me and my dog to come in. These yes I'm coming in. My dog will not bother you. If his presence annoys you then feel free to leave. If I have to tolerate your children (which I do quietly because they are entitled to be there) they you can do the same with my dog or leave. We both have to adhere to the same rules and tolerate others that we don't care for.

By the way children most certainly do not have unconditional love for their parents. My parents were most cruel and yes we 'loved' them because we depended on them for our survival and we knew no better. What they told us was 'love' was what we believed. When my mum was dying, 3 of her 4 children refused to care or help her. The fourth did it only cos they got paid. There was no unconditional love from her children.
If you treat you child well it will love you, if you don't it won't. Same with a dog.

LadyButtonofButtonHouse · 25/04/2025 14:19

I have two dogs.

They're not my "fur babies", they're dogs. Yes they are part of the family, however I don't understand dogs being taken into shops/cafes etc. I would never take mine into either of those places, if we have them with us whilst shopping (only ever normally on holiday in the UK), one of us stays outside and holds the dogs, even if the shop owner insists we can bring them in. It's not fun for me, looking round a shop with a dog, or fun for the dog! The same with a cafe.

I also made sure they both have good recall from a young age so if we're out and about and they're off the lead, they come back to me instead of running up to people.

There are lots of inconsiderate dog owners though, who haven't taught their dog recall, I've lost count of the amount of times a dog starts following us on our walk, having run to us from quite a distance, ignoring the owners calls and I've had to stop and wait for the owner to come and grab the dog by its collar and drag it away 🙄

I think a lot of people got dogs during covid and some haven't the foggiest about training them, nor the inclination to do so!

BassesAreBest · 25/04/2025 14:18

The only dog issue I come across is dogs and picnics, but really parks are the one place dogs should be allowed so if you’re eating on the ground it’s up to you to be aware of incoming dogs.

No, dogs should be under the owner’s control at all times and trained not to approach people picnicking. Or kept on leads if they don’t have reliable recall. Even in parks. There are plenty of dog fields that you can hire to train your dog these days.

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