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

It is becoming a serious problem now. I have a bone disease and if I fall I will break a bone. When I am out I am on constant lookout for dogs as owners just let them bound up to me. I take a stick and when a dog comes flying at me I create a firm tripod .. two legs and the stick ... to try and avoid falling. I should not be having to do this. It is just crazy that I should be in this position.

As for dogs in shops ... no, just no ... in any kind of shop.

There seems to be no way of stopping this madness.

I don’t know where you live but it sounds awful. I’m a dog owner and completely agree that allowing access has gone too far, and personally I wouldn’t ever take my dog to restaurants or shops, she gets left at home as it’s less stressful for us both. I will sit outside at a cafe with her after a dog walk, but I respect the fact that not everyone likes dogs.

However, I do think you are over exaggerating the issues, your whole post is hyperbolic, and in parts offensive. I would never refer to my dog as a fur baby btw, and in my experience the majority of dog owners are responsible people and not ‘emotionally stunted Doggo Nutters’.

Why do you think that is?

I like dogs and am comfortable around them, but I agree with the OP. Dogs are pets and don't need to be taken everywhere. Obviously, you can't leave them on their own for several hours, but a responsible owner realises this. A responsible owner also realises that they don't have to be joined at the hip with their dog.

The responses from unkind dog owners are always along the lines of "well find a dog free cafe/shop/pub etc". The problem is that these are becoming fmuch scarcer these days, and eventually people who are uncomfortable around dogs or are allergic to them will have very few dog free places to go to.

Incidentally, a lot of beaches are dog free between May and September.

It's purely a matter of lack of choice as to where someone can go now without navigating dogs.

I can't walk in the local park without dogs all around me.
I can't have a coffee out - same
I can't go shopping - same

So my life is restricted and it's online shopping, coffee meet ups in various dog free houses and so on.

I have little choice, and that is the problem. Not the dogs as such.

Presumably you're not including assistance dogs...

Absolutely. Guide dogs for the blind are amazingly clever animals which go through years of training. As are hearing dogs for the deaf or those dogs which alert an owner to an impeding epileptic seizure or that their sugars are low. We have had those sorts of assistance dogs for decades without issue.

Problem is, every cheeky fucker buys a high-vis dog coat from Amazon and declares that their untrained pet animal is a support dog, therapy dog, assistance dog when they are very much not. And store staff on minimum wage do not have the skills or willingness to challenge the cheeky fucker on their "support animal", knowing they will probably get a torrent of foul-mouthed abuse for their trouble.

I think it's the change in entitlement really. It feels like the same issue as the dickheads watching tiktoks on the bus with no headphones or letting their kids play/watch inane things on iPads in restaurants. There's not enough sense of community expectations and reasonable behaviour in public spaces.

@postmanshere

you genuinely prefer your dogs company to anyone else’s? Like literally anyone else? What about your partner? Your best mate? Your family?

I love dogs, had them all my life until a few years ago.
But yes it’s out of hand, I don’t even see a friend anymore much as she got 2 and now insists on treating them like her babies (she has kids) and bringing them EVERYWHERE!
She however has no control over them, no recall and one is aggressive to other dogs, it’s no fun going out anymore. They have become her entire life and it revolves only around them and if they can come.
Its the reason I don’t even want a dog anymore, the thought of walks now with the owners with no clue fills me with dread

Assistance dogs are the marines of dogs, tbf. They're probably far more tidy and less annoying than most humans.

Completely agree. Its out of control.

Sandbanks beach was absolutely FULL of dogs last weekend, peeing and pooping all in the sand and sea, running into me all damp fur, yapping away, utterly ridiculous.

I can't stand being touched by a slobbery wet dog, why inflict that on me?

Duplicate post

It wouldn't make me happy if you came and sat next to me in a café. A café is for people not dogs.

Presumably you're not including assistance dogs...

I was in Peter Jones the other week and it was full of dogs. WTF. How is that a dog appropriate environment? I don’t want to spend money on products that have bits of dog hair/slobber/other canine excretions on.

Dog theft. 🙄

Yeah, there are gangs stealing crappy mutts all over the place. They’re all snatched for dog fighting rings or dodgy restaurants or something. Just look at Facebook or Nextdoor, those totally believable and not at all stupid social media sites.

Dog owners: keep your fucking hounds under control and tie them them up in the street. We don’t want them in shops or anywhere else indoors. Thanks.

I think the march of the fur baby was well under way before COVID but there are so many more dogs around now and places are so desperate for custom that they've opened their doors to them - perhaps without realising how off putting the rest of us find it.

John Lewis, FFS, who wants to buy a piece of clothing that's had a dog nose around it? No thanks, I'll go elsewhere.

Agree but no doubt you’ll be told dogs (dog owners) have the right to be where they want

Is this a post COVID thing? All the people who got dogs in lockdown?

I think what has changed is the feeling that dog owners don't think they have to keep their dogs to themselves.

OK, they have a dog and they love the dog and refer to it by all sorts of stupid names. Their choice. It is MY choice not to have a dog and what that means is that I expect the owners to respect that and keep their dogs the fuck away from me. I don't care if it's "only being friendly" or trying to take a chunk out of my leg. I don't want it anywhere near me.

This is what the unhinged owners can't get their heads round, they cannot comprehend that not everyone feels the same way about their furbaby. It's totally selfish and entitled.

I agree. I always liked dogs and now I kind of hate them. My son is terrified and it's really hard to help him become comfortably and feel safe when we end up having dogs bounding over with the usual "it's okay, he's friendly". Just fuck off with your fucking dog and leave us alone!

I almost tripped over one in John Lewis a couple of weeks ago because the owner wasn't watching. Why it's even necessary to have a dog in John Lewis is beyond me.

Absolutely hate having dogs other than guide dogs etc in food spaces. It’s so smelly and they beg, whine, bark etc. Dint get me started on them volleying you down in the park, sodding endurance test to go for a nice walk. Thankfully my local park now has a dog free section.

I hate dogs, I had one as a child that I loved because he was small and didn't stink but I wouldn't choose to have a dog again. They smell, they're noisy, they're dirty and don't get me started on the 'fur babies' shite.

I'm sick of going to cafes and having to smell wet dog while eating a pastry. And I can't take my children to the park without being on the lookout for vile untrained dogs running free while their owners pathetically say "he's friendly!!"

What confuses me even more is sad pet owners who claim their dog is part of their family, dogs are people, they're their babies etc etc but eat meat! If I claimed that any animal was part of my family and akin to a child I wouldn't be eating other animals!

I am post menopausal and also thoroughly sick to death of dogs and their stupid arrogant pathetic owners.

With you all the way OP. I don't hate dogs. But I don't like them enough to tolerate them. And they are so intrusive and their owners are so entitled. It's too much

Oh this irritates the shit out of me as well. Children should not be in charge of a dog until they are teenagers or so.