I’ve joined the “why are there dogs everywhere” Club

Is there no-one to leave her with? A dog walker who will exercise her then sit with her?
That's got to be better for her than shopping for Nespresso pods?

My SIL works in John Lewis and says every day there is at least one doggy “accident” and they have to clean up…lots of damage caused, expensive rugs and clothes peed on and the likes. She reckons the owners either slink off without telling the staff or exclaim that “little Barney has NEVER done that before”. Approximately zero of them offer to clean up the mess

Oh dear, I’m actually thinking of taking my dog to John Lewis this week. Not for a shopping trip as such but my nearest JL is 2 hours away, I want to pop into the nespresso boutique. So not a full shopping excursion. I don’t want to leave her for 5 hours or so, plus there’s nice countryside between JL and us so we can have a walk on the way back.

However she’s not nervous and I won’t be asking people not to come in lifts!

Ah that’s shame. All the food in the Waterstones cafe is in glass cabinets/ fridge etc.🤷‍♀️
Our Waterstones cafe is always busy enough so hopefully not too many people avoid it.

you can like dogs but still disagree about them being in a shop or indoor cafe, they are two different things.

Indeed, but there are some odd posters on MN who will brand you an animal hater for saying anything that could be construed negatively about dogs!

that’s exactly why I stopped going to our Waterstones, I don’t think dogs belong in indoor cafe near food.
I bet people are just too polite to say something or avoid it, plus you can like dogs but still disagree about them being in a shop or indoor cafe, they are two different things.

Barknership card? Pawtnership card?

Oh god, I'm probably giving people ideas here...

Do the dogs have a John Lewis partnership card?

I started a thread about this two months ago and I got pasted! It was resurrected recently.

Your post made me think of that quotation "outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read"

Oh John Lewis. A department store is not a place for dogs. Poor dogs, and people should be able to shop in a department store free from dogs. I love dogs, I have dogs. I like animals more than humans. The only shop my dogs come to is Waterstones. Waterstones give them treats and a drink in the cafe, whist I sit down and flick through books. They’re happy in there and most book lovers seem to be animal lovers too.

I have heard and read some silly examples of anthropomorphism before but that wins the award for insanity. As for the letting the dog eat off the plate at the table in the gastropub…

I've noticed that some NT places are starting to push back though, eg with "paws on paths" signs reminding people to keep Fido off the grass and out the flower beds, and prominent "code of practice" type signs at the entrance.

@pizzaHeart

it feels like some bonkers owners are making some sort of point.

This has been my experience - they sort of look at you with a smug expression as if inviting you to challenge them on what they are doing with their dog and almost seem to wait for the attention of it all.

BILs gf definitely does this, it is insufferable

I wish they'd write some more of those books where they create chaos at John Lewis or the cinema.

Not a fan of this trend. I think a lot of people get dogs because they struggle with human relationships, the problem is that some of them then expect the dog to act like a human companion and go shopping with them. I think it's cruel to get a dog and expect this of them, I'll never be convinced that noisy and crowded indoor places are suitable for dogs.

Worst experience with dogs being everywhere is when we went for a coffee and a cake at the cafe between the park and Donaldson’s Dairy. Never again. I’d rather a tiger came to tea.

It’s very weird. I don’t think dogs enjoy going to any stores or museums or bars but it feels like some bonkers owners are making some sort of point.
We were at outdoor NT type place on Saturday and of course there were lots of dogs it was natural but city shops….

I’m a huge dog lover, and I love my own dog to bits. However, I don’t need to see dogs out and about at every turn.

I sat next to an older couple in our local gastropub who were having a meal and very obviously on a first date. He looked quite surprised that she’d brought her dog along. She told him that she couldn’t leave the dog at home because he was autistic. He queried whether autism existed in dogs but she was adamant that she understands autism as she was a primary school teacher and she is certain that her dog meets the criteria.

She also had the dog on her lap and when her food came she let it stand with its front paws on the table and eat off her plate. He left as soon as they’d finished eating. It was batshit behaviour. I doubt she got a second date.

I've experienced more than my fair share of people getting offended and upset when I ask them nicely to move their dog away from my table because it's trying to get my food. It makes me want to send my 12 year old DD to their tables to info dump about Kpop demon hunters

Slight side show but I have seen cats this summer on leads. One camping in Somerset, owners even took it to the toilet block and another on the beach at Weymouth. This cat wa sin the dog area of the beach! The owner was walking it it round the very confused dogs ans the put it in its cat carrier for the afternoon. The dogs were so confused. I was so worried it would be savaged when it was being walked as it was in the area where dogs are off the lead!

I was at a show at George Square Gardens at 9pm one night and someone brought a dog in with them! A loud, musical show with loud, laughing crowds. To be fair to the dog, I was proven wrong and I didn’t hear a peep out of it, but why in earth was it there in the first place. Bizarre decision.

It was a small dog, and I didn't have a child or a pram. There was plenty of room.

Oh its everywhere here, every green space is a dog toilet by default, todays children don't get to play like we did. It's all about the dogs. I used to roam off the path in our local woods as a child but these days the hoardes of 'stick and flick' scummers have put paid to that and I have to keep my children on the path.

It's mainly because of theft. Dogs are seen as far more of a commodity these days. There are also more dog hating weirdoes around now that would create a fuss if your dog even looked at them.

People do still tie their dogs up outside our local Post Office but there is no way I would ever do it with mine.