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

Lovely. I like that. The more dogs the merrier. What's wrong with them on a terrace

Dogs should not be in eateries or shops full stop. In pubs that only serve drinks? I suppose some dogs could be allowed in as long as they are well-behaved and do not disturb anyone. But the moment they misbehave even a slightest amount, they should be barred for life as should their owners.

She wasn't expecting priority - the OP implies that there was enough space for everyone in the lift but the dog owner wanted her to wait so she and her dogs had the whole space to themselves.

It's a fair topic for online moaning. I'm not calling for Parliament to debate it or anything.

As for the barking, I find one dog will start barking and then it's sets others off making a lot of noise.

Assuming these weren't assistance dogs, I'm a little surprised they were allowed in JL at all, and I wouldn't consider taking my Jack Russell in there, but whatever.
I've had to go for UABU here because, in my limited experience of JL, the lifts are not big, and avoiding dogs if that size "playing up" or "kicking off" in a confined space is actually sensible.
The fact that you expect someone to give you a priority because you have a child makes you as "guilty" of entitlement as you think she is with her dogs IMHO.

You’re lucky then!

I was in a dog-friendly restaurant a couple of weeks ago and one of the dogs in there was barking every time the waitress went past or they saw another dog. It was also licking the elbow of the person on the next table and generally making a nuisance of itself. Owners were on their phones seemingly oblivious to all.

The other dogs in there were absolutely fine! Really, I don’t know why staff don’t ask people with disruptive pets to leave, but perhaps they don’t want the reaction / social media backlash,

Caffe Nero seems particularly bad in my area for people with small, untrained, yappy dogs. Actually, pretty much every barking dog I see around and about is small and doesn’t seem well-trained. The bigger dogs are usually fine (although I do wonder why one owner thought it was a good idea to take a (gorgeous!) Newfoundland into a tiny boutique shop with lots of breakables at tail height…)

I'm on holiday in Whitby and went for a brunch to a pub in a village just outside. We encountered a cocker spaniel, a border terrier, a Jack Russell, a Labrador, a retriever and two chihuahuas all out on the terrace with us. They are indeed everywhere!

Sure. But people discover venues they liked change (or shut) all the time. Of course you don’t have to be happy about it but that hardly warrants lengthy online discussions about it either.

Yes but I'm not going to be pleased when a cafe that I used to enjoy becomes one I don't. I'd be equally annoyed if it had changed to become a cafe that blasts out loud music for ambience reasons. I go to a cafe to catch up with people and that doesn't work if I have to shout over a bloody racket.

So go to one that doesn’t allow dogs?

I like to go to cafes that don’t have loud music or pubs that don’t show sport. So I just don’t go to ones that have loud music or sport…

I'm not making it up.

I go to many different dog friendly cafes I have never heard dogs barking 🤷‍♀️

I like dogs in theory. I will often admire a well-behaved dog I see being walked. I'm not a dog hater.

But I don't like the idea of dogs indoors. I couldn't cope with knowing that their bottoms, their saliva, their skin flakes and hairs etc are all over my house. So I'd never have a dog. I grew up with cats and dogs indoors and have been there and done that. But some people are fine with this and that's their choice and their right. If you're relaxed enough to be OK with it, great. But I'm old enough to know I never will be.

Therefore I feel it's an imposition to find dogs indoors in contexts where food is sold/consumed/prepared or where clothing and say, household goods are sold. I do a lot of walking and in cafes for walkers dog-owners often sit at outside tables and that's fine - the hygiene issues aren't the same outside.

In pubs, yes, allow dogs in the bar area but not in the restaurants. It's about giving everyone a real choice to either mix with or avoid dogs.

This is pretty much how things used to be and I don't get why it's changed so much, except as a pp on another thread so wisely said....it's the 'hairy pound'.

I know a popular tourist spot where the shop owners (who don't allow dogs inside) have had to put notices up asking owners to keep an eye out and stop their dogs from cocking their legs in the little arcade. And you do see clusters of owners, window shopping, all holding the end of one of those infinitely-expanding leads, while their (usually small) dogs create a trip hazard for other shoppers and occasionally pee against things they shouldn't.

Must admit I've seen some odd things. I love dogs, had dogs all my life, work in a dog friendly cafe, meet some lovely dogs and their owners. But there are some where I'm left thinking "why on earth".
Some dogs just shouldn't be taken out in public places, even nice dogs can be wrong place, wrong time (looking at you with 3 newfies on a horrendously wet day)
And then there are the dogs dragged around on extremely hot days with no thought for their health. I've seen sore paws and heat exhaustion too many times.

I think it is a strange new culture, lots of people who wouldn't previously owned a dog now have to. Dogs to replace relationships, treated as children substitutes without understanding their basic needs.

As others have said, I'm hoping that when the lockdown generation die off it will go back to more normal, for everybody's sake!

I'm very wary of dogs, having had quite a few bad experiences. Plus I don't like the smell of dogs. I avoid anywhere where I know there are going to be lots of dogs. I would not expect to see one in a department store - what a strange idea to take your dog on a shopping trip.

I saw a bloke holding a bag of Doberman poo in one hand and eating with the other yesterday. Don’t get confused!

Can I add my “dogs in unsuitable places” story? Someone brought their dog to a funeral I attended in March. It started barking incessantly as the casket arrived.

I'd like to have the option to meet friends and family at a cafe now and then without having to shout over barking dogs to have a conversation. I think it's normal to bristle at having options reduced.

So you want dogs out of spaces you don’t even go to?

I don't, I've massively cut back on eating out, poor quality food for high prices means it's not too much of a sacrifice thankfully.

So just don't use those places if they are not to your taste?

I've been out with my dog. I promise you there are plenty of places he is not allowed. So maybe just do what the rest of us do when a venue has a vibe we don't like and go elsewhere.

For all the talk about 'entitlement' of dog owners, I haven't seen a single dog owner here demand that, for example, Marks and Spencer change its policy to accommodate dogs because it would be more to our liking. There's a general acceptance that its up to businesses whether or not the let non-service dogs in, and I've never met a dog owner who has a problem with that.

It seems to be those with beef against dogs that seem to think every venue should have to cater to their preferences.

Of course I'd judge someone touching things without washing their hands, it's disgusting. The dog things are normal for dogs so I don't think it's disgusting in the same way but I don't think that they should be doing all the same activities as humans.

Yep 👍 if the points were valid there’d be no need to exaggerate them.

“Hyperbolic rants”. 🤣

The more of these hyperbolic rants I read the less I care if my dog bothers anyone.