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

Couldn't it be tied up outside and given a bowl of water?

We were having a family lunch in a country pub dining room, a couple came in with 2 dogs, sat at the next table and one of the dogs promptly threw up all over the floor. They didn't seem remotely bothered about the effect on anyone else though they did clear it up.
Not the best lunchtime accompaniment.

Ok so a solo driver on a hot day doing a long journey needs to quickly stop and use the loo. Surely it’s safer to take a dog to a service station toilet then leave in a potentially too hot car? If it was cool enough I’d leave my dog in the car, but if it was warm I wouldn’t. Plus there’s the risk of the window being smashed and the dog stolen.

Never had to take my dog in a service station but I’ve seen signs up saying the service station is dog friendly and to bring dogs inside rather than leave in the car.

cats are definitely a nuisance to me when they come into my garden on a night time and poo in my garden. or when they sneak in, won’t leave and i can’t let my dog into my garden 🙄

My dogs hated going into towns. So we didn't take them into towns.
Saw one being taken into the loos at a motorway services last weekend. Can't imagine how loud hand dryers must be to them, so cruel.

Ok, so you know your dog will behave in a pub garden. Though I’m sure it still might have scared someone who was fearful of dogs. Or some half blind granny might have tripped up over it.

I know my dog can behave in John Lewis. So no difference.

When dogs increased in value people started stealing them.

But having said that, it means people should stop buying 'needy' breeds of dogs that cannot cope with being alone, but instead buy more emotionally stable breeds of dogs that are fine being left at home, then train them to be left at home, and then leave them at home instead of taking them bloody everywhere.

She would have almost definitely tripped over a dog if it wandered near her in a shop.

why would a dog wander near her in a shop? Any dogs I have seen in shops have been on short leads. I’d have thought she has more chance of tripping up over an errant toddler, there seems to be plenty of them charging about.

Well you can roll your eyes at me then as I just got one last week for my 12yo dog who has arthritis and is struggling a bit these days. We can now set off walking and when her limping gets too bad I pop her in the buggy. Roll your eyes away.

Overall I think a lot of people would benefit from minding their own business and worrying about themselves more and less about what others are doing.

how does it affect anyone else if a dog is in a pushchair 🤷‍♀️. I mean I’d much rather my dog wasn’t in pain and limping but here we are. She still wants to go out.

I love dogs. I work with animals. I still can't stand this trend of dogs everywhere. Dogs in shops - why? Department stores are hot, noisy, bright, overstimulating places for animals. I don't want to buy something that a dog has brushed up against, snuffled on or peed on. Your dog isn't enjoying themself, your dog would rather be in a park. Stop being so selfish.

It's because people cannot be arsed to socialise or train dogs properly, which includes teaching them to be comfortable being left. This country has gone nuts. You got a dog, bloody put in the work at the start.

Dogs in country pubs - fine, dogs in cafes at country parks - fine. Dogs in department stores, cinemas, night clubs, expensive restaurants, or kids playgrounds - no. So sick of having to put myself in the firing line asking people not to take their dog into kids playgrounds. Just stop it.

So sick of saving hard earned money for a nice meal out then ending up sitting next to a dog that won't sit under the correct table. At a restaurant recently the server kept stopping to stroke a dog then carried on setting tables with the cutlery age was holding. Yuck.

Dogs on trains are fine, but not under a table for 4 people where you are then limiting where all the other 3 people can put their belongings or feet. That's selfish. Stop it.

Basically, just stop being so bloody selfish and entitled. And think about whether your dog actually wants to be there. Because I see so many stressed dogs daily due to them being put in situations where they aren't comfortable. Because they are dogs and not people!

I needed this rant, thank you.

It doesn't necessarily though.

My nearest John Lewis is on the way to a really nice place that I often go with my dog for a walk. Shock horror, I sometimes even take him on the bus to get there.

I almost never go out 'for the purpose of shopping' anymore. Almost all in-store shopping I do is done on the way to or from somewhere else - usually my commute, or on the way to or from school drop offs, or on the way to or from a social engagement etc.

I don't think I'm unusual in that respect.

You seem a bit hypocrite (and wrong) to be honest. So it’s ok for you to take your dog into a cafe but not for someone else to take their dog to JL? Obviously people shouldn’t ask others not to get in a lift become of their dogs but you seem to be talking more widely about dogs in shops now rather than that specific incident?

I disagree that people in a city centre might not just be popping in. When I go to JL with my dog in the near future we will be doing a 20-15 min in and out. I can’t imagine it will take longer than that to choose a coffee machine but I want to physically see them for myself. I won’t be clothes shopping, i won’t be going anywhere else other than a nice rural dog walk in the way home. So no different than you taking your dog into a coffee shop after a walk? And my dog is perfectly happy in crowds or i wouldn’t take her. Not all dogs are the same.

Also some people live in city centres. My daughter lives a 5 min walk away from Selfridges. She doesn’t have a dog but if she did I assume she’d be walking it in the city centre. There’s definitely people in her street who have dogs in their apartments. I’m sure some of them might nip into Selfridges on their way back from the park.

To me, the problem is dogs not having the choice about being dragged around places with bright lights, strong perfumes and slippery floors. Dogs are being anthropomorphised to extreme degrees and it is causing them stress.
A shopping complex, department store or cinema is not a natural environment for them and I would question the need for them to be there.

You know most people who use push chairs for dogs have elderly dogs who might not be able to walk all the way to a park to have what limited bit of off-lead exercise they can manage?

maybe if you stopped rolling your eyes and thought about it, it might help you realise why

Do you think it was inappropriate for others who did take their toddlers to cafes?

Or did you make a decision that worked in your specific situation because you knew your toddlers and what they could and could not handle, and others would make the same assessment for their toddlers and decide what was right.

When we adopted my son, he was two and I was shocked at how great he was in cafes. Fully expected to have to put that on hold for a few years, but he sat calmly and would chat away to me - no screaming, no demand for screens etc. So we ended up going to lots of cafes in those early days.

Dog owners should make the same (honest!) assessment of what is right for their dog and for other users of specific spaces.

I can't do enough eye rolling when I see those people who have dogs in a pushchair. FGS.

If the dogs are well behaved, then what is the problem?

You don't know why the person had the dogs with them.
Just assume that bringing the dogs was unavoidable, and get on with your day.