To say love of dogs has GONE TOO FAR !!

You don't know they were there purely to go to the shops. They could have spent hours in the park before or after, they could have been on their way home from an active, outdoorsy holiday and just called in on their way by.

Those pushchairs are a fantastic way of getting elderly and infirm dogs out and about. My mum's dog became unable to walk much distance as he got older but she was able to push him to the park to enjoy a potter about with the other dogs there.

It was a lovely way for the dog to enjoy his last year or so, it enabled my elderly mum to still get exercise and meet her dog walking buddies.

So that's what this IS. Nobody is under the illusion they're taking a baby out in a pram. They're just trying to do the right thing by their pet and harming absolutely nobody in the process.

Here you go, googled for you.

“Dog pushchairs (or strollers) provide mobility and comfort for dogs with physical limitations, such as senior dogs or those with mobility issues like arthritis or hip dysplasia and allow dogs to recuperate from surgery without strain.”

That's very sad @MagicLoop 😢What a gorgeous boy. So sorry.

In a similar way it seems quite odd that so many dogs are anxious and cannot and must not be left alone for any amount of time.

I was at a designer outlet last weekend there were loads of dogs there and being an outlet they were brought purely to go to the shops. Wtf

Dogs in pushchairs FFS what IS this? They’re NOT babies.

I'm sick of dogs every bloody where.
I saw a Chihuahua shit at the gate in Heathrow last year and that was it for me.

So sorry @MagicLoop. He looks a good old boy.

Your boy is beautiful @MagicLoop , and I imagine has had the most wonderful life with you. I’m so sorry, it’s always just heartbreaking. 💐

You’re being over dramatic. I’m a dog owner who like most people rarely goes shopping in town anymore with or without a dog. The very rare times I do I rarely take my dog and when I do it’s because we’re en route to somewhere else or there is nobody to no look after her. She isn’t traipsed around and actually likes it more than I do.

Our city is pretty much the only one in our county and have never seen dogs everywhere and never had to avoid stepping on any so one can only assume other dog owners are like us. I have nearly tripped over children who aren’t being looked after properly several times.

Nipping into towns on errands with dogs is perfectly fine and dog owners will continue to do so whether you like it or not.

I used to love dogs. Now I fucking can’t stand them, but mostly their owners.

@MagicLoop😍😢 so sorry..

Take care @MagicLoop 💙

I agree the number of dogs everywhere has become excessive.
Mumsnet HQ clearly disagrees, the number of dog adoption and pedigree ads I’ve had through this thread is comical 😅

I live just outside the Lake District National Park and that's not my experience. Yes, there are lots of dogs, but I've never experienced a café packed with wet, yapping dogs weeing and tripping people over. My dog is very well-behaved in cafés on the rare occasions I take him. Sadly the poor old boy is going for his final, one-way trip to the vet's this morning and we won't be getting another dog, so I suppose at least we will no longer be contributing to the apparent hoards of rampaging canines. I will look forward to meeting lots of other people's dogs out and about (even in cafés) when I no longer have my own though.

We take our dog to dog-friendly cafes/pubs, but he definitely doesn’t pee on the floor (or anywhere indoors - he’s fully housetrained), and generally he just lies down and keeps an eye out for an treats he might be getting (it’s only really when he’s approached that he interacts with strangers). We’ve been out a few times when people have commented on how well behaved he is, which is lovely to hear, because he can be a right shithead at home at times. But then we’ve put the work in to make sure he’s appropriately behaved in public spaces, and we still make a judgement call every time - there are dog-friendly ‘low bang’ firework displays coming up, which I plan to go to, but I won’t be taking the dog as it’ll be too busy and he’ll still hate ‘low bang’ fireworks.

So I don’t think it’s the love of dogs that has gone too far necessarily, but people’s common sense and thought for others has gone out the window at times.

We tried a dog cafe once. We hated it. The dog hated it. He'd rather be outside with his ball or chasing squirrels.

Love of dogs hasn’t ever gone too far. People’s ridiculous entitled behaviour often does though 🙄

yuck imagine bringing a wet stinking dog into a pub or restaurant. And worse still working there and tripping over the dog

Now I’ve heard everything!

YANBU. I love dogs, but they don’t need or want to be in shops and restaurants. That said, the Lake District has always been somewhere dogs have been welcomed pretty much everywhere.

This girl would absolutely hate being taken to shops or cafes. She'd much rather be exploring the local woodland or walking up on the moors, and so would I. We're very well suited.

I love dogs and have two but I see them much like the dc, sometimes it’s really nice to go out without them!

John Lewis have a Santa’s grotto/meet Santa for dogs this year. The replacement of children with dogs seems to be becoming more common.

Dog lover and owner here but still surprised by the fact dogs seem to be able to go everywhere nowadays.
I still always assume they wouldn’t be welcome in pubs or cafes unless sitting in an outdoor bit, but it seems not to be the case.

Still, I’d have children under 10 banned from most places if I could… 😅