to think it’s time to ban dogs from shops and cafes?

Have you read his posts?
A sample of their suggestions -
Dogs should be shut outside shops in cages.
Dogs should be shut in cars.
Dogs should be tied up outside shops.

Dogs banned in all public spaces.
Dogs should be tied up "Next to the ashtray so all the antisocial shit stays out of the indoor space."

He makes similar/the same comments on almost every other dog thread.

Do you think there is something wrong with someone who says these things repeatedly?

'I have had dogs spoil my visit by yapping, scratching, having a big tail bashed against me while I'm seated, or dogs even allowed on to chairs by owners'

Same! I love my dog but I really do not want someone else's sniffing me with the owner telling me they're friendly whilst I'm having a snack.

I don’t think people do use going to a cafe as a substitute for walking the dog. From what I see (and certainly what I do) it’s an adjunct, a bonus at the end of a walk or mid walk. So a few days ago I drove an hour to a national park, walked the dog for 5 miles and we had a coffee and cake in a cafe in a village at the end. My dog can happily be left at home but I was hardly going to drive him home and then drive back to the cafe!

'Is cafe/shop-going a substitute for a proper walk?'

No it absolutely is not. The coffee shop goers will insist they do both. Their bored pooches would disagree .

I avoid cafes where there are lots of dogs. The odd one, quietly under a table, doesn't bother me too much.

But there's a point of principle here. If you don't like dogs or have chosen not to have one in your home for hygiene or allergy reasons, it's frustrating when they are allowed in cafes or other places where people are eating. I really don't want to sit on a seat a dog has been on - and that's my choice, and I would have thought, a reasonable expectation in a place where food is served.

I have had dogs spoil my visit by yapping, scratching, having a big tail bashed against me while I'm seated, or dogs even allowed on to chairs by owners.

I like dogs (from a distance). I'm not a dog hater, but I don't like them in close proximity to food, especially when I'm paying for a 'treat' experience.

This baffles me.
Never, in all my very dog focused life, has someone else's dog's drool got on my clothes. Not once in sixties years. My parents had dogs, my brother has four, all my friends have dogs and I live in Dog Central. No drool.

People must go around having anointed themselves with sausages.

What an awful way fo talk about another poster!

It's all open to opinion isn't it. I think taking dogs into crowded indoor areas is cruel when other users think they're a nuisance and don't want them there but here we are.

I get the impression some people are unable to leave their dogs at home for any length of time. If they've been properly exercised, then why not?
Because luckily for dog owners lots of shops and cafes allow dogs so it's possible to take them with you.

This is my point, though. Is it lucky for the dogs? Of course the owners love it! Is cafe/shop-going a substitute for a proper walk?

Thanks @Tutorpuzzle . It's definitely not perfect, but it's a good healthy balance that I appreciate every single day. It's dog heaven really.

Interestingly there has been debate for a decade about the summer beach dog ban. Last year the council opened part of the beach to dogs all year and now everyone has a choice which is fantastic for attracting tourists.. Dogs now have the less pretty part of the beach so so families get to enjoy the lovely bit and of course the dogs get to bound about to their heart's content not caring what it looks like.

These threads fail to acknowledge that there is a choice of dog friendly/dog free but in the real world but there really is.

If all people were reasonable with their dogs everywhere, I wouldnt mind /I m ano a dog person/. But the amout of times random dogs get close to me and drool on my clothes or my stuff .... not pleasant.

Doesn’t it! I live rurally so we can walk for miles without seeing another soul - that’s before the coffee or beer stop, obviously! What I wouldn’t give for a beach though.

@PottingBench your town sounds idyllic! Beach, hills, moor nearby and then lots of lovely pups to say hello to in the cafes 🤣. I’m very jealous…

I'm off now for a brisk walk and guarantee the sensible dog owners I see out will not be crammed indoors later with their poor pooch getting stood on in a Costa or similar. Likewise the coffee shop goers never seem to be out walking!

This guarantee depends entirely on whether you have the full agenda for dog and owner's day. Unless you're omnipresent isn't the case.

Sometimes my dog and I get bored of the same walks from our front door.

We drive to different places to do do country walks at the weekends (I have a lovely book of walks and an OS map app subscription.) Many dog owners do the same.

It goes like this:
Drive 30-40 min ->
Walkies 60-90min ->
nice café nearby for brunch and fancy coffee ->
drive 30-40 min home again.

In the Winter, the walkies and café are reversed in order for obvious muddy reasons. Once I am soaked through I just want to go home.

My point is I'm not driving all the way home 40 mins, then all the way back out again without the dog to go to that café, then all the way home again.

I would just skip the café entirely.

I quite agree about Wetherspoons. I find it hilarious that they don't even allow dogs in the garden. The few times I have been to a Wetherspoons the food was shit. They certainly don't attract a good class of customer

And accept that, if you've chosen to own a dog, just as if you've decided to have kids, there might be some curtailments to your absolute freedom of choice.

Dog owners fully accept they cannot take their dogs in cafes and pubs that do not take dogs. Have you ever seen a dog in Wetherspoons. Just think of all those dog owners who'd love a pint but happily walk on by because they have Fido.

I get the impression some people are unable to leave their dogs at home for any length of time. If they've been properly exercised, then why not?

Because luckily for dog owners lots of shops and cafes allow dogs so it's possible to take them with you.

Also, from a human point of view, dogs smell. When they scratch they release quantities of skin flakes into the air. I don't want this when I'm in a cafe or restaurant.

Then go to dog free places. There are millions of them everywhere. Dog owners know this as they happily walk on by or sit outside of them with their coffee because they're not allowed in.

How are people using ‘I bet’ and ‘I get the impression’ to try and back up claims. Weak! Your imagination isn’t facts.

Impossible to predict this. NEVER risk leaving your dog in a car apart from in winter.

The problem with saying assistance dogs only is that there is no official scheme. Anyone can claim their dog is an assistance or emotional support dog. It used to be official guide dogs for blind only, I think a lot of people have it in their head we would go back to that. I have a disabled DH, and I have had people say I should get my dog a vest and claim she's an assistance dog. She isn't and I wouldn't but others would.

I take my dog to pubs, cafes, NT, attractions with outdoor space when we are on holiday, She is a big dog so takes up room. Outside is preferable.

As an aside I don't object to being banned from Wetherspoons, I would be worried about what my dog would catch from the humans who inhabit our local one!

I know my dog likes and needs walks and he gets them every single day no matter what the weather. He go for long long walks with him allowing him to sniff as much as he wants. We take him to enclosed dog areas so he can run around and play.

We then often take him to somewhere we can eat and/or drink. He has never been stood on or tripped over (not sure what sort of idiot would stand on a dog but there you go). He also has never fidgeted or whined while in an eating place or anywhere else.

No point driving home to leave him alone and then going back to eat. He can be left alone but is much happier being with us.

I see lots and lots and lots of sensible dog owners every day and quite a few of them are in the pubs, cafes, coffee shops and restaurants we all go to.

Unless you are following the dog owners around how on earth would you know if they walk their dogs and how long for?

We might walk for 3 hours and then go to a coffee shop where our dog will lay down and have a sleep. I really don't see how that is a problem for any normal person

Oh, and if you are unable to properly exercise a dog you shouldn't have one!

Which bit isn't true?

I love the cafe culture which has grown up in the UK over the last few decades.

But take your dog for a proper walk where it wants to go (countryside, park) and THEN go shopping and sit over your coffee. And accept that, if you've chosen to own a dog, just as if you've decided to have kids, there might be some curtailments to your absolute freedom of choice.

It's not fair on dogs. I bet they just get dragged around shops and made to sit in cafes by a lot of selfish owners. Yes, I get that some people will walk a dog (with the dog's preferences coming first) and THEN stop at a pub or walkers' cafe - that's different. But I get the impression some people are unable to leave their dogs at home for any length of time. If they've been properly exercised, then why not?

Also, from a human point of view, dogs smell. When they scratch they release quantities of skin flakes into the air. I don't want this when I'm in a cafe or restaurant. And I certainly don't want dogs sitting where I'm going to sit, or (as happened once) coming over to bother us and scratching my husbands shoes while growling menacingly!!! Owners just pretended not to see and then laughed.

visiting cafes and shops instead of taking these critters for proper walks

Walk them, play with them and them leave them happily at home while you go for your cake and coffee.

These two things are not mutually exclusive.
I live in a small town where there are a lot of dogs.
It's a daily routine for most dog owners to have a couple of good walks on the beach, in the hills or moor and then to end up at the dog friendly cafes.
The cafes are dog friendly where I live because these day in, day out, all weather dog walkers keep them commercially viable during the long out of tourist season months.

When the holiday makers are here they do the same walk and coffee. They often can't leave the dog happily at home as they are in tents, caravans and holiday accommodation which does not allow you to leave the dog alone.

Nobody every says how lovely it is for dogs to have such caring owners that they give them full lives, full of fantastic walks and company. That's a helluva gift for an animal - that life full of care and fun.

If your evidence for this is simply anecdotal you are obviously wrong.

The sheer quantity of people on this (and other) threads wailing about how dogs are wall to wall in every cafe, shop, and town (the ‘rivers of shit’ and ‘puddles of pee’ brigade) would suggest that businesses know full well where the money is coming from.

And it ain’t you.