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

MN must be the only social media in existence where a certain group of posters are unable to google.

Just take 2 minutes before you go somewhere to do an online search of places that don’t allow dogs. It’s really not hard! And there are plenty of them.

As a dog owner YANBU.
Our lab is very well trained, doesn’t jump or bark and will sit, walk to heel and recall on demand. If she picks up dropped food when out walking and we tell her to ‘drop it’ she even does that.
She is the epitome of a good girl.
We have never felt the need to take her to a garden centre, a friends house, a pub, a cafe or retail park. I avoid establishments that welcome them as much as possible. I don’t want to sit on a chair that someone has let their dogs arse sit on, I don’t want to have untangle myself from a ridiculous extendable lead whist some moronic owner simpers at their pooch, I don’t want dog slobber on my trousers because an owner thinks their Fido is cute and we should all adore him too and I don’t want to smell dog when I’m eating a meal I’ve paid good money for!

DH and I had a lovely meal in an upmarket pub restaurant the other night. Great food and service, lovely waitress - all really good. Then as we were leaving, a dog and owner had come in and our waitress was all over the dog, holding its chin in her hands, practically rubbing its nose and ears etc. etc. Would she have washed her hands before serving the next dinner? Based on what I once saw in a similar situation elsewhere - no she wouldn't. Won't be eating in either place again, sadly.
😞

Nando’s, pizza express, Prezzo, cote, zizzi, most national trust cafes, wetherspoons, McDonalds, GBK, five guys, Wagamama, miller and carter, harvester. I mean you are looking at 10s of thousands of outlets just across these

No it should be up to the business owner not some entitled poster on mumsnet demanding dog friendly or dog free. The business owner should decide how to run their own business not you. If you want a dog free business get the funds together and set one up yourself, take the financial risk, do the hard graft, employ the staff, make the books balance. Then you get to decide.

I don’t mind dogs in cafes in fact I prefer them to kids. However I did have an unpleasant experience last year where a couple brought in two huge dogs, (think Great Dane size but they were crossbreeds of some kind) it was the middle of summer and they were panting from the heat. It was awful they absolutely stunk, also they were so big they were a trip hazard laying out across the floor. I ended up moving tables as I couldn’t stand the smell.

Why do these threads only appear in the spring/summer/when the weather gets warmer?

Because when it's rained for weeks, it's 3 degrees and it's utterly miserable outside where are you? I'd take a guess not in the cafes? If you speak to most cafe owners they'll tell you that during the winter it's the dog walkers that keep them going because we don't really have a choice but to be outside in it so we might as well get a hot drink on the walk somewhere to make it a bit more bearable.

On a similar note, there ARE dog free cafes near us and one by one they're closing down, when you ask them why it's always the same story, lack of footfall, can't attract customers. So why aren't they being utilised if there's such a demand for them?

Dogs in cafes / restaurants / holiday accommodation/ supermarkets should all be banned.

It always used to be that people tied them up outside and it was seen as very disrespectful to bring them into a shop or cafe. I’m so surprised places allow it, so unclean.

I don't like taking my dog to cafes because (a) they tend to be full of other dogs, and (b) he can't handle the frustration if there is a crumb on the floor that he can't get to.

However, in my area, local shops, cafes and pubs are very dependent on tourism. People cannot normally leave their dogs in hotels and holiday lets, and we're also on a popular walking route so people stop off when they're on a hike (often with their dogs). Local hospitality businesses are struggling anyway; if they didn't allow dogs I doubt we'd have any cafes left in my village.

you'd be hard pressed to find a business that doesn't allow dogs

That's sadly true. Yet we dog avoiders are told they are in existence aplenty.

Christ, the daily "dogs in cafes" post

I think that's just an indication of how annoying they are to a large number of people.

YABU to use AI to write a post on a topic that has been done to death on this site. You say you aren’t anti-dog, but you have gone out of your way to start yet another boring post.

Have you actually found a dog hair in food served in an establishment?
I've only once found a hair in my food and that was clearly a human one. 🙂

People who like to fuss dogs will approach you, people who don’t want to be around dogs won’t approach you

Then why can’t they leave them at home? If shopping centres and cafes etc had a no dog policy and they didn’t want to leave a dog tied up outside they would leave them at home, so why can’t they do that to begin with?

yabu.

As long as it's clear on the door that dogs are allowed it doesn't bother me - I'm happy to avoid places that allow dogs as long as I know their policy

God forbid that private businesses be allowed to make decisions about what is in their own commercial interests.

Oh my god. This thread again.

Allowing dogs in cafes, pubs and shops is a BUSINESS DECISION!!

They have decided that dog owners business and associated revenues are good.

It is not for the government to ban dogs from PRIVATE BUSINESSES.

Bang on. My cousin allowed dogs into his (at the time) struggling restaurant and has been able to open 3 more since!

The sheer financial benefit and subsequent increase in money into the economy is the motivation to allow dogs.

I'm that person who brings her dog everywhere. I see this sentiment a lot online but it never matches with my experience. I constantly have strangers coming up to us on the street, in cafes, pubs, trains, buses etc. asking to pet her. I've been stood outside of shops and had workers come out and tell me to bring her in so they can say hello, I've gone to my local and been asked where she is. I'm sure there are people who silently disapprove (if they even notice her in my lap), but everyone I encounter is always really keen to have her around. The area I live in is very dog friendly - you'd be hard pressed to find a business that doesn't allow dogs and she is impeccably behaved and very cute so that helps.

Also - most dangerous dog attacks happen where the animal is territorial - in their own home. Whilst some breeds are more prone to temperamental issues, and have physical anatomy that makes their attacks more lethal - banned breeds including XL Bullies are not allowed in public spaces, many businesses expressly exclude them in their policies. There are also two factors to dog attacks - 1) the dog's behaviour and training resulting in a dog trained to be uncontrollably aggressive (should be pts and owners banned from keeping dogs) 2) human behaviour, especially those that are too ignorant to respect animals and their emotions (including being irresponsible and letting children near a dog that is giving signals it does not want to be near a dog), and children not taught boundaries and how to be around animals safely. The latter includes people who have dogs that have never been around children and are unproven. I was, and still am, incredibly careful with introductions of any children with my soppy, gentle Labradors because they encounter children once in a blue moon, and I never let children pet them/say hello out and about because I do not know a random child and how they've been taught to interact with dogs.

I wish they would. I don't want dog hairs in my food.

Completely agree and I have two dogs myself
I don't feel the need to take my dogs everywhere I go ,I quite like a break from their yapping ,so I definitely don't want to be surrounded by other people's dogs when I'm out ..
A side from that a close friend of mine was bitten on the hand by a dog as she was walking past it in a cafe ..it was sat on the owners lap and just lunged at my friend..quite a bit of blood ..the dog owners just left while she was trying to stop the blood
24 hours later the bite had swelled up with infection and my friend had to have an operation and have a general anaesthetic to clean the wound out ..
Not good ..
My own experience of dogs in cafes ,stopped after a dog shit all over the floor next to the cakes display..dog was ill with diarrhoea and it was a river of shit under chairs and utterly vile .
From that moment on ,I have never gone in any food establishment that lets dogs in ..I simply chose somewhere dog free
So if enough of us choose dog free for places ,they might get the message

I love dogs and I dont mind them in some places. We had a local cafe that had an indoor play area. They also allowed dogs inside. I personally wouldn't take my child there and I know a few other parents had similar concerns. It recently closed. I have no idea if they received more custom from parents or dog owners. But I don't think you can be everything to everyone.