To think big dogs shouldn’t be allowed on the bus

Things that never happened for £100.

Well behaved dogs I have no problem with. In this case it shouldn't be on the bus. I have severe arthritis, if any dog jumped up to me it would cause severe pain for well over a week .

In Vienna dogs have to be muzzled on public transport. That would prevent snapping and some of the barking but not the jumping up.
I was under the impression that all passengers are carried at the discretion of the driver. So anyone causing a disturbance could be asked to get off.

Dogs often find buses exciting if they're not used to them. Sorry you were afraid OP but I don't think what you're describing is aggressive behaviour, it's most likely excitement. But dogs need to get used to buses before they manage them without being a handful. A driver can tell a dog and owner to exit the bus if they're unable to travel safely. I think discretion makes sense.

So how does someone with a guide dog use publictransport?

@idontlikedogsmuch well done for creating another dog bashing thread, one shitty owner shouldn't mean all dogs are banned. It does point to the fact that owners should require training before they get a dog, but we did away with dog licences because they weren't enforceable and nothing has changed on that front.

It would be very difficult to impose a size-based rule - is the driver expected to measure the dog?

The only clear rule is either dogs allowed or assistance dogs only (and even the latter can be open to misuse).

However, it would be reasonable to allow drivers not to allow dogs on at their discretion, if the dog is behaving in an aggressive way (it wouldn't surprise me if there was already a clause to that effect in the conditions of carriage).

I would not support a ban of dogs on the bus - there are too many cars on the road as it is, we shouldn't be discouraging people from using buses, especially as rural areas (where people might be taking dogs for exercise) are always at risk of losing their buses if not used.

Can you advise the bus provider of this dangerous situation? Use all the detail you have in your post. It sounds like an accident waiting to happen so they may feel obliged to take action as they have a duty of care to their passengers. At the very least they could insist on muzzled dogs only over a certain height, that’s just common sense.

The owner sounds beyond dim.

I take my massive dog on public transport all the time. She sits perfectly and is very well behaved. My smaller dog gets a bit intimidated with loads of people around and gets yappy, and so I don't take her on public transport or everyone would be getting barked at.

It's nothing to do with the size, it's to do with the behaviour.

I don’t like dogs much either but the only one that has annoyed me on public transport was a stinky one on the tube. And it was annoying only because of the stench - almost the whole tube carriage cleared out at the next stop it was so bad. I know dogs smell but I’ve never smelt one just by being near one! It was very well behaved, massive and just sat quietly.
It’s the behaviour which mostly lets down most dogs and indeed humans. I’ve been more pissed off by human behaviour on the tube than I ever have a dog.

Yes I agree with this. It's not the size of the dog that is the issue. It's the behaviour of the dog and the way the owner controls it that is the problem.

I actually find it surprising now that whereas in the past drivers were quite strict about allowing only one dog on single decker bus,or 2 if it was a double decker and one of the dogs went upstairs, drivers now sometimes don't attempt to control the number of dogs they allow on board. I'm certainly not happy about being on a single decker bus with multiple dogs, as is sometimes the case.

Dogs shouldn't be allowed on public transport at all IMO.

Great username OP 😀 that owner was an idiot.

No, I don't think that "big dogs", or indeed any dogs should be banned from buses on the basis of the alleged behaviour of one.

Well-behaved dogs of any size should be allowed on the bus.
Poorly controlled dogs should not be on the bus and it doesn’t matter what size they are.