Dogs in restaurants - I am done!

Oh I completely agree, my point was that the answer to 'But what am I supposed to do if I take my dog on holiday and want to eat out?' should really be 'whatever dog owners did before it was commonplace to allow dogs in eateries'. Like you say leave them outside. Put them in kennels. Find accommodation where they can be left. Don't eat out. Don't go on holiday. Don't get a dog. But it seems that nowadays certain (by no means all), dog owners consider it unconscionable for them to be inconvenienced in any way by the fact they've got a dog.

Well, for a lot of people, they are? I'd rather have lunch next to someone with a couple of dogs than a family with young kids. Not saying anyone has to agree, but different people like different things.

I can see both sides of it. I think any person who allows their dog onto the furnishings of a cafe is just selfish. Dogs aren’t clean - they shed. We would take our dog to a cafe only if it was seating outside.

We have 2 dogs, only one would I happily take into a pub and we tend to do this only in well known ‘walking’ pubs where dogs are generally more accepted - think Lake District and usually it’s if we are away for the weekend with her so we wouldn’t be able to leave her at the hotel. She’s a small to mid size and literally curls up at our feet. You genuinely wouldn’t know she was there. Quiet. Well behaved. Will sit exactly where we tell her to. Not a sound. Certainly won’t lick her bumhole and even if she did, she’d be told to stop. The other dog we have - not a chance. She’s an utter moron.

Generally though, if you have trained dogs they are fine being left at home whilst you go out for dinner.

I like dogs but have the type of allergy that can affect my breathing. It’s not a little snuffle.
The issue frequently now is that even places billed as dog free can have dogs.
We stayed at a B and B expressly billed as dog free but the owner told us he’s found dogs smuggled into rooms .
Now he has to say he doesn’t want dogs even left in cars. Apparently he’s turning people away who want dog free as massive demand.

Most holiday accommodation won't allow dogs to be left unattended for hours, and many dogs (particularly rescues which tend to come with their own individual issues):won't be particularly happy being left for hours on their own in a strange place. I still think that it's generally much harder to find somewhere that will take a dog than those which don't so it's not too difficult to avoid them. For what it's worth, we know our current dog won't settle well in that kind of environment so leave our dog in the car while we eat.

🙄

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you a dog owner. They've bought a dog, therefore if they encounter problems as a result then they're actually everybody else's problems as the world will just have to fit around them. They shouldn't have to do stuff like, say, try to find holiday accommodation where they can leave a dog for a few hours, or put it in kennels. Why should they?

I also don't recognise any of the bad behaviours mentioned on here, and I travel with my dogs often. I visit the lakes at least once a year. Most pubs/cafes are dog-friendly; most restaurants are not. Even with pubs, it's not hard to find one where dogs are only allowed on certain floors (Brown Sugar in Windermere and The Albert in Bowness spring to mind).

The "worst" behaviour I've spotted was the man who put a bowl of chips on the floor for his very well-behaved XL Bully in The Albert this year (if you know this man, please compliment his dog for me; it was gorgeous and impeccably trained).

A couple of times I've heard dogs having a short bark at each other as they've passed by each other, but this is only ever on the caravan site, and the owners have always dealt with it and promptly removed or calmed their animal.

Around once a day this year, someone has missed our dog's yellow lead and harness or not understood what it meant and allowed their child/dog to approach us, but they've always backed off the second they noticed his anxiety.

Honestly, people's children caused more issues (looking at you, parents who allow their children to play loud games in pubs or chase the geese by the lake)

I saw a dog do a massive wee on bedding plants in a garden centre and felt sorry in advance for whoever went on to purchase them.

All of my kids have licked their bumholes after not wiping their arse after a poo while sitting on the sofa in a restaurant. Furthermore they don't bath / shower except when they go the groomers.

Mine don't. The cat does, but the cat also doesn't visit pubs. She's more feral than the demonic entity, so it really would not be safe to allow her access to the general public.

I wish the dogs did, especially the long-haired ones, it would save me hours and £££ in grooming time/costs.

I noticed a “cat cafe” had opened in town the other day. What the buggering fuck is going on. Why would any sane person want to go into these places.

@DallazMajor Cat lovers who for some reason are unable to own a cat. They are a brilliant idea. I love cats. Sadly the nearest cat cafe to me is miles away. Not everyone shares your hatred of cats.

Yeah i agree.
Im as obsessed with my dog as its possible to be but if i walk into somewhere to eat and there are dogs in there im not happy.Its not hygenic.

@BeachTimeIsBliss

ewwwwww! You do realise dogs lick their own arseholes don’t you??

Cat cafes are distinct businesses where the owner runs a cafe where a number of cats (usually rescue cats up for adoption) live. You often have to pay for entry to them. They are few and far between and aimed at people who like cats (hence the name). It's not the same thing as going to a regular coffee shop and finding it overrun by cats attending with their owners.

Oh no, you actually have to step over the dog OMG.

I have 100% seen all of it! Two dogs being led through a garden centre and they were weeing on the floor and the owner just kept walking. The staff were fuming and were busy wiping it all up. It wasn't the first time with that dog owner apparently!

The dog sprawled on the floor is a regular issue at my lovely local pub - some regulars think they can do what they like. You have to actually step over the dog to get past and they just smile at you as if to say, 'isn't my dog sweet!' Well they might be but you are not!

It's just grim and we now avoid the pub.

It’s annoying. Restaurant, shop owners and transport providers have all opened the door to dogs in the last decade or so but not provided or enforced strict rules for conduct.

A dog should not be allowed to wander to other tables and management have a responsibility in place to make sure this doesn’t happen.

I was rushed at by a dog in a brunch place abroad once. It was huge and tbf probably friendly but still you never know and I didn’t want to engage with a random unleashed dog. I think the owner was at a table round the corner and were definitely out of sight. I had to ask a waitress to get it off me and she was struggling with it until eventually a man called out the dogs name and it ran back around the corner. Ridiculous.

I have seen train staff step over dogs in the aisle and just chuckle when they should be telling the dog owners it’s a hazard for other passengers and to move the dog out the way. If a child was standing in the aisle they’d be told to move!

Same. It’s happened twice to me with the smell in BnBs and the second time - in case I was in any doubt a dog lived there - the dogs came rushing out and barking the moment I stepped inside.

Honestly with dogs being so unpredictable these BnB owners are setting themselves for law suits if a guest gets bit. At least keep your dog away from guests 😣 common sense really.

I am adog lover, miss having a dog now really. I am with you. Dogs, except guide dogs should really not be in eateries. Dogs can be left alone for few hours or wait outside like it used to be (or is still done) in many places.

We accidentally stayed in an air bnb that was pet friendly. The moment i opened the front door, there was a rush of organic dog smell. Literally every house Ive visited with a dog has that smell. I didn’t get used it all holiday.

I don’t think it’s entitled per se. But the thing I find hard is when some (not all) dog owners kind of get desensitised to the face they’ve brought their dog to a public eating place. Sometimes the dogs get up (on a lead) and wander to neighbouring tables and rub past our legs. We’re not used to dogs and so it creates anxiety. Or if they shake out their fur - that’s so disgusting.

You can die on that hill all you like. Dog friendly eateries will continue to be available for dog lovers wanting to rest their feet over a cuppa and a cake, in between pooch walks. Short of using your own feet to go elsewhere, there's nothing you can do. Except start a thread on MN, that's been done to death.

It is not a case that we won’t get ill! Dogs lick their own arses, if given a half chance will eat shit, drop their hair everywhere !! So hmm I’d rethink one. I see people dogs on laps sniffing their tables it’s grim. I’ll just leave this for you 👷Bacterial and Germ Carriage: Dogs carry various bacteria, such as Campylobacter and Salmonella, in their mouths and on their fur.

To all you people saying but it’s dog friendly… but go where dogs are not allowed. 🚫. It’s almost impossible now to find such a place… but feel free to share if you find any.
also to those proclaiming dogs are not bothering anyone…. Yes they are, they’re a bother by their presence where food is served. It manky.. leave the dog outside, inside, anywhere but a public space that serves food. If you’re on holiday so be it. That’s worse because the number of Hotels and Air B&B’s that allow dogs! Why the heck should people pay good money to stay in a place that has dog hair and dog smell all over it.
I get it, people love their dogs. Nice. However others shouldn’t have to deal with your love.