Just so many dogs nowadays, or is it just me?

[HairyFanjoBanjo]

Away for the weekend at a typical British seaside town in Anglia and am quite shocked at just how many people have dogs now. Am sure there never used to be quite this many, or maybe I am just more observant now I have a child who isn’t keen (on bigger dogs).

Reckon I’ve seen well in the hundreds today, I’d say at least every other family or couple had a dog. So many labradoodles / toy poodles, cockerpoo’s, pugs everywhere.

Some people looked to be almost dragging dogs around the shops in really busy / small lanes of endless gift shops, then waiting for friends/family outside shops (as no dogs allowed) some with fairly stressed looking dogs😢

Is this the lockdown puppy effect in full force now? Just everyone and their pal has a dog now.

Almost as many threads whinging about dogs as there are actual dogs. Three days since the last thread.

We have just come back from a hotel stay in the Lakes. It was a dog friendly hotel so there were dogs around, under the table at breakfast etc and I didn't mind that. What I DID mind was hearing a distressed dog barking in the room next door after having been left alone for a good few hours. The owners must have gone to dinner without it and stayed in the bar for drinks too. It was that crying sort of bark that dogs do when they're miserable. It sounded so lonely. Why take a dog on holiday with you if you're just going to leave it alone for hours in the evening?

I later heard a conversation in the corridor between people who I think were the owners, talking to a waiter (I think) who had brought the dog some leftover chicken. I don't know what type of dog it was but the waiter seemed to be suggesting that that kind of dog needs stimulating 24/7. The people said it was their son's dog and he walked it before work and after work as if that was ok then. God knows what it was left to do during the time between.

We'd seen another sad-looking golden retriever in the back of a small hatchback, early in the afternoon, its breath misting up the back window because there wasn't space to sit further away.

I am a dog person but we don't have one because we are out of the house over 9 hours each day. What kind of person would I be to get a dog in those circumstances and leave it alone all day? I also wouldn't leave one alone if I took it on holiday, so that means your holiday choices are very restricted and I think many people just plan ahead and conisder things like that when they just want a cuddly puppy. This is why you see so many just getting dragged out to inappropriate places.

When you rent a holiday cottage/airbnb, the rules are normally that dogs are not to be left alone in the property when you're out, so for us we used to take our dog everywhere all day with us while in holiday. He loved it too, particularly pubs, he was always trying to drag us into pubs

Why should someone who is scared of dogs be “cured”? My DS was 6 when he was attacked while playing in a park. He was just kicking a ball with his brother and a dog came bounding over, knocked him down and bit him hundreds of times, ripping a big chunk of his arm off, and necessitating painful surgery. If it had been his neck he’d have been dead. He is now nervous when big dogs come bounding towards him. As am I, having seen what happened to him. I wasn’t scared before. I have no interest in either of us being “cured” of a fear which is legitimate. If a dog runs up to me now I will tell the owner firmly to get their dog away from me. I don’t give a shit if it’s just being friendly.

Loads of dogs, everywhere. The other day counted 10 cockapoo's within 10 minutes. Witnessed a near dog fight in a cafe too.

Yesterday was jumped on for no reason whatsoever in a large open area by an off lead medium sized collie cross and my jacket, trousers and shoes were covered in mud. Dog completely untrained...owner seen later calling the dogs name, saying 'good girl' when it was bounding off again. Obviously that was her 'training'. Dog taking no notice whatsoever.

Dogs now are called girls and boys, and babies by advertisers and owners. No, they are bitches, dogs or puppies. They need a coat if having very short fur, in cold and wet conditions...not ribbons, fancy dress and bows.

I've had dogs on leads jump up on me, whilst walking with owners on the pavement about 3 times in the last couple of years.

And I am a dog lover, and a past owner. The rescues won't let me adopt because of my age...I'm looking for a older dog. I've now been trying to find one privately, so a number of times I've gone into a home and had hefty dogs [2-3 at a time] hurl themselves at me [ a couple were aggressive, not socialised properly], I know they were pleased to see me I get that, but no attempt to modify the behaviour by the owner/s. They haven't a clue. My dogs were trained and had manners when I had visitors, no jumping up.

So many bad owners out there. That's before I talk about more dogs mess on the pavements than there used to be.

yes,
more dogs
and more houses
more cars on the roads.

And how many more humans. It’s basic math.

Absolutely love my doggie and very popular in our town..haven’t noticed an increase in dog shit! Definitely more to step in when I was a child TBH .

I have six dogs and i hate the trend for taking them everywhere.
If I’m popping to the shop or heading somewhere on foot I don’t want to be accosted by someone’s untrained child substitute, which the overwhelming majority are which is why I sure they think everyone should love their dog too (Btw, people who give their dog stupid hyphenated kid names can fuck all the fucking way off to fuck. Bella-Boo or Monty-Don are always spoilt little twats)
Let your dogs be dogs - go for a walk, do breed appropriate behaviours and learn to settle , train them (!!) and they’re perfectly happy spending time at home.

We took our dogs to the local pub today with friends and their dogs. The landlord gives them all treats and they all love being there.

Quite!

Just returned from skiing. So many dogs on the slopes! Why??

my dog loves walking through the town, in and out of charity shops, where she gets given treats aplenty, lots of smells and discarded chips

Puppy farmers are raking it in and shelters are full of unwanted dumped dogs. It’s awful.

Okay, you first….😂

Exponentially more. Every minute of every day, someone seems to be walking a dog past the house. It definitely became more prevalent in lockdown. Dog bins that are either full, or not used. Dogs off lead, owners ignoring the signs, dogs in shops and cafes.

If I wanted to be around dogs, I’d get one. I feel as though I’m forced into being around dogs all the time, when I have no desire to be.

yes i sat outside a chip shop yesterday and there were three tables, a dog at two and i sat next to the third but at the third table was a poor lady who was afraid of dogs!

Yes, I think you're right. Isn't it wonderful? It gives me such joy to see them.

As long as dogs are friendly and on a lead I’m happy to see them anywhere.

I will probably upset some but ,I’m one of those who finds it weird when kids are scared of dogs , I think most will come from the parents .
I grew up without dogs and was even bitten by a stray dog when I was 9 but I was never hysterical as some of the children I see these days , it’s not normal to be that scared of anything , specially a dog .
We now have a small dog who adores everyone including kids and other dogs and I love it we can take her anywhere . I remember thinking the same as some of you here and questioning why people would just take their pets everywhere but completly understand now as they are just an extension to our family and we all miss her so much if she is not with us .

It's Easter holidays...if you've got a dog I think you're more likely to go for a UK break rather than abroad.

We take our dog on day trips but stick to dog friendly places. He stays on the lead unless it's somewhere very suitable where he can go off lead. When walking he's been trained to ignore other dogs unless told otherwise, I wish other dogs had been taught the same.

Where we live the general rule is, if you see another dog coming towards you on the lead, you put yours on a lead. Didn't witness much of that in the past couple of days when in other areas though!
I keep seeing people picking up smaller dogs and taking them into non dog friendly shops, asthough it seems to no longer be a dog once it is picked up.
Just because you have a small agressive dog doesn't mean you can let it off the lead anyway because it can't do much damage. I'm fed up of fending off these little dogs away from mine.

I've also come across a lot people letting their dogs off the lead, looking elsewhere/on their phones so they don't know their dog has pooped.
There is also the ones who let their dogs come up to my dogs face (sometimes even encourage it) and then their dog suddenly gets aggresive when they realise mine is actually a male and not a female because their stupid owner has assumed long hair = bitch.

Getting seriously fed up of Rough collie Bingo too, not a day goes past without someone mentioning, 'Bet that takes a long time to brush', 'Ooh it's Lassie', 'Don't see many of those anymore' (that's because everyone's buying doodles, French bulldogs and Dachshunds), honestly think of something original to say or don't say anything.

I live in SE London and although I think there are a lot more dogs than before I haven't seen any increase in bad behaviour by dogs or more dog poo on the pavements. I really believe some people like to moan.

Yes we went o York a couple of months ago for a weekend and I can honestly say I've never seen so many dogs being dragged round shops and narrow streets. We have two dogs and do have to take them away with us to most of the places we go to in the UK. The main problem we find is that any holiday rental cottages/ lodges etc all stipulate that dogs cannot be left in the property alone, so you can't even go to the beach for a couple of hours without having to drag the dogs out too in hot weather. I don't understand why holiday home owners stipulate this ? If you know your dog isn't going to whine, cry, destroy soft furnishings etc why on earth can't they be left? It never used to be the case when I was a child and my parents would take out dog on holiday. I think also people fear dogs being stolen, again something that people didn't fear 30/40 years ago as most dogs then were mongrels. Nowadays these designer breeds- french bulldogs, cockapoos etc costing in excess of £1500 so of course no -one dare leave them in a caravan or even at home for fear of them being stolen. I can't imagine the horror I would feel if one of my dogs was stolen, so feel I need to be with them all the time if a family member can't be with them.

So my son having a chunk of his arm ripped off at age 6 by a random dog in a park, that specifically targeted him and continued to jump up to try and bite him even as I held him several feet off the ground, and barked constantly outside the cafe we ran to - that shouldn’t make him scared of dogs? And his fear comes from me does it? Never mind the fact that the dog ran over to him as he played in the park, totally unprovoked, knocked him down and bit him literally hundreds of times, so he needed hospital treatment and has a massive scar on his arm.

It annoys me so much when people say it’s wrong for kids to be scared of dogs. Try watching an out of control dog savage your small child and tell me he shouldn’t be scared.