This “humanisation” of dogs has got ridiculous

[Houseplantmad]

Had lunch in a chain restaurant yesterday. Two couples came in with smallish dogs. No problem with that as the restaurant is dog friendly however, they insisted on having high chairs for the dogs when their meal came as they had been holding the dogs on their laps until then. The waitress refused but they went and got them anyway so we had these shoved next to our table with a restless dog breathing and being uncomfortable in the high chair very close to us.
Today I get on an intercity train and a woman boards with a medium size dog and puts it on the seat next to her across from me at a table. The person who had booked that seat then turned up and the woman said what was she supposed to do with the dog as it couldn’t go on the floor! It did but was clearly distressed and couldn’t settle, poor thing.
I think putting animals in these situations is so unfair on them and also on others but it seems to be very common these days for people to treat their animal as if it is a human.

I suppose it depends how clean the blankets are. 😬 The dogs were pawing up to the back of the seats too, so not just on the blankets. We just got hot drinks to take away and went in the Tesco express for the kids drinks and snacks. My child is terrified of dogs and I’m allergic so we weren’t staying in or spending more than we needed to. I’ll probably not go in again now.

@Catpuss66 i work in a large M&S and once had an older gentleman sit a dog on one of the display sofa's yapping, people don't care if they shouldn't be in there and start shouting and causing a scene.
Also the amount of people that walk dogs on the busy carpark is just crazy there is a large open green space literally a five minute walk away.

I saw a reel of a woman with her dog on the tube. It had poo’d a while ago and she put it on her lap.

She had skid marks all over her white skirt 🤢 That was sat in a highchair 🤮

I’m perfectly capable of forming relationships with people, and have all the human relationships I need and want. I still prefer the company of animals over most people, particularly people like you.

I would hazard a guess that said blankets are very far from clean. I remember seeing some yappy little shit arse bark machine down the park playing with a chewy fluffy toy that it subsequently carried in its mouth into the local dog friendly cafe. Said dog then proceeded to use the fluffy toy as what can only be described as a canine wank sock. It was funny at first watching the dog try and hump this toy into next week but equally fairly disgusted that afterwards the dog then hopped up on the sofa to continue gnawing on its jizzy post coitus sex toy. Yuk.

YANBU OP. It’s disgusting and it’s unhygienic. I hate this trend of people taking their dogs everywhere. A friend of mine is extremely allergic and there are now shopping centres and cafés that she can’t go in. They aren’t children. Leave them at home.

YANBU. I am totally fed up of dogs on busy trains. Stressful for the dog and unpleasant for the passengers. I think they should be banned on the busy commuter services.

This is how I feel about the matter too.

Edited ; Quoted wrong poster, was meant to be the one above.

Why is it relevant that he was older? I hate dogs, but I also hate ageism.

I feel the same. Treating dogs like tiny humans is what causes behavioural problems.

Major dog lover but OPs examples are particularly stupid owners.

Was all ready to do scientifically proven list of complex emotions dogs experience but actually yes, people who don't allow their dogs to be dogs are idiots.

I adore our dog and he's spoilt rotten. Wouldn't dream of taking him to a restaurant though. (We did take him to see Santa Paws 😳)

I like that cafes allow dogs. I don’t even mind if they are sat on laps, or even sofas as long as they are sitting on a blanket, but a high chair is rank as is sitting on human seats that haven’t been covered first. Same for trains etc. People should not be sitting on hair covered seats.

We’ve taken dog to a special afternoon tea on his birthday but that was mainly for the kids! Ultimately dog got an extra nice dinner that day but it was the kids who had the pleasure from the experience

it’s nice when there are some dog specific activities like that but they should be the exception rather than the norm.

I’ve noticed a few cinemas doing dog friendly screenings. I think my dog would be terrified by the noise and desperate to get out. That’s before we get to the issue of the dogs on the seats

Re. Trains. My large airedale used to sit very quietly under the table. Had a person terrified of dogs sit by us. By the end of their journey they said they were glad he had been the dog that was there. If people have to go somewhere by train with their dog they should be able to but of course not on seats.

Putting a dog in a highchair is utterly unbelievable and dreadful those women did not respect the waitress when she said no. I hope she cleaned it before someone else came along and put their baby in it.

@Bruisername - you took your dog out for afternoon tea for it's birthday? Did it get a cake with candles?

I LOVE dogs but agree, they are always fucking everywhere.

We have a monthly farmers market that has events etc for children and I watched in horror as dogs pissed up the giant connect four that was there for kids to play with.

My labrador is an absolute plonker and would probably tolerate a highchair while looking wounded. My cats would defend their dignity to the death. I think I've missed the point.

No!

they had a blanket on the floor for him and then they gave him meat loaf and dog biscuits and some pawsecco and some attention. Humans had a proper afternoon tea. Total gimmick but the kids loved the idea of spoiling him. He loved the food but wasn’t really bothered!

How do you know it was ageism? She also said the person was a gentleman. Is that sexist? Can we only now say "person" lest any adjective used to set the scene or describe a situation be construed as 'ism'?

His age isn't relevant, but nor is his sex.

I love my dog but I agree, some people are absolutely bonkers in treating them like human children. The people who can't possibly leave them alone in the house (no, I don't mean all day long before anyone jumps on me) and think they should have the right to be everywhere always amazes me.

Saw a couple with a dog in a cafe, on a very hot day. Dog was obviously very hot and I would imagine thirsty, it seemed to be straining towards a bowl of water across the gangway (dog was tied to fence so could not reach it). But no, owners had ordered ice cream, so dog had to wait for the ice cream instead. Which it didn't like. It was hard to watch. I didn't say anything as we were leaving, and I presumed being dog owners, they would have the sense to let the dog have an actual drink eventually.

I love my dog and probably indulge her.
There is no way I would even consider putting her in a high chair or expect sit her on a train seat.

My 5yo DD always referred to our dog as her sister. This wasn't something I encouraged, but she carried on regardless. We had to have our dog put to sleep at Christmas, and DD went back to school telling everyone her big sister had died. I had Mum's approach me in the playground offering their condolences, thinking I had lost an actual child!