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.

@AnneLovesGilbert - my son was telling me about the dog ice cream because he saw it in the Co-op. He nearly bought it because he thought it had to be for humans, but fundraising for dogs maybe. Nope.

I'm in 2 minds about this. I do have a small dog.

1. the restaurant and the highchairs - no they should not have done that, if their dog can't be left, then they shouldn't go to a restaurant.

2. Public transport is a bit different. The govt wants people to ditch their cars. So public transport ought to therefore be dog friendly. That doesn't include taking a seat from someone who's reserved it though. If the dog was so distressed on the floor, the woman should have put the dog on her lap, or if too big, she should have given her seat to the dog and stood herself. But it was definitely not the responsibility of another passenger who'd reserved a seat.

I know - I'm agreeing that you can still go out to eat with your dog without humanising them.

You laugh! The dog candles are at a stall that’s at a monthly market in a posh town near me. The entire stall is smellies for dogs and it’s expensive to have a stall there, they’re being kept in business by enough people with more money than sense.

A near miss! I don’t know how it’s made or what’s in it.

Yes, sorry - I'm agreeing with you! You're treating him as he should be treated and you're a good owner! (I'm guessing you don't call yourself his "mum"?)

@frozendaisy your excitement over discovering the mad products are my favourite thing I've read on mumsnet today! I feel like I'm there with you and now have to go on a google search for mad stuff for my cats 🐈‍⬛

We have dogs who are dearly loved members of our family BUT they certainly don’t get treated like babies. We take them to dog friendly places on occasion but much prefer to stick to walks and other forms of enrichment for them. We prefer going out to eat without them although they happily settle at out feet. I’ve been in restaurants where people have had dogs in prams who yapped incessantly, I’ve seen waiters and waitresses tripping over them and one sat on a table, when they were asked to remove it from the table they were met with a load of abuse about it being an assistance dog.

We have holiday pods and chalets, only 2 of these are dog friendly. It’s astonishing the amount of people who rock up then we realise there’s a dog with them in non pet friendly accommodation.

God. There's obviously a huge market for this.

There is an independent cinema in Suffolk who invite dog owners to bring their dogs to specific screenings during the day.

Yeah, that doesn’t mean they need to be in a highchair or on a train seat though!

Dogs need to be treated like the animals they are. No need to go into shops, cafes or pubs. There used to be hooks outside shops where you tied them up or you trained them to sit and wait. Or you left them at home, none of this separation nonsense they seem to get nowadays.

A cafe in my town has just banned dogs due to their disgusting behaviour and their entitled owners. Locals predicted it would be a death knell but I walked past today and it was very busy.

Thehigheroffer don't forget that one person's therapy dog can be a source of stress to someone else. Respect has to work both ways.

If the dog was so distressed on the floor, the woman should have put the dog on her lap, or if too big, she should have given her seat to the dog and stood herself.

It’s in the T&Cs of most train companies that dogs need to be on the floor, so if people are taking dogs on trains they need to train them to be comfortable with that.

I love dogs and often do prefer them to (some) people. That's because they're dogs, not people, and I treat them like dogs.

As for all the crap you can now buy for dogs, well, if people buy it, I can't blame companies for spotting an opportunity.

“Public transport is a bit different. The govt wants people to ditch their cars. So public transport ought to therefore be dog friendly. That doesn't include taking a seat from someone who's reserved it though. If the dog was so distressed on the floor, the woman should have put the dog on her lap, or if too big, she should have given her seat to the dog and stood herself. But it was definitely not the responsibility of another passenger who'd reserved a seat.”

seriously?
if I’ve just paid £££ to reserve a seat for myself on a train journey, I don’t want to spend the whole time with someone else’s dog slobbering on me and panting down my neck. If I’m on my way to work I don’t want to arrive with my smart suit covered in dog hair because the last occupant of my train seat was a bloomin’ golden retriever!

recently went out for a meal in a restaurant in my town, sat on a bench seat with multiple tables along it. Woman arrived with a husky - she patted the seat and encourage it up on the bench not 12 inches from me and my food, and then allowed it to eat from a side plate on her table.

This is ridiculous and what dog wants to be shoved in a high chair😱

Reminds me of when my dog got married, I sat on an awful hard stool for nearly 2 hours.

My Jack Russell dog often traveled with me on the train. Happily and quietly snoozed the trip away under my seat. She did the same in dog friendly cafes. The best compliment was when we got up to go people would say they'd not even known she'd been there. She's dead now and I don't half miss her.

There's dogs and dogs and dog owners and dog owners.

I had an employee ask for two weeks "puppy care" paid leave, when she got two puppies, which she justified on the grounds she was too old to ever ask for maternity leave.

Reminds me of when my dog got married

Er, what?

We take our dog on the train and he lies on a mat we bring with us. He’d prefer to be on a seat but it’s a dog’s life!

I'll be honest, I'm not a massive fan of humans. Find animals (not just dogs) in general much easier to deal with and I do enjoy spending time with them.
Maybe I'm jaded by years of customer service and tired of whining, entitled people who can't take any responsibility for themselves 🤷🏼‍♀️

Doesn't mean I don't treat my dogs like dogs, train them, and recognise they're dogs. I love them, I find them really fulfilling. But they're not my child they're my dog and treating them like a child is likely to make them a) unhappy and b) unhealthy, neither of which I want.

Preferring my dogs company to most humans doesn't mean I don't realise they're dogs and treat them accordingly.

I work in animal welfare, and anthropomorphism of animals is a daily battle, which sadly is getting worse.

Dogs in high chairs?? Honestly, I've never heard of anything so ridiculous 😂.

I've got a dog, and I love her to bits - but she's a dog.

Where is this nonsense happening?
I live in the Yorkshire Dales, everywhere is dog friendly, full of walkers - but literally no-one would tolerate dogs in high chairs 😂

No responsible person would leave their dog tied up outside of a shop. It could be stolen.