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.

My dog is much better snoozing at home than stuck under a table in a restaurant smelling all the food he can’t eat.

people need to be better educated about dogs because people seem to have forgotten what they are.

I think designer breeding has a lot to answer for - just because the dog looks like a teddy bear doesn’t mean it is

I went to a hens a couple of months ago, about 30 women and someone brought their puppy! As you can imagine it was absolutely terrified of all these drunk, shrieking women. I couldn't believe it, the last thing I want to do when trying to enjoy myself is to avoid standing on someone's tiny puppy or getting bitten by it. Fucking ridiculous

That 3rd one is very bad for the dog's spine and should not be allowed on the market.

Crazy and a perfect example of a selfish owner. No thought whatsoever for the well being of the animal.

Not read the whole thread, but seriously OP, if the restaurant allowed dogs on any chairs, high or otherwise, I would complain, first to management , then to environmental health.
Pretty sure the trains I have been on say no dogs on seats, so again complain.

Very much a dog liver here, but my two don’t go to restaurants - have been on a bus though, on the floor, at the back.

Maybe that’s why the woman I saw in tescos yesterday had her dog in a baby sling strapped to her chest ?

I have found this recently. Most dog friendly places are for them to be outside but now they are sitting on chairs. It's tricky as I get people can't leave dogs outside because they may get stolen. But I don't want them near me when eating. Just recently I was in a clothes shop and there were two dogs and because I wasn't expecting them it made me jump. How can shops go from letting in service dogs which is right to let in any old dog!

Oh my god this thread has made me laugh. I've nothing as ott as the ones here but an afternoon in a very upmarket city restaurant with a friend last week was ruined by some bloody dog trying to lick my crotch and sticking his face into my food. He came in with some older ladies, one of whom was blind so it seemed perfectly reasonable however I don't think he was actually a guide dog. To be fair he was very cute but it was bizarre.

Covid led to 1000's of people rushing out to buy dogs, for entertainment, who had not previously thought of having a dog. No t thought of a dog's actual needs. Very sad for 1000's of dogs. Great for breeders, hideous puppy farms, and dog thieves,and businesses cashing in on ridiculous dog paraphernalia, that actually borders on abuse.

Dogs are not allowed in M&S

perhaps you’d like to tell my local M&S that @Catpuss66

I love dogs but have definitely seen a breakdown of boundaries as to what owners think they are entitled to do in public with their pets. Dog friendly venues used to mean you can bring Fido in so long as they behave. I have been in pubs with dogs barking non stop with the owners cracking on oblivious to the noise. Dogs and their exposed shitty arses and muddy coat/paws sitting on train seats, dogs drinking/eating from a bowl on the cafe table, dogs spoiling picnics down the park, dog shit bags hanging in trees, dogs with no recall jumping up on people etc.

YANBU

Agree @Houseplantmad. I like animals, I like it when I can look after my siblings dogs for them, but they're animals not humans. I don't even like them sitting up on my furniture let alone taking them somewhere else and letting them sit where humans should sit.

You say that like it's a bad thing.

In the 60s/70s dogs and children were treated more equally than today. We were all left to roam the estate in packs and dogs and kids could both be beaten with sticks. You couldn't bring either in to most pubs and you could leave them both outside in a car.

I’ve seen them in both of these supermarkets. My toddler always laughs and points at the dog roaming around the aisles which, for some reason, irritates the dog owner. I suppose they don’t see anything amusing or unusual about a dog wondering around and sniffing at food items.

The crocheted chicken legs are sold out which is a shame!

I agree @Imfreetofeelgood. The dog in the wooden high chair looks extremely uncomfortable.

Was out walking with my mum and her friend a few months ago and we passed a man walking his spaniel puppy. All had a stroke and commented how cute etc. While we were cooing over the dog the man started telling us that 10 minutes ago, a woman had been sitting on a bench and the puppy had ran to the lady and jumped up excited, wanting fuss and her reaction was to ask him to move his dog. He was incredulous, and so were my mum and her friend. In a, "what a silly woman" kind of way. I was just stood there thinking...this is a perfectly reasonable request.

They're all fucking demented. I like dogs a normal ammount but these zealots go on like dogs are the second coming of christ and treat them accordingly. And it's not a minority.
But the horse has bolted now and this is the new normal. I doubt dogs will ever go back to just being dogs.

Oh, and I got a birthday card off my friends dog last year. 🤨

I really love dogs, but I have never felt the need to take mine into town or into cafes

i walk them in the morning, then they are much better off at home !

secretly I think there is a difference between owners of large dogs and small dogs. People with Labradors or retriever or greyhounds tend to treat their dogs like dogs

people with fluffy little yappy things are slightly more prone to treat them like babies

yet it is the small fluffy tally things that are much more annoying 😂

I’ll get my coat…

The trouble with dog friendly places is that there’s dogs and there’s dogs. So the sleeping Labrador in front of a roaring fire is adorable, the handbag dogs in high chairs is a ridiculous . DS took his young Labrador for the first time to the dog friendly pub and much to his horror and embarrassment he cocked his leg up against the Christmas tree, and that was the end of his visits to dog friendly places.

As much as I love to see the sleeping lab, the negatives outweigh the positives for me.

I’m not sure it’s actually designed for dogs?

Yanbu op, I went into a cafe at the weekend which had a sign up to say that well behaved dogs were welcome, but please don’t feed them using the cutlery - there must have been a reason for that sign which put me right off my food.

I prefer dogs to humans but I’ve never taken any I’ve owned into a restaurant or cafe. Nor have they ever sat on a seat on a bus or train.
Sitting a dog in a child’s high chair is both ridiculous and cruel. I doubt the dog felt safe and wondered why the hell it was up in the air.

Puppycino! I saw that the other day- a tub of whipped cream with a dog biscuit on top! Surely that is not good for the dog?

Surely all of these dogs are going to end up with back issues? It’s not natural for dogs to be put in the same positions as humans

there seems to be an idea that carrying a dog is ok in shops. DH went into a deli and I waited outside with dog. The owner came in and said I was welcome to come in with the dog as long as I carried him. I think that’s even worse!

part of the problem is the risk of theft/people approaching the dog if left tied up outside shops.

have you seen the videos from service dog owners where people just won’t leave their dog alone? Educate owners but also educate everyone that dogs are not public property and they are not cuddly toys