Dogs are everywhere?!

[LadyMonicaBaddingham]

I took DS to a university open day today. Two separate families had brought their dog with them! Is this someone I've missed?! Why is this necessary?!

You often see dogs on campuses. Our Uni has therapy dogs. There are guide dogs and hearing dogs. Guide dogs in training are brought in to be socialised.

Does the dog on hatred here extend to working dogs, or is just confined to family dogs? Or dogs that have been let down by humans and aren't well trained/socialised?

I don't get the general 'dog' hatred. It's so uninformed. It's also so predictable and miserable.

Cue the predictable, miserable responses.

I think you’ve missed my point. It doesn’t affect me at all, I was pointing out that the criticism about treating dogs ‘as family’ arises from people seeing dogs treated inappropriately and the owner referring to that as being a part of treating the dog ‘as family’. My friend’s neighbour is an appalling dog owner - her dog is overweight, barks constantly, is badly trained and seems a fairly stressed unhappy animal really. She calls it her everything, takes it everywhere as it can’t be left and as far as you can tell has never even attempted to treat it as a dog with a dog’s brain and dogs needs. According to her, that’s because it’s family and is treated as such 🤷‍♀️

Personally I love seeing dogs out & about.
I was in a cafe a few days ago & a cat wandered in, apparently a regular 😂
Just sat there without a care in the world.

Do you remember the white poop?! In the 70's it was everywhere 😂

So many people got dogs during lockdown and they have spent 24/7 with them. Now all these dogs have separation anxiety as soon as they are left alone. We have 2 people bringing their dogs to work. Can’t be left for a minute, even when they go to the loo!!

It does frustrate me, mainly due to those owns who can't control there dogs well in public spaces. You may mistake me for a nervous person around dogs, but I'm happy with dogs I know.
My issue is I'm allergic to them and seem to react differently to different dogs, it's worse if I'm licked so very much avoid contact if possible. I don't want to take antihistamines constantly on the off chance I'll be in contact with them and actually they haven't always helped when I've been licked so it's not always a solution either.

Good luck banning guide dogs, hearing dogs and other service dogs!

Oh the irony

Following with interest , I decided I was no longer a dog lover due to several incidents. On my first walk following abdominal surgery , no lead attached, a dog came running toward me, I turned away to shield myself but dog still jumped at me , owner said a meek ‘ sorry ‘ , I was bloody infuriated. Yes the fur babies phrase , what’s that about , ? Stop humanising dogs please . Happy to sit in my small minority away from the crowd thanks

There was one in Morrisons yesterday.

The majority of people who are brave enough to confess to not agreeing with dogs in bars,restaurants,shops etc clarify it by saying with the exception of service dogs which are invaluable to their owners. It's the amount of dogs in public spaces people are tending to object to, especially those with allergies to dog dander. People can't help being allergic to dogs but it feels like dog owners see this as something to be ignored or they actually take offence or feel insulted when told. I don't have asthma but I am allergic to all dogs,hives when licked,red swollen itchy eyes etc. I shouldn't be made to feel guilty. I don't hate your dog. I just can't interact with it and like most others who have this allergy I avoid indoor spaces where dogs are allowed.

Well that's rude.

Perhaps rather than notice the two dogs among the hundreds of people I should have said I am amazed OP took note of them.

It's true I wouldn't expect someone to be blind to dogs just because it was a University open day, but I am suprised their presence was a big enough deal for anyone attending with their children to even to remember the dogs were there or, if they did, to care. My own four kids are unlikely to be lucky enough to be able to tread that path but, if they ever are, then I would be focussing on the quality of the teaching and the living accomodation, rather than that someone i do not know and will never see again brought a dog

.

Genuine question and not snark - if you're avoiding places indoors where dogs are allowed (fair) then how is it a problem if dogs are outside in public spaces where they are allowed to be? Perhaps there is something about dog allergies I'm not understanding here.

It is bad manners if you own a dog to allow it to run at or jump up at people, I'm not at all for free roaming dogs in all places. DS2 had an autism assistance dog when he was younger, and it was a nightmare having a service dog and dealing with other people's badly behaved dogs. But I guess as a pet owner, from my perspective there are tons of places I can't take my (even well behaved) dogs. Which is fine - dog friendly and dog free indoor spaces should be able to coexist, a bit like child free spaces should be able to coexist alongside family friendly ones. Surely it's not possible to regulate the outdoors as well because people have allergies though?

I really hate this response from people when their dogs are charging at your children!! The reason our 7 year old has a phobia of dogs is due to the lockdown Cockapoos everyone went out and bought, and let them run off lead with no re-call, to then jump up at toddlers/anyone available, leaving them petrified! It happened on a few separate occasions and each time, when the owners finally appeared from god knows where, they’d be shouting “IT’S OK, THEY’RE FRIENDLY, THEY JUST WANT TO PLAY!” I’d have to explain that my screaming child is petrified as their dog is double the height of him once they’ve jumped up at him!! Not one apologised, they all seemed beyond offended that my child was screaming….

I don't understand the need to take them everywhere. Watching them get dragged down the High Street and tied up outside shops is just stupid. Take them for a proper walk then leave them at home when you go shopping.

You really need to revisit the fornal definition of family. Dogs are animals. Pets. Saying you can't dictate what people refer to as family is like saying you can't dictate to people that the earth is round. Sure, there are people that believe otherwise, but they are objectively wrong and they're usually a bit daft. Never confuse feelings with facts.

Surely it's not possible to regulate the outdoors as well because people have allergies though?

Fair enough. But there’s entitlement with dog owners about public open-air spaces too. Not long ago there was a thread about park runners ‘taking over’ parks. Some dog owners whinged and whined all through the thread about not having the park unobstructed at all times for their dogs to run around in.

I know those posters don’t represent all or even most dog owners, but dog owners are becoming social pariahs because of the more absurd and objectionable ones among them.

Why do you care? I don’t have a dog, but I feel so happy seeing them around.

It's not hatred of dogs. It's not their fault and they can be nice in the right setting. Its frustration with irresponsible and daft owners who don't train them and treat them properly like the animals they are, and think it's appropriate to take them everywhere with no thought for anyone else.

I love this too!

What?! Getting arsey about parkrun? That's very entitled. One hour on a Saturday morning, surely they can go to another green space! That's pretty wild.

Again, I see my dog as a member of my family. That takes nothing away from anyway one else, and does not harm anyone else.
She has helped my mental health a billion times more than any actual relation of mine.

Some kid did actually do this to my dog ( but thankfully missed). She was running to me and not even in the direction of the kid. He just tried to get in her path and kick her.