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?!

Did I write this?! I say this all the time.
I give no shits about your dog. Any more than I care about a random stranger’s children.
I have children and don’t expect anyone else to care in any way about them btw. They are mine, all mine!

Yes & Thanks for your clarification. The thing that hurts the most is the general reaction from people when I say I'm sorry I can't pat your dog or have it too close due to my allergy. Mostly the reaction is one of indignation as if I've said keep that horrible dog away from me. It's a dreadful attitude which needs to be stopped.

There are two types of people with animal allergies.

The first kind has an animal allergy. The end.

The second kind has an animal allergy and conflates being allergic to animals with disliking animals for displaying the kind of behaviour that is usually expected from animals, because, well, they're animals - and judging animal owners.

I mean, that comes across as a bit of a joke, but as so many people used lockdown as a time they were working from home and able to be home with a puppy, there actually are more dogs with separation anxiety now, as so many were brought up with someone at home nearly all the time.

it is a thing. saw one in a shop once, with the owner. loads of us were over there giving him a fuss. he was lovely.

as a cat owner, I still agree. one of the neighbour cats used to look you in the eye while he shat in our garden. your cats shit should never be other peoples problem.

joking, aren't you. in many rural or coastal areas especially, a dog friendly pub attracts lots of custom, as people often choose those areas to holiday with their dogs. we go to St Ives fairly often, and as a town it's extremely dog friendly. dog friendly beach, lots of dog friendly accommodation, ALWAYS loads of dogs, and no matter the time of year, the many dog friendly pubs and restaurants are always busy.
anyone looking for a dog friendly trip to Cornwall, St Ives is definitely worth considering.
(we live in Cornwall, and my husband loves getting tattoos, and most of his Christmas and birthday presents are money towards whatever he's working on at the time, so we can find ourselves there a good three or four times a year)

I feel the same about children sitting or standing in a trolley if they're not in the actual seats.
and the handles say not to allow it.
I saw a horrible accident where a child tipped a trolley they were standing in and hurt their fingers where they were holding the side. it was nasty.
that and it's unhygienic, because they've been walking around outside.
unfortunately, the supermarkets don't enforce that rule.
I would find dogs sitting in the trolley just as bad. that's where you put your food.
I'm fine with dogs in restaurants, but both of those are like letting them sit on the plate, then the plate not being washed before the next person.

there's a place for them. say, the dog can't walk that far without getting tired, but enjoys the mental stimulation of leaving the house for a bit, and perhaps being taken to the park in it, that they would struggle to walk all the way to (not everyone can afford to run a car) and if they get pushed their, they get to have a little walk, a sniff around, see other dogs, etc. then get pushed home again.
you can't underestimate HOW much the mental stimulation fo a walk is just as important to a dog as the physical exercise.

this was always good for older dogs, and sadly, increasingly necessary for the inexplicably popular Brachycephalic breeds that often struggle to walk far without breathing issues.
I don't think people should breed dogs with such disabling deformities, but also, I know people that rescue such breeds, and the dogs still benefit from getting out and about, even if it's mostly watching the world go by from a pushchair, then a bit of a sniff about in a popular dog walking spot for the mental exercise.
and for the old dogs, it means they don't lose out just because they can't walk as far as they used to. again, not everyone has a car.

I've even thought about getting one for my cat, as he doesn't like to walk on a harness. However, he LOVES looking out of the window on car trips, and I think he'd enjoy getting to go out and about in a safe, secure carrier to see the sights and smell the smells without having to worry about cat-reactive dogs in the area or the fact that I can't walk far carrying him before my back seizes up (he's not fat or anything, I just have a lot of back and joint issues. I can enjoy a leisurely walk on a mostly flat route, and I think he'd love watching the world go by, like he does in the car.

I could say the same for people!

Anyone who thinks dogs are being treated like children needs to up their parenting game.

Barbara Woodhouse was not good for dogs.

and my first ever job was as a dog groomer. not every dog needs it, but not every person has the skills and equipment (or space to do it) to do it all themselves.
questioning why there are dog groomers is like asking why everyone doesn't just cut their own and their children's hair themselves. not everyone has the tools or the ability.
I've been cutting my Mums, stepdads and husbands hair for years now. (the first time was my stepdad complaining my mum had needed to go out before she had time to clipper his hair, I told him I could use clippers, and he gave me the blankets look until I reminded him what my job was) he tends to just have it all clipped to a length of his choice. which is super easy.
my mum and my husband, I actually have to shape and style. but they both think I do a great job. even if I learned how to do it on dogs, not humans.

but yeah, not everyone cuts their own and their families hair, and not everyone can cut or style their own dogs fur.

and also, weirdly, they will often behave better for someone they see maybe every month or every couple of months, with their owner not there, than they will if their owner does it, or their owner is there. the dogs where the owner insisted on being there almost always misbehaved, because they thought Mum would take pity on them and stop it. whearas if it was just us, often they didn't make a big thing about it, they just got on with it. some would misbehave, but not many.

you refer to them as "it". I'm glad the dog will be your last if you view them as an inanimate object.

This is the thing. I would never expect anyone to fawn over my kids. I am regularly told by people that they don’t like kids. Ok. Why am I expected to fawn over a dog that is drooling all over me and eating my shopping out of the pram (this has happened multiple times). And the owners say things like “people need to get used to them”. Why? If you are a dog owner, why?

And often it’s the supposed environmentalists who don’t like kids who think dogs are superior 🙄 I say ‘supposed’ because dogs ar e not wonderful for the environment at all.

Since when? 🤣

Oh my goodness, what is wrong with people?! They continued to tell you their dog was friendly whilst it was drawing blood from your ankle…honestly! It really drives me mad. My own mum included! Telling me how I must get my 7 year old out of his phobia as he can’t live like that, and is mortally offended at the fact that we haven’t been able to go to her house for the last 3-4 years as she too, went and bought a cockapoo puppy just out of lockdown, knowing that her grandson was petrified….🤦🏻‍♀️ I also took my then 2.5 year old to her house once as he wasn’t quite so scared (only really reacted when he could see his older brother reacting), and he was fine at first, my mum was holding her dog close and I was just putting my little boy down, when for some reason, she decided to let her dog go! She ran over to us, jumped at me, terrifying my little boy who was now screaming his head off, so we had to leave straight away!

We used to live by the coast , over 10 years there was a dog invasion. Poo bins overflowing, shit on the beaches . Long leads tripping cyclists and runners up. Kids screaming on paths when confronted by numerous dogs ( on leads) . Then u have the dogs charging at people having a picnic is back on the beach….. honestly the vast numbers of them is the problem. BTW I like dogs . There’s just tooo many !!!

The sort of animal behaviour like bounding up to you and putting their muddy paws all over you, knocking over your kids/elderly mum or shitting everywhere ? You don't have to be allergic to object to that.
And no I don't want your dog to come and "say hello" to me when I'm eating either.

Dogs certainly don’t lower this human’s stress. Every time I read about “dog friendly” establishments, I correct it mentally to “dog-owner friendly”.

It is the…everyone must get used to dogs and become dog literate that drives me mad. And anyone that is scared is some kind of idiot. (I’m not scared of dogs btw but I can see why someone might be.)

Yes, the owner of my ankle biter (jack russell) continued to reassure me that it was all noise, he’s friendly really, as the dog growled and snapped at my ankles, finally taking a wee chunk as a souvenir. So cute!

I saw a near bite in a cafe near me recently too. It’s a pretty small but always bustling cafe (at least at breakfast, lunch etc). Think hipster more than greasy spoon. There was a woman with a large dog under the table. They were positioned close to the counter. A guy close to the counter leaned down to pat the dog. It wasn’t the brightest move given he doesn’t know the dog but maybe he thought it was friendly given it was in a very small, busy space with lots of people. The dog lunged at him growl/barking and snapped at him. It was loud and aggressive enough to silence the whole place

The owners response? She shouts at the guy - and that is why you never approach a dog you don’t know. Particularly if they are cornered. The guy, pretty shaken, apologises to her. I think he waited for his takeaway coffee. But the whole atmosphere was tense.

The owner clearly thought he was some kind of idiot for not being dog literate. But it was a very busy public space. And she had chosen to bring her dog there and place it in the corner. Surely most of the responsibility to keep the situation safe is with the owner.

Exactly.

As a non-dog owner I agree, I don't feel any obligation to learn about dog behaviour or body language because I don't own a dog. I shouldn't need to know how to respond to a dog approaching me because it's on the owner to keep them under control. I teach my DC to give dogs space in case they are nervous but that's it.

And yes, if your dog is reactive to strangers then why take them to a busy cafe?

Don’t moan about dogs approaching people uninvited and then moan about not being able to approach dogs uninvited.

Maybe there are so many threads because it’s a common problem. You could just look at the thread title and ignore. Plenty of other threads.

Also, it’s the dog owners being criticised, not the dogs in the vast majority of posts. And, many of the posters are dog owners and lovers themselves, but still agree with the OP. Whinging about ‘animal haters’ just makes you look silly.

No, we won’t go in a corner. We’ll post about shitty selfish dog owners wherever we want.