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?!

Thankfully Wetherspoons and Sam Smiths disagree

Well they are. You family are all humans. If someone described their pet gerbil, snake or stick insect as "part of the family" they would rightfully be labelled insanse. But for some reason dogs are awarded special status.

Oh nooooooo. What ever will I do not being able to go in a whetherspoons. Thankfully every other pub is ok with dogs we've ever gone in ever.

You know how people are different to dogs? Well dogs are different to gerbils, so there is that.

Well said. I'd bring in a firing squad for anyone who uses the word fur baby.

I have had psychiatric treatment in the past, and me referring to my dog (and also cats) as family was not an issue. She was seen as a protective factor. She even came to visit me in hospital.
'Insane' is a pretty ableist slur to be throwing at people who are doing nothing wrong. And you don't get to dictate to people who/what their family are. It is nothing to do with you.
Someone who sees a dog as family is making sure they are fed, healthy, warm etc. Why is that a problem to you?

Yes, because it is such a heinous crime that deserves death.
Grow up.

Can't walk a gerbil, seen someone walk a lizard though. Been in town today and we only saw about 5 dogs and none we in shops.

Evil

There are a few cats where I live that go out on a lead with their owner. But cats tend to roam anyway so no need to be walked.
Small animals such as gerbils do not need to be walked. I have seen people walk ferrets.
There is a chap where I live that takes his amazon parrot out. He is beautiful and gets a lot of attention.

Can you imagine if ‘science’ discovered that dogs spread covid and needed to be put down, all those mask-wearing zealots would have definitely defied that stipulation -never mind about keeping people ‘safe’ if their ‘fur babies’ were impacted. .

My dogs are dogs NOT FUR BABIES

I had to take a double take when I saw it. Seen ferrets too, my brother had one when we were kids and he would take it for a walk 😆

But John Lewis are dog friendly so what is the problem? All dog haters make sure you get down to Oxford Street or Liverpool John Lewis they are doing Santa Paws again this year, fabulous I sincerely hope the dogs are queuing out the door! 🤣

It REALLY isn't a debate.....😂

What on earth is this?👆

To be fair I don't think they would be labelled 'insanse'. Or 'insane' for that matter. Unless anyone can point out the specific point in the DSM-5 where it is, and I stand corrected.
My dogs are part of my family. 'Family pet' or 'family dog' means just that. Just because you haven't felt that way towards a companion animal doesn't mean that others don't - and fortunately, you don't have the final say in whether it is right or wrong or socially/culturally unacceptable.
You love them, it is proven that they chemically feel love - oxytocin. They certainly have unconditional loyalty and affection. You worry about them and grieve when they die. They live with you and alongside you. They have a special status in human's lives, now and historically. You will never understand that because you haven't experienced it. But millions and millions of other people have and completely understand it.

I don't think a) you love them b) you like them or c) you are indifferent.

So which term do you prefer? Strong dislike? Do you despise them or loathe them? Feel repulsed? Detest them?

I think you are gaslighting yourself 😂

You’ve come back to laugh at my use of the word debate? And I see you’ve picked someone else up on a typo. Nice you’re enjoying yourself, always good to see lots of 😂😂😂

some people do walk cats. mine goes out in a harness. not for walks, as he doesn't like walking in it, but he loves car trips, and he sometimes enjoys having a sniff about the garden, before retreating to my lap to sun himself.
when I was little, we used to walk our ferrets.

So you would be happy for people to let their child jump on you and them to say "it's OK, he's friendly "?

Well in a way there is a version of this. I’ve had kids approach us in pubs, restaurants or on holiday, then sometimes talking away to us while the parents smile on sweetly when we would like them to just take their kid away so we can resume our socialising. Or kids jumping on chairs around us, going along the windowsill into our booth in a cafe not long ago, again parent saying ’oh he loves to explore’. I remember on holiday a little girl climbing on railings next to our table, we found her mother quite a distance away, she didn’t give a fuck her kid was wandering off and others having to deal with it.

Now you may argue that it’s not all parents, and you would be right, but maybe this will enlighten you to why dog owners are so sick of the dog/dog owner hate on here and keep saying it’s not all of us, but on it goes with people saying they hate all dogs and giving their negative experiences as the universal issues with them.

I used to go to this gorgeous little cafe near Coleford. It was a lovely little place, great food!
Then they started to allow dogs into the restaurant, and the dogs were allowed to go where they pleased.
My husband and I were eating a toasted sandwich when a soggy golden retriever type dog came and laid down under our table. He stank of wet dog. The smell was so bad, that it affected the taste of our food and our enjoyment of the cafe.
Nearly £30 later we left and I have to be honest, I was pretty disgusted, so I left a bad review, which the owner didn’t appreciate.
However, our experience had been shit. The food may have been great, but the smell of dog overpowered the flavour.
We used to go a lot, but we haven’t been back since.
Surely this cannot be nice for dog owners either? Why not just leave your animal at home when you go out, and then you can taste and enjoy the food.

I think if cafes and restaurants marketed themselves as no-dog venues they'd do very well, except they would probably face hate from the dog extremists.