AIBU to be surprise d that dogs are seemingly suddenly everywhere?

[Sibsmum]

What has happened? Has anyone else noticed this phenomenon? Dogs suddenly seen to be allowed into shops, cafes, service station...I am not talking assistance animaks, just general dogs.
Now I am not adverse to dogs, but if a wet nose drew back the curtain as I was getting changed in a shop changing room, I would be miffed ( saw it happen!) And I don't see how dogs in cafes is hygienic. Dogs can be off putting to sacred of dog people. But I don't want to get into the why not...I just really want to know wh at I missed that resulted in this happening

Guide dogs are there for a reason though, so that’s why they are tolerated. I personally would never bat an eyelid seeing a guide dog in a cafe or a library. Any other dog is there just because their owner has dragged them along, for what purpose I don’t know. To show their “baby” off perhaps.

Why does that bother you?

They shouldn’t just be “tolerated” though, just as their owners shouldn’t just be “tolerated”.

Unfortunately judging from the attitudes on these threads and my experience in RL when out with my friend, many people would prefer if guide dogs were banned and those inconvenient blind people stayed at home with their smelly, disgusting, drooling mutts

Combine it’s likely - there are too many irresponsible dog owners out there - and I’m sorry you’ve had bad experiences too. If I’ve ever been out with my dogs and someone has a phobia or allergy we’ve always been able to find a solution that worked for everyone (I.e sitting at opposite ends of the restaurant or in other rooms).

Thankyou lockheart it a shame everyone can't have just a bit more empathy for each other pretty sure we can all fit on this planet together if we were a bit kinder to each others needs. Doesn't need to get an either or situation with a bit of understanding. Hope things improve for your friend x

I'd prefer dogs being allowed everywhere than kids quieter, more obedient...

also, I like it. I like that if I want to I don't have to worry about my dog being taken from outside a door. They aren't like bikes, you can't just buy a replacement.

Not all dogs shed - mine doesn't. Not all dogs drool - mine doesn't and not all dogs smell. Yes I guess owners could get used to the smell but, as I have said before on here, if my house smelt of dog my lovely MIL would not have hesitated to tell me.

She didn't visit that often thankfully so no way would she have got used to the smell. When we had cats she used to delight in telling us that our house smelt of them.

In fact she once commented that she could not understand why our house didn't smell of dog! Maybe because we have a non shedding dog with different type of fur to most other dogs?

@LostInShoebiz sorry for the ‘r’ on the end. That aside I was using peninsula as shorthand for uk coastal regions and thinking specifically of being on the coast and not inland. I’ve been often to Northumberland, North Yorkshire, East Neuk, Cornwall - all very dog friendly.

Went to similar regions as a child 30-40 years ago and it was rare to see dogs in cafes at least (I was scared of dogs as a child) and also common for my mother to tentatively ask if kids were allowed to eat in pubs and then to check that the area to eat in wasn’t a barren family room.

A peninsula is a body of land surrounded by water but still connected to the mainland so Cornwall would be peninsular but Northumberland and Yorkshire are definitely not.

Totally agree with CombineBananaFisher, it's the not knowing whether dogs are or aren't accepted that's a massive problem for those with severe allergies. There are cafes and restaurants I know I can't go to because they accept dogs. There are other places that used not to accept dogs but suddenly change policy without warning. Annoying when you've just paid for food and drinks and the you have to leave because someone comes in with dog and sits next to you, expecting you to be honoured that their pooch wants to climb in your handbag.

Perhaps a dog friendly window sticker would be a good idea. Useful for dog owners and allergy sufferers alike?

Bringing up assistance dogs in this context is a massive red herring. I'm not an entitled arse - assistance dogs trump my families allergies and we will leave the venue quickly and quietly.

Hi Lockheart,

I am sorry if my OP has given you cause to take offence. That wasn't intentional. People are entitled to voice their own views, and I think all sides have done that.
I don't think anyone would repudiate the value of service and assistance dogs to their humans and the wider population, and I sincerely doubt that (m)any would object to those highly trained animals and owners having open access to public spaces.
I hope that clears that up.

I like dogs.

But I don't like them near my food.

Nor do I like their saliva getting on me.

Like toddlers, really!

Fo

Posted too soon!

Fortunately the dog owners in my area seem to be very sensible about their dogs and generally don't allow them to annoy VB people.

I think the difference now is that so many people don't bother to train their dogs. This makes their presence more intrusive.

I live in Germany - there are more rules around dog ownership including licences and owners held to financial account for damage or injury caused by dogs. The dogs are generally on leads and well trained.

In Germany dogs are unobtrusive. In the UK my kids have been hurt by dogs more than once, and more people allow dogs to block pavements (leads like trip wires) and wander about with them off lead a distance away with no recall.

Mind you I've never seen a child watching an iPad without headphones in a public place in Germany either.

Untrained dogs getting in other people's space are not the norm in Germany.

I must say dogs ruin UK beaches as owners never have them under control and genuinely non aggressive dogs are not prevented from jumping up at people minding their own businesses and scratching unintentionally - one of my kids was crouching building a sand castle on an English beach as a toddler and a small dog charged full tilt up to him and bowled him over, leaving scratches which remained visible for almost a week and needed cleaning. Owner was a good 100 meters away and didn't notice/ pretended not to. The beach had a no dogs between march and October sign and it was early September, but there were plenty of off lead dogs above the rules on the beach.

Another of my kids was bitten by an English relative's dog while playing - we didn't know that the dog had been let into the house (not the dog's home) and it ran in and snapped at his hand, leaving a ragged wound which took weeks to heal and became infected. The owner said it was my fault for not teaching him to remain still "when a dog had his hand in its mouth" - child was 18 months old, and where we live other people's dogs just don't "have" other people's children's hand in their mouths. It doesn't happen because the owners train their dogs so as not to be paying out thousands of €€ in pain money.

It seems as though there are more dogs than there are when they are not under control and unconvincing others. Nobody notices multiple well behaved dogs, but one untrained one is a problem. Which is the same as children, except that nobody calls the price if you leave your 2 year old dog home alone for 3 hours...

140 posts, and no-one has mentioned the Pulp song?

*inconveniencing not unconvincing.

Guide dogs are by their very nature impeccably trained. They are not viewed by any reasonable person in the same light as an untrained off lead pet.

I'm allergic to dogs including service dogs (you dont stop being allergic just because they're essential for someone else) so I cant share a space with one. I recently provided medical evidence to this effect to work to ensure my office (not the building) remains a dog free zone as more and more people were staying to bring them in.

I can't say I've noticed an increase in dogs being allowed into food and drink out let's.

Where I live, a small village, with a lot of dogs, our two local pubs welcome dogs. Likewise, places like Keswick are very dog friendly.

I don't mind seeing dogs in comfy places, but I certainly wouldn't take my cute Shiuh Tzu out for dinner in a restaurant. I don't take him shopping either. I take him for a run down the field (and pick up his dog shit) then leave him at home for shopping or nights out.

I have a son with Autism who is terrified of dogs so I notice them - and they are everywhere all of a sudden!! On the bus, in the shop, barking in cars, running up to us off the lead etc etc. Meltdown central

Ah come on folks.

Dogs are great. They just stay quiet and heel beside their masters all the time don't they. They are not problem at all.

No way will they EVER come close to you and put their tongue out and slobber. Or jump on you or whatever. Nor will they ever be anti social at all and bark forever next door either. They are just so perfect.

I put the blame on the owners, not the dog. Sometimes the dog has more rights than a child in the same household!

Bottom line. If dogs are allowed so should drug addicts and unkempt people and those swearing in the street. But a barking slobbering dog is ok it seems.

Not a chance from me. If I see a dog anywhere that I want to be, I will leave. I am not that dog's master remember. I can do this if I want!

As long as they don't leave a Brad Pitt in the shop I wouldn't be too fussed...

I think it's nice but they need to be well behaved.

And that is why ddog stays at home. Because he is badly behaved.

I love it.

Saw a whippet in Libertys today.

"Bottom line. If dogs are allowed so should drug addicts and unkempt people and those swearing in the street. But a barking slobbering dog is ok it seems."

😂 typical MN hysterical bollocks

I used to quite like dogs until I was randomly attacked by an off-leash one (who had ‘never done anything like that before’). Have a phobia now and feel on edge in dog friendly establishments (fine with guide dogs as you know they’ve been very well trained).

Jarvis saw it coming...