To think this cafe needs to rethink their message to customers?

[GunpowderGelatine]

Seen this on Facebook today from a cafe -

So we are a dog friendly cafe which is completely acceptable by health and safety as long as the dogs don’t cook your food or enter the kitchen 😡 so don’t give us a hard time if you don’t like dogs because we like dogs better than humans - note don’t give Vicky a hard time over happy dogs because Vicky will always defend the dogs

Now I have a bit of a fear of dogs and wouldn't expect to see one in a cafe and I'd be a bit pissed off if I paid good money for food and drink only to be bollocked by "Vicky" if I didn't like a dog in my face AIBU to think it's not a good message to tell your paying customers that they come second to another species?

we are dog and child friendly
Not child friendly to children who are afraid of dogs. Which is more important in your view?

Kids who are afraid of dogs have been poorly parented anyway.

Kids who are afraid of dogs have been poorly parented anyway

Yeah the parents should have just slapped the fear out of the child no doubt?

Statistically you're far more likely to be harmed by a human than a dog.

Which seaside town is this? We live near a seaside town and we know a dog mad Vicky.

Vicky is such a gorgeous friendly weloming person...always happy...always smiling and nothing is ever too much. We dont live local but its the first place we head to with our dog when we visit Silloth. Its quite simple really, If you dont like it dont go...but I can guarentee that you will not find anywhere better.

Don't you all realise that places just can't possibly be "friendly for everyone"?

You can't please pet lovers and people with fears at the same time. You can't please people who want child free evening and parents who want to go out with kids.
You can't please people who want no music nad people who want music.

YOU. CAN'T. PLEASE. EVERYONE.

And here is where the fun part is. It's up to an individual to choose the right place fotting to their needs.

Freedom of choice people!

That's why there are so many different businesses. Like shit coffee? You got starbucks! Like pretentious, over priced, microwaved food which masquerades as healthy, but has more sugar than big mac? Jamie's Italian is the way to go.

I'm really struggling to work out what the OP's grievance is. So what if she doesn't feel that she can go into that particular cafe? There are other cafes which she can frequent.

There are cafes that are not child friendly, I would very quickly be told IWBU if I started a thread complaining about not being able to go there because they didn't have a children's menu or a playground.

You choose the cafe you want to go to. If a cafe owner wants to encourage people with dogs to come into her cafe, that's entirely her prerogative.

Ms Alien Family or whoever you are.Vicky is not "deranged", how rude. She has an amazing, dog friendly cafe, it's really that simple. Oh, she's also fantastic with young kids and spends time with them to light up their imaginations with the joy and fun of all things in fairy world. Vicky's cafe might not be for everyone. If not, stay away and leave room for the rest of us! Thanking you. 😘

Statistically you're far more likely to be harmed by a human than a dog

Yet a human has never jumped up at me when I'm in the street and barked in my face.

Also we kind of have to interact with humans, it's a bit harder to have a phobia of them.

You really can't accept that people have phobias of dogs leapfrog? I take it you are having therapy for whatever you have a fear of?

Anyone who uses the term ‘fur babies’ has lost me as a customer anyway.

this is an interesting article explaining that being a neurotic person generally makes you 22% more likely to be bitten by a dog! www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/canine-corner/201804/why-some-people-are-more-likely-be-bitten-dog

The team was at a loss to explain why people high in neuroticism were more prone to being singled out for attack by dogs. It is possible that an individual's anxiety and insecurity cause them to emit various pheromones (biologically significant odor molecules).

I looked at the man uneasily standing in front of me, fidgeting, folding his arms in front as if he were hugging himself to provide security, rubbing his hands, and so forth — all signs of anxiety, and all signs common in people high in neuroticism. It is easy to see such signs of stress and anxiety if you look for them, and since dogs are masters of reading body language, perhaps they notice them as well. When most people see a person showing behaviors that indicate insecurity and fearfulness, it tends to make them slightly uncomfortable — the phenomenon known as emotional contagion. Perhaps dogs feel the same way, only without our clinical insight, their discomfort urges them to action. In their less sophisticated minds, they might reason that the most effective way to keep this slightly disturbing individual away from themselves is with a warning snap or a bite. Thus, the person high on the personality dimension of neuroticism may become a target of canine aggression simply because they make the dogs near them uncomfortable.

Yet a human has never jumped up at me when I'm in the street and barked in my face.
That actually happened to me on night out😂😂😂
The girl must have been high as kite😂

Kids who are afraid of dogs have been poorly parented anyway

That’s unfair. My 1yo hasn’t been parented any differently to my dog mad 2 and 8yo so how do you explain that? People who write bollocky comments on MN with fuck all knowledge of anything have been parented badly. I bet your mum is still parenting you badly right now, and that’s why you are on MN and not getting your sleep ready for back to school tmw.

Well that makes sense Leapfrog as animals pick up on anxiety in others and it can make them nervous etc. I always think dogs know I have a fear, I can be with 10 dog lovers and it's always me they run up to and jump up in my face but what are you suggesting? That people be "less neurotic"? Ok I'll just switch it off then 🙄

Silloth in Cumbria. Maybe all Vicky's are dog mad :-)

Oh ffs. If a dog bites a person, it's because the dog is being aggressive. Like I said, curry. That'll sort out any aggression from a dog. If you want to hang out with dogs, go and sit in a fucking kennel.

Lol @OftenHangry I don't think that dogs have the excuse of being three sheets to the wind 

@IamPickleRick ignore that person they are obviously Vicky's friend throwing their weight around by talking utter bollocks

Once more for those who didn't get it - I have no problem with dog friendly cafes. I wouldn't go to this cafe again (a shame as the cakes there are mind blowing, and I can confirm they are very child friendly) simply because I like to think that if a dog was "excited" and jumping up in my face/causing problems/misbehaving I wouldn't be chucked out for having a fear or raising an issue.

No I can totally accept that people have phobias of dogs!! But they should not expect the world to rearrange itself around that. And phobias by definition are irrational so should be treated.

I had a horrible fear of flying and I worked through that myself by watching all the plane crash documentaries on Youtube and realising how many things need to go wrong for one to actually occur. Now I'm fine.

This thread is weird.

The cafe sounds like something off Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares.

I mean, the OP does seem unreasonably angered by the cafe's ethos but such an aggressive post is not normal when you are running a business.

To everyone saying 'your cafe your rules' - I don't think you would last very long being so hostile to your customers.

Imagine going to eat somewhere and being told 'my gaff, my rules mate'. You wouldn't return.

But they should not expect the world to rearrange itself around that

And I'm not saying the world should - however I think a human, who is also a business owner, should not be implying that no matter what the issue, the dogs ALWAYS come first before the paying human because all dogs are "nicer"

It is people like you, dismissive of phobias, the obtuse and condescending comments of "how do you cope, you need therapy", that need to rearrange their attitudes

I had a horrible fear of flying and I worked through that myself by watching all the plane crash documentaries on Youtube and realising how many things need to go wrong for one to actually occur. Now I'm fine.

That's...unusual - but good for you I guess? Maybe I'll watch dog fighting see if it cures me 🙄

My ds wasnt scared of dogs because of my poor parenting. He was scared of dogs because he'd been sent flying by one of those "oh he wont hurt you" dogs in the park as a toddler.

Being sent flying hurts. It took him years to get over his fear.

Still think "Vicky" sounds deranged. Maybe she should set herself up as a dog walker? Not too great with people.

Being afraid of dogs (or any animals) is not an irrational fear. Animals can attack.
I was terrified of animals as a child, especially dogs. It was nothing to do with my parents. They grew up with animals.
My sister didn’t bat an eyelid at animals, whereas I ran for cover every time. Then I was bitten by a German Shepherd guard dog.
I’ve grown out of it now, but only recently (I’m over 40). I’d be nervous around large animals, and I don’t like or connect with animals.
However, I totally appreciate that Vicky & others feel completely different to me. I’d never go to her cafe. The message is strongly worded for a reason, I guess...