First date - guy bringing dog

[Macaroni46]

So I've been chatting to a guy online who seems very nice etc and we have arranged to meet for the first time at the weekend.
We are going for lunch at a pub I a village half way between where we both live.
I am aware he is a dog owner and very fond of his dog. Talks about him a lot, sends pictures of him etc.
Through the course of our message exchange it transpires that he is bringing his dog to the first date. I'm not sure how I feel about this?
AIBU in feeling it's odd? Or should I just embrace it? After all, a plump middle aged woman can hardly be too choosy!

I'm a dog owner and I wouldn't date you based on your messages. How uptight can you be? He's a dog owner. They come as a pair.

@sneezer you sound pretty uptight too

Sounds like it’s all sorted and he’s not a crazy dogfather.
Hope the date goes well OP.

Good luck, OP. FWIW I can see what you mean about meeting two people. My OH didn't get to meet the horses for a while. There are practical reasons why not, as they are a bit big to fit under a pub table. But also, yes, they are important to me. They are my friends and I do lean on them, so I left them out of it for a while.

There's no right or wrong really - it's just finding something that suits you.

Four hours isn’t too long to leave a dog at home? What about people that work? Also if he’s coming in the car then he’s with the owner for the travel time

Four hours is the absolute maximum time that dogs should be left alone, according to animal welfare organisations (and that is assuming that the dog has been worked up to it and is bomb proof in terms of separation anxiety), @doghairismyglitter.

‘People who work’ should be using dog walkers, doggy daycare or working from home or working shorter hours to ensure that their dog isn’t left alone for long periods regularly. If that isn’t doable, they shouldn’t have a dog.

Talking to someone with a dog is as bad as someone with a Young child. They are constantly distracted

This would make me even happier about the date!!

Also it's a very smart idea for him. If I was single and someone didn't love my pets then that's and automatic no.

@DeathByPuppy I agree, wholeheartedly, but four hours is fine for a dog to be left alone.

Wondering what sort of dog it is...

After all this it may be a chihuahua in a man bag, not necessarily a slathering rottweiller snarling and hurling himself against the car window, desperate to devour OP or charge round the pub scoffing everyone's gammon and chips.

Dogs are shit and no I wouldn't date someone who came along with his on a date. I guess if you like dogs it's ok but even then it's just weird behaviour.

I think it is a spaniel. When I think of English country pubs and walks in the woods afterwards, I think of spaniels. Or labradors.

The dog is a crutch... two of them one of you... you want the attention on you...

@uncreativeusername hit the nail on the head.

This is what I imagine a bloke who takes dogs on dates would look like:

I am dying to know how the date went now!

I took my dog on a date once and he pissed on my lap during it. Needless to say there was no second date....

This all boils down to whether you are a dog person or not.

I think if I'd been talking to him and he'd been sending pics of his dog and talking about him a lot it would put me off having a date but that's because I'm not a dog person.

He should of asked and you aren't being uptight at all by saying you don't want the dog there: it's not a case of date me date my dog

I won't have dinner at a certain family members house as they let the dog sniff around and beg for food the whole time we're eating, I think it's bad behaviour and it repulses me.

I think if you go on the date you have to accept that he loves his dog very much and wants to include him in his dating life; it's a glimpse into the future and if you're okay with that just go with it. Being kind to pets can actually be a very lovely trait in a person.

@Vallderama you are rude beyond measure. You might not like dogs but there is no need for such rudeness.

Personally I’m not keen on other people’s slobbering little kids or their entitled parents who think everyone should ahh and coo over them, but I don’t go around saying ‘kids are shit’. I just leave them alone.

I have to say my dogs’ manners are far superior to yours.

@Vallderama. Just for good measure THIS is what a man who takes his dog on a date really looks like.

@Vallderama

dogs are shit

Nah, you are tho. I can guarantee you that my two gorgeous dogs are more beautiful than you inside and outside.

Confused about when this date is/was?

This all boils down to whether you are a dog person or not.

It really doesn't. As numerous people on the thread have said, it's perfectly possible to be very fond of dogs and still think that a prospective first date should ask first whether you're OK with him bringing his pet with him.

@Frownette, I think it is/was to be a lunch date either today or tomorrow...?

The date is tomorrow. I will update after it ...