Dogs in Restaurants

[IDontGetOutMuch]

Took my mum out to lunch today. It was a nice enough place-£25 per head.
Have expectations changed with regard to dogs in restaurants? There were four other tables in our section and three had a dog with them.
Two of them barked at least three times during the meal. One jumped up at a waitress carrying puddings to another table, paws on her apron. One jumped up at the table wanting to be fed. One was petted by another waitress who then went straight to a table to take orders without washing hands. One was lying in the way so that I had to ask the owner to move it to allow my mother to get through with her Walker.
We had a dog when I was a child. He never went to a restaurant. What about people with allergies?
Is it okay that they do? Do I need to get over myself? I tried to compare to children. I expect my children to cause no disturbance to others at a restaurant and to stay at the table. We expected this even when they were little and actually rarely went to restaurants anyway.

@lazylinguist

I'd remind you how many people absolutely detest dogs and remind you that you to keep it under control. Tell you to put in on a lead when you clearly haven't got the thing under control, that sort of thing.

Uh huh. So if I had my dog in a dog-friendly pub, on a lead, fully under control, right by my table, not allowing him to approach anyone (which he wouldn't want to anyway), would you still feel the need to come and 'challenge' me by saying "Do you realise some people hate dogs?" And 'remind' me to do something I was clearly already doing? Because my response would be "This pub welcomes dogs. Have you considered going to one that doesn't?"

I think that responsible citizens challenge people who are doing anti-social things. End of.

@TheFoundations

I agree, *@ForeverAintEnough3*

If anybody comes up to me when I'm minding my own business and sticking to the rules, and says they're ready to attack my dog, I'd be talking to the staff about it.

So you have no respect for my feelings, no concern for what has driven me to this point? Thanks

I am quite shocked at how many pps seem to compare children and dogs.
Dogs can be left at home when their owners go out - parents cannot leave young children.

I am not a dog fan - mostly because they trigger my asthma. I am surprised how so many people want dogs to be able to go everywhere (service dogs excluded, obviously). People have gone to cafes, restaurants etc. for decades without their dogs

[quote TheFoundations]@JediGnot

If you told me you didn't like dogs and would like me to keep mine away from you, I would respect that. Your challenges are dead funny though. Loads of drama, insults, even threats of violence. For people doing something they are explicitly told they are allowed to do.

I might try this. 'How dare you have that hairstyle in my presence?! It is an affront to humankind and you should be removed from the planet forthwith! Also, I might attack you if you look at me using your eyes, which also ought to be banned from this pub. Careful, I might do a violence!'[/quote]
To be fair there are plenty of people out there who should be challenged for unacceptably poor dress sense / fashion sense. And tattoos. Especially tattoos.

@JediGnot

"Haha ok. What would you challenge me about? Just having my dog with me in a place he is allowed to be?"

I'd remind you how many people absolutely detest dogs and remind you that you to keep it under control. Tell you to put in on a lead when you clearly haven't got the thing under control, that sort of thing.

Riiight ok then. My dog as I have already stated is under control. I would therefore laugh in your face for being utterly bloody batshit.

@JediGnot look at you go! Single handedly being a responsible citizen, err threatening animal cruelty and shouting at people with dogs who are minding their own business…. (Definitely not crazy!)

Also, doesn't challenging a dog owner mean approaching them? Why would you do that if you hate being near them so much?

Or do you have a mega-phone for in-pub use?

@JediGnot So you have no respect for my feelings, no concern for what has driven me to this point? Thanks

If you really feel like you need to shout at dogs owners and attack their animals you should probably look into getting some counselling for whatever has driven you to this place not lashing out at the general public.

@JediGnot

You think it's reasonable to challenge a person for having tattoos? Quiet tattoos that don't bite people or behave badly or drop hair or smell or drool?

What's the challenge there then?

'Ow, my eyes! Your skin, your skin! It's too bright! My eyes!!'

Essentially it's just what you're used to - where I live (Germany) dogs are welcome all over the place, (as are children wink). So you don't have the situation of being in a restaurant and someone unexpectedly bringing their dog in - it's the norm.
DS1's school has a dog too. DH takes our ddog in to work with him when I'm away.
It's a very dog-friendly culture, which I think is fine if that's what you're used to. The UK obviously isn't (yet) like this but maybe it's going in that direction.
So I think YANBU OP.

Dogs in pubs, I'm fine with - some pubs even have their own resident dog. Same with outdoor cafes. In restaurants, I'm only OK with them if they're well-trained and behave themselves and don't run all over the place or bark incessantly or piss/shit.

Nutter! If you attacked my dogs you would be leaving with less teeth than you arrived with.

I think that responsible citizens challenge people who are doing anti-social things. End of.

And taking your dog only where it's allowed, and keeping it under control, are antisocial? Ok then...

I'm sorry, but whatever your reasons for feeling the way you do, attacking dogs and ranting at their owners when they are doing absolutely nothing wrong in the eyes of the law, or the rules of the establishment, or presumably the opinion of the vast majority of the customers (who have chosen to frequent a pub that welcomes dogs) is totally unacceptable.

@Anotherlovelybitofsquirrel

Nutter! If you attacked my dogs you would be leaving with less teeth than you arrived with.

I'm thinking troll at this point. No one is this bonkers

@JediGnot I think it must be very, very hard to have such a fear/phobia of anything, but I can see how dogs would be particularly difficult, and I appreciate that actually there are lots of badly behaved dogs out there.

I hope you are able to get some help to make you less anxious.

NO way would I eat there.
It's a restaurant, not fucking Crufts.

Omg...so many Moaning Myrtles on this thread. Do any of the anti dog brigade ever just go out to eat, mind your own business and, you know, just chat with who you're with and enjoy yourselves?

What on earth do you do when you eat at friends houses who have dogs?!

Being uptight to this extent must really suck the joy out of life.

I eat out all the time and have only ever seen dogs sitting quietly under their owners tables. Most allergies (and I include myself in this) are nowhere near extreme enough to be triggered just by being in the same room of a (usually pretty well ventilated and large) room.

Live and let live, I say.

The new breed of dog owner that has 'fur babies' rather than dogs treat them like humans - eat at restaurants, always with them etc.

Sadly they often come with anti social behaviours and also MH issues - dog separation anxiety I mean quite strange but some people must be lacking if they need a fur baby and to treat it like a human. Often they can be heard to say 'he is really friendly' when out of control dog bounds up, has no idea of recall, allows all sorts of behaviours, jumping up at people and assume that everyone will love their 'fur baby' as much as they do and tolerate the poor behaviour. Quite odd.

@AliceLivesHere

The vast majority of dog owners are decent, responsible people who dislike badly behaved dogs/irresponsible owners just as much as anybody.

Your view of reality seems skewed because you've met a few dog owners with... 'issues'.

I thank god it’s illegal here (except for service dogs which is obviously fine). Dogs are able to be at outdoor seating if they restaurant allows it but they are not allowed to be at the entrance to the restaurant or inside. So no room for discretion by restaurant, the decision is made for them and then they are able to choose whether they allow dogs at the seating outside. I’d hate for this to ever change.

@Livpool

I am quite shocked at how many pps seem to compare children and dogs. Dogs can be left at home when their owners go out - parents cannot leave young children.

I am not a dog fan - mostly because they trigger my asthma. I am surprised how so many people want dogs to be able to go everywhere (service dogs excluded, obviously). People have gone to cafes, restaurants etc. for decades without their dogs

Previously I'd have been happy to leave my dog snoozing in the car (obviously not in hot weather) or even tied up outside (if he was within sight) but it's no longer safe for me to do that with the number of dog thefts nowadays so he has to come in with me.

@emptyempire the allergy is the dander so you don't need to be right next to the dog for an allergy to trigger. The dander is in the air and on the surfaces, like dust , so allergies are absolutely triggered by being in the same room. The dog could have left the room but it's dander is still there..

Allergies are different for everyone. Presumably if enough people were strongly allergic to dogs in pubs, custom would be dropping with the increase in dogs being allowed in. But it's not.

Businesses cater for the majority. They're not public health entities who need to make sure they're 100% accessible to everybody all the time. They do what makes them the most money. If you don't like the way a particular business is run, don't use them. It's not their duty to cater to you, and it's not your duty to patronise them.

Yes I have noticed this too @AliceLivesHere

@TheFoundations unfortunately responsible dog owners are becoming rarer. I’ve stopped going for runs because I hate being chased by a dog and the owner just says oh he’s just playing instead of calling them off! Even my DP has stopped going to certain parks because of this and also because you can’t play a game of frisbee without a dog stealing it.

@emptyempire I don’t go to people’s houses if they have a dog because I find dogs annoying. We either go to my house or a third location without the dog.

@PattyPan

unfortunately responsible dog owners are becoming rarer

Don't pretend you know the statistics because you've had a few bad experiences. Most dog owners are responsible, and there's a few idiots who get everybody a bad name.