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.

@vivainsomnia

I don't mind if a restaurant accepts dogs as long as they advertise it! It's the shops and bookstores and grocery stores where I HAVE TO SHOP that should not allow them Totally agree, but do bookshops and food stores accept dogs? Never seen one in either, except pet shops.

Loads of shops in our town allow dog. Garden centre, millets, the second hand book shop, pet shop, the vintage shops the post office..

@FrangipaniDeLaSqueegeeMop

And yes s a PP pointed out, watching someone going into anaphylactic shock is absolutely horrific.

But hey, some people like Snickers so why should they be deprived of a tasty treat

Are you saying that peanuts should be outlawed? If not, what is your point with this snickers thing?

@boatyardblues

We had dinner in a naice pub in Dorset when our kids were much younger. A couple and their friend came in with 3 boisterous Springer spaniels which then behaved in exactly the way you’d expect 3 boisterous spaniels to behave in a foodie pub. At one point the woman had one spaniel up on her lap with its paws and chest on the table lunging at their companion’s starter. It was a complete bloody circus. All the while my primary school-aged children chatted with us using their indoor voices and were considerate of other diners. Reader: I judged. Hard.

This is my experience of the (limited) times I've seen dogs in restaurants.

But people here would have you believe that children are biting, beating up and throwing pasta at patrons up and down the country 🤣🤣 what a funny thread

Why do people who hate children join a parenting site anyway?
We only hate other people's children

@Rosewaterblossom

Nut allergies can be airborne and potentially kill the person with the allergen. Not all allergens can be carried through the air like peanuts or treenuts, hence why most primary schools are nut free.

Someone drinking a milkshake (dairy allergy) on flight won't carry through the air like nuts can, hence the ban on some flights because the airborne contact could kill them.

Watch someone suffer anaphylaxis shock all because you needed a snickers. I guarantee witnessing that would make you think twice. That person hasn't chosen to have an allergy, they aren't trying "to be special" or have everyone cater for them. They could die. Simple as that. So if someone cannot go an x amount of hours on a flight without eating something that could kill someone who's just going from a to b, then well, they're a cunt really.

Most primaries aren't nut free though. None are in our LA area and there are hundreds of schools as it's a large city and built up outlying areas. A friends DD is anaphylactic to nuts, dairy, egg and a few other things but they are the most commonly encountered. The school doesn't ban any of it and the paediatrician doesn't advise this happens either. Planes make the sensible decision not to serve nuts if a passenger makes them aware of an allergy due to the recycled and circulated air, due to being locked in a vehicle with no way to get off for a considerable time and it's an easily controlled environment. You can't control day to day environments wherever you go. I wouldn't eat a snickers on a plane if I'd been notified of an allergy but I'd eat one on a bus or in a pub

@TheFoundation, these scenarios have actually happened regarding nuts on an aeroplane.
The point was, nuts allergies can carry through the air and be severe whereas other don't carry through the air.

Rant, sorry I was referring to schools in England

[quote Rosewaterblossom]@TheFoundadations, again, establishments by law have to display allergens clearly to customers. Even bakeries now have to display allergy info on products displayed in their window ie; Danish pastry (contains nuts, gluten, wheat) etc, whereas before they could just write "apple Danish "
"Dogs on premises" would be great.
[/quote]
Yeah, it's on pubs' websites, or you can phone and ask. They're not hiding it in the hope someone will die of an allergic reaction.

What about all the other potentially dangerous allergens there might be in a space like a pub or restaurant? Do they all need signs?

Just realised you meant local authority not "LA" 😅

I don’t understand the venom on this thread against dogs and dog owners. One poster even calling dogs ‘vermin’?? They have been domesticated for thousands of years! Although they were seen as working animals rather than ‘fur babies’ in previous generations admittedly.

As for dogs in restaurants, we wouldn’t choose to eat in a dog friendly place as my DH is allergic, but it’s easy enough to check before choosing where to book.

@Rosewaterblossom

Just realised you meant local authority not "LA" 😅

🤣 no definitely in the UK

@vivainsomnia

I don't mind if a restaurant accepts dogs as long as they advertise it! It's the shops and bookstores and grocery stores where I HAVE TO SHOP that should not allow them Totally agree, but do bookshops and food stores accept dogs? Never seen one in either, except pet shops.

I've seen it more and more and that's why my guard is up. I have to be extra careful - it used to be there would NEVER be a dog in the grocery store, but people seem to think they can treat their dog like their partner or their children.

It's also quantity of dander, size of space and ventilation. I've eaten on outside patios where a dog is a few tables away and it's not an issue because it's not a contained area and I calculate the dander won't float my way nor be embedded in the fabric (like an indoor restaurant).

I feel most bad for kids with pet allergies who don't yet have the skills to control their environment nor the experience to limit exposure. So shitty of the family who pretended they didn't have a pet!

Pet allergies get worse with age and exposure...and can weaken lungs making you more susceptible to respiratory illnesses and infections.

Trust me, if I could, I'd have a lovely cat sitting on my lap now and a dog playing with my kids - but I prefer breathing.

Loads of shops in our town allow dog. Garden centre, millets, the second hand book shop, pet shop, the vintage shops the post office
Well that's good to know 😁

Honestly, why can't we just bring some harmony in our lives. I don't make a habit for taking my dog everywhere I go but if I was taking her on her usual walk and needed to post something that day I might go in the post office if I was allowed.

If a person was there who happened to be so allergic to dogs, that 10 minutes contact would affect them (IE. highly unlikely), all they'd need to do is nicely point out they are seriously allergic to dog. I would be more than happy to wait outside until they'd finish their business.

We don't need to take any opportunity to be angry, aggressive, defensive and accusatory. We can manage ok just being polite and considerate.

@Rosewaterblossom

You're basically saying that you don't mind the dogs being there as long as there's a sign, aren't you?

Yes then I know not to go in

@vivainsomnia

Loads of shops in our town allow dog. Garden centre, millets, the second hand book shop, pet shop, the vintage shops the post office Well that's good to know 😁

Honestly, why can't we just bring some harmony in our lives. I don't make a habit for taking my dog everywhere I go but if I was taking her on her usual walk and needed to post something that day I might go in the post office if I was allowed.

If a person was there who happened to be so allergic to dogs, that 10 minutes contact would affect them (IE. highly unlikely), all they'd need to do is nicely point out they are seriously allergic to dog. I would be more than happy to wait outside until they'd finish their business.

We don't need to take any opportunity to be angry, aggressive, defensive and accusatory. We can manage ok just being polite and considerate.

Exactly. I do on the odd occasion take my dog in places he is allowed if I am about town which is really rare nowadays anyway as I can't get about very well anymore. But like you say if someone said do you mind taking your dog out I wouldn't mind in the slightest

The dander settles in the room, like dust and stays there long after the pet has gone. The more dogs that go in the room, the more dander.

Like someone said, I can be two tables away outdoors from a dog, fine. I can step into a restaurant where no dogs are but several have been that day so won't leave because I think no dogs are there and blow up like a balloon and spend all day in a&e. Its really shit.

@TheFoundations my point, as I've explained earlier, is that allergens that damage or even kill people shouldn't be in confined spaces. Airlines, hospitals, schools etc have nailed it with peanut allergies. Other places, even on chocolate bars, give warning. One's imagination doesn't have to stretch very far to see how similar could be applied about animals being in the vicinity

@vivainsomnia

Loads of shops in our town allow dog. Garden centre, millets, the second hand book shop, pet shop, the vintage shops the post office Well that's good to know 😁

Honestly, why can't we just bring some harmony in our lives. I don't make a habit for taking my dog everywhere I go but if I was taking her on her usual walk and needed to post something that day I might go in the post office if I was allowed.

If a person was there who happened to be so allergic to dogs, that 10 minutes contact would affect them (IE. highly unlikely), all they'd need to do is nicely point out they are seriously allergic to dog. I would be more than happy to wait outside until they'd finish their business.

We don't need to take any opportunity to be angry, aggressive, defensive and accusatory. We can manage ok just being polite and considerate.

This. I think the imaginary cunt on the imaginary plane with the imaginary chocolate bar has made me realise that this discussion isn't worth having.

I'm better off having a quiet pint with the mutt down the Dog n Bone. If I turn out to be deadly to anybody, I'll obviously do everything I can to mitigate it, but never in 8 years of having a dog have I heard any of the issues on this thread raised. Having a terrible allergy must be awful. It's very important to avoid the allergens. But the allergens do still exist and have their own lives to lead, any you need to keep this in mind in order to remain responsible for your own life without encroaching on other people's perfectly normal, permitted activities.

If a person was there who happened to be so allergic to dogs, that 10 minutes contact would affect them (IE. highly unlikely), all they'd need to do is nicely point out they are seriously allergic to dog. I would be more than happy to wait outside until they'd finish their business.

I appreciate this - it's kind and considerate but the sucky thing for me and others is that's not how dander allergies work. If ten people with dogs all were being kind and agreed to use the post office in the morning so the allergy sufferer could use it in the afternoon, it won't necessarily mean a thing - the dander that can accumulate in an enclosed space is what makes us sick, not the one-time presence of a single animal.

Of only one dog ever visited that shop one time and I was there at the same time, I'd have less of a reaction than if I visited a shop with no dogs at the moment I'm there, but routinely had several dogs visiting other times of the day. We get sick from the dander in the air that we inhale and it doesn't matter if that dander is a minute old or ten years. More dander in a space means a worse attack.

Eating a Snickers on a bus or on a pub is different to eating one on a plane because people can't get off a plane to go to hospital in an ambulance. Or if they did they may find it's a long way down.

Allergy sufferers and people fearful of dogs can't avoid going to the hospital or grocery or post office, etc.

While I'm not for a dog ban on all hotels/restaurants/pubs/coffee shops, I do think a very clear message of "animals accepted/animals not accepted" should be standard, and in my half a century of avoiding pets, I've noticed a clear move towards more pets in public with unclear messages.

@TheFoundation there's been many cases on planes with nut allergies, a quick Google I'm sure will confirm this. Planes wouldn't ban nuts on some flights just for fun and there are people out their with a shitty attitude who think giving up "an imaginary" chocolate bar aka snickers, is a massive inconvenience for a few hours over someone else's life. People really are that ignorant and that selfish.

Completely agree @Delphinium20 - as a PP said there's other restaurants, so I ca cope with that but I do object to non-service dogs being in places people can't avoid.

If you could all stop walking your dogs on beaches that are supposed to be dog free (and are clearly signed) thatd be grand too. There's more dogs than humans on those beaches these days

@FrangipaniDeLaSqueegeeMop

Completely agree *@Delphinium20* - as a PP said there's other restaurants, so I ca cope with that but I do object to non-service dogs being in places people can't avoid.

If you could all stop walking your dogs on beaches that are supposed to be dog free (and are clearly signed) thatd be grand too. There's more dogs than humans on those beaches these days

Exactly-it's the attitude that rules can be broken just for dog owners - when most of us are absolutely fine with dogs enjoying dog-friendly places, but not places where they shouldn't be allowed!!