Should dogs be allowed in more places?

[Patchworkknitter]

I'm a bit hurt today but I don't know if I'm being completely unreasonable.

A friend and I were trying to arrange to meet up. We had sorted what we were doing and then she changed her mind and wanted to change where we did something which would have added another 90 minutes onto the day.

I couldn't do that as my dog would already have been left all day (with 2 dog walks from a dog walker). Even with the dog walker, he couldn't do another 90 minutes. My friend got a bit cross and said I should just get my parents to look after him but they're already looking after him the day before so it wouldn't be fair. I don't like to ask them too often, a bit like people don't like to look after their children too often.

It just seems we always do child friendly places (I'm not a Mum but I try my best to be understanding of her childcare needs). She says she can't afford any additional childcare to that which she already needs for work but I can't afford additional dog care either (I pay £400 a month and don't have a partner to share any costs).

It got me thinking how restrictive it can be having a dog as a single person. I wouldn't change him for the world but it's incredibly difficult. If it was childcare I feel people would be much more understanding.

If I was a mum I could take my children pretty much everywhere.
As a dog owner, I can no longer go to the cinema, to most pubs, to restaurants, to the theatre, shopping, etc without paying out for extra dog care.

I feel dogs should be allowed in more places, more shops, more cafes, more pubs etc. Aibu?

Maybe I'm not the right person to talk, but my kid and our dog sleep in the same bed and share almost everything. Even sometimes ice cream

@Patchworkknitter Wales and St Ives let you take your dog in all kinds of places. Pubs restaurants cafes the lot. I felt really weird taking my dog into a pub for dinner because people would go mad here but there they love a dog and welcome them.

Gross

@StoneofDestiny

In a town, a dog's value is purely social; in rural areas,they work

Not true. Both town and country have dogs as guard dogs, security. Many ‘country dogs’ are just pets - handbag sized and decorative. Sheepdogs are rare and confined to farms.

I wouldn't say sheepdogs are rare. My collie was off a working farm and I don't live in the country. And there are plenty of collies by us as well.

Sharing a bed and licking the same food as a pet - just gross

We went out for breakfast last weekend and noticed that the group next to us had sat their dachshund on the table. Not at the table but actually on the table top. It's behaviour like this that really puts me off dogs in eating establishments.

LST - rare as working sheepdogs - confined to sheep farms. Not all rural dogs are ‘at work’

@StoneofDestiny

LST - rare as working sheepdogs - confined to sheep farms. Not all rural dogs are ‘at work’

Ahh sorry. Misunderstood!

You can’t go to the cinema because you have a dog?

My children don't lick their buts, scratch and send hair flying, poo or pee on the floor, cause allergic reactions, bite, stink, bark/howl, instill fear in others or do any of the other undesirable animal things that a dog does.
Imagine visiting the cinema and seeing a monkey there. Or massive rat. Or a pig. Wouldn't happen, it's unsanitary, as it would be if it was your dog.
Assistance dogs are the only dogs that should be inside those places.

On a side note, you could meet your friend at a park with a playground and a street food stand. Then everyone's happy.

If there was a customer demand for more dog friendly places then cafes etc would welcome them.

That there is not tells you that you are in the minority I am afraid.

The real problem though is your friend.

@XelaM

Maybe I'm not the right person to talk, but my kid and our dog sleep in the same bed and share almost everything. Even sometimes ice cream

🤮

Not all dogs can be left alone, even for 20 minutes! I should know my dog can not be left alone at all, it’s a nightmare but we work with it.

Do think more dog places would be good but unfortunately it’s the bad dog owners that stop it happening.

Its your choice to get a dog. You knew the limited places you can go when you get a dog.

Same with children. There are places children can't go, so you either get a sitter or you don't go!

YABU.

As a dog owner…..nope. Apart from anything else I don’t feel like it’s adding anything to my dog’s life to lie quietly under a table for 2 hours so I can catch up with a friend. Can’t your friend and her child come on a dog walk with you??? Free, social and pet and child friendly!

@GintyMcGinty

If there was a customer demand for more dog friendly places then cafes etc would welcome them.

That there is not tells you that you are in the minority I am afraid.

The real problem though is your friend.

There are more and more dog friendly places. There's been enraged threads on here about it. It's increasingly popular, because, as you say, businesses respond to customer demand.

Just don’t own a dog if lots of the things you like to do don’t involve it. No one makes you own a dog.

In a town, a dog's value is purely social; in rural areas,they work

Sorry but that's nonsense! I live in a village in a rural area with lots and lots of farms. The farmers have working dogs. But the vast majority of locals are not farmers and most of them have pet dogs.

[quote Goldbar]@LemonRoses. I don't know a single hospital in this country that allows dogs other than assistance or therapy animals.[/quote]
Still dogs, I believe. Many allow at end of life too.

YABU.

You can leave dogs at home. You can't leave children at home.

I get really frustrated with friends who expect me to schedule things around their dog. I though pet owing was supposed to be enjoyable and not restrictive

As a lifelong dog owner (also a parent whose DH worked away an awful lot when children were growing up and with no family support for childcare ) I think dogs are allowed in enough places already.
I do notice a lot more untrained pet dogs around since last summer so I suspect these are the pandemic puppies and I'm not that impressed to come across them everybloodywhere I go but there's nothing to be done about this. I really don't want to see them in even more locations.

You simply have to plan the best you can and accept that dogs are a real tie and a huge commitment.
In fact, nowadays we are overwhelmed with choices of dog walkers and doggy day care services. So you either adapt your schedule (which would be the ideal solution as you'd spend more time with the dog) or pay for dog care service as much as you can or feel is fair for the dog.

I've always taken my dogs with me at every opportunity and didn't feel it was restrictive. I can't understand why would anyone want to take a dog to the cinema- what's all that about?

Short answer - nope.

FWIW there are lots of places I can't / won't take my kids as well.

I can't just go out for an evening by myself without sorting childcare.

That's what you get for having responsibilities.

Assistance dogs are exceptionally well-trained and represent a tiny minority of the millions of dogs in this country. While they may still slobber and shed hair, the arguments for allowing them into most places are compelling enough to outweigh these occasional hygiene issues. There are no arguments in favour of allowing other dogs into these places just because assistance dogs are allowed.

@Lockheart sorry did I miss the part op said she was infertile? I genuinely did not see that in any post. I'm remarking on her comment about her friend with children. I found it to be quite snarky

I say this as a dog person, no.

Surely your dog can be left for a few hours when you go to the cinema? It should be able to hold off toileting for 6 hours easily. Getting a Walker to do 2 walks in a day seems excessive.

I went to two different events this week, same thing. One allowed dogs, one didn't. I was a bit gutted I had to put my dog in daycare to attend the dog free event at the time, but fuck me other people's badly behaved dogs seriously ruined the second event. I took my dog to neither.