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?

I absolutely adore my dog! He’s a delight, best thing I ever did. We won’t be having kids and I dote on my dog but he is not my child.

So you are single, work full time and still want to go out in the evenings to cinema, theatres etc but you can’t because of your dog. Sounds to me like you shouldn’t have got a dog in the first place 🤷🏻‍♀️

@AssistanceDogOwner

As a disabled person and assistance dog owner this thread makes me very sad.

Assistance dogs are highly trained , I doubt anyone has an issue with your service animal being places. You need your dog to be with you , others do not rely on their pets in the same way

@Sparklingbrook

A cat is a better proposition for someone who likes to be out a lot. They don’t care.

One of my cats was positively delighted about the end of lockdown as we weren't in HIS house all day long getting under his feet and waking him up.

I don't understand the issue to be honest. We have a dog, we go to the cinema on occasion. A theatre trip is part of a break or proper day out so dog care is already factored in. There's plenty of places we can take him out for food but if not we walk him then leave him to it while we go to a non-dog place. Or we did until DD came along. She is far more 'restrictive' than the dog but happily when grandparents look after her for us on the odd occasion the dog is absolutely delighted to see them. The cat, not so much.

Yes they should
They are cleaner,better behaved and all round better company that noisy entitled kids running around screaming,throwing good on the floor,barging into people.
That's just silly, a huge generalisation!
Not all dogs are clean and well behaved and not all kids behave like that, in fact I work in a family friendly pub and most kids don't behave like that.

I don't know why most people are piling on like allowing dogs in more places is an absurd idea.

In Germany dogs are allowed inside shopping centres and most bars and restaurants.

I don't think the problem is entirely dogs not being allowed, it is your unreasonable friends expecting you to accommodate their kids, but never accommodating your dog! I always try to make sure friends with fur babies are comfortable with whatever plans we are making.

This

@crazycatgal

I don't know why most people are piling on like allowing dogs in more places is an absurd idea.

In Germany dogs are allowed inside shopping centres and most bars and restaurants.

How inconvenient for people who are allergic or just don’t want to hear dogs

@AssistanceDogOwner

As a disabled person and assistance dog owner this thread makes me very sad.

Why?

@AssistanceDogOwner

As a disabled person and assistance dog owner this thread makes me very sad.

I am terrified of dogs (genuinely horribly phobic from a really bad attack) but I would fight tooth and nail for your right to take your dog anywhere you pleased. It would be on me to manage myself in the situation not you (though for some reason I’m ok with ‘dogs with jobs’). It’s entitled dog owners who insist their fur baby should be able to go everywhere I take issue with. I did find in America that we had issues with really badly behaved dogs in assistance vests (urinating, growling and pulling at the lead) as increasingly people are just whacking a vest on their dog and declaring it an assistance dog. We had to complain about a dog in Disney after it snapped at a child and we’re told by cast members that fake assistance dogs are becoming a bigger problem so I really hope it doesn’t migrate over here and cause you issues.

@mafted was the outlet village it in the North West? We went a month or so again-dogs everywhere.

@MirandaMarple were you wanting to take a full Sainsbury's shopping trolley round John Lewis? Or have I misunderstood, because it seems entirely reasonable they wouldn't allow that.

There is a massive difference between an assistance dog and a pet dog

There isn’t. But one of the things prospective dog owners have to bear in mind is that they curtail your freedom. Ours can be left for four hours or so and that means we can go just about anywhere we want to. Otherwise she has to have a night in kennels.

Christ I Ieave my dogs for 5-7 hours sometimes (very rarely) when there's no one to look after them. Genuinely don't seem bothered. Sometimes just has to happen

Children do not snack on the contents of the cat's litter tray. This is but one of the myriad of reasons why they're allowed placed and dogs are not.

@AssistanceDogOwner

As a disabled person and assistance dog owner this thread makes me very sad.

Your dog is well trained and has an important role helping you! It isn't comparable.

@crazycatgal

I don't know why most people are piling on like allowing dogs in more places is an absurd idea.

In Germany dogs are allowed inside shopping centres and most bars and restaurants.

I don't think that is true at all.

There is a massive difference between an assistance dog and a pet dog

I agree. In people's perceptions, they understand that the dog is there for an essential reason. They are well behaved and have a job to do. No point in having an assistance dog and leaving it at home-like you can do with a non assistance pet dog.

@pinkcircustop

Yeah, obviously, thats why I said non-allergenic, not allergy proof. Nothing is 100% allergy proof because there's always someone who is hyper-allergic. All I know is she doesn't make anyone, we've ever met, itchy and sneezy. And folks do have a habit of huggjng her and kissing her so I think we are pretty non-allergenic. Many dogs are, but most aren't.

I'd leave my toddler at home while I went to the cinema if it was acceptable to do so. Plus if I knew he'd just curl up and sleep (possibly lick his balls a bit) like my dog does when I'm not home.

My children are not equivalent to dogs, and more than you or I are.

@Sparklingbrook

There is a massive difference between an assistance dog and a pet dog

I agree. In people's perceptions, they understand that the dog is there for an essential reason. They are well behaved and have a job to do. No point in having an assistance dog and leaving it at home-like you can do with a non assistance pet dog.

Totally agree.

Assistance dogs are not the same as pet dogs, and are there to help its owner.

I know you've said you're out OP but in case you're lurking. I perfectly understand the 'my dog is my child' remark. Before I met DH and was lucky enough to have a very late child, my cat was - well not my baby, but I was very attached to him.

But like your dog, he wasn't allowed in places. If I adopted an elephant and kept it in my garden, it wouldn't be allowed into places. Most animals aren't. We, as humans, know that. So it's something that needs to be considered before you get a pet.

We now have a cat. She can be left overnight but no more than that. The spontaneous 'shall we see if we can book a hotel for the weekend' that we used to do before we got her has ended. If we want to go away for a weekend we need to find a cattery or someone reliable to feed her and let her out. That's what owning a pet is about.

Like having a child means an 18 year plus commitment to keeping that child safe. We just let children in everywhere because we know how to handle them, we can tell when a child is losing it's temper or about to misbehave. We can, usually, tell if they need to use the loo or are tired. Most of us don't know those signs in dogs because we don't own one. And that is then dangerous for children - who are much closer to bite level. Quite apart from the hygiene issues. It's sometimes hard enough going to cafes, cinema etc when you have a family who let their kids run riot. Having an animal doing the same is not on really. And, even with kids, some places are off limits. You don't see many kids in spas, nightclubs, pubs (the saloon bit)...and if you have a child those things are off limits unless you can find someone to have your kids or pay someone to do so. That's life - we can't all get what we want.

I think that a lot of people should maybe not have a dog/dogs. if the dog has to be alone, or looked after by someone else. But anyway, there has to be some limits, where you can take a dog.. I was in some fancy tea room place some while ago, sat outside., and a woman came and sat at the table next to me, with her two little dogs, She kept speaking to them like they were little babies, and giving them pieces of cake all the time, they then both went under the table, and both did a messy crap under there, which smelt foul in the hot weather. She then walked off to the car park and drove off, with everyone outside complaining about her, and the tea shop owner left to clear up the sloppy mess.

"Lots of children have accidents. The pool I swim at has regularly been closed due to child poo."

As the owner of a dog and a child I can absolutely assure you my dog shits in places it shouldn't more than my child.

Maybe we should say “well humans are allowed in so many places, all buildings in fact, so I thin dogs should be. Plus my friend always wants to meet up in human friendly cafes which I think is unfair.”

@Blossomtoes

There is a massive difference between an assistance dog and a pet dog

There isn’t. But one of the things prospective dog owners have to bear in mind is that they curtail your freedom. Ours can be left for four hours or so and that means we can go just about anywhere we want to. Otherwise she has to have a night in kennels.

Of course there is a difference