To think dogs shouldn’t be allowed in shops

[RedCandyApple]

Has anyone else seen that wilkos are now allowing dogs in their stores? I’m not keen on dogs as it is and wouldn’t really want other shops to start allowing dogs in. What about people that are scared of them? Seriously why do you need to take your dog shopping? I hope no other shops start doing this.

@Comedycook

I would rather have dogs than children in shops but I realise this is not a popular opinion

It's so weird that so many humans are so unpleasant about the young of their own species and prefer a whole other species. I'm sure no other animals do this do they?

My dog prefers humans to his species.

@Comedycook

I would rather have dogs than children in shops but I realise this is not a popular opinion

It's so weird that so many humans are so unpleasant about the young of their own species and prefer a whole other species. I'm sure no other animals do this do they?

Have you observed humanity recently?

@Comedycook

Don't get how you can have a flat dislike for children, I find it a bit immature and asocial

It's horrible. My friend has a dog, we went to the pub and it peed all over the floor. The owner told her to leave. Other people in the pub were queuing up to defend her and the dog and say they shouldn't leave. If a toddler had done the same thing, no one would have defended them.

Maybe your mate should be a better owner and not take her dog into places when it's either not house trained / or hasn't been for a wee for a while.

She gives everyone a bad name.

In the last couple of years my son has been knocked over by an over excited dog running in circles around him (while owner laughed and said he was just playing), son has also had a bite taken out of a sandwich he was holding by a passing dog on a lead (owner saw and pretended it hadn’t happened) and I’ve seen a dog shit in a shop (owner didn’t notice until it was pointed out to them). I’ve passed many more children in my life than I have dogs but have never seen one do any of those things. Oh, and to my knowledge I’ve never trodden in human crap when I’ve done so in dog crap many times.

I’m sure lots more shops will start welcoming dogs but for those of us who don’t care for them it’s just bizarre. Everyone always says their dog’s perfectly behaved and no one would take a badly behaved dog in to a shop, but all dog owners deny they are the ones not picking up their dog’s mess too.

I love dogs, but no. Just imagining how many would piss up the corners.

Maybe your mate should be a better owner and not take her dog into places when it's either not house trained / or hasn't been for a wee for a while

Oh I agree I was mortified.

I also completely agree with the owner asking her to leave although I couldn't express that to her!

Just as an aside, I hate the phrase 'dog friendly'. It just sounds so wet, cloying and also expectant - like every damn person who happens to be in a particular building should be friendly towards dogs, when really most people would probably rather they weren't there or couldn't give a stuff either way. What's wrong with saying 'dogs allowed'?

I think dogs should be allowed in all shops, maybe with a notice saying you'll be fined if your dog causes any damage. There's a huge rise in dog thefts, I certainly wouldn't risk tying my dog up outside a shop. I don't live near the city centre to go shopping so could be out of the house a very long time just to pop to the shops and dogs shouldn't be left alone longer than six hours. It's a right palaver trying to shop bc my dog isn't allowed loads of places.
When I worked in a clothes shop, it was kids making the most mess and their parents didn't do a thing about it. Dirty, sticky hands touching clothes, dropping chocolate and sweets on the floor, running around grabbing things and messing things up while parents just smiled and shrugged, "oh, what're they like." Dogs have been way less hassle or mess IMO!

@Mariposista

I personally wouldn't take my normally very well behaved dog into a shop even if allowed - not a great environment for him, especially as he is young and easily distracted. However I don't agree with making rules for 'people who are scared of dogs'. If you are scared of them you should be doing something about that, especially in the case of children - dogs are not like snakes, you can't easily avoid them, you will come across them everywhere and you have to get used to that. and let's be honest, the vast majority won't hurt you!

Of course you can avoid them. I rarely come into contact with a dog and I don't want to in shops thank you. I'm not even concerned about being harmed. They stink they slobber, they bark. Not for me thanks.

God no.

Parents leaving their dreadful yappers at the school gate are bad enough.

Allowing inconsiderate owners to tske them around wilko sounds awful. 'Wont be allowed in the food aisle?' Yeah ok, how is that going to work in practice? I know, staff member on minimum wage can challenge owners who ignore it even though the customer has a frikkin 'not a pit bull' and they won't challenge customers who don't wear masks as it is.

What could possibly go wrong?

YABU. All the shops in my area would get a lot more of my business if I could take my dog. I have to walk him anyway and it would be much more convenient if I could combine that with running errands because I won’t leave him alone outside for fear of him being stolen. As I can’t take him I shop online instead to avoid making two trips, so my local businesses lose out.

I have lived in a country where dogs are allowed everywhere, even supermarkets, and I never once saw them cause problems or poo indoors.

@Maharajah20 without being too outing then I have very good reason to be concerned about my dogs so yes, they either come with me or they are with my Mum or one of 2 trusted sitters. It’s extremely rare that they are left alone.

Have you sought help for your dog napping anxiety? Most dog thefts occur on social media.

I have had my small dog in a few shops. If told we can bring her in we always carry her.

I don't know why op you think that dogs toilet all the time or would do that in shops. Most are well trained and have normal bladder and bowels, they do not wee and poo all the time . They will not be doing it in their homes or cars or such and they let their owners know when they need to toilet.
Yes there are irresponsible owners .

But there is nothing wrong with well behaved dogs . I admit at one stage I had no time for them either, but things changed.

Many people could not go out if it was not for their dogs, and you cannot leave them tied up outside.

They don't run up and down aisles, pull the heads off flowers, or throw the fruit and veg about .

When my dog is allowed in a shop I am not rushed and likely to spend more, so the shop benefits.
Yes most of us clean up after our pets.

It all depends on the pet and the owners and how well trained they are.

'Well behaved, non-yappy, house-trained, obedient dogs' allowed should cover it really if they have to allow dogs. Though some entitled dog owners may still not twig.

My friend has clouded my judgement of these things. She brings her badly behaved mutt everywhere even though she doesn't need to so we always end up going to a coffee shop to accommodate it and it dribbles and slobbers everywhere trying to get at our cakes. It's spoiled our weekly get togethers to be honest but being so fecking British we don't tell her to leave the fecking thing at home for a couple of hours. She never gets the hints either

@Plumface. I used to think that. I now know to my detriment it is absolutely not true. And yes, I needed lots of therapy around it. Dog theft is horrific.

Oh well.

@Plumface

Have you sought help for your dog napping anxiety? Most dog thefts occur on social media.

You just made that "fact" up didn't you?

Not really, no. The government task force set up specifically to look at the apparently massive problem of dog theft (at taxpayer expense) found that it's something people talk a lot about but is in fact relatively rare, and also that most dog 'thefts' are dogs that are taken in the course of family disputes/breakups. A much bigger issue with dog ownership is animal welfare generally including people buying from puppy farms:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/pet-theft-taskforce-report/pet-theft-taskforce-report

Main Findings

• around 7 in 10 of crimes recorded by police in which animals are stolen involve dogs (Stolen animals dashboard, Metropolitan Police)
• around 2,000 dog theft crimes may be reported to police each year in England and Wales[footnote 1]
• ‘dog theft’ is estimated to be a low volume crime, accounting for fewer than half of one percent of all theft offences[footnote 2],
• however public perception is that it is high
• there was a reported 3.5% increase in recorded cases of dog theft between 2019 and 2020[footnote 3], and this was despite a 26% decrease in police recorded theft offences overall during the same time period[footnote 4] [footnote 5]
• public perception and the emotional impact on victims can be high, as also indicated by local pet theft related surveys