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Original poster

To wonder why the UK became so dog friendly?

361 replies

LancelotsLeftArm · 30/12/2022 16:50

I have had several dogs in my life but I'm finding recent events in the last 2-3 years baffling.

Local ice cream shop lets dogs in - no longer go there as last time there was a massive dog blocking serving place where DC choose flavours, not sure what breed but size of a Labrador. 2 year Old's face ended up getting licked and knocked over,now DC doesn't feel comfortable around dogs. Always dogs there now but usually not that bad.

Family member has 2 labs that hate each other (no idea why) plus a history of "nipping" each other (?!) and recently they were growling at each other, teeth bared, lips rolling back. Toddler right between them with a toy. Heard the growling, got worse for about about 2mins, decided to tell toddler to move away quietly and calmly. Put myself between toddler and dogs. In law Relative went ape shit , offended. FFS. Decided we're not welcome in future if we don't accept that the dogs would "never harm a child" (like that's a reassurance).

School (primary school) is dog friendly and allowing dogs on leads in playground at pickup times which would NEVER have been accepted in my school. Including larger ones, not terriers etc - more Pointers etc.

OP posts:
toocold54 · 30/12/2022 18:53

Fuck knows, there's always one howling and barking through the night. Shit everywhere, bags hung from trees, jumping up at you on a walk. It's not the dog, it's the owners blah blah...

I don’t think it’s the dogs that are hanging their shit in bags on the trees 😂😂

Bing4859 · 30/12/2022 18:53

I have both a dog and a toddler. The dog is cooed over all the time, the toddler is ignored. Both are thrown passive aggressive looks for their simple existence whenever we are in public. I am very strict about their conduct in public places but to be honest, the sheer fact they are there is enough to annoy some people.

This thread is actually about how intolerant most brits are. There always has to be something to get annoyed about.

wheresmymojo · 30/12/2022 18:53

I'm a dog owner and like the idea of more dog friendly places but people spoil it by being stupid and selfish.

We were in John Lewis this week and saw three dogs in there.

Two were no problem.

One was a poodle type thing and very barky and screechy.

I have a dog and like dogs but didn't like listening to it bark and yap while browsing for clothes!

I can't believe someone thought it would be okay to take a dog that clearly wasn't comfortable in that environment in.

hattie43 · 30/12/2022 18:54

Orangesare · 30/12/2022 18:47

Ddad takes his exceptionally well behaved lab to all sorts of places which is great and the dog loves it.
I don’t mind dogs in cafes etc. most are well behaved, there is the odd one that will come up to children and say hello but I don’t mind unless it’s an aggressive breeds and yes I do know that all dogs can bite.

OP I would have been very concerned about my toddler being in the middle of two dogs growling at each other because if they decided to start fighting the toddler probably would have got bitten. It would have been accidental because dogs aren’t good at aiming when they are fighting.

I'm my experience it's unattended toddlers who lurch up to my dog . My dog is Uber friendly but I always have to have an eye open for loose children .

Blueberrypeapod · 30/12/2022 18:54

UWhatNow · 30/12/2022 18:46

“The majority of dog owners make sensible decisions.”

Do they?

Where I live they do.
Yes, there will always be dog owners who don’t pick up s**t and let their dogs jump up etc but in my experience these are the minority.

dinmin · 30/12/2022 18:55

I’m on the fence as have a dog who can’t be left alone due to anxiety (yes I know it’s ridiculous but it’s the way it is, due to early medical issues according to vet and behaviourist, NOT a lockdown dog and not due to anything we’ve done apparently!) so it’s a godsend being able to take him into the corner shop and out to pubs and coffee shops etc in the very dog friendly area we live in (and to have them not mind if he struggles to settle which he sometimes does)… but have a relative who is scared of dogs so would be on edge in these places plus was once in a high-end restaurant and a dog was in there barking all through our meal from the other end of the restaurant which was annoying as hell!

BradfordGirl · 30/12/2022 18:56

It is because people now realise it is not okay to leave a dog alone at gome all day.

switswoo81 · 30/12/2022 18:58

This must definitely be a UK thing..I'm not a dog owner but am very fond of them so maybe I'm not in the loop but there are no dogs in shops or cafes in Ireland. I have never seen a dog in a pub either .
Sorry I can't agree about responsible dog owners making the right choices, my 7 year old had to be brought home from school last month to be changed as she slipped in dog poo in her school yard and it got all over her.

TheHateIsNotGood · 30/12/2022 18:59

HRTFT as I laughed too much at Kitcaterpillar and her posts on Labs on p1; no way could I take my Lab anywhere near food and relax. I remember saying one day:

"Ron I'd love to enter the Dog Show at the Fete but William will eat all the Cakes". RIP William, the Best Dog in the World.

I have a littler dog now, all cute and rather needy - so bloody needy the last thing I want to do is take her with me if I go eat, relax, shop, etc; but I do appreciate that the opportunities to do that are increasing if I wanted to.

porpy · 30/12/2022 19:01

My autistic little boy is frightened of dogs, some owners seem SO offended by it! It’s bizarre.

AlwaysGinPlease · 30/12/2022 19:02

Because we spend a fucking fortune! I love that we can take our dogs pretty much anywhere 😊

FluffyYucca · 30/12/2022 19:02

Autumnnewname · 30/12/2022 18:43

It's getting harder to find a dog free cafe or coffee shop

Show quote history

Yes, this. There are literally no cafes or coffee shops in my medium sized town that don’t allow dogs. I’d happily go to one if there was - as it is, it means I can no longer do something I enjoyed.

I’d love to have a choice…

TheGuv1982 · 30/12/2022 19:03

Awkwardusername · 30/12/2022 17:12

My husband and I got shouted at today by another customer at a dog friendly cafe (NT). We were having a scone and our golden retriever was lying at our feet; there were two routes to the till (think big room with a pillar in the middle essentially, could go both ways around the pillar; we were next to one side of the pillar but even with the dog there was room for a buggy to get past). A family came in and a man shouted at us for being selfish because his daughter (about 8ish?) was scared of dogs.

Instinctively we apologised (even though our dog was lying there, didn’t even look up when they walked in!), but a lot of “dog friendly” places aren’t actually that dog friendly after all - we sharp left after that as we didn’t want our dog upsetting anyone else.

Interesting how people’s responses to scenarios differ - I’d have told the guy to fuck off, where as the way you both acted is the much better way.

Blueberrypeapod · 30/12/2022 19:04

Bing4859 · 30/12/2022 18:53

I have both a dog and a toddler. The dog is cooed over all the time, the toddler is ignored. Both are thrown passive aggressive looks for their simple existence whenever we are in public. I am very strict about their conduct in public places but to be honest, the sheer fact they are there is enough to annoy some people.

This thread is actually about how intolerant most brits are. There always has to be something to get annoyed about.

This has made me a bit sad. I’m so sorry your toddler is ignored - it’s so important that young children are acknowledged by a friendly smile at the very least.

Celia24 · 30/12/2022 19:05

maddy68 · 30/12/2022 17:18

The UK is behind most countries. I live in Spain and take my dogs everywhere they go in supermarkets, shops, restaurants the UK is so far behind

Not sure I agree with this. I lived in a big Spanish city for 4 years and it wasn't the norm at all to find dogs in supermarkets or shops. Cafes maybe.

MumUndone · 30/12/2022 19:08

I think it's great, dogs are part of the family,

cadburyegg · 30/12/2022 19:08

anyway YANBU OP. As a teenager I worked at pets at home, when it was a relatively new thing to allow dogs in shops. Can't count the amount of times I'd clean up dog piss whilst the owners stood by with a tinkling laugh. Arguably it was a pet shop so could be expected but the sense of entitlement shocked me even then. If one of my children pissed on the floor in a shop I'd be mortified and clean it up myself. Certainly wouldn't expect staff to do it for me.

My 7yo ds has a dog phobia which stemmed from when he was a toddler and had dogs jump up at him. Yet when I mention it to anyone they blame me for not acclimatising him to dogs! As said above, plenty of people are scared of spiders but aren't told to get a tarantula as a pet. So many dog owners fail to understand that even a medium sized dog seems huge to a small child. I've had dogs eat my kids' picnic in a playground, a dog owner tell me off for "walking too close" to his off lead dog.

My latest dog related irritation is the school newsletters telling parents to watch their children around dogs in the playground, and not to approach them as dogs can be unpredictable. Fair enough advice but the area where dogs are usually tied up (and left unsupervised) is directly opposite to the preschool, where children as young as 2 go to. It would only take a few seconds of a parent being momentarily distracted for a horrible incident to occur. It's a school playground ffs. Children should feel safe there and not feel like they have to "avoid" anything to be honest.

oakleaffy · 30/12/2022 19:12

Kitcaterpillar · 30/12/2022 17:02

Ugh, I'm a dog owner and I hate it. A shopping centre near me lets dogs in basically everywhere. The other day a massive lab had its big, stupid, slobbery head in the fridge at Pret. Disgusting.

(Come at me lab owners, I don't care, labs are greedy idiots and not appropriate to take anywhere with food)

Agree ..Flabradors are greedy guts and all too often are untrained and large enough to be a nuisance.
Any untrained , antisocial dog of any breed/type is a pest in a public place, though.

The amount of dogs that pee in shops is alarming.
I am a dog owner, but have a well mannered dog that is quiet and unobtrusive.

pharaohrocher · 30/12/2022 19:15

ThighMistress · 30/12/2022 18:39

@pharaohrocher - you are quite wrong - dogs are allowed on short leads at every NT property’s grounds as far as I know.

Obviously country pubs allow dogs - that’s their bread and butter. And town ones too - we all know the tale about “just off to walk the dog” !

I don’t think it’s appropriate for dogs to be in shopping centres etc, for the dog’s sake if anything. And I agree about the “emotional support” dogs; I even saw one in Disneyworld. Fancy subjecting a poor dog to that level of crowds and heat. Very selfish.

I do think that there are more “I hate dogs” people around. Bloody joggers barging past, people screaming… if you hate labradors and retrievers you must really hate dogs as they are not slathering pit bulls. A while ago I went to a pub billed as “The New Forest’s Most Dog-Friendly Pub.” There is sign outside . And at the next table was a couple glaring and huffing and puffing and shuddering at my dog sleeping under the table. Prats.

This has made me laugh. We have a severely phobic child - if dogs were allowed in the gardens of the properties we visit, I think we would have noticed! The 4 closest to us are assistance dogs only, no idea about others.

TheFrozenCanal · 30/12/2022 19:16

I worked in a high school that was dog friendly. So several members of staff would bring their dogs in, and would be accompanied by them down corridors, to lessons and to staff meetings.
We eventually had five or six dogs in and it was only a very small school - about 250 kids.
What I found peculiar was that the school was totally nut free due to allergies. So every child was impacted on what food they could bring in, impactful but necessary. But no heed at all to those with dog allergies/fears.
It took about a year but eventually they did ask the dogs to stay at home.

oakleaffy · 30/12/2022 19:16

As a teenager I worked at pets at home, when it was a relatively new thing to allow dogs in shops. Can't count the amount of times I'd clean up dog piss whilst the owners stood by with a tinkling laugh. Arguably it was a pet shop so could be expected but the sense of entitlement shocked me even then. If one of my children pissed on the floor in a shop I'd be mortified and clean it up myself. Certainly wouldn't expect staff to do it for me.

This!

Drives me insane.

Saw a woman with a Poodly oodly cava whatever and it pissed on the floor of a shop..I said '''Your dog just peed on the floor!''
Stupid woman didn't give a shit, and the staff had to clean it up.

So many hopeless owners about that can't train a dog not to piss in shops, or worse, crap in shops.

Urgh.

AGoodDayForSomebodyElseToDie · 30/12/2022 19:18

I have dogs, but I have no idea why anyone would want to take them into a shop or a cafe, so I find it bizarre. Outside in a pub garden, or a well behaved mutt under the table in a pub is one thing, but in a small, busy space, especially one full of small children, it's just asking for trouble.

I'd say the UK is becoming more unfriendly - letting dogs into these places, allowing situations like your family member's dogs snarling over a child - these are common sights, and the dogs will be the ones to pay the price when it goes wrong. People seem to have forgotten how to treat dogs as dogs, and are determined to put them in risky situations for their own pleasure.

surreygirl1987 · 30/12/2022 19:21

My dog is extremely placid and well behaved but I'd never claim he couldn't hurt a child, even though he's never shown any sign of it. He is a dog.

Well said.

Messyhair321 · 30/12/2022 19:25

I absolutely love dogs, I work with them professionally & have my own too. I much prefer them to people.
If you or your child is worried about being around dogs I would encourage you to introduce to a friendly calm dog. Try to seek one out from a friend or relative & have a nice experience. It's anxiety provoking being frightened & I think it's worth investing some energy to overcome the fear & /or worry.

I would also never leave a dog with a child because even if you know or think you know that dog you never really do & can never trust 100% so I don't agree with OP's relatives, that should not have happened & the DD should not have been put in that position.

User1706 · 30/12/2022 19:26

Comedycook · 30/12/2022 17:15

The UK is pretty odd in the sense that children are hated and barely tolerated but dogs are adored.

I took my DC who were primary age at the time to a family friendly pub at lunchtime. They were sat quietly round the table and a woman at the next table was giving them dirty looks and tutting at their mere existence. My friend would take her huge dog along and people adored it.

I find it pretty weird but lots of people are totally socially inept so find it easier to communicate with dogs than people.

Couldn't agree more and feel a bit of this attitude comes from isolation of lock down. My sons pram (a regular size buggy not a big silver cross thing - not that it should matter) is constantly tutted at and dare my son make a noise (he's one) the scowls dart across the coffee shop in the very doggy town that i live in yet i saw a lab pinch food off their owners plate in a pub recently and the owner carried on eating as though this was normal for him. I don't mind dogs and don't think much about it if they're just sat quietly in a pub but they shouldn't be in shops or all over coffee shop sofas.

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