Dogs in cafes etc

[Dogscanteatonions]

I love dogs but I'm utterly fed up of them being cafes pubs restaurants shops etc, partly because I am allergic and partly because so many are poory behaved

However in the last week I've seen:

A man at the bar in a pub with his dog on the bar stool next to him with its paws up on the actual bar

A photo on the Facebook account of a favourite bar/ restaurant of a big hairy dog lying on one of the sofas - I'd have an allergic reaction if I sat on furniture right after a dog had been in it.

And to top it off yesterday I was in a cafe and the table next to me had a puppy which peed on the floor profusely which they halfheartedly mopped up with just a tissue from a pocket and didn't even tell staff so they could properly clean it. This was right next to serving counter.

I know a huge amount of people on Mumsnet are crazy pro dogs but I defy anyone to defend this. How do people think this is ok??

Aibu to think you should keep your dogs off furniture in these places and that you have an obligation to ensure its cleaned up properly if your 3 dog messes?

tldr if you don't like dogs in businesses then unfortunately that is a you problem. Please do feel free to open up a dog-free cafe/shop/restaurant/pub if you think that it'd make more money than the reverse (it won't)

There is one near my mum and she says it is always packed. But it is an exception to be dog-free in her area. We went to a cafe at a garden centre and not only were dogs allowed but the owner's dogs were begging at the tables!

Nothing beats treading down a muck heap,

You’d still be allergic to that chair if a guide dog had been sat up against though? I’m so allergic to cats I can’t sit next to someone to owns a cat, let alone the cat itself. But the simple answer to that is keeping some antihistamines in my purse. It’s not difficult

Anti histamines make no difference to me. They do practically nothing. If l was in a severe dog allergy situation now, I’d need steroids. Maybe l should keep some in my purse?

How much did you give them?

Is that an option? Why would you not if it makes your life easier?

I keep lots of medicines with me for my many issues.

Pretty much this.

If you truly can't stand to be in the same room as a dog, the proliferation of dog-friendly establishments suggests you're very much in the minority.

It's clearly a successful business model.

They don’t dispense steroids very easily….

if Dog owners provide cafes, pubs etc with trade then of course owners of these establishments are going to be dog friendly. If you are allergic or dog phobic don’t go to places where dogs are permitted.
I have 2 dogs and I love the fact that if I choose I can take them with me when i
meet up with friends. I’ve never met with any negativity towards me having my dogs with me, in fact quite the reverse. However I can name plenty of occasions when children have disrupted a social occasion with their behaviour while their parents ignore them or think their behaviour is cute!

BTW I have 2 children and 4 grandchildren and I love well behaved children!

Well I suppose it's what you need them for. I have steroid medication. Just not for allergies

We had a meal in a pub owned by a well known motorcyclist.
One of the regulars let his dog walk up and down on the bar.
It does advertise as dog friendly tho.

I was following a particularly magnificent Nasty Beast on our local high street last week. 90% rippling muscle, never seen such an animal before. The emaciated, drug addled new owner had him on a loose harness and lead, no muzzle, so no control at all. The crowds were parting as they approached. NB was pulling towards other dogs whose owners looked scared and horrified. Whether they were right to be feeling that way I don’t know - possibly NB was just being friendly, or wanted to say hello!

Just days earlier I’d had a run in with a gurning dog owner in John Lewis, who had been under the mistaken impression that she and her Fido could join me and my grandchildren in the lift. That didn’t happen, despite Fido sporting a jaunty red neckerchief.

So, just a thought, but what happens when the likes of NB and his current owner decide to patronise John Lewis and all these other dog friendly establishments? After all, he’s just as entitled to be in there as Fido.

(….and I know it is people who have made NB into the nasty beast he is, but nevertheless that’s where we are now).

P.S. Someone please let me know where these non-dog-friendly towns are.

Well you said yourself you don't know if the dog was nasty.

My friends rottie used to come to the pub with us and our dog before she died. She was a lovely well behaved dog. No doubt she'd have been labelled by you as well.

How did you know he was a new owner, how did you know the dog was nasty?

I really don't understand how either of these things were explained to you?

Dogs are not routinely muzzled, what ever their size.

So on your local high street, their were so many dogs and NB was pulling towards them? How many dogs, how many of the owners were "horrified" 🤔

Having witnessed an actual adult human shitting on the floor of a restaurant whilst I was enjoying (well, previously enjoying) my entrée, plus people changing nappies on tables, etc, I can say with 100% certainty that my dog is far cleaner than some humans. He is also far better behaved than many children, who are often allowed to run riot with very little parental intervention. In certain circumstances, if it is a very dog friendly place, I would allow him on the furniture if it is clear that dogs are allowed on the furniture.
I don't think you are unreasonable for thinking that dogs shouldn't be allowed on tables, and the owners who didn't properly clean up their dog's wee behaved disgracefully, but if dogs are allowed on sofas you are unreasonable to think that they should be stopped because you are allergic. I'm allergic to cats (and many dogs) so I avoid places with cats and will take a Piriton to stop allergies to other dogs (mine is a curly poodle cross, specifically bought to avoid allergies). I don't expect them to be banned for my benefit.

Omg! Where on Earth do you eat!!!! Never heard such rubbish. Such exaggeration to make it sound ok to bring dogs inside!

Just days earlier I’d had a run in with a gurning dog owner in John Lewis, who had been under the mistaken impression that she and her Fido could join me and my grandchildren in the lift. That didn’t happen, despite Fido sporting a jaunty red neckerchief.

The dog owner had as much right to be in the lift as you. If you didn’t want to share it you should have got out.

It is ok to bring dogs inside if the owner says it is. What is so hard for you to grasp?

I have no issue with well behaved dogs in cafes. The owners will have decided to allow dogs, be it for business reasons, or because they simply love dogs.
Badly behaved dogs (and also children allowed to run riot) should be taken elsewhere or taught to behave at home before going into a cafe.

I also don't understand why it is a hygiene issue to have dogs in the same room that people are eating in. It is not like the dogs are in the kitchen when the food is being prepared. Most dog owners prepare and eat food at home when their dog is there anyway. The way some people on MN talk about dogs is as if bacteria ridden spores are constantly flying off the dog and attaching themselves to the sandwiches on someone metres away from them.

People don't understand how serious a dose of steroids is and the fact that using them can trigger very serious side effects. I doubt many people here want to hear that they're not like paracetamol because it inconveniences the. I wonder how many people would be happy to exclude people with other conditions from large swathes of public life just so that dogs have thebrightvto be on soft furnishings and tables in public places?

@lieselotte

"I'm glad someone got there before I did!

That's the point - there is no choice for people. It's weird how people seem to accept that nut allergies are an issue, but shrug their shoulders about allergies to animals. And yet it's much easier to keep a dog out of a cafe than nut products!"

there are many cafes and restaurants that are not nut free environments. those that are advertise that they are are brilliant for people with these allergies. But as a friend of someone with a serious allergy, people with a nut allergy will often call ahead to check whether their needs can be accommodated. and sometimes we have to go to other places than we initially wanted to because they can't give the guarantees we need.

dog friendly places are still not the norm - this is why they advertise the fact dogs are allowed. If you want to go somewhere without dogs you need to look out for them. it will
not be hard.

live and let live and let business develop plans which work for them. hospitality is having a difficult time at the moment.

I live in the countryside and dogs and pubs are absolutely fine and almost part of the scenery.
I loathe them in shops though. Especially as it's just another chance for owners to not walk the dog in a nice place and instead drag them around a crowded awful environment not suited to dogs.

I recently went to a John Lewis and a girl was literally dragging her dog along the floor as it was digging it's heels in about going into a department and had laid flat on the floor while the owner slid the dog along by it's lead so she could continue to shop. Ridiculous.

Dog allergies and nut allergies are not comparable.

One comes with a high risk of anaphylactic shock and death and is one of the most common allergies around. The other will usually give you nothing more than itchy skin and eyes.

A fatal allergic reaction to dogs is vanishingly rare.

Me too

I do think it’s unhygienic to have dogs in restaurants. I try to just avoid places that allow dogs (other than service dogs). That’s just personal choice though