To not understand the culture of taking dogs everywhere?

[Supernova23]

This isn't an anti dog post, as I have two dogs, and have had them for my entire life. But I can't for the life of me understand the idea of taking them everywhere which seems to be the case now - I see dogs dragged around in shops, restaurants, cafes, literally everywhere you go.....there are dogs. Perhaps it wouldn't be so obvious if they were quiet and well behaved, but that often isn't the case. Recently in a pub I was at, two different sets of dogs were going mad at each other. The owners could care less and probably thought it was funny. You go to places where dogs should strictly be on leads, and they are running loose in their droves, followed by their hapless owner on the phone who has no control over it. If you tell their owners to control them you get a mouthful of abuse.

I have two large breed dogs, one of which is VERY heavy shedding, and can be very vocal as a breed trait - and I don't just mean barking, but making all sorts of weird wookie noises. I wouldn't feel comfortable taking her into somewhere that served food, knowing that her fur would probably be flying off her. I think that would be quite gross for the people around me, and the people who come afterwards. Plus, what does the dog actually gain from being dragged into shops, restaurants etc? my dogs get long daily walks, and do come out and about in the car with me while I do errands (it fits in with walks). They get plenty of attention, and when they were younger (one is very elderly, the other middle aged) got taken to training classes - you know, actual dog stuff.

So can someone enlighten me? why is taking your dog everywhere a "thing" now?

OhhhhhhhhBiscuits · Today 15:02
Locally to us it used to be like this, however now places are banning dogs again (except guide dogs obviously) due to poor behaviour.

That’s the best thing I’ve read all week.

I just can't believe all these dogs are off lead in public places. That's awful.

I have a dog and have had dogs all my life and we’ve never really taken them to even pubs, maybe if on a staycation and going into a pub.
I love having a dog to get into nature with and go long walks with. He would be thoroughly uncomfortable in a restaurant or anything as he can be quite wary of new situations.
As a puppy he was also terrible when left on his own, basically screaming and I worked incredibly hard to get him used to being on his own, it was a really slow process but we got there. Otherwise it feels like being trapped in your house. A dog has to be capable of being on its own!!
julie Naismith has a book and Facebook group for working through separation anxiety

My mum refuses to go anywhere (including lovely days out) if she can’t take her dog. It drives me nuts. She used to get very angry with me when DS was small if I asked her whether we could go out without the dog so DS didn’t want to lead/pet/feed/get under the table with it. I stopped asking her in the end as she completely expects the dog to be treated as equal to a person and generally as higher status than DS. We have two dogs and take them with us wherever we can but it’s just not always appropriate.

I hear you.

I live in SE London and dogs are absolutely everywhere and all the time.

We have a dog. He might come with me to cafe if I fancy a coffee at the end of one of his walks, because that kind of fits. Would I take him with me if I were going out for a meal? No. Shopping? No.

Last time I was in a dog friendly cafe I had to alert a lady at the next table that her dog was throwing up - lovely
And I adore dogs

Yep i agree.

I don't have dogs now but have in the past. No dog hating here.

If you want to go somewhere that's dog-free, Wetherspoons have a national no dogs policy inside and outside.

We check for dog-friendly pubs, cafes, museums, galleries etc as we are campervanners and don't like leaving the dog in the van in case of theft. Wouldn't expect to take a dog into a shop though. We have noticed recently that previous dog-friendly cafes either now have changed to just a couple of dog-friendly tables or outside only. Which is fine and hope it suits most people. What's best for business really.

Our local Superdrug( little rural market town) has just announced it is now dog friendly,cue loads of dog owners all saying how marvellous it is they can now take Fido and Trixie in. I'm waiting for the first report of a dog cocking its leg up the shelves which I suspect is bound to happen. Lots of others saying their child or grandchild is highly allergic to dogs so they won't be able to shop there. Not sure if this is a Superdrug head office decision or just the local manager.

I like dogs but these days they are mostly annoying. My friend who lives some distance away can't come and see me as she can't leave the dog...I don't allow them in my house as they terrify and traumatise my cats. My heart sinks when I go to meet a friend and they appear with the dog who will no doubt fuss, bark, pant and refuse to settle if we're in a café or bar.

Booked a weekend away with another friend. She's booked the accommodation. We're in a twin room sharing with, yes the bloody dog. It had better not wake me up. The dog sleeps in the bed with her. Completely spoilt.

Here, if you advertise for someone to come and do a job at your house, whether it's in the garden or inside, I've found I have to be specific in asking them not to bring a dog, otherwise they frequently do. There is a house being gutted and rebuilt opposite us, with three huge diggers going round the site, and one of the builders has his two dogs with him, barking and running around.

My dogs were great danes, so not the sort you could hide under a table in a cafe. But even so - i would have never taken them into anywhere with food. They went on their daily field walks, and maybe a very occasional pub garden in the summer. But literally once per summer if that.

ALWAYS on their lead and all four feet on the floor when any other people are about because although they were big softies their size was intimidating.

On holls we would stick to dog friendly beaches and made our days out mostly walks in woods ect. Or the occasional dog friendly ruin. A lot of national trust outdoorsy places are fine with dogs. We simply didn't do sitting in cafes when we had the dogs with us.

I was in Selfridges London the other day and there were a few people with dogs.
I just don't get it...all I could think of is what if they cock their leg up or have a big poo. 😂

Its not the culture of taking dogs everywhere that's the issue, its the culture of treating dogs as if they are people (which means they cant be left etc) that means dogs have to go everywhere.

We have a dog. We do sometimes take him to cafes etc, but only when out for a walk with him anyway. He has also occasionally been in a shopping centre, e.g. when out for a walk in the countryside recently we drove past Brent Cross (which now allows dogs) on the way home and popped in because i needed to get some new towels. If he had not been allowed in, either DH would have stayed outside with him or i would just have ordered on-line. It was a quick in and out, i would certainly not take him shopping for a whole afternoon.

He is ok at home for up to about 3 hours (4 very occasionally) but he does not love it so if there is an option to take him with us (e.g. if going to a friend's house who also has dogs), we would probably do so. I do have some friends who dont want him to come which is completely fine, but does cut short the amount of time we can spend there.

We took him away for a weekend recently , which involved looking into dog friendly hotels and restaurants, and we did take him out for meals because we could not leave him at the hotel on his own. It would not have been my choice - I would have left him with a dogsitter - but we were visiting DC at uni and she wanted to see him. He behaved extremely well thoughout the weekend and got lots of compliments from strangers so I dont think he annoyed too many people, but appreciate not everyone likes dogs so we keep him away from other people unless they ask to say hello.

I have had a dog for over 40 years (6 of them to be precise) and we always had a dog when I was a child. There has been a huge change in attitude towards pet dogs who used just to be an animal you lived with and took for walks to now being almost like children with every whim catered to, clothes, sleeping in bed with you etc. I think most dog training is about creating the atmosphere where it is clear what is expected. I expect mine to be well behaved, settle in the car and sleep downstairs, this is not negotiable and only needs a withdrawal of attention to secure. I always leave mine at home if I am going shopping or out for a meal, if you start doing it for short times and build up they are fine with it. As an old chap who helped me with a stroppy pony said “You have a vote, I have a vote, he has not got a vote” Having said all that I do like to see dogs in John Lewis but I would never take mine.

I can't stand it when people bring their dogs when they pop in to visit or come to supper.

I mean, what the fuck, just leave it at home.

My first dog, 20 years ago, came out and about with us but we tied him up outside without a second thought if we needed the shop.
Towards the end of his life, we noticed a massive shift in attitude and several times we'd come out and we'll-meaning members of the public were stood with him 'in case someone tried to take him' (what anyone would want with a doddery old hound at that point was beyond me) but due to that, we stopped taking him out with us if we also needed the shops for anything.
We live in a market town and since having our most recent dog this last couple of years, the shops, boutiques and cafes all actively welcome the dogs inside- often with jars of treats, bowls of water and doggy pads you can borrow to put under the table. Our conclusion is that a) people are more paranoid about dog theft b) in a market town where you do tend to walk in from your home, you would probably not bother staying longer than your dog walk if you can't now tie your dog up outside and c) all the cavapoo/cockapoo type breeds have definitely become more commercialised and sort of child-like expectations that they are your 'fur-baby'.
I think it's nice to have the option but it doesn't bother me if there are dogs at restaurants etc- so long as they aren't yapping or trying to jump on any tables.

I don't like it and hate them rubbing on my clothes urgh.

What next - in the name of equality people take their cats everywhere too? (I know people will say don't be ridiculous but I have a cat that's pretty portable and much better behaved than a lot of dogs so why not?) the why, rabbits and horses in the pub too?!

One thing that did make me laugh in a formal job - rail - did you know any animal can go on a train as long as it's not got a hoof!

This is the thing I specialise in, treating and ideally preventing separation related problems.

Taking dogs with us to more places is definitely NOT the cause of separation anxiety.

Sep anx. is a normal state of affairs for a dog, they're evolved to be with us, in a social group.

They are not remotely, not even after thousands of years of domestication, equipped naturally to be by themselves totally alone which being left at home almost always means. This is because we have selectively bred almost all dogs (with the exception of livestock guardian breeds who have the flock/herd as their social group rather than humans) to actively want to be with people, take instruction from people, stick closely to people etc etc.

Theres two big factors in the apparent rise of sep anx.

1/People are recognising it for what it is more than ever before. Last figures I had suggested around 85% of dogs suffered from it over the age of 2. Those will be the dogs who create a fuss, bark, howl, destroy things, hurt themselves, escape. If you were to try to add in the ones whose owners actually don't KNOW their dog is suffering... it would be even higher than that.

2/ Dog ownership has increased massively particularly in the last couple of years, with a significant number of those people buying on a whim, and doing absolutely nothing to properly prepare their dogs for being alone, and in many cases buying breeds who are the absolute worst for not coping alone.

60 years ago we saw far less SRP - but then we also saw far fewer full time working people buying dogs, we had far more SAHP's, full time Housewives who did not work outside the home, and people whose lifestyles meant a dog could be with them all day at their workplace.

People were more likely to wait until retirement to get a dog if they couldn't have one due to work commitments, and people were far more likely to get a dog that suited their home/lifestyle as well

Really (sad) but interesting @WiddlinDiddlin - you are so right about SAHM's in years gone by. Thanks for sharing.

I was on a very very packed bus the other day. Literally not a single seat left. One woman had her dog with her (definitely not a guide dog) but she just let it wander up and down the bus aisle. It was getting in everyone's way, sticking it's head in people's laps (not everyone loves dogs), and it had been raining, so the dog stank. I literally felt like heaving every time it came near me. Woman was completely oblivious though.

YANBU.

The was a very entitled owner in John Lewis the other day. The dog was fine but it was on an extendable lead and the lead was causing all sorts of issues for other customers. The woman half noticed but didn’t bother to do anything about it. The dog then decided to do circuits around a stand of clothing. The owner suddenly realised the whole clothes rack was about to topple and suddenly sprang into action. She had to dash round the clothes doing circuits in the opposite direction to unwind the lead. It was hilarious. That dog was brilliant.

as I have two dogs, and have had them for my entire life.

Wow...how old are they now
Sorry...I'm trying to distract myself from some difficult work. Forgive me.