Dogs in Greggs

[Globules]

I'm in Greggs getting my free O2 coffee. There's a dog next to the counter.

Surely dogs in open food places shouldn't be allowed?

YABU - of course all dogs can go in these places
YANBU - dogs have no place there

(Awaits the Greggs comments...🤣)

I do wonder about the legality from a workplace environment aspect. Forcing staff who may be allergic to work in premises which aren’t safe spaces for them. Or protection against bites, I wonder what the law is if a staff member is bitten. A server was nipped in the pub I was in a few weeks back; and a jacket was chewed and everyone laughed but I suppose it only takes one attack. Employers do have a duty of care.

I feel like food places are a recipe for disaster. Too much temptation for a dog.

right then so you clearly do apply that logic to all allergies. The right to do what you want trumps anyone else’s right to exist in a healthy and safe environment, got it.

If I want to eat a Snickers bar in a cafe, then how am I selfish if someone with a peanut allergy is nearby?
You speak as if I am going up to people with allergies and purposely trying to make them ill.

It’s just your I’ll do what I like just because I can, attitude that seems quite obnoxious.

If your anxiety is so bad you can’t go to a shop without a dog, order online. Get Uber eats. There are avenues for you. Going by this poll, 70% if people don’t want dogs in food shops so you’re upsetting 7/10 people just because you can. If that’s not selfish, what is.

I don’t doubt that if your dog stole a sausage roll of the counter in greggs it would be their fault for allowing the dog in. If your dog bit a child it would be their fault for being in the way.

That is an awful lot of assumptions about someone you do not know.

I am sorry you seem to hate dogs so much.

Id this still going? I’m going to buy a dog, call it Greg and take it into Greggs!!

Haven’t caught up with the thread but I would think twice about buying clothes from a shop which allowed dogs in, only because you cannot guarantee hair and slobber isn’t on clothes. I had a golden Labrador as a child/teen and know how hard that hair is to get off clothes!

Ugh just back from a ‘nice’ gastropub in the city centre.

A huge muscly dog was off lead inside the pub. It ran at another dog who was on a lead. That dog then barked loudly, jumped up, knocked a jug off a table with an almighty crash. It was hideous. The owner and staff looked so angry, apart from one teen waiter who was giggling.

Then a family had toddlers running round screeching at 2200.

Dogs and kids allowed. So by some on this thread’s rationale, it’s all fine. But no it wasn’t. Selfish owners and selfish parents made a relaxing meal in a pub quite stressful at times.

What has happened to consideration of others?

I’ve had this in the past year. Dog sitting at a table and another dog joins table next to if. Our table was sort of opposite/in between these tables. Both dogs got spooked and started attacking each others they and we were all n the way. Both owners apologetic, oh our dogs never usually behave like this. I was almost bitten by one of the dogs. Not happy at all but pub staff immediately moved us and gave us free drinks.,

I see a lot of aggressive dogs (the fighting sort) in our local parks and no way world I want to sit next to these at a cafe/restaurant/pub etc.

The noise was quite startling. The dogs barking, the table and jug toppling over, glass breaking. Someone could have got hurt. My dog-loving husband was furious.

I think people need to stay in their own lanes on this one. Variety of opinions is the spice of life!

I wouldn't go in a cafe that was full of kids (I'm not comparing dogs and kids) but it's just my preference. I certainly wouldn't go in and sit there rolling my eyes and complaining though.

It's also about your experience in life. Everyone I know has a dog or loves dogs so I'm aware my viewpoint will be naturally blinkered. If you've got allergies, I can see why the increase in dog friendly venues is a real pain

To answer those who have questioned why owners take their dogs out with them, here are a few reasons why I take mine sometimes -

1. He barks/howls when he is left on his own sometimes, despite my best efforts to train him not to get upset when home alone, and my anxiety goes through the roof due to having been physically assaulted by former neighbours who hated our dog and used his puppy bark as an excuse for violence and harassment. I am also a single mum, so there isn't another adult in the house for me to pass the baton to!

2. He LOVES going and having a mooch around some dog friendly shops! I can't even say "Wilko" in his presence without him going crazy!

3. It helps with his socialisation. He was less than a year old when covid hit & I had to stop him saying hello to people due to the confusion over whether pets could transmit the virus. In his head, he thought it was because people are scary, not because there was a virus! Being around people in busy places really helps him.

4. He is a part of our family & we enjoy spending time with him!

5. Puppaccinos at Starbucks!

Also,

No, I would NOT tie him up and leave him outside a shop whilst I went in - aside from the obvious issues with dog thefts, he would also cry and scream for me!

Yes, he is a "doodle" (and also part Bichon, to the lady who declared her disdain for them!), so he doesn't distribute his fur everywhere in shops. Nor does he cock his leg inside. He would rather die than pee indoors!

In all honesty, a dog going into a Greggs and standing by the covered counter for two minutes is probably no worse than 100s or 1000s of pairs of shoes trampling through the premises, not to mention that some children are far filthier than my dog!!

Hope that answers some of the "why's" for those questioning why some of us "lazy" owners take our dogs! The "lazy" option would actually be to leave him behind!!

Ah, I thought you meant dogs in the sausage rolls for a moment ...

It really seems people have problems with misbehaved dogs in shops and pubs who are not on a lead. I think it's ridiculous to demand a ban on dogs in shops just because there are a few bad eggs and to say "there are too many temptations " when really it just depends on how the dog is trained. My dog is friendly, quiet, and doesn't steal food or beg. When I take him to a pub he will stay under the table or close to us and I keep him on a lead at all times. He doesn't pee indoors. Where I live now which is luckily not the UK anymore dogs are allowed in most shops except those that sell unpackaged food (so supermarkets etc.), pharmacies etc., but have to be on lead (and depending on the breed/behaviour might need to be muzzled). People respect that and there are pretty much no problems whatsoever.

I don't think I've ever had a random dog jump up at me and I live in a very dog friendly place. You must be very unlucky. However, we can't change the world to fit our own individual need. You'll just have to think of alternative ways to navigate your way through life, as people aren't going to be giving up taking their dogs out in public because some other people don't like them. I hate noisy kids and adults who take up the whole pavement. I can't do anything about that either. Best to learn to live with it. Or stay in.

A quick minute in a queue for a pasty in an open fronted shop isn't the end of the world, it's more when you go for a sit down meal or whatever that is going to take some time, and a dog is there for that whole time. Even worse when you're in a packed chemists with a huge pitbull type dog and its owner waiting for his free prescriptions while crowing about how he paid £3000 for his dog....don't get me started on that. And in that case I had to leave my children outside. Not to mention my friend who opened a holistic therapy salon, all lovely smells and calm, and asked very nicely if her friends would mind please not bringing their dog along to the open day. The friend didn't like it and ended up 20 years of friendship down the drain. For the sake of a dog! Absolutely crazy.
Oh, and apparently it's World bloody Dog Day today.

Oh, and apparently it's World bloody Dog Day today.

Cool. I'll take dog out for lunch to celebrate 🐕

I have noticed that in our John Lewis. Just strange. Not somewhere I would think of taking a dog when going for a walk.

. I hate noisy kids and adults who take up the whole pavement. I can't do anything about that either

Me too but the solution is just to walk purposely on and eventually they will move over. If they don't I just stop and force them round me.

Of course, usually noisy kids and adults who take up the whole pavement ALSO have a dog so are taking up even more pavement space.

I rarely have a dog jump up at me but I try to avoid scenarios where I come across them eg avoiding narrow paths where I'll be a sitting duck if someone comes along with an off-lead dog. It is annoying having to avoid places all the time though, and all because people won't or can't train their pets properly.

We were recently eating in a pub with a dogs allowed outside policy when a couple with a huge dog sat on the next table to us (in the restaurant area inside) despite the dog not being allowed inside plus there being at least a dozen other tables empty.

The bar manager cane over and very politely asked them to sit outside and pointed up the sign stating their policy. But they argued it was too cold to sit outside (it really wasn’t) and then pointed to us and said ‘they don’t mind’ - to which we both replied yes we did mind and had deliberately chosen this pub S dogs aren’t allowed inside. Btw several others within walking distance do allow dogs inside so they could have gone to any of those.

But apparently we were being pathetic selfish and rude by being honest and agreeing to the pubs policy 🤷‍♀️

The bar man asked them again to either go outside or leave and the woman shouted at us ‘oh thank you this is your fault we can’t have a nice meal in peace’ and reluctantly left muttering selfish in a stage whisper.

Barman apologised and gave us a free drink but it really didn’t need to happen at all if people didn’t feel so entitled

But some dog owners ARE changing the world to fit their needs! Why is everyone else expected to put up with badly behaved dogs they didn’t choose to get?

(I actually have no issues with dogs who are just minding their own business, or dog owners who actually train their dogs properly)

You could say the same for badly behaved kids and adults. We don't get to change any of it. Just fit into the world that's out there. Although it's not me changing the world to suit my dog. I'm just going to the businesses that are happy to accept my dog.

Dog owners should fit into the world that existed before the world decided to get lockdown puppies and not train them!

I don’t like badly behaved kids either, but at least humans are essential - dogs are not.

Good for you and good for the pub.