Dogs Everywhere

[SusanandMidge]

I don't live in the UK but am just back from a holiday in Cornwall. We were shocked at the amount of dogs allowed everywhere. They were in every restaurant, cafe, pub and hotel. Two or three people with dogs would all go into a small shop, blocking the aisles for everyone else. In Port Isaac on a lovely sunny Sunday afternoon the whole harbour and uphill area was disrupted by loud and continuous barking. Dogs were running around off leash on every beach. People were clogging the narrow pavements with two or three dogs on leads, wheeling dogs around in prams and buggies, stopping outside holiday cottages for ages chatting while their dogs barked, yapped and howled and ruined the peace for the people inside.

We were genuinely wondering if the next time we came back there would be dog and owner spaces in supermarket carparks and an expectation that you should stand up on public transport to let people with dogs sit down.

AIBU to think England has gone a bit mad when it comes to dogs?

I agree with you. But surely dog owners should have some cop on and stop clogging up shops, restaurants, harbours, hotels, pubs, beaches etc with their dogs? Surely they can see when their dog is blocking the aisle in a shop, when people don't want a big smelly dog suddenly landing at the table beside them in a restaurant, that their dog has been barking and yowling for the last half hour and annoying everyone in a peaceful seaside village etc. But it has got to the stage when so many dog owners are completely oblivious to the annoyance they are causing and just go 'oh well, dog friendly.....' etc etc.

The point was lost on you. Never mind.

And???

Another Covid trend. I think pretty much everyone I knew bought a dog in lockdown.

Based on the replies here, because it's unsettling for the dog to have to go on a long drive, live/sleep in a new location, have to go everywhere with the owners because they are not allowed to be left in the accommodation, to name but a few? While a kennel might sound less pleasant, the reality is that many kennels are very well run, the dogs are loved like the owners own pets, walked, fed and so on.

Pity there isn't a place where humans are banned,they make more noise and mess than any dog ever could.

But the inconsiderate owners are the minority , you just notice them more because they annoy you.
Same with me and noisy kids, I'm sure most are well behaved, but if I go to a restaurant and they try and seat me next to a table that has young kids at it I'll always ask to sit else where because of bad experiences I've had.
Some people judge all groups of teenagers to be up to no good because of experiences they've had or heard.
Some people think all BMW drivers are aggressive drivers because they've had a bad experience with a couple of bad drivers.

I was in a souvenir shop just last week and a family of 5 were blocking the whole shop. A pushchair and 2 kids who were touching everything on the shelves with their sticky hands.

You just notice dogs more because that's what annoys you.

What 'point' do you think was lost? Were you not comparing a dog and a baby?

But your dog is not human. He does not care if he is on a beach in Cornwall or being allowed run around the dog friendly area of his local park, and his rights are lesser than those of humans.
And your comment about babies is really silly.

It’s about critical mass isn’t it?

From what you are saying, you are a responsible dog owner and your dog isn’t a problem. But you let one dog in and then the world of dog owners bring their dogs and all of a sudden you get the situation we are in now where entire centres are ‘dog friendly’. This means people who want respite from dogs for genuine reasons are excluded from lots of leisure spaces which isn’t inclusive, or arguably, civilised.

Add into the mix the usual human complaints of selfishness, lack of consideration and rule breaking from dog owners and that just compounds the misery and iniquity.

No I noticed them more in Cornwall because they were literally taking over everywhere. Even my friend, who adores dogs, was fed up of it by the end of the holiday.

@Nevermind202020 "
You are actually comparing a dog with a human baby? You don't see how ridiculous that is, no matter how much you love your pet?"

God I love a childfree break with my girlfriends! Usually a spa weekend or city break. Definitely not appropriate places for babies! Or dogs for that matter!

I completely agree. I have animals, and consider myself an animal lover. However this is something my mum has always described as “love me, love my dog” 🙄 a massive number of dog owners appear to be incapable of considering that other people don’t care for their dog, don’t want to be drooled over and don’t want to have to shape their lives around other people’s dogs or be anywhere near them.

i actively avoid establishments that are dog friendly, and will not book accommodation that accepts pets as you can guarantee it will smell and be less clean. I find it frustrating that the hospitality industry are bending to the dog market so much because they are excluding other human customers as a result.

I have children but we don’t go to our local park due to the whole “oh don’t worry, he’s friendly” scenario. It’s happened so many times and when a huge dog runs towards you it doesn’t matter if the owner considers it friendly!

we also have neighbours with a dog, it’s absolutely infuriating when it barks and barks purely due to the fact it can hear us in our garden.

dog owning has got out of control, many many dog owners aren’t responsible, and what’s more- the responsible dog owners then go onto Facebook to rant about dog breed laws and say things like ‘there’s no such thing as bad breeds, just bad owners’… errr well when your dog is powerful enough to kill a child you can fuck right off. Training or no training, they’re animals and if a law prevents you from responsibly owning a beast of a dog but as a result prevents others that are a risk to tha public, then so fucking be it. WE DO NOT ALL LOVE DOGS.

Aww were going soon and I wondered if it would be dog friendly enough. If we can take her everywhere that would be perfect!

I had no idea the beaches are all dog friendly too, I thought it was seasonal only but if you've been before the end of September it would seem that I was wrong!

Thanks for this OP x

And as for Cornwall being dog friendly, I think it's more the case that it's a popular holiday destination, became more popular during covid and has now become a target by selfish dog owners who have lobbied, pushed and insisted that their dogs be welcomed and allowed everywhere, regardless of the annoyance they are causing to everyone else.

Big speech there.

Too bad it's drowning in mawkishness.

I can't remember the last time I had to clean human faeces out of my DD's shoes. If you're stepping in it a lot you'd probably want to rethink where you're living urgently.

Why do dog lovers think it is ok to let their pets sit on a restaurant chair and drool over the table ? I was in a restaurant with my family and a dog was sitting on a chair and being fed chips . Why do the restaurant owners allow this. ? I wouldn’t mind if the dogs were lying on the floor .

Things more irritating than dogs in cafes - other peoples' children, loud people, obese people, slow people, agonisingly posh people, cyclists in lycra.

See, we can all be annoyed by things there are a lot of in Britain and then the rest of us can be offended by the annoyance.

Or, we can just carry on, get over it, live and let live.

I came back from two weeks in Cornwall a few days ago.

There were dogs around, sure. But never once was I bothered in a restaurant or driven away by a cacophony of howling and yapping, nor forced into the road by them (the same cannot be said for people with prams and suitcases), nor was I otherwise accosted or harassed.

How very odd. Almost like the OP is exaggerated for effect. But that would never happen.

I know my dog, and she does enjoy her holidays. She sleeps in the car on the journey there. She is not stressed about being in strange accommodation etc. Most owners know there dog.... yet it seems some on this thread seem to think they know them better than the actual owners.
My dog wont eat in kennels. Not all dogs get on in them... and like I said before, I opt to take my dog on holiday because we both enjoy it. I don't take her because I wont leave her at home.

I didn't say that there were not holiday destinations/locations which are perhaps not suitable for a baby, I wondered why babies were even being brought into a conversation about/compared with dogs? I don't resent you your break away at all!

No it's not exaggerated. It's almost as if you're minimising the issue for your own reasons,

Except it's not.

@SusanandMidge I doubt there has been any lobbying! More just Davy business owners seeing an opportunity. Unfortunately that doesn't suit you, but as I said earlier, it's up to the owner.
I think it was you who said earlier (or someone did) that a cafe owner said they felt pressured into allowing dogs. Well I call that to be bollox. Likely they said that to placate someone moaning about dogs, they could ban dogs any time they'd like but they know they'd lose a lot of customers if they didn't allow dogs. Their choice.