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?

Funny that as I am always wary of people who say their dog is as important as a human. They tend to be entitled people in my experience

Do you check with your GP, dentist, kids’ teachers, new colleagues etc whether or not they like dogs before you interact with them and trust them? Because if that’s the reductive way you classify people, you can’t be too careful.

I’ve never been sniffed at by a dog in a cafe or try to take my food or anything. They are either chilling under the table or completely focussed on what their owner is eating. We did once have a toddler crawl across the floor to our dog who was quietly chilling. Mum did not appear until she had almost reached him. He’s a docile lab who loves children but the toddler’s mum couldn’t have been sure of that.

It comes up again and again because some dog owners behave in an entitled way again and again.

I find these sort of comments really odd, you're basically admitting how judgemental you are.

I've been to many UK holiday destinations and can't say I've seen piles of dog poo everywhere,nor in my everyday life,yes the odd bit of poo I've spotted but very rarely.The onus is on the owner to pick it up so blame the human,not the animal.I have however seen humans littering,vandalising,pissing in alleyways,vomiting and basically not giving a shit about anyone but themselves.
But yes,dogs are the problem..🤦🏼‍♀️

I do agree that not only dogs/dog owners leave mess/allow mess to be left, but you not personally having had much issue with dog poo doesn't negate all those who do. It's rife where we live, sadly.

@Nevermind202020 yes humans are very judgemental. Not of themselves quite clearly but of dog owners.
Humans behaviour can be questionable too. Pissing in the street and littering

Yes I hate it. Smelly slobbering unpredictable sniffing things, I LOATHE how the owners think it’s fine for their disgusting pets to sniff my crotch

I'd rather neither

It's those who like dogs who are being judgmental of those who don't on this thread though - ascertaining that you can tell things about a person's character based only on a like/dislike of a certain animal.
I'm definitely not judging dog owners per se, there's lots of responsible ones. It's the irresponsible/entitled ones who create issues for everyone, including other dog owners.

Are you unable to critique dog owners’ behaviour without referencing humans?

On a thread about entitled obnoxious parents, I would agree with the criticism and not bring up random comparison to dogs.

I also acknowledge that here are good dog-owners who are tarred by the same brush as the shit ones.

So why for dog-lovers like you is your only desperate defence, ‘but but human people are worse’? Why not criticise the crap owners?

I have whilst I was at a cafe in bridlington! Sat eating our food as a family of 4 minding our own business and someone’s dog decided to come over to our table (and yes the owners were aware) sat right up and started sniffing at me while I was trying to eat!! It was disgusting really! I didn’t want their fucking dog putting its wet nose all over me while I’m trying to eat food!

No no you are wrong. That never happened to you because someone else has ‘never’ witnessed it.

Or so MN dog-lovers would say…

People are blaming the owners. I suppose it's easier to attack a strawman argument though.

So why for dog-lovers like you is your only desperate defence, ‘but but human people are worse’? Why not criticise the crap owners?
That's absolutely right. The issue is bad dog owners.

The problem is that the majority of posters here don't like any dog around them and put all owners in the same category. Good dog owners are a problem just the same.

After all, the initial posters moaned about dogs on pavements, good or bad.

Sums up dog owners pretty well

Why is it 'the problem' that some people don't like dogs and don't want them around them? It's personal choice.

Because it apparently makes you a vile and untrustworthy person apparently 🙄

Funny how this vitriol about not liking something is only for dogs and not other animals

Some dog-related problems are the owner's fault - not picking up after them, letting them off their leads, allowing them to cause a nuisance barking incessantly or at inappropriate times in built up areas, not training them properly etc.

Others are a problem just because of the sheer unprecedented numbers of dogs there are now in England and the current fashion of bringing them everywhere with you (although you could also say the latter is an owner problem too). Some of it, the dangerous dogs aspect, is at least partly the fault of government not enforcing any of the laws there are, let alone passing better ones.

Most people on the thread are acknowledging there are good and bad dog owners.

It’s pretty clear even from this thread that there is a huge difference between the good and the bad owners. Unfortunately for the former, it’s the shit entitled group that screech most loudly these days.

I do take this as a bit of a red flag in life generally. Always have, always will. Not just dogs. All animals.

So how do you do your checks when you have to trust someone? Do you email the school to check on teachers? Call the GP to review their stance on animals before booking an appointment?

We holiday in this country, so we take our dog with us.
Far more people will say hello and comment 'what a beautiful dog' than ever cross the road to avoid. It's only on MN that I read about all the posters who detest dogs.

She is happy being with us and if anything behaves better for it.
We rarely get negative responses to her. If someone is clearly uncomfortable, I would remove her. It's not a problem. We visit lots of dog friendly places, on one occasion someone ran across the road to say hello because they had seen us the previous day at another place and wanted to pet her again. Our most recent holiday, a little lad asked to say hello, all his siblings/ cousins appeared to pet her too. The mother took pictures and thanked me for letting the children pet her, saying they don't have dogs in their homes culturally but the children love dogs so they were getting their 'fix'.
If children ask to pet her, I always thank them for asking, too, as respect and responsibility go both ways.

But you do realise that for every one of those people there were probably 10 more wishing you'd move the dog out of the way, not sit beside them in a restaurant etc etc I didn't go around complaining to owners about their dogs when on holiday, but that didn't mean it wasn't bothering me.