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?

YANBU. I got lunged at again today by someone's dear little doggy, on a lead that was too long for it to be controlled. I'm in late middle age and have no balance function so it's easy for me to be knocked over, or to stagger if I have to get out of the way quickly.

Why on earth would you swap the word dogs for children though, the two are not remotely interchangeable or comparable.

Strange as I took my hound out this morning to a popular dog walking spot and there was no one else there.

Strange.

Oh they must all be in Cornwall.

Fucking barking up and down the street all day. Sick of it.

Gosh yes, Strange. I'm obviously making it all up.

YANBU. I’m tired of it too. But apparently they makes me a dog hating psychopath lowlife on mn. 🤷‍♀️

A couple blithely brought their dog into a restaurant (not cafe but bloody restaurant) - big thing, brushed past me, deposited a fucking TICK on my leg. Thank god I saw it and got it off.

They seemed totally oblivious that every single person in that restaurant was looking at them in a "what the actual fuck" kind of way.

Agree, hate the smell of dogs and the noise they make and do not want them around when I'm eating. If I ruled the world then I would get rid of all but assistance and working dogs, cannot stand them.

More and more people do seem to be taking their dogs to places like cafes, so maybe less of them are out on long walks doing what most dogs actually enjoy doing (or should unless they are very old/ill/immobile)?

Not really. People aren't generally allergic to children, people don't usually have a phobia of children, children don't bite people or maul them to death, children don't usually piss or shit on the pavement.

Don't compare children to dogs.

I think this thread title could possibly be changed to “I want to ban irresponsible dog owners” because they’re clearly the problem - demanding dog friendly places, letting them run free off lead without proper recall, barking and yapping dogs haven’t been trained properly.
I like dogs but I’ve started really disliking them recently and you’re right Op, it’s because it’s gotten out of control. We need a dog licence, not to ban dogs everywhere.Some bloody entitled owners, always a few letting the good ones down. I wish dog poo in streets was the only problem - it used to be.

Cornwall is dog friendly though- many beaches in other counties don’t let dogs on from April to October, so Cornwall will attract the dog owning tourist (even more so that due to Brexit it’s expensive and a faff to take your dog over to France- which is very dog friendly!) If you went to a sea side town in an area that doesn’t allow dogs on the beaches, you’d find it very different.

the cafes and shops let in dogs in Cornwall because they want the dog owning tourist custom. This isn’t about locals owning lots of dogs.

I know!

isn't it lovely? A well behaved dog is so much better that a screeching snot spreading toddler.

Seriously, if I'm not interested in the topic of a thread I just ignore it. Why would you come on it just to yawn and make your disinterest clear? Presumably in a misguided attempt to make yourself sound superior or because you are genuinely so bored you have nothing else to do.

Are you aware how this constant emoji posting is making you look to everyone but you? I suspect you are under some impression that you are contributing something of worth (or a wind up merchant). Either way, you are not exactly providing scintillating content yourself so with that I bid you farewell.

Oh and a dog on holiday is out of routine - might not have its own bed, unsettled in a different location, spending days doing v stimulating things like beach walks and going along high streets that are unfamiliar. It’s harder for dogs to be well behaved under those circumstances.

Again, the two are not comparable.

I was shocked the last time I went to Cornwall too op. Dogs everywhere. It put me off and ruined Cornwall for me.

Anybody comparing dogs to children should be fucking ashamed of themselves and tells you everything you need to know about the arrogance and cuntish nature of many dog owners.

Absolutely. Could not agree with you more. Glad we do.

Dogs are so much better,

Woof!

YANBU recently a shopping centre here trialled having dogs allowed in the mall, shops & restaurants, much to the dismay of most customers, shop/restaurant owners& cleaning staff - after a few weeks accidents staff had to clean up it thankfully it didn't last long, came to a swift halt when 1 particularly lovely chap refused to clean up his dog poo in a restaurant!
I like dogs but don't feel the need to have them everywhere.

In that case should the owners consider whether taking the dog on holiday with them is actually the good idea they think it is? Other people shouldn't have to put up with badly behaved dogs just because someone cannot bear to leave them dog somewhere it might actually be happier for a short time!

I’m not a fan of dogs. In fact, if I woke up tomorrow and all dogs were gone from the world and had never existed, it wouldn’t bother me one bit.
However, I have to say I haven’t particularly noticed the situation you describe, OP. I was also on holiday in Cornwall a few months ago and didn’t think there were more dogs than usual, or that they were more annoying than usual. I went to pubs where there were dogs but I wasn’t annoyed by them and it certainly didn’t “reek of dogs”.
I actually think there was more dog poo around when I was a child, and dogs were worse in terms of jumping up at you etc - in fact people used to let their dogs out by themselves to wander around.

I agree.
I'm sure this thread gets done literally every week.

I do think it's comparable to children being annoying to some people. That doesn't mean that dogs and children are similar, but they are two things that are now more commonly welcomed in places that used to be off limits.
I'd rather sit on a table next to a dog that's just lying on the floor than a child who makes loads of noise and running around, but each to their own. Just go somewhere else if you don't like it.

You cannot say you agree with them not being comparable and then say dogs are better, because that in itself is a comparison.