Dog annoying us in restaurant

[Onthegreeen]

I was in a restaurant with a friend this morning. A dog at the next table kept wandering over around our table, putting his head onto our laps, swishing his tail against us etc.
We asked the owner if she could keep him at her own table at which point she said it was a dog friendly cafe and he was entitled to be there.
So were we, but we weren't entitled to wander around other tables annoying people. Children are welcome in the cafe but they're not entitled to go up and sit on some random customer's lap.

We couldn't be bothered getting into an argument so we just left. But AIBU to think she was bloody rude and self entitled.

I used to frequent a pub (it's closed down now) where the owners had a quiet & friendly JRT which was sometimes in the bar area. It wasn't a problem & I used to slip it bits of my meal.

The night I had a problem was when a woman & her mother brought in a huge, shaggy, wet dog which absolutely stank. They sat down at the table next to us & as we'd just ordered food, I quietly suggested that we move to a different table further away before the food arrived. We did, & it shouldn't have been a problem but for the whole time we were there, the younger woman with the dog kept staring at me & making loud remarks about some people not liking her dog & thinking they were too good to be near them, obviously trying to pick a fight because I'd simply moved away from her.

It's people who are the problem, not dogs. It's not a question of hating dogs. I do think, though, that if this has become A Thing then restaurants should display some sort of symbol on the windows/menu to warn people that it's 'dog friendly'. Maybe a dog symbol with a halo for 'dogs must be kept quiet & under control by their owners' or one with horns for 'dogs are allowed to run riot in here & yap incessantly'.

It's not.
Children are small humans, and many are just learning how to behave.
Dogs are animals which the owners need to keep under control if they want to keep the privilege of having them inside what really are human environments.

Hear hear. I couldn't agree more. I don't want my legs covered in dog hair and slobber from other people's dogs.

I can not stand this dog obsessed culture (and I have dogs - I love them but they are not children).

My work colleague has a dog who barks and lunges at people. She brings it into the office every week despite the fact it obviously distresses the dog and causes territorial behaviour whenever people go into the room. She also takes it to pubs/cafes and has had complaints about the behaviour. Dogs aren't babies and they don't need to go everywhere with you. They need to be taught boundaries. It's not funny or cute for them to harass people who don't want it.

And to those claiming dog hating - I am absolutely fine to admit that I do indeed hate dogs (though appreciate that not everyone who criticises their behaviour does). I wouldn't never want a dog to be mistreated or subject to cruelty, but I don't have to like them. Sorry if you think that makes me some kind of evil person.

Dogs are animals, not people. They do not belong in human public spaces (with the obvious caveat about guide dogs or hearing dogs of course).

What is whiny and intolerant about not wanting a stranger's dog to annoy us when we're trying to sit quietly minding our own business in a cafe?

Don't be ridiculous.

I'm a dog lover and I don't think dogs should be allowed to wander round restaurants. Well behaved dogs that sit quietly with their owner is fine (although I know others wouldn't agree!) but wandering around is not on. I only ever took my dog into a cafe once. That was enough for me to know that it was not an environment I should take him into again as he was beside himself with spaniel excitement.

Wandering over and head in your lap is not on. It swishing its tail when it goes passed you can’t be helped though and you need to get over that

I wouldn't want other people's children coming up to me either. I didn't let mine wander about when they were small and learning how to behave.

It was because it was coming right up to us at our table that the tail swishing all over us was annoying. Not because he was walking past us.

No.
Let the human offspring learn how to behave at home, in nursery and in school, the environments that are specifically set aside for them. Practising on strangers in restaurants, shops and other public venues is rude and obnoxiuous.

Clearly many pubs and restaurants dog AND human environments.

No she was in the wrong.

I’m sick of it too and heartily support any cafe that bans dogs. Like others said though, it’s the owners that are the problem. I saw a dog sitting on a chair licking crumbs off the table while it’s owners ate afternoon tea. Totally gross.

I don't care about friendly dogs being friendly, I like a happy dog that wants a stroke, but into everyone does. If you've asked them not to let the dog near you then they're being unreasonable by not doing that.

I'd rather a happy dog under my table than an annoying child running around 😬

It shouldn't have been wandering about. It's a dog friendly restaurant not the dog's home.

Taking an animal with you when you go out is so unnecessary. People treat them as family and expect them to be accepted like children in any public place. It's truly bizarre!

Dog-friendly often means letting them up to tables, eating off plates and getting petted by staff who then go back to serving food. There are dog foods on menus and everyone talks to them in soppy voices. It's so odd. I wouldn't take a goat or a rabbit out with me; leave your animals at home, where they won't bother people or make them ill.

I had a dog beating me on the back in a cafe today. It was standing next to me while I sat on a bench. It was happy and wagged its tail vigorously. Actually I wasn't annoyed because it was quite endearing, but grandkids would have freaked out if it happened to them. Daughter has allergy to dogs and it would have been awful for her if she'd been with us like she usually is.

At least it didn't pee on my bench!I 🤣🤣🤣🤣☺️

YANBU, as I'm sure the owner also knew. I don't like being bothered by dogs in that sort of way either.

Ive been to dog friendly places with my dogs. Always kept them by my side or if possible under the table. No way would I let them wander about.
And I would complain to the restaurant manager about it too.

I am a dog owner who loves places where my dog is welcome. I can blissfully delude myself that his company is delightful and sought by any and everyone... But that's not the case. Lots of people don't like or are allergic to/afraid of dogs, or just want a coffee and a bun with their friend in peace, without a random hairy snout shoved in their crotch.

As besotted as I am with my dog, I agree that it is absolutely unacceptable for his company and attentions to be forced on anybody where they are neither invited nor wanted.

Whenever he is with me, he's on a lead and monitored closely so that there are no opportunities for wandering, pestering or shoving his face into the crotches of strangers. "Dog friendly" are not bywords for a free-for-all doggy play-park. I'd be mortified if his unchecked behaviour was the cause of annoyance and distress.

I do agree that it's akin to parents who let their children scream and run amok without restraint. There's no excuse.

At the last dog-friendly cafe the beast and I were in, a previous patron had left half a croissant on the floor under the next table. I wouldn't even extend his lead so that he could snaffle it - he could have tripped someone carrying a tray or hot drink, or bothered other people - he could even have knocked over furniture in his quest for abandoned pastry. In the end, a waitress asked if she could pass it to him, which avoided a walk home in stony, sulky silence and an evening of mutinous protest-farts, but there's no way I'd think it acceptable for him to wander where he pleases and dismiss the objections of other people. That sort of attitude really boils my p*ss. I'm sorry it happened to you, OP.

Bit like the new breed of parent that let their feral asbo offspring do what they like while smiling passively at them as their entitlement and selfishness inflate by the second.

The title made me laugh. Don’t know why, just got a picture of a dog tapping people on the shoulders and regaling them with accounts of bum sniffing and bone burying activities.

Make a complaint OP. As you can see from far too many dog people on here, they don't give a shit and will prioritise their 'babies' over humans.

My parents are the same with their yappy little thing and I can't abide being around it. My daughter's 2 dogs on the other hand are well behaved and left at home when we socialise.

I was trying to have a quiet (away from my kids) coffee at a local garden centre with cafe. I’d had to queue for 20 mins and then endure two dogs barking at each other for the following 15 mins while I tried to enjoy my drink. I honestly thought the people might leave the cafe with the dog as it was obvious it was causing a nuisance. Nope. There they stayed and the dog continued to bark and basset howl the whole time. Completely bizarre.

Surely it’s bloody obvious that you don’t let your dog annoy other people on a restaurant?