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.

Gentle parenting.

Having dogs isn't new. Taking dogs into some cafes isn't new. But this stupid expectation that they can be inflicted on everyone else and everyone else should be happy about it sure is.

This - and I agree it's similar to an every increasing number of parents these days - I have kids but they were expected to behave or we'd leave and not be a nuisance to others. I suspect what will eventually happen in both cases is less and less tolerance till it's much harder to go out with dogs or children.

Speaking as a dog owner and a dog lover. I also hate this in restaurants and cafe's. It may be a dog friendly establishment, however this is not a green light for dogs to run around and do as they please. The owner should have been in control of the dog at all times. What if a server or another customer tripped over it. I have the same attitude towards children in restaurants. I love children, I have children, I do not want someone else's child all over me!

I think it has become the norm now for people to take their dog/s everywhere with them. I tend to leave my dog at home unless we are out for a long length of time and then I will have her with us. If she is with us then she stays with us, we don't have her going up to other diners or their table. It is just basic manners.

I always thought dogs were banned from food selling premises due to hygiene, I.e pissing or crapping on the floor which dogs are liable to do. How anyone could support it or find it necessary for a dog to be in a cafe I don’t know.

Bonkers!

I'm a massive dog lover but this would annoy me. I had a very similar encounter the other day. We were in a pub the in the bar section and we had our dog sleeping under the table. A woman comes in and once seated lets her three dogs off lead to just roam around. They're under our table, disturbing our dog, jumping up when we're trying to eat and the owner literally did nothing. Absolutely bizarre!

No offence but ppl should leave their flea bitten mongrels in the car window slightly open,

This is how many of us feel about children in pubs and nice restaurants.

Children have to learn how to behave in a whole host of new environments, including public places such as restaurants and cafes. Of course they should be prepared beforehand, but there is a first experience for lots of things.

Letting your dog wander off lead isn't comparable in the slightest because it's unnecessary.

God my DD would swell up if a dog came close to her like that.

This. And it’s not too late - write into the cafe. The more people raise these issues the more dog friendly restaurants will need to ensure their customers have their pets under control because it’s getting ridiculous.

I tried to enter one coffee shop to wait for a friend and this unleashed dog kept walking towards me and I stepped back and closed the door. Repeat about twice, before I asked a member of staff to help me out which she kindly did by standing in front of the dog and deterring it from approaching me, but tbh the customers should’ve been asked to take a hold of their dog.

I won’t go there again.

@LaurieStrode 'flea bitten mongrels', this made me laugh! My dog is in her 18th year and rarely seen out and about so the chances of her catching fleas are almost nil. I do put flea drops on her though as you never know! I don't call her a mongrel, I tend to refer to her as the Mutt! 😂

As with every dog thread, it's now morphing into a child bashing thread.
Of course children should be taught how to behave, but comparing children to dogs is pointless every single time.

I was in Barmouth a few months ago & everyone appeared to have at least 2 dogs. You couldn’t move for them as one dog owner would stop & chat with another, whilst the dogs sniffed, barked, or licked each others arses. You could barely shuffle along, as even those that didn’t stop had the dogs on long leads so you were always in danger of tripping up over them. Bastard nuisance they are!

I don’t have kids but I’d much rather a toddler wandering up to me than a dog which can easily bite or scratch me, or give me reason to fear it will. Yes some toddlers can do the same, but I wouldn’t find that half as scary 😂

so yeah it’s not the same at all. I never get this comparison. aside from the fact that children are humans, that we all once were - They are not dogs /pets 🥹

I try and avoid dog friendly cafes /restaurants but sometimes I’ll forget to ask and be taken by surprise. Even some dog owners don’t like to be around dogs in cafes, but I appreciate many people do enjoy it and feel it adds to the atmosphere. So, I think it would be great for everyone if everywhere would advertise clearly on their windows if dogs are permitted.

I agree. When parents complain about people being intolerant of children in public spaces their complaint should really be about the significant minority of parents who spare no thought for anyone else and allow their children to be a complete nuisance to everyone else. This is leading to a situation where people automatically groan inwardly when they see a couple with toddlers and babies heading for a table near them in restaurants. They are just so used to having their meal disrupted by parents who do nothing while their children shout and scream and wail and bang things on the table, that they have started to assume this is going to happen anytime they are seated beside a young family.

The same is going to happen with dogs in cafes and pubs. People will just become fed up of inconsiderate and self centred dog owners and will not want dogs anywhere near them when they're trying to eat. Then the people who have caused the problem in the first place will start whining about 'dog haters' etc.

Ah you have outed yourself as one of those kinds of owner in the OP. As you can see from this thread, there are plenty of decent dog-owners criticising the behaviour in the OP.

The problem with owners like those in the OP and you, is that you get all dog-owners tarred with the same brush which is really not fair.

I would absolutely contact the cafe and tell them that you left because of this inconsiderate dog owner's attitude. Dog friendly they may be, but I suspect they'll ditch the dog friendliness if it means losing customers.

You post a rant like that and begin it with "no offence"? 😂

FWIW I don't think either dogs or children should encroach on the space of other customers.

Oh I forgot I was in a cafe a couple yrs back in canterbury and was eating and this JRT decided to drop a turd and the waitress came along with a paper towel and picked it up ,I was gobsmacked ,first did she wash her hands,she didn't have time,because she brought a tray out,second the owner should have toilet trained the dog and third the odour was quite bad too put me off eating to the tune of £12.69 never went there again and now I avoid any cafe that says dog friendly,I love dogs ok and I sound like a whiney dog hater,I laugh if a dog pumps my leg ,I laughed when I see a dog cock it's leg over someone sandwich board whilst spouting religion at speakers corner,I laugh at a barking dog chasing bicycles,or when they show you tube vids of dogs being weirdos or dogs chasing each other around parks having met for the first time, great fun

I'm a dog owner and hate dogs being allowed in restaurants.

The tide is turning though. I'm seeing more and more previously dog friendly places now refusing dogs or restricting them to outside only. They've realised more people don't want it and so are losing trade.

The twattish inconsiderate owners only have themselves to blame.

We avoid dog friendly places now. Two members of our family are allergic to dogs.

I will never understand why people don't complain at the time

Whether you think staff have noticed it or not. I'd like to know their response

So So you actually know me in RL?

If you did, you would know my dogs and their behaviour around other people...

Judging by your post however it is very unlikely that you know me in RL.

Went to one recently , most dogs on leads and very well behaved then one came in and as soon as saw our dc was barking and pulling in its lead to get to them. Settled for a bit and then when my ds (who has asd and Tourette’s) was making some noises the dog went absolutely mental again. By that point it was off lead and had been sitting quietly but ran over and starting growling at my youngest dc then ds got agitated and more noisy and the dog was really growling at him and the owners were sitting there doing nothing I had to say ‘get your dog now and put it on a lead !’ They huffed and puffed and said ‘he’s not keen on noisy children’ I said well don’t take him to a fucking cafe on a busy afternoon then

Dog hating?

So you think it's reasonable for someone to allow their dog to annoy people in a restaurant? And I suppose the OP should have just sucked it up without complaint?

With the owner's permission I used to take my dog into a local café when she was a puppy. She's small so she would curl up on my lap under the table and sleep. No-one knew she was there as she never moved and didn't bark.

I would be very annoyed if I was trying to enjoy a meal out and someone's dog, or child, or another adult kept on intruding and being irritating. Doesn't mean I hate dogs or children or other adults.

This made me laugh because in the summer we went on holiday to Great Yarmouth and we went to this pizza restaurant and the chef's daughter aged 6 decided to come and sit with us while we ate our meal. No one moved her. It was the most random ridiculous thing and that was before she started hitting and screaming at me 🤨