Dogs in restaurants

[MealDealDreamz]

Informal dining and cafes, fine. Pubs, fine. But only if dogs are on the floor and reasonably well behaved (by that I mean not barking all the time).Restaurant not fine. Am I alone in this?
If I am paying to go somewhere specifically to enjoy the food and pay extra for it and want to enjoy a special evening (birthday) why do I have to put up with a dog lying on the floor at the table next to me?. I just don't think this is necessary or acceptable. Am I totally alone in this?

YANBU at all. Who wants dog hair in their food?

But it's pretty easy to avoid by simply eating at restaurants and cafes that don't allow dogs inside.

I don’t see the issue. Most of the time you don’t know they are there. Unlike children who ruin many restaurants

Are you just trying to be provocative?

I have a dog, there are loads of restaurants that don't allow dogs or only allow dogs in some areas. I would recommend you go to one of them if dogs bother you.
Loud/drunk people or loud kids bother me more than a well behaved dog

Not really. Just pointing out the number of people comparing animals to children but there were so many I got bored. They are not the same. Children trump dogs every time. Restaurants do not exist for dogs, they exist for people. People that compare the two are batshit. Not sure why you think me pointing this out is provocative, it’s simply a fact.

I completely agree. Annoying humans whether children or adults are far preferable to stinking animals.

I do understand- not everyone loves dogs, they are not always well behaved and yes it’s less hygienic.

However, I’ve just been on holiday with my dog and so I had to take him with me. Luckily there were a great many restaurants who would take him. Some in certain areas only, which is attempting to accommodate everyone. There were other restaurants who refused dogs. I was absolutely fine with that.

Being a puppy he had a crash course in lying quietly and being as unobtrusive as possible. Because most dog owners do understand that our love for our dogs is not shared by everyone.

I have 3 dogs, who are well behaved. I would never take any of them to a restaurant when having a meal. Dogs can be left for at least 4 hours at home without any problems.

Since covid and a LOT of newby dog owners, they treat them like children and expect them to be accepted everywhere.

I recently had a meal in a pub restaurant to be greatly annoyed by a dog constantly yowling and barking 🤷‍♀️? So bloody annoying, leave them at home!

It never ends does it, there’s always something someone won’t like in public and in restaurants, dogs, kids, the group of screeching women celebrating Big Ann’s 50th, the group of middle aged men being shouty and using choice language, the Jane Austin society sex party in the snug, the person in the corner wearing a Bette Davis wig and staring intently at you while you eat your melon starter. Fine, I may have made up ‘Big Ann’, but really all we can do is stay in our own lane, mind our own business finish our soup and let others live their lives, with or without their dogs in a restaurant. I suppose it’s fun to keep debating it though, that’s what we are on Mumsnet for I suppose.

Not really because everyone you have described there (real or imagined) is a human and has an absolute right to be there despite being annoying. Dogs are not humans and so don’t get to be in these spaces unless expressly allowed so it’s perfectly acceptable to debate where those places might be. You might not like Big Ann but that’s immaterial because she has a right to be there. We are not debating whether humans should be allowed in restaurants anymore…although maybe that would solve the problem of them being pissed off at the dogs. 😂

Well that’s where you are wrong, the person staring intently at someone eating the melon was actually a St Bernard wearing a Bette Davis wig! Nobody guessed their brilliant disguise 😂

You didn't just "point it out" did you?

If the dog is well out of the way, quiet and not moving around I don't have a problem with it being there. If it isn't, leave the dog at home.

And if your children are noisy and disturb others, take them outside.

I did, it was a follow on from my original post. Dogs lick their arses, eat shit and leave fur around. That’s basically why they shouldn’t be allowed near food for starters.

Surely it’s up to the owners of the establishment?

Maybe they want to weed out the dog haters?

We all have choices after all.

If dogs are allowed in a place, how does that make one 'entitled'?

My dog lies under the table. Doesn't bark or react to other dogs. Bothers no one in a dog friendly place. You've not answered why they are exempt from being 'grim' though.

The owner of the establishments decision to allow dogs. Not yours.

And yet they are allowed in some..... end of

Well fuck me sideways this question hasnt been asked on here before has it.

I’d rather a quiet dog lying on the floor than a kid kicking off and being a nuisance.

But an elderly person may trip over the dogs fat arse and cause themselves an injury.

And it will always be me. 😎

Depends on the situation. If DH and I went out for a walk and stopped in at a country pub, we'd be thoroughly disappointed if there were no dogs there. Dogs are lovely creatures.

Miss Darcy should get her filthy canine arse off that sofa.

Sorry about that. They are still grim, obviously.

However, their grimness is mitigated by the comprehensive training they receive before qualifying as assistance dogs. Their behaviour is regularly reviewed and if they are no longer suitable for the job, they are retired.

Their competence as assistance dogs is assessed by impartial experts against set criteria. They don't take the word of the dog's doting owner that it is perfectly behaved and can do no wrong.

The fact that they are performing an important function and there aren't many of them further reduces there grimness quotient.