To think The Range has made a stupid decision

[hellolittleduck]

“CDS Superstores has announced a major change to The Range stores' entry requirements. Dog owners will no longer need to leave their pets outside or at home as stores across the UK are now completely dog-friendly.“

What’s the point of this other than to make shopping in The Range a miserable experience? Am I the only one who thinks it’s disgusting to have filthy dogs running around soft furnishings and fragile displays, potentially pissing on things? I assume people with dog allergies are just irrelevant then. Navigating the shop is already a nightmare when it’s busy, who wants dogs who have been rolling around in God knows what to be taking up the aisles? Think it’ll be online orders only from now on…

Same where I live. My house is on the corner of a road opposite a huge park so we get a lot of people going past taking their dogs for a walk. Absolutely vast expanse of pavement outside my house, not to mention a road with drains. A few days ago I went out to fetch something from my car to find a couple just standing idly by while their dog took a piss two feet from my front gate. When I objected the woman just said well what was I supposed to do? And the bloke said it’s ok, it’s done now. And off they went. Scummy bastards. And yes, dog shit absolutely everywhere. And don’t get me started on the number of people who bag it up and either dump it in my wheelie bin on their way past or leave it hanging from fence posts or tree branches on the footpath to the park.

I am a dog owner, I have a toy poodle and although I know there is no such thing as a non allergenic dog, I am not allergic to her, unlike most dogs. I don't expect to take her everywhere not want to and all the dogs I am allergic to makes life miserable on occasions.
2 weeks ago I went to a family wedding with my mum. Booked into a very expensive room above an eating pub which I knew was dog friendly (not many choices anywhere nearby as they got married in a very small village) but failed to see anything on the website when booking that said the rooms were dog friendly too. This meant after we had dropped our bags and got changed, I spent most of the wedding with a dripping nose and itchy eyes because although the room was clean you can never get rid of everything. At breakfast there were 3 dogs so my whole weekend was spent with allergy responses (yes I do take medication daily but it can only do so much)
My local garden centre has recently put up a sign saying they will have to ban dogs if people don't stop them peeing up displays and letting them foul in the shop and not notify the staff. It's in the countryside in a well off area.
Other people's children can be annoying but I have not been allergic to any of them yet!
I want the high street to survive but I want to be able to go in without having an allergic reaction.

The worst thing about this is that it will appeal to irresponsible dog owners only - because it’s all about the needs/wants of the owners, and not at all about the needs of the dogs. Being in such a busy, bright, crammed environment full of people and stuff, and (hopefully) not being allowed to grab at, sniff and lick the things around them is an overstimulating and frustrating experience for a dog, and meets none of their needs. No dog would choose shopping as their favourite thing to do. Think about the needs of the animal, not the people!

I'd try my best to not let my dog pee on someone else's property, but genuine question here. What did you expect them to do?

Dogs just squat when they're ready to pee, and short of carrying a pissing dog off that spot, there's not much to be done. You can't drag them by their collar if they don't want to stop weeing. If you have a solution, please share it to help dog walkers out.

I'm not even allergic, @Coffeesnob11 - but I went into Starbucks and someone had their big hairy dog occupying one of the sofas! I thought it was incredibly selfish and thoughtless. Who on earth does that?
I wish we could go back to the time when dogs weren't in shops and restaurants.

I try to avoid places that accept dogs, fortunately the Range is easy to avoid anyway

I'm not a dog owner, but I like them, and appreciate owners needs etc, but my goodness, the 'fashion' - because that's what it is - to take them literally everywhere is out of hand. The correlation between this trend and the owner type who have no awareness or care over the suitability and behaviour of the animals is akin to those who 'selectively parent' their kids. I was agog at the fella who had his bouncy puppy in a Hallmark shop recently - the type that's full of 'ornaments' etc practically at floor level and upwards...
In Aldi the other week there was a small dog essentially 'hidden' in a buggy/pushchair - making a right racket. The checkout guy was furious down his headset to mgt/colleagues. The store fell silent at the noises as nobody could tell where it was coming from. Of course, said buggy was being guarded by a child no older than 8 and not an adult to be seen.

Big talk for someone whose home likely smells like dog arsehole

As a dog owner, I’m quite happy to leave my dog at home while I shop etc.

We once took her to John Lewis, and whilst she was very well behaved, it was clearly overwhelming for her and we’d never put her through that again. I don’t particularly like taking her into any pet shop either… all the dog treats are far too accessible and I’m certain she thinks we’ve taken her to an all
you can eat buffet 🤣 I’m also very mindful that not everyone even likes dogs!

I’m not sure it is a fashion, I think it’s here to stay. For years I’ve read threads on Mumsnet eg my mum and dad won’t come for Christmas because they can’t leave the dog and our child is allergic or school mum asking to bring dog on a play date to my house but I think dogs are dirty. I think there will always be people who want to take their dog everywhere. which for people who are allergic (I don’t know how many people that is) must be awful because while you can tell your mum not to bring her dog for Christmas you can’t avoid dogs totally.

I’m just wondering what will happen when cat owners feel left out and want to do the same. The first person who goes shopping in the range with their cat is brave!

I think most shops will change being dog friendly once the injury compensation claims come in. People who can't be bothered cleaning up after their dogs generally won't start now. Not fair on staff to have to clean up after dog mess, that's not in their job description.

This.

Also correct!

So true 😂 👏

Like many other PP’s I also won’t be shopping in the Range now, along with all the other places like JL’s, Cafe Nero etc. that allow dogs. When they started letting dogs in our local Wilko’s it was awful - yappy annoying dogs everywhere. Incredibly unhygienic. As a result I wasn’t particularly surprised or bothered when they all shut - I suspect the Range may also be acting out of desperation to increase footfall.

seems to have the same effect on my son apparently! ours does a loo though - probably because it’s got a cafe. not sure dogs + soft furnishings work though

Totally agree with this. We also have dogs. Love them to bits. Would not take them shopping, though.

Sunday lunch last weekend … it was more like a kennels than a pub restaurant. I love dogs but my adult DD is very allergic so I’ve crossed that off as a potential place to meet.

I've been a dog owner for over thirty years, and until the whole nation went completely dog crazy as a result of covid lockdowns me and my dogs managed perfectly well with all the totally reasonable restrictions on where dogs were allowed.

The level of access expected for dogs now is daft. I can see why retailers and hospitality businesses allow this access, since they are desperate for footfall, but it really isn't fair on the many people who don't want dogs around.

It also isn't helpful for the dogs. It seems to be yet another manifestation of the fact that dog ownership now extends to people who have less understanding of dogs' distinctive needs, and more of a desire to just slot them into a lifestyle that is unnatural for them.

ROLL UP, ROLL UP, STEP RIGHT THIS WAY FOR ANOTHER DOG HATING THREAD, COME BITCH ABOUT SOMETHING YOU MISERABLE BASTARDS THAT HAS ABSOLUTELY NO EFFECT ON YOU!!!!

Just live and let live, if a dog in a shop is misbehaving maybe just tell a store assistant if they wouldn’t mind dealing with it, society is becoming so miserable, people want to ban everything they can that someone else might like, just stay in your own lanes and mind your own business!

Excellent points, @ReadWithScepticism .
Also, good points from other responsible dog owners on here. They're pets, and need to be trained properly.

Lockdown dogs were raised by inexperienced owners and given no practice of being alone. Subsequently people are stuck with needy, clingy dogs that have no ability to relax if they are beyond 6 feet away from their owners at all times.

The cinema in our town allows dogs in. I've never actually seen a dog in there but the manager told me that some older people go to the afternoon showings with their dogs. My dog would be bored stupid in a cinema.

Do dog owners really think their dogs like being dragged around shopping with hundreds of other people? Most dogs look throughly miserable in this situation.
I’m sure they would much prefer to be at home in familiar surroundings or on a nice walk in a green space.

my dog could stay at home but we might go out for a walk at the beach for example and may pop in to the range on the way,
unlikely though

my dog loves walking through the town, lots of smells, lots of dog treats given at charity shops as well.