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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think The Range has made a stupid decision

491 replies

hellolittleduck · 16/09/2024 23:45

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… Hmm

OP posts:
Alina3 · 17/09/2024 08:10

I love the Range. Great for crafty bits.

I'm by no means a dog lover, but I don't mind dogs being around in places like this (as opposed to restaurants/pubs), however with the increase in the number of very dangerous dogs and the number of fatal dog attacks/maulings, I am now wary of anywhere that allows dogs as you can't be sure an XL Bully won't be right there in the middle of the aisle. I do wonder whether The Range have any sort of liability insurance around this, if someone is attacked by a dog on their premises. Prob not as if you know they welcome dogs and choose to go there you're choosing to take the risk...

I will avoid them for now unless this changes.

Likewhatever · 17/09/2024 08:10

Without wishing to be political, if Rachel Reeves wanted to raise a ton of cash she could do worse than reintroduce dog licences at a meaningful level.

ThePrologue · 17/09/2024 08:10

CherryValley5 · 17/09/2024 00:32

I have no issue with dogs but I am genuinely wondering why on earth you’d want to take them to the range? Seems very silly to me - and I’m a dog owner + lover!

It’s not a pet friendly shop in the slightest.

Edited

It isn't people friendly either, it's crap stuff!

Realduchymarmalade · 17/09/2024 08:12

I think its that so many shops are just desperate for custom, most people are online shoppers only predominately. Dog people are generally the ones looking for places to wander about, so I can see the logic. But yes, it is disgusting.

MotherofAllMatriarchs · 17/09/2024 08:12

That’s gross. Besides the obvious issues around hair, lots of dogs smell too.

ThatsNotMyTeen · 17/09/2024 08:12

Why do people need to take dogs with them everywhere these days? I particularly hate it in coffee shops and restaurants. Especially where they let them sit on seats. I don’t want to sit on a seat where someone’s dog’s bum has been

HospitalitySux · 17/09/2024 08:13

MayThink · 17/09/2024 07:21

You can tell the good and bad dog owners on this thread. The good ones train their dogs to stay at home. The bad entitled ones bring their dogs everywhere, including homeware shops.

The pandemic has seen a rise in misanthropic people who no longer have social skills. They can no longer cope with people and don’t know how to interact socially. They are the ones saying that they prefer dogs to humans and children. I hope the tide will turn again to a more normal phase of human development.

I mean tbh, I prefer my dogs to many other humans, they're better behaved than a lot of humans I come across, have better manners and are better company. They're also better behaved than at least 50% of dogs I come across because I bother myself to train, interact with and exercise them enough. But I don't disagree with the sentiment of your post at all.

Still wouldn't see the point in taking them somewhere like The Range, I don't take them to dog friendly pubs/cafes because some other dog owners make it a stressful experience for them and me, mine just lay under the table with a hopeful eye on what I'm eating, because that's what they're trained to do. Unfortunately other people think dog friendly means letting your dog do whatever it wants, harrass other people and dogs and generally expect everyone else to put up with it and entertain the dog they chose to get, and be happy about it so they're not made to feel bad.

Same goes for outside, I'm back to square one with my rescue dog who has been made reactive by other people being unable and unwilling to control their own dog because due to her past she's wary of other dogs. I get her to the point where she'll ignore them, and some arse lets their dog come over and because it's poorly socialised, it doesn't understand her leave me alone cues, or is aggressive (while the owner who has zero clue about their dogs own body language and insists it's fweendlee) and so continues to crowd her, taking us right back to her being fearful and reactive when she sees another dog.

I also work in a place that has dog friendly areas, and this summer have been tripped, snapped at, jumped up at while carrying plates of food (and yes I got a refire on them and an earful from the people who then had to wait longer for their food!) and cleaned up more dog piss and dog shit than was necessary. I've also had to provide wet towels and local veterinary contacts for people dragging their poor dogs around a tourist area in the heat and the dog has become unwell.

The dogs are just an extension of an increasingly entitled general public unfortunately. Some of them are dog owners, and they believe everyone should bend to their way, or there's holy hell to pay.

But the public rule, they're the ones who get to decide what businesses do, and this is apparently what the majority want, and the culture now is to demand a business bends to your wants and never mind the rest of the world, or face an argument and online trashing. Customer is always right after all. So I'm not surprised that more and more places are allowing dogs in.

eggplant16 · 17/09/2024 08:13

AngeloMysterioso · 16/09/2024 23:55

Fuck me, is there anywhere dogs can’t go now? My town is overrun with them… dogs in the pub, dogs in the pharmacy, dogs in Fenwicks, I’m surprised people don’t take them to church…

they do take them to church

Bornnotbourne · 17/09/2024 08:13

i only found out about the new dogs in shops when I visited DFS in York and there was a woman allowing her dogs to sit on all the sofas. I didn’t notice her at first and wondered why my breathing wasn’t great and my eyes were watering. The store cleaner was trying her best but it was shredding everywhere. It hadn’t crossed my mind that it might have consequences to me. Yet another place I can’t go to, unfortunately the list includes the Lake District as people allow dogs to bounce up and jump up on me.

ThisOldThang · 17/09/2024 08:15

EmmaGrundyForPM · 17/09/2024 07:03

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.

When I was a child some cinemas were referred to as Flea Pits. I can see that term having a renaissance.

CheekySwan · 17/09/2024 08:18

It's bad enough they let you take small children in running around all over the place, let alone dogs 😂

Joking aside, what happens when a dog bites a small child running round the shop as they do, or sees another dog it doesn't like and tries to attack it, this is a massive claim waiting to happen in my opinion

There are also people who are scared of dogs, have allergies, just don't like them and don't want to buy stuff covered in dog hair and wet dog smell

EveningSpread · 17/09/2024 08:19

Balloonhearts · 17/09/2024 00:18

Meh. They're no more disgusting than toddlers so I really can't get too worked up tbh.

I wonder how you would have liked it when you were a toddler if an adult had said to you: you’re as disgusting as a dog. 😳

UCConfuseMe · 17/09/2024 08:19

Love this! I'll take my chihuahua in this week, she lives picking out a toy.

BirthdayRainbow · 17/09/2024 08:20

The Range is a great shop if you can find what you want or even find a member of staff to help you. Mostly I can't find what I want as there is no logic and staff are never there.

My dog loves going to Pets at Home but no way would I take her in any other shop. Even though she'd love to spend 24/7 with me.

2boyzNosleep · 17/09/2024 08:22

ThatAgileGoldMoose · 17/09/2024 00:25

I think you've been OTT in what it will be like in there with dogs allowed but as a dog owner I'm not particularly supportive of this either. I love taking my dog where she is allowed and expected - pub beer gardens, garden centres and the odd dog friendly cafe. But we really don't need dogs in regular shops.

Can you tell me why you take your dog to a garden centre? I'm genuinely curious, I just don't get it. I just don't think its any different to taking them into a shop. Even if its because the garden centre has a pet section, I just can't figure out why people feel the need to take their dog.

From what I've seen, most people drive to the garden centre, so it's not like its just popping in during a walk.

My personal opinion is that pubs are the only acceptable place to take your dog.

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 17/09/2024 08:22

Friendofdennis · 17/09/2024 00:39

Ha ha someone new to our village was asking if there are any dog friendly churches in the area

https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/explore/promote/paws-pews

I hope they don't start feeding them bits of the communion wafers...😇

Paws in pews

Almost two thirds of Britain's churches are pet friendly!

https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/explore/promote/paws-pews

whyhere · 17/09/2024 08:23

I've had dogs all my adult life. They've been of various breeds, but the one thing they've had in common is that I've trained them properly. If everyone did the same, dogs in shops etc wouldn't be a problem (other than for those unfortunate people who are allergic/frightened).

The worst shops to take dogs into are, ironically, pet shops, especially the large chains. Most of them offer 'puppy socialisation' (that's a whole other subject!) which inevitably means accidents which then, however well cleaned, act as triggers for all the other dogs who come into the shop. Complete vicious circle - I never take my dog into pet shops!

Generally, I don't take my dog shopping as he wouldn't enjoy it and would stop me focussing on the reason I'm there. It seems to me that the whole issue of badly-behaved dogs with owners who expect to take them everywhere is simply one more symptom of a huge problem in the UK - entitlement. There are constant examples of this in day-to-day life, with or without dogs. People..... conducting mobile phone conversations in public places using loudspeaker; in cars/walking listening to music at ridiculously loud levels; eating food (often very smelly food) in public places; not picking up after their dog; leaving cafe tables looking as though a war has taken place there; using foul language in front of children.... It's all about 'me, me, me.'

ThisOldThang · 17/09/2024 08:24

needhelpwiththisplease · 17/09/2024 07:20

I always assume that people who take their dog shopping,can't leave it at home because it's untrained.
No other need for it to be in shops.
You are not asking Fido his opinion on some cushions in The Range

Untrained or an anxious genetic monstrosity that will trash their house when left alone - bull terriers are a prime example.

Haroldwilson · 17/09/2024 08:28

The range is so full of plastic crap probably made at great cost to workers and environment in China. A bit of dog piss would be a welcome organic addition to it tbh

ThisOldThang · 17/09/2024 08:30

Mummyoflittledragon · 17/09/2024 07:41

Don’t they? I was in pets at home a couple of years ago. A couple came in with a rescue dog they’d just picked up, a large staffy. Didn’t think to take the dog for even a wee before going in. The dog pissed everywhere, mammoth amounts and in 3 different spots. Senseless idiots didn’t even think to take the dog to wee outside after the first massive puddle.

Large staffy = pitbull.

That's classic behaviour for the type of people that own those types of dogs.

notafanofmarmite · 17/09/2024 08:31

It was a bit of a culture shock to me when I moved to the UK from the States and saw dogs allowed in restaurants. Only assistance dogs are allowed in such places in the USA. Otherwise it is a Health Board violation. I don’t myself have problems with dogs in pubs when the seating is outdoors, or in a pet store, etc, or if there is outdoor dining. Otherwise I am not keen….I like dogs fine, but my attitude may just be what I was used to where I came from.

I found myself having to ask my neighbours politely not to let their dog run around in my garden, and they were really offended….their view was I should fence off my driveway and have more fences (my garden is already fenced) to accommodate their dog. That’s when I knew I was in an alternative universe.

Howdidtheydothat · 17/09/2024 08:32

AngeloMysterioso · 16/09/2024 23:55

Fuck me, is there anywhere dogs can’t go now? My town is overrun with them… dogs in the pub, dogs in the pharmacy, dogs in Fenwicks, I’m surprised people don’t take them to church…

They can (and do) attend church including a couple of funerals that I have been to recently. They weren’t service dogs.

Silviasilvertoes · 17/09/2024 08:33

WhereTheHeckAreMyGlasses · 17/09/2024 06:29

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!

Exactly this. But my mum will be delighted Hmm

DustyLee123 · 17/09/2024 08:33

Not all service dogs are service dogs. You can buy the harness/lead off the internet.

TheBers2024 · 17/09/2024 08:34

Kentuckycriedfrickin · 16/09/2024 23:59

IME, it's hardly ever the nice dogs that go everywhere with their owners (probably because good owners wouldn't take their dogs to unsuitable places to begin with). It's always the yappy fuckers or the "fur babies" or the jumpy twats hanging out at the very end of their lead or the genetically fucked up science experiments... Sorry, designer breeds ... stumping around, struggling to breathe and looking at you with a pained expression.

I love dogs, don't think they should be on lead all the time and think people need learn how to behave around dogs rather than the other way round, but you're right.

Its a stupid idea.