To be annoyed by the number if dogs in local coffeeshops

[Hocuspoc]

I really like dogs - sounds like I am a hypocrite here, but hear me out. I do, really, however...
I go to a local coffeeshop for 20 mins early morning before work and just want to enjoy a cup of coffee. Is it the time of day - don't know, but literally every table has at least one dog sitting still or barking or trying to walk around while the owner/walker is struggling. And this is a small space. I can always smell the animal next to me and not my coffee - there is a distinctive and not a pleasant smell.
Go to another place I hear you say - I try but it is the same in the few local coffee shops with decent coffee.
Once I tried politely asking a lady who joined my table just to steer her 2 huge dogs away from me, as one was waving his tail over my pastry brushing it in process - the looks I got, and also from the neighbouring table.
These places are dog friendly yes, but they are not dog only.
I apologise if I offend anyone here, I know very well they are a part of the family for all of their owners, and dogs actually like me, often try and squeeze in and sit on my feet or just next to me (maybe part of the issue here) and if I was on a bench in the park fine, but I am eating or drinking coffee and the smell is just offensive.
I don't know how other people feel - both dog owners (are you aware that this may be inconvenience for some people) and the rest who don't own...

Yes but dogs trump autism, didn't ya know!

As is evidenced by all the selfish dog people who don't care one bit about those of us with allergies, hygiene concerns , health issues and disabilities. I am so so SICK of dogs being put above humans.

Really sorry you experienced that. Not nice, and not fair at all.

I am autistic and my dog is the main reason I leave my house sometimes.

If my dog is welcome somewhere, then I am not selfish for having her there with me. If my dog is allowed in a cafe, then please tell me what rules I am breaking.

Why does a dog with "separation anxiety" trump us humans? Why do you, someone who has chosen to get such a dog, have more of a right to enjoy cafe life than my allergic child, or the previous poster's autistic child?
Why tie your life up to the extent that a dog limits you so much? I find this so so weird. Your username is even devoted to dogs. I honestly think it is a mental sickness. Your identity is being a rescue dog MUM??? That is wild to me.

You are more pro dog than us anti dog people are anti dog. And that is very weird.

Unwritten rules of not being so selfish. No one is saying don't leave your house, But I wish you'd stop taking your dog to cafes and shops and cinemas. I can't wait til these places start backtracking on this disgusting trend, and they will. The push back has begun.

I don't take my dog to cinemas.
I struggle to understand unwritten rules. The rule in the cafe I take my dog to is that she is welcome there. She gets fuss and biscuits. How is that wrong? The cafe owners are not daft. They know who and what makes money. The cafe I go to is in the middle of a park where a lot of dog walkers go. It is business sense to allow dogs.

Will they start backtracking? Wish as much as you like. I certainly hope the rules don't change.

Mate posted a pic the other day of her and her border Collie in Costa, captioned 'Fido really loves Costa'

He really doesn't

He likes fields and chasing sheep

Selfish to not plan your day around strangers you may or may not come into contact with?

Mental sickness 😂. Honestly you're not worth my time.

What I wonder is do people feel that these dogs were missing out back in the days where no one took them clothes shopping or to eat in cafes? How did people manage separation anxiety then?

Do what I do, and just read the one word they’ve CAPS locked.

Quite!! I grew up having dogs. We took him for walks, we played with him in the garden and in the house but we never took him shopping or ti pubs and cafes. During the day when my parents were working & we were at school, he stayed at home

it wouldn’t have occurred to us to cart him everywhere

I feel like people cart dogs everywhere for their own benefit, and not for the dog's benefit. They treat them like cuddly toys or try to humanise them.

Totally agree. I’m in a work WhatsApp group and I’ve had to mute it as work is never the focus just what my colleagues’ “fur babies” have done that day. Before Christmas was ridiculous with the sharing of festive doggy bow ties and similar.

I like dogs but I don’t need their photos sliding into my WhatsApp all time.

On a different note, my daughter is very scared of dogs, especially bigger breeds so we have to avoid cafes like this.

You see an awful lot on these threads about the fuss and attention the dogs get so I wonder is that the reason.

I imagine it's lovely to meet other dog owners but a fenced dog park opened up nearby recently with a coffee truck which I thought was a brilliant compromise and the dogs are happy.

Yes, that's a much better option indeed.

We can have both. 😊

Not for me. But the fuss and attention my dog gets is a clear sign that dogs are very welcome somewhere. I don't take her there specifically for that though.
The cafe I mentioned is next to a fenced off dog area where there are often groups of dog walkers. Sometimes, there is a trainer there running some sort of group training session. I am going there shortly to meet my boyfriend. My dog will be coming, and will enjoy her biscuit then a nap whilst I have some cake 😊

The place you mentioned is a good idea too. I hope it is a success.

We have something similar near us and it’s very popular (although there are multiple complaints about people not picking up after their dogs.) Unfortunately all the coffee shops in our area permit dogs, so while the dog area is a great space for people to let their pets run about while they have a coffee, there isn’t a single place for people who would prefer not to have dogs nearby while they eat and drink. Not one. None of them want to piss off the dog owners. The dogs haven’t expressed a preference either way funny enough.

I'm guessing people weren't aware that separation anxiety was a thing. Like lots of dog behaviours that we now know more about.

Its just part of the changes in society
My parents were wandering the streets without parental supervision at age 4, and as a baby was left out with 7 year olds. You wouldn't do that now days

My mums dog used to just be let out the backdoor and just arrive back when he arrived back. No worry about leaving dogs for too long because they were just outside, and equally people were home and about. They weren't being left 9-5 Mon- Fri. People also weren't picking up poo either

Interestingly we have pictures of my mums dog on the train, on the beach and in pubs so it must have still happened.

Also Lots of people just got rid of their dogs. Anyone of my parents generation can tell you about dogs that mysteriously dissappeared off to a farm

My childhood dog went camping with us, and was left in the tent, in cars, and tied up outside places

None of that is acceptable anymore.

For people that were scared of dogs, the days of no leash laws, free roaming dogs and dogs tied up out side places wouldn't have been a better place. Lots of people have stories of being chased down the street etc

I really hate to see dogs tied up by shop doors. Other than the obvious risks to the dog of being stolen, attacked etc, an unknown unattended dog worries me. I love dogs but don't want a random dog with no owners in my path

Yes exactly. Our childhood dog came everywhere with us when we were children, my mum called him our brother 😂. Parenting has changed so much just since I was a child (in my 30s now), yet people are confused when pet ownership moves along with the times aswell.

I always end up repeatedly talking about holiday lets in these threads as I think it's something people genuinely don't know when being perplexed why there would ever be a need for a dog to be in food places.

Dogs can't be left in the following

-All static caravan parks eg havens

• anybody in a tent

-99% of touring caravan/camping/glamping pods
-a huge chunk of air bnbs
-99% of hotels

• anything centerparks style
• and most holiday lets

And nowdays people dont tie up dogs (theft and it actually being more frightening), nor do they leave them in cars (heat, theft but also due to the way car alarms work)

I think this is a more recent rule shift because certainly when we went on holiday there were far less rules about leaving dogs alone places

It does mean that in any touristy spots everyone with a dog (that's trying to follow rules) is likely to be bringing it about with them.

They wont, and the people stamping their feet about dogs being in dog friendly places wont change that. They don't seem to approach the people who make these decisions. They just have a go at the customers who are doing nothing wrong by taking their dogs to a dog friendly place.
I am being called selfish for taking my dog to a place she is welcome. Surely the people who are telling me to leave my dog at home so they feel comfortable, are the selfish ones?

My dog had a nice time in the cafe earlier. Had a cuddle from the manager, and a biscuit. The cafe has a lot of trade from people with dogs, as it is in the middle of a park. The manager knows this, and is not going to backtrack on something that makes them money.

Is this the same dog that you mentioned on another thread has continence problems and doesn’t always make it outside?

How do you make sure these problems don’t happen in the cafe? I do think it’s a little bit selfish if your dog isn’t reliably continent, even if it’s a dog-friendly cafe.