To dare to think that the Cult of Dog has gone too far?

[MariLlwyd]

There is now not a single public space in my home town that is dog-free - and that includes cafes, restaurants and even the library. Local beaches, once a quiet escape, have turned into asylums for the fur baby/pupper brigade to inflict their poorly trained animals on others with children getting chased, people jumped on and tripped over and all to the sound of hysterical barking and frequent dog fights.
80 year old woman knocked over by uncontrollable dog? 'You got in his way'.
Ask politely that you take your dog away from our lunch table? 'Go fuck yourself'.
Sit on the most remote bench you can find? Peri-menopausal wild eyed harridan lets loose 3 dogs from her 4x4 to jump all over you and laughs that it's 'their spot' and turns unhinged when you push them away.
Yes, this is a rant and yes I hate most dog owners.
This weird cult that values darling dogs over human beings is actually pretty worrying.
I shall await the inevitable and hilarious 'incoming' from the emotionally stunted Doggo Nutters.

They are and they have on other threads too. Calling women ‘Peri-menopausal wild eyed harridans’, telling people they’re wrong to take dogs in cafes and shops when the owners of those cafes and shops allow it, the language they’re using, one memorable poster on another thread said that all dogs should be thrown off cliff edges, another said they should be sent in space, I’d say that is losing their minds. It’s the same on every thread like this. It’s very amusing.

There's a definite link that you're choosing not to see.

Some people can afford to pay for their dogs to eat ice cream. Some people cannot afford to pay for their child's breakfast, let alone ice cream. That is the sign of a dysfunctional economy and society.

@MariLlwyd I totally agree!

I don’t like dogs, don’t want to like them and don’t want to be around them - especially when shopping or trying to have a drink or meal and unexpectedly having dogs around!

Pet friendly places should be clear so those of who want non pet friendly places can avoid!

It is unbelievable how entitled some dog owners are. I used to manage the social media of an arts and heritage centre in my local town. It was a small venue with a cafe, and gardens tended by volunteers, and due to these reasons we had a no dog policy with signs on the gates.

The level of vitriol we received on social media because of that decision was ridiculous. There were some people who'd repeatedly leave negative comments about us because of our no dog policy, and we'd regularly get long ranty messages from people annoyed about it.

We'd calmly explain that the policy was to keep the gardens as a more hygienic place for the volunteers to work, and the usual response would be something along the lines of "well my dog wouldn't do that."

It's probably why most businesses are 'dog friendly' now - because they realise that the headache of dealing with rude and entitled dog owners because of having a no dogs policy is just too much effort.

I don’t know what dogs you are encountering but there is only one dog in my extremely doggy neighbourhood who has ever approached me and behaved badly as that is down to his extremely lax owner who seems to think it’s adorable that his dog is jumping on people’s laps in our local cafe. However, that’s probably a ratio of 1:250 so I’m not sure it’s as big a problem as you make out. One thing I will say is dogs are likely to take eye contact as an invitation to say hello, maybe as you glower away at them you’re making it worse for yourself? If you ignore them they don’t usually approach.

The only dog issue I come across is dogs and picnics, but really parks are the one place dogs should be allowed so if you’re eating on the ground it’s up to you to be aware of incoming dogs.

YANBU.

And I say that as someone who does enjoy being able to take their small, well trained dog out to most places.

Unfortunately, in a pattern as old as the dawn of time, the inconsiderate, stupid and irresponsible ruin it for everyone else.

It amazing that my dog has managed to retain her happy personality despite the amount of 'friendly' dogs allowed to run at and jump on her. The owners are either blank eyed or rude when I explain that no one is psychic, so it's unacceptable to let your dog run at and jump on other people and dogs, no matter how friendly you think they are.

There was a little girl with scars on her face usually walking with her DM that we saw regularly on walks. The girl was obviously a bit nervous of dogs so we always stood off to the side to let them pass with as much distance as possible. Eventually the mum asked if the girl could stroke ddog as she thought she was nice. The mum explained that the girl had been bitten on the face previously and had been terrified of all dogs since. It was lovely seeing the girl light up and run over when she saw us on walks.

I was fucking furious when we saw the mum on her own in the park one day. Her dd was too upset to come out as she'd been pounced on and knocked over by a German shepherd, while the owner laughed and told the panicking mum to chill out, he was friendly.

I got on the bus recently in the pissing rain with ds2 in his pram. A woman had her CAT in one of them dog pushchairs and wouldn’t budge. The lady in the other pushchair spot kindly unfolded her child’s buggy so I could get on.

Went to a cafe with outside seating recently and a dog had its dirty, infested arse sitting on the table. 🤢🤢🤢🤢

There’s only one reason that businesses allow dogs and that’s because it makes them more money!

No it really isn't up to us.

My children and I should be able to have a picnic in peace. Besides which, we often make crispie cakes or chocolate buns, and I'd hate to think of a poor dog suffering any ill effects from ingesting chocolate (or worse, sweetener) because it has an irresponsible owner.

The only dog issue I come across is dogs and picnics, but really parks are the one place dogs should be allowed so if you’re eating on the ground it’s up to you to be aware of incoming dogs.

No, dogs should be under the owner’s control at all times and trained not to approach people picnicking. Or kept on leads if they don’t have reliable recall. Even in parks. There are plenty of dog fields that you can hire to train your dog these days.

I have two dogs.

They're not my "fur babies", they're dogs. Yes they are part of the family, however I don't understand dogs being taken into shops/cafes etc. I would never take mine into either of those places, if we have them with us whilst shopping (only ever normally on holiday in the UK), one of us stays outside and holds the dogs, even if the shop owner insists we can bring them in. It's not fun for me, looking round a shop with a dog, or fun for the dog! The same with a cafe.

I also made sure they both have good recall from a young age so if we're out and about and they're off the lead, they come back to me instead of running up to people.

There are lots of inconsiderate dog owners though, who haven't taught their dog recall, I've lost count of the amount of times a dog starts following us on our walk, having run to us from quite a distance, ignoring the owners calls and I've had to stop and wait for the owner to come and grab the dog by its collar and drag it away 🙄

I think a lot of people got dogs during covid and some haven't the foggiest about training them, nor the inclination to do so!

A dog can't speak our language but he can certainly speak. They communicate in many ways mostly using body language (which come to think of it do humans not do 90% of their communicating this way too).

A dog that can easily outrun me in the park (and thus escape) chooses to return to me.

A dog that has his own bed/sofa, chooses to come and sit beside me on my sofa.

A dog that chooses each night to climb up onto my bed and snuggle into me while I sleep rather than sleeping in his own very expensive dog bed.

A dog that brings me a 'present' of his favourite toy to welcome me home.

I can assure you dogs can and do talk very clearly. There is no projection on my part.

They turn their head when they don't want something, they use their ears to communicate and their tails. They growl or bite to communicate.

If you don't know any of these things about how dogs communicate then it's a bit silly to post on a thread like this.

It's quite simple - for people with children, the children are most important.

For people with dogs, the dogs are most important.

Some dogs are annoying (not trained by adult humans). Some children are annoying (not trained by adult humans).

If the cafe allows me and my dog to come in. These yes I'm coming in. My dog will not bother you. If his presence annoys you then feel free to leave. If I have to tolerate your children (which I do quietly because they are entitled to be there) they you can do the same with my dog or leave. We both have to adhere to the same rules and tolerate others that we don't care for.

By the way children most certainly do not have unconditional love for their parents. My parents were most cruel and yes we 'loved' them because we depended on them for our survival and we knew no better. What they told us was 'love' was what we believed. When my mum was dying, 3 of her 4 children refused to care or help her. The fourth did it only cos they got paid. There was no unconditional love from her children.
If you treat you child well it will love you, if you don't it won't. Same with a dog.

You could make that link between every single thing we consume. And down that path, madness lies.

It never happened to you so it nver happens - OK.

Dogs don't jump up on me, but I know it does happen.

Could be worse, it could be cats which would be far worse. Completely pointless creatures

I never used to mind dogs but I'm getting sick of their owners. The dog mess in my area is beyond a joke - I have a regular visitor that shits on my path . I also have mobility issues and have a walking stick. The amount of owners that allow their dogs to run up to me and jump up, always saying - he/she won't hurt you! Maybe not deliberately but I'm unsteady on my feet!!
I don't blame the dogs just the inconsiderate owners!

I completely agree with you and I am a massive dog lover (literally I used to have St Bernards). I lived in Australia and thought that was a nation of dog lovers. Moved here recently and coming here was draw dropping. Why are dogs in restaurants and cafes and shops!!! Insane. I saw a dog pissing on clothes in M&S once. Massive lab put its face on the edge of our table when eating in a pub, and no-one batted an eyelid. Pursed lips when a toddler is a bit loud, but a dog fight breaks out or dogs are barking in a restaurant - perfectly fine. Just insanity. I did laugh about peoples hysterical reactions to dogs being out in the heat as well. What do you think people who have dogs in Oz, and the med and other warm climates do? I saw someone being screamed at for having their dog on the pavement on a warm day - it was like 22 - I was absolutely baffled. Also the craziness about doggy day care, 11 walks a day, dog sitting, dogs can't possibly be left alone for more than 2 hours nonsense. And the obsessive grooming, paying thousands for vet care, and handwringing and angsting over rehoming when it doesn't work out. It all seems so over the top to me. That is not an oz thing. We treat our dogs like...well dogs. They are great, they are part of the family, sometimes working dogs, but they are dogs - not babies ffs. And if a dog needs thousands spent on it to survive, then it probably needs putting down and its selfish not to.

Vent over..lol. Im with you OP.

I think we would both agree that breakfast for a child is a necessity of life. Ice cream for a dog is not.

I agree the dog love thing has gone too far. The environmental impact is obvious. All owners will cry “ but I pick
up after my dog” but how often do you see a dog taking a dump while the owner walks on in front and oblivious? Also, I do litter picking and what’s with the discarded bags full of dog poo? 🤢.
Furthermore it’s so hard to find dog free spaces now. DH works with people with learning disabilities, several of whom are terrified of dogs. Even in areas where they are supposed to be on a lead owners let them run around and so DHs clients are excluded from yet another place.

The whole issue is too polarised and will never be solved.

So why is it called Dog Ice-cream if it’s not specifically for dogs?

We all have to share the world with others. I’m sure you do plenty that pisses other people off

Agreed. Where do you live, OP, where dogs are allowed such freedoms? Frankly it all sounds massively exaggerated to me and I've kept dogs for 35 years.
I live in a small market town. Some of our pubs will allow dogs but only if the owners sit at one of tables in the beer garden. We have a large park, dogs are allowed off lead in one part of it but not the others. I've never seen a dog in a shop here or in our closest large town.
I holiday at the coast with my dog twice a year. It has a dogs-allowed beach and a humans-only beach, is that not true where you are? I've never seen a dog in a shop at our holiday destination either. There are a couple of cafes and pubs which allow dogs but the rest don't. Even the dog-friendly caravan park we stay at doesn't allow dogs in the onsite restaurant, shop or launderette; and dogs have to be kept on lead whilst on the site. (I have no issue with these restrictions.)
I totally agree that dogs should not be causing a nuisance to other people and I would also call it out.
But the rest of OP's post sounds unhinged.

Yep! I'm fucking sick of it. Can't go anywhere anymore without having to endure out of control dogs frightening my child and being a general nuisance and often a danger. I long for the days of my own childhood when I was able to enjoy playing on a beach or at the park without hundreds of stinking dogs ruining it. Don't even get me started on the dog piss and shit everywhere. Gross.

My dog really doesn't want to spend every minute of the day with me, hybrid working has shown me that he lies on the sofa with his legs up for a few hours every day.He loves his walks but he has definite likes and dislikes,sitting in a coffee shop or library with me wouldn't work for him.
Presumably these people baby their dogs from day 1 and that's where the issues lie.