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.

Assistance dogs are the marines of dogs, tbf. They're probably far more tidy and less annoying than most humans.

I love dogs, had them all my life until a few years ago.
But yes it’s out of hand, I don’t even see a friend anymore much as she got 2 and now insists on treating them like her babies (she has kids) and bringing them EVERYWHERE!
She however has no control over them, no recall and one is aggressive to other dogs, it’s no fun going out anymore. They have become her entire life and it revolves only around them and if they can come.
Its the reason I don’t even want a dog anymore, the thought of walks now with the owners with no clue fills me with dread

@postmanshere

you genuinely prefer your dogs company to anyone else’s? Like literally anyone else? What about your partner? Your best mate? Your family?

I think it's the change in entitlement really. It feels like the same issue as the dickheads watching tiktoks on the bus with no headphones or letting their kids play/watch inane things on iPads in restaurants. There's not enough sense of community expectations and reasonable behaviour in public spaces.

Presumably you're not including assistance dogs...

Absolutely. Guide dogs for the blind are amazingly clever animals which go through years of training. As are hearing dogs for the deaf or those dogs which alert an owner to an impeding epileptic seizure or that their sugars are low. We have had those sorts of assistance dogs for decades without issue.

Problem is, every cheeky fucker buys a high-vis dog coat from Amazon and declares that their untrained pet animal is a support dog, therapy dog, assistance dog when they are very much not. And store staff on minimum wage do not have the skills or willingness to challenge the cheeky fucker on their "support animal", knowing they will probably get a torrent of foul-mouthed abuse for their trouble.

It's purely a matter of lack of choice as to where someone can go now without navigating dogs.

I can't walk in the local park without dogs all around me.
I can't have a coffee out - same
I can't go shopping - same

So my life is restricted and it's online shopping, coffee meet ups in various dog free houses and so on.

I have little choice, and that is the problem. Not the dogs as such.

Why do you think that is?

I like dogs and am comfortable around them, but I agree with the OP. Dogs are pets and don't need to be taken everywhere. Obviously, you can't leave them on their own for several hours, but a responsible owner realises this. A responsible owner also realises that they don't have to be joined at the hip with their dog.

The responses from unkind dog owners are always along the lines of "well find a dog free cafe/shop/pub etc". The problem is that these are becoming fmuch scarcer these days, and eventually people who are uncomfortable around dogs or are allergic to them will have very few dog free places to go to.

Incidentally, a lot of beaches are dog free between May and September.

I don’t know where you live but it sounds awful. I’m a dog owner and completely agree that allowing access has gone too far, and personally I wouldn’t ever take my dog to restaurants or shops, she gets left at home as it’s less stressful for us both. I will sit outside at a cafe with her after a dog walk, but I respect the fact that not everyone likes dogs.

However, I do think you are over exaggerating the issues, your whole post is hyperbolic, and in parts offensive. I would never refer to my dog as a fur baby btw, and in my experience the majority of dog owners are responsible people and not ‘emotionally stunted Doggo Nutters’.

It is becoming a serious problem now. I have a bone disease and if I fall I will break a bone. When I am out I am on constant lookout for dogs as owners just let them bound up to me. I take a stick and when a dog comes flying at me I create a firm tripod .. two legs and the stick ... to try and avoid falling. I should not be having to do this. It is just crazy that I should be in this position.

As for dogs in shops ... no, just no ... in any kind of shop.

There seems to be no way of stopping this madness.

Completely agree with what @WibbleyPie. says. I'm a dog lover and try to be considerate to others (my large breed dogs only go off lead in an enclosed dog field, which we pay to use). We don't take our dogs into cafes, shops and so on and I can't understand why some people take their (non service dogs) into the city centre. Most bafflingly, last year I saw someone with a dog at a music festival - again, seemingly not a service dog. I mean why would you do that to an animal? What enjoyment do they get from being in a crowd, subjected to all that noise? I think dogs are wonderful, but they aren't people. Taking them everywhere just because you can isn't necessarily in their interests. Many humans are selfish and prioritise what they want above what the dog needs, or indeed the needs of other people. Just because I love my dogs doesn't mean I think everyone else will!

YANBU at all!!!

I love dogs that are below knee height, they don’t really bother me at all, but anything bigger than that can be a total PITA!

The country had gone mad with its obsession over dogs! They’re always in the way and in your personal space and most owners don’t care. Some owners seem to think that because they love their dog then surely everyone else will.

When big dogs start harassing me I will usually be internally screaming “Get your annoying dog out of my way!!!!!”

I haven’t been rude enough yet to say it out loud but I’m sure the day is coming…..

The word “Cult” describes it very well!

Where on earth do you live? I live on the coast, lots and lots of dogs, on our estate I’d think about 80/85% of households have a dog. Lots of dogs everywhere you go. Holiday makers with dogs. I’ve never seen anyone chased by a dog, knocked over by a dog, seen dogs hounding other peoples tables, seen any dog owner tell anyone to “fuck off” if they don’t like dogs. The worst I’ve seen is an excited spaniel occasionally jump up about which the owner is mortified.

If what you say is true (highly unlikely) the issue is not the dogs it’s just that you seem to be living amongst some godawful, dregs of society people who happen to own a dog. You might be better focusing your attention to moving to a better area where random strangers don’t tell you to “fuck off” .

Same

Agree. I used to have an English Bull Terrier and she used to behave as if the only thing that existed was her and me in that wherever she went, she would trot in a straight line and then back and wouldn't interact with anything or anyone. I could take her anywhere but other dogs I have had want to sniff other people and dogs and just generally be dogs and so I used to take them where I knew they would not be annoying to others or at a time of day there would be no other people but the same type as me.

At no point did I call them fur babies or consider myself a fur parent and they never wore clothes unless it was bitter cold and then it was a dog coat not ridiculous friggin clothes.

I've worked with dogs and owned them all my life and I agree, pet ownership is so skewed with people thinking their dogs are small humans or who have strange expectations, it's crazy.

I wouldn't want dog ownership to cease as otherwise no dead bodies would ever be found but I feel that 80% of dogs are not having their needs met by a long long way as people don't understand them.

Pembrokeshire, if it's at all relevant.

Dog owners who insist on bringing dogs everywhere even if it upsets people remind me so much of the Transwomen who invade women's spaces. Just to be awkward and be validated.

We need a Supreme Court ruling that dogs are NOT humans. 😉

As a dog owner, I agree.

These idiots give us all a bad name.

The people across the road from me absolutely should not have their dog. Bloody thing is out there barking at all hours and they do nothing to stop it. A few years ago the whole street would have complained. Now neighbours stop and speak to them on the street at 6am, cooing as it barks is head off, prolonging the time they are stood outside my house with their little yapping bastard making enough noise to wake the dead.

And I LIKE dogs!!

Exactly but not everyone agrees. On one of the many other dog posts someone said they have a holiday let and request no assistance dogs. Hopefully they'll get pulled up on it one day.

Same. "Peri-menopausal wild eyed harridan"? WTF?

I take my dog to dog friendly pubs but always remember that the 'friendly' means exactly that and should be returned in kind meaning I make sure my dog behaves. It is a shame that some owners see it as an opportunity to take the piss.

Couldn’t agree more! I love our spaniel to pieces and our long country walks together are the best part of the day. But do I want to go for coffee and a little shopping with him? Absolutely fucking not, because he’s a dog and he doesn’t belong in those kind of places.

Well, given the most places are available to assistance dogs, I think it's only fair that some spaces are left for those who are allergic to dogs anyway - which is totally unrelated to how well behaved assistance dogs are.

Never been and given your description of the type of people who live there, probably won’t bother. I mean people just telling others to “Fuck off” calling people “ “emotionally stunted doggo nutters” would not be the sort of place I’d like to live (would like all the dog friendly places though)

I agree with you. The fact that dogs (mostly very badly trained) are now everywhere is horrible. It also makes my life very difficult at times because I am allergic to the stinky beasts.

Well a lot of beaches will be closed to dogs and their owners from next month. Its the usual majority now of dog owners who are just irresponsible and think they're above everyone else.