AIBU to have reservations about so many dogs at the outlet today?

[wildfellhall]

Was it bring your dog day today?
There were literally hundreds of dogs and I feel as if I’ve hardly ever seen a dog at a big outlet before. Is this a new thing?
I was in clothes shops with dogs all running around me as I was shopping. Dogs’ leads all around while trying on shoes. What’s going on with the shopping with dogs?
I mean I don’t mind dogs at all, service dogs I adore; but who wants dogs in clothes shops? It seems really odd to me.

Yeah I took my dog to a car boot and I would never take him again ! I had to watch him like a hawk cocking his leg up everything .
I know you can take them in the range and places like that but clothes shops ?
I take my dog everywhere with me but shopping with him is just a nightmare . He’s trying to get under racking , he’s barking at the rabbits at the pet shop , he’s got his face in everything .
no way , that’s not a fun shopping trip !

Come on now, OP has already stated she is not “indulging in fake news” about dogs 😂😂

Dogs are turning what should be enjoyable activities - shopping and eating out with friends and family - into an absolute nightmare. Dogs should not be allowed into shops and eateries at all.

I actually think there is a case for various kinds of discrimination - if you’re pregnant, blind, disabled or frail you’re being placed at great risk of tripping over a dog or a lead. I nearly fell flat on my face on top of my baby who was in a forward facing sling when someone with a dog on a long lead wasn’t paying attention - it’s impossible to see down with baby and the dog lead was just suddenly there tripping ne up… Really dangerous and selfish.

There’s one of these near me (north!) and almost everyone has a dog. It’s bizarre. Why would your dog want to go shopping?! I love my dog but I couldn’t think of much worse.

A poodle with tin foil in its hair stole my DDs sausage roll out of her hand there the other week. The owner ran off!

I have a dog, the only shop I have ever taken her into is Pets at Home as I wanted to get another harness and I wanted to hold it up next to her to double check the length.

I thanked the security guard on the door at Primark the other day for turning away a lady with a dog. She was really annoyed.

I have a dog but I don't get the current trend for taking them everywhere.

I work in retail at an outlet village, my colleagues and I love having dogs come in. Numbers do appear to have increased recently, I don’t know why, maybe it’s because people are realising it’s now okay.

There’s also a restaurant at our village that holds meet up events for dogs which obviously increases numbers on those days. I don’t know if that happens all around the country though.

Why would I make it up?

I like dogs in appropriate places - but they don’t suit a busy shop do they?

Why don’t you make a solid defence for them being in shops rather than accusing me of making it up? Why would I? I like dogs but they are becoming more intrusive in places which used to be dog - free.

I suspect you do not have a good argument or one of you would have made it by now.

I’m allergic to dogs - I would have to leave a coffee shop if one appeared at the next table. I am not allergic to children so it’s really not the same - plus I don’t remember the last time a random child rubbed against my legs and slobbered on my knee while their parents reassured me they were “just being friendly”
I don’t dislike dogs - I also don’t dislike ferrets or horses or rats but I don’t particularly want them next to me in Costa or John Lewis.

That's a lot of dogs 😆

Literally hundreds

And

"I'm not exaggerating"

🤣🤣

Local speciality food festival in a nearby town. I could not believe the number of dogs there. A few would have been ok but there was just too many. It was crowded and many dogs looked unhappy and stressed in all the people. Dogs were getting driven nuts by all the food smells and trying to get behind the stalls or jump up at people carrying food. It was a nightmare for my friend who has mobility problems not to trip over them. We left earlier than we planned as it was just too much. I hate to say it but too many dog owners behave really selfishly with their dogs and do not consider the needs of other people at all. I am not a dog hater, I like individual dogs, but there are just too many in places sometimes these days.

There are a lot of dogs currently but in 10 years or so it’ll go back to how it was pre 2021/22 as so many got puppies in lockdown but with a move away from WFH etc they likely won’t be replaced. In some areas it’s already turning I’ve been to a lot of cafes lately that were dog friendly and now will only allow dogs in the outside seating areas one told me that they had too many accidents and too many customers with allergies complaining

Well done you 👏 the first with the dogs/children comparison.
The big difference here is most of the parents probably wish they could leave the kids home alone and shop in peace, however it’s kind of frowned upon when they’re at the chocolate smearing age.
The dogs though, nobody cares if you leave them at home while you go shopping.

I was at a shopping centre with lots of high end shops today and it was full of dogs. I thought it was a bit of a strange place to take dogs as there was a huge park nearby.

I think there are a lot of "dog bashing" threads on Mumsnet these days because people have noticed that dogs are everywhere and the rules around dogs in shops and restaurants appear to have been massively relaxed without consultation or notice. Discussions around this seem fair enough to me.

I've been to an outdoor family event today. It's in a place that still forbids dogs - as it has for the last 20 years. There were plenty of people there who I know for a fact own dogs. But guess what? They managed to have a fun afternoon without their or anyone else's fur baby running around! It was a local event so I guess some of them may have 'popped' home to let their dogs out in the garden briefly. But it proves it is absolutely possible not to have to allow dogs everywhere.

@SnoozingFox don't forget 'dogs are much more hygienic than children' 'it's been scientifically proven that dogs have less bacteria than humans' and of course dogs are generally much better behaved, any that aren't then it's 'the owners, not the dogs'.

@Fourpawsblack intrigued as to why a poodle had tin foil in its hair - was it having highlights?

Actually, fair enough, I did not count the dogs but the whole place was rammed with people, I assume many hundreds of people. And a large number of those people had dogs - that is why I spoke to staff and asked “is it bring your dog day?”.

Clearly they are being encouraged by retailers to encourage shoppers; I get it.
Personally I found that outside it was manageable (but the dogs barking at each other for the whole of our coffee outside was a shame as we finished up quickly and it was hard to enjoy).
But - inside the shops - the owners could not look around, manage their kids, manage huge prams, manage their purchases, queue up and ALSO manage their dogs on leads. It was far too much in a busy shop. The leads were getting tangled, the dogs were bored, they were underfoot in Nike, in Adidas, in White Stuff and in the Levi shop. That’s why bringing them seems a baffling decision to anyone who has real consideration for others.

I think the decision to bring a dog into a very busy shop is impractical, inappropriate and lacking in consideration of other people. That’s why I put this in AIBU.

I was at Cheshire Oaks recently and there were dogs everywhere. I thought it was absolutely rank. I'm looking a nice new clothes with a side of dog hair and piss. I'm not a dog lover but just because other people are I'm forced to be around them. It's because of all this 'i can't leave my dog alone for more than two hours because it will destroy my house because it misses me' bullshit. Don't get a dog then, it's easy!! Since the pandemic it's just become ridiculous. Call me a dog hater, I don't give a flying monkeys. 😂

It's getting more and more difficult these days, which is why there are so many threads on the subject.

IMO, dogs have no place in clothes shops.
My local shopping mall does not allow dogs except for assistance dogs.

Wasn’t Ashford was it? Place has more dogs than people I’m sure!

In the USA, a man walks around the shops with an alligator on a lead as it his "therapy" pet, so could be a lot worse.

I wouldn’t dream of taking my dog shopping. He has short, spikey hair. One shake and all the clothes would be covered in little, white, spikey hairs. He never goes in my car but it always has dog hair in it. I can’t get dog hair out of the carpet in the car no matter how much I vacuum and scrape with my bobble remover

As a wheelchair user it’s hard enough to get around in some shops and adding dogs in the mix just makes it so much harder. I love dogs and am terrified of running them over. Parks etc are fine - but this new craze for taking them to clothes shops means it stops me going shopping. Uncontrollable children are also a hazard but are much taller and easier to see than small dogs.