I’ve joined the “why are there dogs everywhere” Club

[BananaBum]

I’ll start things off by saying I have a dog myself and normally scoff at all the people rolling their eyes over dogs in pubs and cafes. Can even forgive younger, less well behaved dogs because they have to learn and be exposed to different situations.

HOWEVER

Today I went to get in a lift in John Lewis with my DC and a woman with a pushchair and TWO massive labradors asked if I wouldn’t mind waiting because one of her dogs were nervous about being crowded.

Why are you in John Lewis then?
Is it really necessary for the dogs to come out with you?
Did they come in the car especially or do you live in town?
how does it all work logistically?

So many questions. And also just a bit annoyed I had to wait for the next lift

I agree - I love dogs but I have kids who are a bit scared and therefore notice that there are dogs literally everywhere now. The tube, cafes, shops, museums. It’s shit for the dogs to be on a lead in a strange, man-made environment where they can’t run around. It’s shit for people who just want to get on with their day. I’ve no idea why the owners do it. A couple of months ago I was in a cafe and the dog owner let this tiny dog just run unsupervised around the whole place while she was busy chatting. It nearly tripped up the waiters a few times and eventually did a piss in the corner which the owner had no idea about. I went and got her and told her to clean it up and she said “oh she never normally does that hahahaha” WELL YOU WEREN’T WATCHING so she probably does it every week, you dickhead! Sorry, just really annoys me! 🤣

Oh, and I've just remembered the insane amount of dogs I saw at a fucking FIREWORK DISPLAY recently.

This. It’s usually younger /female owners who are the worst. They treat there digs like spoilt children. There also child haters which explains why they find it funny /ok when there dog hassles children.

I tell them My kids come before dogs everytime thank you 👍

Well obviously I'm only taking them into shops that allow dogs which to be fair really has only been the garden centre, pets at home and the range. Yes she's on a short lead and controlled.

I love dogs, have always had them but not had a dog since my last one died 4 years ago. But i never took him to shops, markets, cafes, friends houses and restaurants etc, he went on his normal walks and was a happy soul.

My friend has a dog that is her fur baby, he is never left behind, they will google places to make sure they are dog friendly and if not they wont go, cant leave the "baby" behind. Now when they are at work he howls, (she has a camera) and its causing issues with the neighbors, maybe if they didnt take the bloody thing everywhere it wouldnt have separation anxiety.

She is trying to start a petition as several National Trust places dont allow dogs, well that is unacceptable and she wants her pooch to go into the buildings. She also doesnt give a shit that other people dont want her dog in a cafe etc due to allergys or being afraid, thats their problem and she wants her baby in with her.

Taking a dog out shopping where the sole purpose is shopping is unfair on dogs. They're not going to enjoy it.

But the reason many shops allow it, and the reason many dog owners welcome it, is that many people don't visit shops as part of some massive day long shopping spree. Many pop in because they need to pick something up while they are out and about. There is a John Lewis on the way to a nice walk I often do with my dog. I don't think I've ever had to pop in to pick something up, but if I did, I'm far more likely to do it if I'm passing and have my dog with me, than if I have to go all the way home, drop him off, and come back out to the shop.

For shops that are competing with Amazon and other online sellers, and trying to keep bricks and mortar shops afloat, I would assume that is the biggest calculation in allowing dogs in.

Similar for pubs/cafes etc - if I'm walking my dog and fancy a coffee, I'm not going to bring my dog home and come back out for a coffee, but I will pop into a pub or cafe that welcomes dogs.

Would I ever ask someone to leave a lift because my dog is nervous of crowded spaces? No. If my dog was nervous, I would not bring him to places where he would encounter crowds. And even then, because he's little, I generally pick him up if I need to pop into a shop with him (unless I'm in a more spacious place where he can walk without tripping people up or risking being stepped on.

It's not a binary choice of 'dogs should never ever be in shops/pubs/restaurants' and 'dogs should be forced to spend hours on end traipsing around shopping centres'.

Would you let you dig hassle people who were scared /not interested though? I’m so fed up of dog owners thinking it’s ok for there animals to invade my kids space.

Fuck it,. I'm taking my emotional support horse everywhere with me

Yes I second this. Hopefully she will. My current one is a rescue and I am careful where I take her as she can get very anxious due to being hit and abused and taken at just 4 weeks old from her mother. She was used for hunting. She is the sweetest of creatures!

I agree with this. I was talking to a friend the other day about it and we reckon there’s another five years of Dogz Rule hell before things go bad to normal. Every time I’m out I see dogs that have not even been trained to walk beside their owners on a lead and the owner is spending their time avoiding stepping on the dog, hauling it back, dragging it along, whatever and I think how miserable it must be to be an untrained dog.

Better still leave them at home

I never took my dog to John Lewis , but I love to see dogs shopping. It must be stressful to do so as you have make sure they have toileted before going in. I couldn’t deal with the worry even though I could get my dog to pee on command , eventually !!! 😂

Bloody love dogs but not all dog owners.

I was in JL yesterday too. The most bizarre thing ever to be trying on clothes in the fitting room and hearing a dog bark.

I can't believe that JL encourage the absolute madness of dog owners' inappropriate behaviour. Im a dog owner, my dog was at home while I was out shopping. No way would I bring my dog out clothes shopping. I dont know WTF is wrong with people these days.

The kinder part of me gets that there are a lot of people who have a lot of love to give but can't actually do reciprocal relationships. I get that a pet can be a good stand in. I just don't want to have to deal with the resulting dogs when I'm shopping or trying to enjoy a cafe lunch.

Why do you feel the need to take an animal in to a shop? It’s not an animal space and lots of shoppers don’t like dogs for range of reasons. A dog can stay at home or something else suited to dogs

But this is very binary view of how people live their lives. You went out clothes shopping. But many people in John Lewis won’t have gone out for the purposes of going shopping. They will have nipped in to grab something on their way to and from something else.

Aside from Christmas when I like the general buzz I can’t remember the last time I ‘went out shopping’ - as opposed to picking something up from a shop when I’m on my way to or from something else like work/socialising/dog walk etc

You missed out the word some. Some people are smelly, dirty and dangerous but most are not. It's the same with dogs. There are places that dogs should not be allowed, I don't think a shopping centre is a healthy environment for a dog, unless it is a trained service dog.

We have dogs and I would never dream of bringing them into a shop or a restaurant or pub.

I’m put of going cause of it. If the dogs was actually in short leads, not aloud on grass and not aloud indoors I would go! Shame it’s another place that has been shut of to my young family. Do many places have become dogs places as the expense of children. I do not get how animals are viewed as more vital than children. 🙄

Like you say it’s not going to affect anyone else 🤷🏻‍♀️

what do you mean by that? 🤔

At the risk of sounding unpopular it sounds like no life for you or the dog.

Why is PTS never considered with such a troubled or distressed dog.

Same af my kids school. We was not consulted it just happened. The dogs are smelly, not on leads and big.

What I do not get is peanut butter is banned because of allergies. but the school isnt bothered about kids allergy’s/phobia’s /cutural avoidance about dogs 😡

its like there’s this blind spot when it comes to dogs 🙄

Of course you could, I regularly do that with mine and he is none the worse for it. Start as you mean to go on and ensure the dog works around your life, not the other way around. You own it, it doesn't own you.

That's something else I wonder. I don't remember all these anxious dogs that couldn't cope with being left alone for a few hours when I was younger. We're they just more likely to be put to sleep?

It is. The schools these days only obsess about nut allergy’s. Which I don’t get cause those pupils who cant eat it can sit in a separate table.

But dogs roam around the school and there’s no avoiding that. Not to mention the smell, shedding hairs, phobias, allergy’s, cultural sensitivity’s are over looked 😡