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

@pizzaHeart

it feels like some bonkers owners are making some sort of point.

This has been my experience - they sort of look at you with a smug expression as if inviting you to challenge them on what they are doing with their dog and almost seem to wait for the attention of it all.

BILs gf definitely does this, it is insufferable

I've noticed that some NT places are starting to push back though, eg with "paws on paths" signs reminding people to keep Fido off the grass and out the flower beds, and prominent "code of practice" type signs at the entrance.

I have heard and read some silly examples of anthropomorphism before but that wins the award for insanity. As for the letting the dog eat off the plate at the table in the gastropub…

Oh John Lewis. A department store is not a place for dogs. Poor dogs, and people should be able to shop in a department store free from dogs. I love dogs, I have dogs. I like animals more than humans. The only shop my dogs come to is Waterstones. Waterstones give them treats and a drink in the cafe, whist I sit down and flick through books. They’re happy in there and most book lovers seem to be animal lovers too.

Your post made me think of that quotation "outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read"

Do the dogs have a John Lewis partnership card?

I started a thread about this two months ago and I got pasted! It was resurrected recently.

Barknership card? Pawtnership card?

Oh god, I'm probably giving people ideas here...

that’s exactly why I stopped going to our Waterstones, I don’t think dogs belong in indoor cafe near food.
I bet people are just too polite to say something or avoid it, plus you can like dogs but still disagree about them being in a shop or indoor cafe, they are two different things.

you can like dogs but still disagree about them being in a shop or indoor cafe, they are two different things.

Indeed, but there are some odd posters on MN who will brand you an animal hater for saying anything that could be construed negatively about dogs!

Ah that’s shame. All the food in the Waterstones cafe is in glass cabinets/ fridge etc.🤷‍♀️
Our Waterstones cafe is always busy enough so hopefully not too many people avoid it.

Oh dear, I’m actually thinking of taking my dog to John Lewis this week. Not for a shopping trip as such but my nearest JL is 2 hours away, I want to pop into the nespresso boutique. So not a full shopping excursion. I don’t want to leave her for 5 hours or so, plus there’s nice countryside between JL and us so we can have a walk on the way back.

However she’s not nervous and I won’t be asking people not to come in lifts!

My SIL works in John Lewis and says every day there is at least one doggy “accident” and they have to clean up…lots of damage caused, expensive rugs and clothes peed on and the likes. She reckons the owners either slink off without telling the staff or exclaim that “little Barney has NEVER done that before”. Approximately zero of them offer to clean up the mess

Is there no-one to leave her with? A dog walker who will exercise her then sit with her?
That's got to be better for her than shopping for Nespresso pods?

un-bloody-believable

remember when all shops had the no dogs except guide dogs sign?

Now they’re all totally welcome . Anywhere

Novody can ever leave their dog home alone for
more than an hour

Not a chance I'd have waited, humans take priority over dogs. It's fine to leave dogs home when you go out shopping. In fact, it's normal.

You are! It'll happen!

@MonetsLilac

leave your dog at home. Its a dog, not a baby. Five hours is fine

get a grip

@MonetsLilac

sorry! Not you. I tagged you incorrectly

@YanTanTetheraPetheraBumfitt

She will be perfectly happy going into JL. I don’t normally take her “shopping” but sometimes when we’re on holiday in the Lake District we have a pootle round the shops in Keswick and she genuinely likes it, tail wagging in all the shops. I can’t imagine we will be more than 20 mins max in JL. And then we will have a nice walk in the Yorkshire dales which she obviously can’t have if she is left at home.

100 percent this.

I know she’s not a baby. But it suits us both better for her to come with me and JL allow it so no I won’t leave her at home thanks.

This thread has a different tone to the previous ones on this subject. It seems to be full of people who have dogs but don't take them everywhere. It hasn't descended into full-on hatred, all dogs are furbabies/filthy/smelly/barky etc. I'm normally part of the pro-dog contingent on the anti-dog threads, but this one has been more measured and a lot here are seeing it from a dog's perspective.

It’s the “fur baby” trend, which ignores animals’ needs in favour of owners’ wants.

A lot of truth in this. Two dogs at the hairdresser's recently lying around for the hour I was there. They were not having fun.

Anyone else sidetracked by imagining their own dog let loose in a JL. 🤣 They'd have to call the police.

My dog can't be trusted with a log in a field.