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

People would complain about the amount of fluff that comes off mine, despite daily grooming 😬

ours too but as tables are close it still feels that dogs are near your good which is wrong imo.
Ours is busy as well and that also makes me wonder if it’s a good place from a dog’s point of view.

I’ve never taken my dogs in JL as I it would be too overstimulating for them I think. Not bothered if other people take theirs as is doesn’t affect me. Lift woman was just rude.

Exactly. Previous dogs I wouldn’t have taken as they wouldn’t have liked it. This one would positively enjoy it. I know my dog. Like you say it’s not going to affect anyone else 🤷🏻‍♀️

I hate it. My local shopping centre is now dog friendly. I have an Assistance Dog and he gets so distracted and confused at dogs in what used to be dog free areas. There's dog piss on every corner in JL so he's now pulling to sniff and other dogs are approaching him to say hello.

Yes - he is fully trained and certified but he is still a dog after all! Shopping centres used to be easy to navigate without every Tom Dick and Harry bringing their dog in ughhh

Mine would have a great time… he would be having a go on every leg that stopped for more than 10 seconds 🤣

He is fine outside but there is something about a stranger indoors that makes him crazy. We’ve been able to sit in the garden of a country pub after walks fine but he gets too excited if we sit inside? They are funny little creatures aren’t they

I've got no problem with something like a country walk with a friend and their dog, perfectly good activity. I have cut back on how much I eat out because I don't enjoy sitting in a cafe with a barking dog.

I often feel sorry for the dogs I see shoved under tables being ignored in noisy pubs and restaurants, it must be so stressful and uncomfortable for them

A couple of weeks back there was a dog IN THE TROLLEY at M&S foodhall. That’s just too much.

I imagine plenty worse things could happen to a seat in a cinema than having a dog on it.

I wouldn’t take my dog to the cinema as I can’t see what she’d get out of it. She’s a well behaved dog and if we are away, I will take her out with me as you can’t leave them in the accommodation but I will judge where is a sensible place to go in and when to stand outside. At home, she might sit in the pub on an afternoon but other than that she stays at home.

I’m a little on the fence - we take our dogs on holiday with us and understandably owners don’t want dogs left alone in their properties/you can’t leave them in a tent and it’s often too hot to leave them in the car so I’m very grateful for places that let them in. I also think that we aren’t alone and in touristy areas, business owners recognise that people have dogs on holiday and banning them would lose a lot of business.

I would never take them into a shop….! Actually, that’s a lie as I did once. I had a massive bag and put the dog in that and carted it (looking rather bemused) around. The shop assistant came over to tell me it wasn’t necessary. I still didn’t let the dog out. It would have behaved impeccably but imo dogs don’t belong in shops! I’m horrified they are allowed into LEGOLAND/disneyland and cinemas…

Owner’s behaviour seems disgusting though… mine are rescues and it can take time but all recognise appropriate places to go to the loo - I don’ let the boy wee on peoples cars/fences etc. They would never go to the loo indoors and get decent walk so shouldn’t need to. We took them on an overnight ferry once and people were letting their dogs wee and poo in the corridors outside the cabins… I will never go on one again. People don’t even seem to care when their dogs do things like this. Similarly, despite being rather large, I do make sure the dogs are well out of people’s way and not bothering them (and yes this is often to my detriment. My dogs, my problem).

The issue now is the number of dogs taken out, poor standards of dog training and the belligerence of owners attitudes towards either the dogs comfort or that of other people and respect of their belongings. 30+ years ago (when I was a student, admittedly at a rural uni) a lot of us had dogs who went everywhere. Often unleashed. They behaved, walked at heel, dropped and lay when stationary and never caused any issues even when in number. Because they behaved, they were welcomed (everywhere? I still think we had some decorum as to where we took them).

I'm ok with dogs in places but the one time I wasn't was a cafe where a woman had a little dog on her lap that was constantly yapping at other people/dogs. It was clearly really reactive and disturbing everyone's lunch.
I agree people should know that if thier dogs are particularly nervous or reactive taking them into a cafe or a shop isn't a good idea.

Sorry Schnizel, had no idea I had quoted you.

I love dogs, have several myself but there is no way on this earth I would take the shopping.
Surely dog hair gets on the clothes?! If the labradors were anything like mine she’s only got to look at something and it gets covered in her wafts of fur, despite regular grooming and professional de-shedding.
I had no idea they were allowed in places like John Lewis, I feel sorry for allergy sufferers, they must get hardly any respite if they are allowed in clothes shops etc

We don’t get respite at all and it is exhausting. Nobody takes pet allergies seriously. They treat it like a bit of hayfever because it is more convenient and the cognitive dissonance around it is astounding. I’m allergic and so is DH - I get flu like symptoms, wheezy, head ache, feel generally unwell. DH gets very stuffy, watery eyes, itchy all over, fatigue. It’s miserable yet such is the cognitive dissonance of dog owners that his brother - who knows we had to stop staying in the usual family holiday accommodation which allows pets because DH had such a bad reaction despite apparent cleaning one year that it ruined the holiday - thought it appropriate to bring his new puppy to Christmas, ask if it could come over to our house, and insist he didn’t realise it would be a problem when we had to draw hard boundaries around it

I have 4 dogs and absolutely hate dogs in clothes shops I tripped over a small brown dog while clothes shopping in anthropology on the weekend.

Basically as I was standing looking at a dress this dog kind of tangled it’s lead around me, so as I stepped back and tripped and stepped on the dog, the owner was chatting to her friend and glared at me.

Id Like to know if one of the dogs bites, wees or pops in the shops who is liable? I also dislike the fact the clothes I’m going to try on may have fluff on them, I have enough fluff at home.

We went to a local (outdoors) children attraction. We didn’t realise that dogs were allowed in. It was horrendous. Dogs and kids everywhere - my 3 year old really dislikes large dogs and it ruined the day.
When I saw an unmuzzled XL bully (to be fair they did later muzzle it) wander past, it finished me off and we left.

Twice this week I’ve witnessed dog ‘meltdowns’ a distressed dog panicking and overwhelmed- barking and tying itself in knots on the lead as it tried to get away from a situation. The slippy floors, people, sounds and smells in a shopping centre were just too much for them. The response of their owners was just ridiculous- completely mis reading the dog’s behaviour and making it worse.

I have a shop. I had a couple stand at the door with their dog and ask me if it was ok to bring it inside. I said what I always say when asked this is “yes, as long as they’re well behaved”. “Oh yes, very well behaved” they said. So in they come and within 10 seconds it had pissed on my carpet.

I love my dog and absolutely agree with cafes and eateries allowing dogs in, because a lot of them, especially at country parks and walks would be closed if they didn’t, but I don’t agree with other shops in general allowing them in.

I’m horrified they are allowed into LEGOLAND/disneyland and cinemas…
They definitely are NOT allowed in Legoland or Disneyland. Those posters must have visited when there were a very large number of service dogs visiting...🤔

I have an elderly dog who comes pretty much everywhere with me. He's gone deaf in his old age and since losing his hearing, he's become very insecure without me and panics if I leave him home alone.

So he's with me 99% of the time – but he waits in the car while I go into shops, or snoozes under the table if I'm going to a cafe and can't leave him in the car.

The hard part is when it's hot weather – I worry that he'll overheat in the car, and I worry that people will be annoyed if he comes with me, but I can't leave him at home and I don't have anyone who can watch him at short notice and for short periods.

It's a bit of a bind – but I completely understand people not wanting him in shops and do everything I can to avoid taking him into places he shouldn't be.

And if he weren't so doddery and calm, it would be a whole different matter again. Fit, healthy energetic dogs who aren't 100% reliable in their behaviour... that I don't understand at all.

So many dogs seem to have anxiety, depression, separation anxiety. All manner of psychological disorders.
Is it a problem with the socialisation of dogs nowadays, or projection from owners?

We had that recently when a new garden centre opened. No dogs, unless service dogs. Totally understandably (& yes I have dogs), some of the comments were ridiculous, bordering on hysterical.
Madness

Another dog owner here. I love taking them to the pub for an hour or two after a long walk, but I completely agree that they don't belong in busy shops. It feels like a hangover of the lockdown puppy craze - dogs who spent their first couple of years with constant company, now unable to be left alone for any period of time so they get taken everywhere.