To say love of dogs has GONE TOO FAR !!

[HildegardVonBingham]

DP’s grandparent’s 60th wedding anniversary, and we are all in the Lake District to celebrate. Every pub and cafe is crawling with wet dogs. We went out for dinner this evening and the pub was full of incessantly yapping dogs. A woman let her dogs piss all over the floor of the bar - disgusting. When confronted, she just turned on her heel and left. It is almost as bad in London - going to the loo in a pub is fraught with danger as you may run trip over the leash of a sausage dog with complex emotional needs and break your neck 😡😡😡 AIBU to say all dog owners should have to have a license and go on a civic sense training course at a minimum / be made to live in one big kennel with their mutts away from us at a maximum?

That's very sad @MagicLoop 😢What a gorgeous boy. So sorry.

Here you go, googled for you.

“Dog pushchairs (or strollers) provide mobility and comfort for dogs with physical limitations, such as senior dogs or those with mobility issues like arthritis or hip dysplasia and allow dogs to recuperate from surgery without strain.”

Those pushchairs are a fantastic way of getting elderly and infirm dogs out and about. My mum's dog became unable to walk much distance as he got older but she was able to push him to the park to enjoy a potter about with the other dogs there.

It was a lovely way for the dog to enjoy his last year or so, it enabled my elderly mum to still get exercise and meet her dog walking buddies.

So that's what this IS. Nobody is under the illusion they're taking a baby out in a pram. They're just trying to do the right thing by their pet and harming absolutely nobody in the process.

You don't know they were there purely to go to the shops. They could have spent hours in the park before or after, they could have been on their way home from an active, outdoorsy holiday and just called in on their way by.

You can't have been surprised to see dogs everywhere in the Lake District. The dog crowd brings in money.

I sea swim every day on a dog friendly beach in a dog friendly national park and have done so for over a decade. A dog has never had a wee on my kit. I put it in a bag, on a rock and there it is safe and dry when I come out.

After I've swum I litter pick the beach and the rubbish I pick up is all left by humans - broken glass, plastic bottles, fishing crap, plastic toys, condoms, dirty nappies, vape stuff, fast food packaging, cans, disposable BBQs, dog poo owners haven't picked up and on occasion human shit, shat pants and dirty toilet paper.

Dogs and wild animals are in their rightful place on a beach and if you're sharing the outdoors with nature, other people and animals you take the risk of a bit of wee.

I'd much rather have dog wee on my towel than the millions of gallons of sewage humans are flushing into our rivers and the ocean.

I’m split on this one as I am a huge dog lover and owner but equally think that dogs’ behaviour should not impact negatively on the general public.

I also believe, perhaps controversially, that our current obsession with dogs has got a little out of balance in our society, compared to the way we look after elderly and disabled people for example.

The two aren’t mutually exclusive of course but let’s say, sometimes, it’s much easier to love a dog than an elderly grandmother with difficult opinions.

My dogs live between town and country and they love both sets of smells so it’s not necessarily true that dogs hate walking in to the centre of town.

Where it becomes difficult is when we humans high-handedly assume that our needs are the exact same as theirs and make dogs spend lengthy periods of time in busy, hot shops or pubs.

So while it is right and good that dogs are treated properly with great care and respect, and their needs are prioritised too, I don’t think it is right that some members of our society are treated less well and have access to fewer resources, and locations, than our pets!

Exactly. You wouldn’t force your elderly mother to walk if they struggled with mobility. If there’s a way you can get dogs around if they’re elderly or disabled, why not? Surely it doesn’t cause any distress to others does it, by watching them being pushed around?

I completely get the idea of a business permitting dogs in an area where people walk their dogs. There is one on our local towpath and the owner permits dogs as not doing so would likely impact his profits. We don’t go in because DP is extremely allergic to dogs, but that’s fair enough because we know in advance that it will likely be full of dog walkers and we either take a flask of tea out with us or go somewhere else on the way home. I’m not keen on going into it anyway. I’ve been in with the children when they were younger and the noise and commotion made it very unpleasant. But what I don’t understand is cafes in the middle of shopping centres or business parks allowing dogs. Who are these weirdos who take their dogs clothes/shoe/household items/kitchen refit shopping? It’s not as if they are out walking their dog and decide to have a cup of coffee. They had to drive there, with their dog, and deliberately go into a shopping centre cafe. DP and I used to be confident that we could safely go into these places without worrying about him having a severe reaction, but now we can’t be sure. And yes, I know guide dogs are permitted and that is not just acceptable, but essential, but I don’t know about anyone else, I see a guide dog in a shop or cafe approximately once a year. I always notice on these threads that dog owners say they are perfectly entitled to take their dogs into places where they are allowed and of course that is true. But why do some of you take your poor dog shopping?

It’s completely down to profit @ClinkeyMonkey , surely you can see that? If allowing dogs enables you to keep your business open then that’s what you’ll do.

There are plenty of places that don’t allow dogs, I can’t understand why people don’t spend 2 minutes googling before they go out if it’s that important to them.

I don’t get why supermarkets are still full of whining children in these days of online shopping, yet here we are.

Yanbu. I’ve had enough of it too. Went for what was supposed to be a nice relaxing lunch yesterday and every few minutes we were jumping out of our skin as a dog across the other side of the (large) cafe would suddenly bark really loudly. I’m sick of dogs in almost every public place these days.

“There are plenty of places that don’t allow dogs” no, there really aren’t.
Businesses these days would actually be giving themselves a USP by not allowing dogs.

Does anyone do anything about their hatred of dogs in some public places - other than post on here?

All cafes in museums/galleries (usually free entry), M&S and John Lewis cafes, Wetherspoons, most National Trust places have dog free restaurants…and this is just off the top of my head @NoSoapJustUseShowerGel . Plenty of independents too. I know because I go to them regularly with a group of friends, some of whom aren’t keen on dogs.
People are just too bone idle to make a 2 minute google to check.

I had a dog cock his leg and wee up my back once at the beach!!!!!

Dog lover and owner here and I agree (and can't help but laugh at the idea of yappers in a pram in Primark 😂) but I think half the problem is that latest advice is that you're not supposed to leave them alone for more than four hours, which brings out a lot of dog-parent guilt!

No dogs in -

McDonalds
Nandos
Zizzi
Bella Italia
KFC
The Savoy Grill
Greggs
Pizza Express
Wagamama
Pizza Hut
Beefeater
Subway
Toby Carvery
Burger King
The Ritz
Premier Inn
Libraries
Zara
Primark
B&M
Most shopping centres
IKEA
Children's play areas
Swimming pools - including lidos and sea pools
Supermarkets
Lots of beaches in the summer months
Many parks

Do all the dog owners who take their dogs everywhere actually think the dogs like it? I’ve been to a busy pub on a Friday night (standing room only) and the dogs in there were getting trodden on and looking very anxious. I can only assume that the owners want to go to the pub and don’t want to/can’t leave the dog on its own but surely that’s a choice/sacrifice you have to make? When I had a small baby I had to stay at home unless I had a babysitter. That’s the choice I made in having the baby. If you have a dog and treat it in such a way that it can’t be left alone, then that’s the choice you’ve made - no busy pub nights for you unless you get a sitter. Quite apart from that fact that it’s antisocial, the dogs really don’t like it so it’s actually selfish and not in the best interest of the dog.

And I’m really not convinced that all the dogs that are in dog pushchairs are in them because they can’t walk far. And even if they are,I’m really not sure many dogs actually want be in a busy clothes shop or on busy public transport.

if you have a dog and you love your dog then you have to adapt your life to fit around the dog to some degree. It’s not an accessory to take with you whilst you carry on as before.

I can’t understand why people don’t spend 2 minutes reading a post before responding to it. I mentioned profits pretty early on. I get it. I didn’t ask why businesses permit dogs, I asked why people take their dogs shopping in retail parks and shopping centres. And just for the record, the small town where I live has 7 cafes/coffee shops. Dogs are permitted in every single one. And one of them is specifically for dog owners, although I don’t imagine they would turn away non dog owners. I have to drive about 4 miles if I want to find a cafe where dogs aren’t allowed. In saying that, I don’t mind the odd dog in a coffee shop, but DP has severe allergies. I did mention that in the post you didn’t bother to read properly. Are you allergic to children?

I perceive that the current most recurring MNer moaning topic is about how biological men are all predators, typically sexual predators, most of all the bioMen who want to live like women must be dodgy people. Moans about "dogs are horrible" threads peaked in popularity in 2019-2021 I'd say. This thread is almost retro vintage, but it's new trend in last 2-4 yrs is theme moved from from "My child is terrified of dogs how dare dogs exist my child can't possibly develop coping skills" to "dogs are everywhere generally annoying me."

In ~2010 the top moan topic would have been useless husbands, btw.

I definitely don't see enough dogs, speaking as someone who never wants to own one but loves to fuss them.

I love a good pub, but this is not my experience at all. They're not all 'crawling with wet dogs', and i've never tripped over any leashes. Maybe its just what you're choosing to notice op.

I love dogs but don't have one at the moment.

We sometimes meet friends for lunch. They have an enormous German shepherd but he disappears under the table and no one else would know he was there. Perfect. But the number of dogs, usually the silly rat on a rope ones that are just left wandering around tethered by those expanding lead trip hazards ,is so dangerous for staff and other customers. It never used to be as bad as this. If they can't sit quietly by your side please don't take them.

How many dogs would it take to make a place crawl I wonder? I also wonder how people can still be surprised about dogs being everywhere when they’ve been banging on about it for at least 5 years. If people had used their impressive creative writing skills then to start campaigns or write to local mps/businesses they may have got somewhere by now.

I love dogs. Had them since before I was born. However I hit puberty and suddenly I got a severe allergy to dogs that now means I get anaphylactic when I walk into a room with one dog, if there are more the reaction is a lot quicker.

DH and I were out on a date night the other day, Thursday evening, lovely BBQ type restaurant, enjoying our meal and then in comes a family of 6 with two dogs FFS! They were sat next to us and we had to explain to the waitress that I can’t be sat next to the dogs due to allergies and we were the ones who got moved to finish our meal! Won’t be going back that’s for sure.

I don’t mind dogs being around but whatever has happened to the rules or no dogs in cafes, restaurants, shops etc. unless service dogs? And I’m talking about the ones that are clearly service dogs the ones with harnesses and warnings about being a service dog and the ones registered, not the little Jack Russell yappy type that has just had a lead put on it saying service dog!! Why are they suddenly allowed everywhere? I understand a lot of people got dogs in COVID and they may not now like being left alone but maybe get your dog some training so they get used to being alone!

Yes, I am rather allergic to bored, stressed, misbehaving children in shops and cafes @ClinkeyMonkey .

And if I was out with someone with ‘severe allergies’ I wouldn’t think driving four whole miles would be that huge an issue.

Why not try walking the four miles? Today? Your overwrought reaction to my rather mild post somewhat indicates you are in need of a bit of stress relief…