AIBU to question non-assistance dogs being allowed in Primark?

[FlimsyMimsy]

Coleen Rooney apparently has a new range in Primark. I saw the start of a video by someone who fancies herself as an influencer checking it out with her Cavapoo. Since when are dogs allowed in Primark that aren't assistance dogs? Is it crazy to think dogs are now ubiquitous?

Where was this as my Mum is in her 70s and is constantly surprised at the number of dogs allowed in department stores and references the past stating that it didn't happen.

Sheffield. Main shopping in town centre. Took her everywhere on a lead, but not in food shops. I did take her into the restaurant in one department store, (after checking with staff) she sat quietly under the chair.

My Mum worked in Woolworths for a bit and a bank and never, ever saw a dog. I grew up in London and never saw a dog in John Lewis or any clothes shops but this was the 90s. It is an absolute nightmare where I live as literally the every pub serving food has dogs and unfortunately you don't know until a reserved table has customers arrive with a dog (and a basket) last time so i am forced out as asthma attack follows.

All dogs should be banned from shops and eateries except for legitimate guide dogs and police dogs.

The Woolworths where I lived in the 1970s/1980s was the only shop which did allow dogs. It had a lovely old wooden floor

Well she didn't work there in the 70s, it would have been the 60s. She did work on a city though so maybe that's why. Equally, dogs weren't treated like children then so I suppose they wouldn't have been in city shops as much. I certainly don't remember seeing any dogs in central London or the outskirts clothes shops in the 90s 00s.

Dogs used to get chased out of shops if they dared to venture in. This was when a lot of people used to let their dogs roam free during the day. I'm sure the dogs were a lot happier that way, rather than being dragged around shopping centres on leads.

Los Mochis
L’Escargot
Gaucho

Are the 3 most recent ones.

Thank you, that's genuinely helpful!

It really does amaze me how full of dogs the London shops are. And now restaurants too.

Including the club lounge in a couple of very nice hotels. It would just never occur to me to take my dogs in, or that they’d be allowed, but clearly they are.

Saw a dog in Zara too….

Having seen an emotional assistance cat in M&S Food Hall at Christmas, I would say that sanity has left the building

All dogs smell, especially when they’re wet. You’ve just become blind to the smell. If you have even 2 or 3 dogs in an enclosed space like a pub or a restaurant on a wet day, the place will reek.

And, yes, I’m sure your dog drools and slobbers.

I have twice taken my tiny dog into John Lewis, but I can easily carry her. I wouldn’t take my anxious old dog, nor DD’s Labrador. On mess, though, I have recently seen two children aged perhaps 5 and 3 eating ice cream cones while the woman browsed clothes rails, and both children deliberately wiped their hands and faces on the sleeves of a rail of jumpers, after dripping ice cream and bits of wafer all over the floor.

I didn’t say anything, other people noticed and perhaps someone else alerted staff (or the woman).

Well at the store I was at I think there were these claims with a pug but they still asked her to leave.

This is perfection.

I love to see shops and restaurants full of dogs, slobbery or not. People should toughen up their immune systems if they are worried about a bit of slobber or fur.

Primark should employ Cruella de Vil as a designer for their winter wear department.

"I love to see shops and restaurants full of dogs, slobbery or not."
Why?

No dogs except guide dogs allowed in both our local Primark stores. I know because I took mine in once and got asked to leave by the security guard. Boots also do not allow it, or Home Bargains.

Yes I’m sure you’d tell your asthmatic loved one to “just toughen up their immune system” wouldn’t you? It’s not like being able to breathe is vital for human survival.

That doesn't surprise me. I see more dogs in John Lewis nowadays than I see in our local park.

Lovely to see dogs out with their families rather than stuck at home on their own. Doesn’t matter where it is, they still have fun as long as they have been properly socialised

You can’t expect others to restrict their freedom in case they run into an asthmatic though. They need to take responsibility for their own condition. Natural selection at work.

My cats would go crazy if I tried to take them shopping.

Nothing to do with dogs being stressed or anxious... more that people love their dogs and would rather take them wherever they are going and, well, sometimes that means bringing them along to do 'life on earth' stuff like go to shops.
Oftentimes, dogs DO behave better than children. I was in a home store recently where a child was dashing around with one of those wheeled basket things crashing into everything. Parents doing nothing to stop him. I thought at the time that my pup would have just sat quietly in my arms as we walked around - but he's not allowed in.