AIBU to want cafes to be dog free after grandchild was bitten?

[OhSoTrue]

What to do? Took my 12 year old gc into a cafe for lunch today, and a dog
snapped her ankle as we walked by. It drew blood. No idea why it picked on her.
She did nothing beyond walking in the door.

The dog owner 'fled the scene' as it were. Made a hasty exit while he had the chance and everyone was looking at the injury.

Wouldn't it just be better if we kept dogs out of what really should be an exclusively human area?

The argument that "they are allowed here so suck it up" is wearing thin.
We are all very fed up of your dogs in human spaces. The vast majority of us would prefer a dog free space.

The thing is, you'll barely have noticed the dozens of times you've been in similar settings with well behaved dogs and responsible owners who don't cause any harm.

What happened to your daughter didn't happen because dogs are allowed in the café, it happened because the dog was reactive and wasn't under it's owners control.

I'm not a dog owner but I love going in to places where dogs are sitting peacefully at someone's feet, happy to say hello and have a wee clap on the way past and this is probably what happens the majority of the time, otherwise dog friendly places wouldn't be nearly as common.

I've never really understood the "dogs are unhygienic" line, when neither are people. Seriously, people are not clean. Our phones are germ havens, and many people will happily leave them on the café table they're eating from. Or will not wash their hands before picking up their cake, despite the fact they're holding the same phone they use to scroll on the loo.

Additionally you are orders of magnitude more likely to catch a disease from a human sitting next to you than a dog.

Dogs may bite, as in this case - they are not danger free - but it is significantly rarer than the physical harm many humans cause each other.

Frankly it's other people who are the ones who are the risk to your health in public. Not dogs.

I am with you, dogs do not need to be in most public spaces. Dog parks etc are fine, we have a farmer nearby that has turned one of his fields into a dog play area. My BIl and SIL have dogs, small ones, at a christmas buffet last year they were running around, it was chaos, one was drinking out of peoples glasses and the other jumped up on the buffet table, paws in food etc. We were then expected to eat from the table, as BIL and SIL thought it was funny! Just grim.

You’re understandably upset because of your GC being bitten. However, firstly that was a one-off incident, and also:

“It's your dog and you love it. Nobody else does.”

is simply untrue. Many, many non-dog owners love dogs. You could say the same (stupid) thing about anything, couldn’t you? Ban children because some are badly behaved and only their parents love them anyway, ban men because they commit the majority of violent crime and only their partner/parents love them anyway,, etc etc.

If you don’t like dogs in cafes, choose one that doesn’t allow them in. There are plenty that don’t allow dogs. There’s room for us all.

Yeah. A diagnosis of autism for example.

im hardly talking about needing help with fucking maths am I

Autism is easy to prove

So allowing dogs is obviously popular, that’s why cafe owners etc allow it.

Business decision.

The only time we do it is when we are staying in holiday properties where you are not allowed to leave the dog when you go out. We could just eat in every night but then it would be Tesco or some other chain that got the money. I honestly don’t think the pubs and cafes in say North Norfolk would survive if all the dog owners ate in their rental properties. People holiday in these places so that they can take the dog with them.

I know! I was very surprised that they didn’t take action. I’m friendly with my neighbour and she just had a letter telling her to secure the dog!!

Same here. I like dogs, but there is no such thing as a cafe that doesn’t allow them anywhere near where I live. And there are a LOT of cafes.

Then why the heck did you let your GC walk within snapping range? Could you have gone another way or walked between the dog and your GC?

Incorrect
France and Italy are generally considered more dog-friendly than the UK, particularly regarding access to restaurants, cafes, and public transport. While the UK excels in dog-friendly hotels and countryside walking, France and Italy often allow dogs inside dining establishments, shops, and on trains more freely.
Italy (Highly Dog-Friendly)
Dining/Shopping: Dogs are welcomed in many restaurants, bars, and shops, sometimes even in grocery stores.
Culture: Italians are often very affectionate toward dogs, frequently offering water without being asked.

France (Very Dog-Friendly)
Dining/Travel: Dogs are welcome on most public transport (with tickets) and on the terraces or inside many restaurants.
Accommodations: A wide range of pet-friendly rentals and hotels are available.
Limitations: Some urban parks, including some in Paris, can be restrictive, though this is changing.

Dogs are generally allowed in cafes, restaurants, and bars in both France and Italy
, where they are widely treated as part of daily life and often welcomed with open arms. It is very common to see dogs sitting under tables on outdoor terraces and inside establishments, particularly in cities like Paris and Rome.

Dogs in French Cafes

• Welcomed Inside & Outside: Most cafés and brasseries in France allow dogs, even inside.
• Exceptions: They are typically restricted from food preparation areas and some high-end restaurants, but local bistros are usually fine.
• Etiquette: Dogs should be well-behaved and kept on a leash.
• Signs: Look for “chiens interdits” (no dogs allowed) signs, but these are rare.

Dogs in Italian Cafes

• Very Pet-Friendly: Italy is considered a "dog lover’s paradise," with dogs allowed in most restaurants and cafés.
• Aperitivo Culture: It is normal to see dogs under tables during aperitivo.
• Rules: While legally allowed in many places, it is always at the discretion of the owner, and they must not come into direct contact with food.

Talk about victim blaming!

Do you scan for dogs under tables every time you walk into a cafe?

I love my dog and she has been going in pubs and cafes since she was 8 weeks old, because I also love cafes and pubs. Consequently she knows how to behave in them. Still, I also love leaving her at home, wearing nice non doggy clothes and going out alone or with family or friends without her. And then I get annoyed with some dog owners who clearly only have their dogs with them because the dog has behavioural issues and can't be left alone at home. Sco dogs that whine or bark when their prefered person goes to place and order. Dogs that react to other dogs. Dogs that have to sit on a lap at the table. All that stuff is really annoying. My dog sits or lays quietly at my feet or under my chair, out of the way.

Why not ring them up and find out?
Or are your fingers broken and you can't use a 'phone?😮

Allowing dogs brings in business - it's that simple. I love dog friendly venues. Long may it continue.

I never made my children sit quietly under the table, but I insist my dogs do.

If I’m out on a dog walk, it’s sometimes nice to combine it with lunch at a dog friendly cafe or pub.

No (and I’m broadly in agreement it would be good if there was more choice about dog free cafes), but if I saw someone who I knew had a dog with a bite history in a dog friendly cafe, I’d check whether their dog was there before I walked past the table, and would do what I could to give them a wide berth even if I couldn’t see their dog.

It’s just a bit of a drip feed from “random dog snapped and drew blood” to “dog with known bite history bit my GC in a cafe”.

Yep, I've seen a dog cocking it's leg on a rail of clothes in a shopping village I was in a few weeks ago, and another time, a dog licking the French sticks in the bakery of a shop I was in, which it could reach. This is why it used to be the case thst only guide dogs were allowed in shops, they are trained not to do this stuff, never mind bite people. Owners saw what they had done in both cases and just dragged them away, didn't tell a member of staff, disgusting. And I love dogs btw, just don't think they should be allowed everywhere, particularly if not trained and especially if they are aggressive and bite.

Exactly this or go0gle. That’s what we do to find dog friendly places and it’s always correct .

Really? Leggings are pretty thin. Most footwear dips around the ankle and doesn't cover it. If the dog bit anywhere level or above the ankle. Footwear wouldn't have covered it.
Also, how flimsy do you think dog's teeth are?

I love dogs and grew up with them, but I agree with so many others - keep them away from others and definitely not in restaurants/cafes for hygiene reasons.

So many dog owners are delusional. When my kids were young, they were always being approached by dogs off leads that they became terrified of dogs. We were always being told 'he doesn't bite' or 'she loves children'. Not everyone wants to be around dogs.

OP - sorry to hear about your granddaughter. I've had to avoid places where dogs are allowed. No owner can guarantee their dog isn't going to react negatively towards my kids, so I'm no longer taking the risk.

Dogs aren't pets anymore they're treated like babies & are thought of as family. A dogs behaviour is a reflection on it's owners.
I'd prefer dogs to remain outside, however most owners would worry their fur baby would be stolen.

As an aside- we had an alarm for our daughter’s bed, and also a special pillow that she couldn’t suffocate on.

Hope your daughter is ok today.

Find me one that isn’t dog friendly and I will happily go there. They are few and between.