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.

My NDN and friend has 2 mini pins. (Pinschers). They go for walks in the park. She doesn’t take them out to cafes/restaurants as she’s not a selfish idiot. Dogs are fine at home. In fact when Ruby was a tiny puppy I dog sat her a few times when owner was at work (works Saturdays) so as a consequence she’s lovely with me!

Of course she did. There’s a thread like this every other week and it’s obvious that they’re posted by someone who detests dogs.

Have you lost track? It bit a child as the child passed, that's the whole point of the thread.

To be fair most dogs I’ve seen in pubs and cafes have been very well behaved. I’ve been lucky though.

Lucky the OP didn’t report to the police, not that they’d do anything anyway.

How is it being a selfish idiot to take a dog somewhere they are allowed, even welcomed?

Of course they did.

South east England. Where are you based where you have all this dog free choice?

You want to live on this estate…….small dogs everywhere! Happy little critters and some aren’t taken out for a walk, they’re carried,

As quite a lot of things in this world people will be divided in their opinion. Some people hate dogs in cafes, some people love dogs in cafes. Not everyone will feel the same as you.

I agree that all dogs should be muzzled except if in their owners home, garden or car or in a specifically-for-dogs business premises eg a dog park. That should be the default not just because of the risk of biting but also licking and eating things they shouldn't. Very rare exceptions for the most highly trained assistance dogs who need free use of their mouth to perform their function but that should be rigorously assessed and certification only granted to dogs whose training and temperament is impeccable.

Because obviously there can't be half a million people in this country who don't like dogs being in cafes?

🤣🤣🤣

She did, you really aren't reading the thread, are you.

Totally agree

I’m sure there are. Those people don’t like dogs being anywhere.

I will not go in cafes where dogs are allowed

I agree. I have no problem with dogs being in outside seating but I avoid cafes where dogs are indoors in cafes. I have had too many unpleasant experiences

A popular pub near me has the right approach. Dogs are welcome in their covered, heated outdoor area but not allowed inside. The covered courtyard was erected during Covid to serve coffee and snacks to walkers passing by and then opened ( and extended) to punters when allowed.

I personally am nervous around dogs and also allergic to them so would choose not to go to a cafe which lets them inside. I was not particularly happy when I was in John Lewis recently and a dog was wandering around off its lead in the Tech Desk area while I was waiting for a reset of my new iPad. Its owner did put it back on its lead when I very politely said I was allergic to dogs after it came up to me wanting attention.

Due to mobility problems I rarely go into large stores and was unaware that dogs were allowed on some of them!

The worst flight I had was an internal one in the US when I was sat near a family who had a large service dog with its blanket. As it was only a 2 hour flight I did not ask to be moved to a different seat, I was in first class for mobility reasons and any empty seats would have been in economy. I just took 2 antihistamines and tried to ignore my itchy eyes but it was an unpleasant flight. In reality their children were more annoying than the dog but I’m not allergic to children!

Dogs everywhere seems to have occurred when the trend for ‘ they are part of the family’ occurred. A sort of justification for taking them anywhere. Except they don’t behave as humans do. And many are not controlled all that well either. Hence the dog programmes trying to help people who have problems with them.

I for one would not want to carry a tea tray full of hot liquid and potentially trip over a lead or dog who is not aware of safety issues and wanders about a bit.

I think the thinking that dogs should be taken everywhere because they are members of the family needs changing. They don’t behave like humans. Yes, they are part of your set up at home. Consideration for others is good manners. And a cafe has so much going on, and a wide range of customers. From young to very old and not that mobile. Keep hold of your pet. Or leave it at home.

I once went to a hotel which felt more like staying at a kennel. Greeted by an Alsatian. Then a Rottweiler at breakfast wandering around. Lovely it wasn’t.

On top of my deep scepticism over whether the OP's story even happened, it's a pointless thread because it's not up to her whether a cafe owner allows dogs or not. If she wants a dog-free cafe she's free to set up and run her own such business. Til then she needs to accept that a lot of cafe owners consider dog-owners' custom more valuable than hers. If that doesn't seem fair to her then take it up with supply-and-demand capitalism.

That's ridiculous. Not everyone can get to.a dog park. If a dog is muzzled in the countryside, in parks etc they can't sniff, they can't play ball/fetch, their quality of life would be compromised.

I don't detest them I just don't like them in cafes or shops..and I really dislike irresponsible owners who give all owners a bad name

Agree. If you take any dog into any cafe, the vast majority of people there who don't have a dog with them wish that you weren't there. Even if for those who like dogs, most people who don't have a dog with them do not want a dog in spaces where food is being eaten. It must take a very thick skin to be so self-absorbed as to not notice how unhappy you are making the people around you. There will be a few exceptions of course - there always are. But the main reason a dog owner who does this doesn't get many complaints is that everyone knows that anyone so monumentally selfish is going to be a nightmare to deal with if you do dare to say how you feel.

Me too. I actively prefer cafes etc. that allow dogs, and TBH I don’t look on pubs that don’t allow dogs, as proper pubs at all.

Does it? According to statistics around 100k people were bitten by dogs they don’t know last year. Seems a high number, but when you put it against the number of dogs in the U.K. (around 13 million) then the chances of you being bitten by one of them is vanishingly small.

As you know the owner, it shouldn’t be too hard for the police to find him. Next time you might want to keep your eyes peeled for this dog, given you knew it had bitten before, and have your granddaughter (and your epileptic child when you are out with them) give it a wide berth.

Anyone with children or spending time with their grand children should educate themselves about social media.