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.

Why are people on about deep heat spray?

Its a threat to use it as pepper spray

You can't legally carry pepper spray in the uk so people carry deep heat.

And I would save you over your dog, because the truth is you matter more.

I know. Maybe they think dogs should be kept tied up in the garden?

Me and DH take being dog owners seriously and have always tried to give our dogs a good happy life.

We never leave our dog unless we have to and that is pretty rare. Now that so many places allow dogs inside it's made it so much easier.

Far too many dogs are illtreated and abused. My neighbour has 3 dogs and he leaves them all the time for hours and hours on end. Most days it is at least 7 hours but he has left them, quite a few times, for much longer. On over 5 occasions in the last year he has left them 24 hours and once 48 hours. They escape his garden all the time because he can't be bothered to do something with the fencing and run along the road which is quite busy. It's a miracle none of them have ever been hit by a car.

I have reported him to the RSPCA, the police and the dog warden. The dog warden came out to him but he just carries on the same.

Honestly, you dog haters really are bullied, yet you’re so pleasant and nice.

I love dogs and grew up with them - we can’t have our own because of work, and we have a lovely cat, but I regularly walk our older neighbour’s dog who’s a great wee pal.

I’m happy to see dogs in coffee shops, but I think in “proper restaurants” it can be a bit much. I met my friend for lunch last week at a fairly fancy place as it was a big birthday for her, and a trio of people (I think parents and adult daughter) came in with a little dog which barked non-stop. It was really annoying, and if it had been eg a crying baby one of them would have gone out with it I’m sure. Yes, it was allowed in, and it was daytime, but read the room a bit! I have a friend who brings her dog to restaurants in the evenings which I personally think is bonkers. I think training the dog to settle at home for a few hours so you can go out to dinner makes sense for everyone, including the dog.

There's often a weird nostalgia on this threads for leaving dogs in cars, gardens or tied up and just the good old days where "dogs were at home"

Anyone around in the gold old days remembers loads of poo on the streets, agressive pub dogs, houses you had to run past because they had a mean dog in the garden and a lottery of if a dog would lunge at you tied to a post.

Most people are leaving their dogs at home, otherwise half of people in a restaurant (and more in dog friendly!) Would have a dog

We do sometimes go out in the evening with ours, usually because we are on holiday and it's somewhere he can't be left. Or ocassionally because they've already been left more than a few hours for some other activity that day.

I'm not a dog hater, I have a large dog myself. She walks properly on the lead (and doesn't get taken to cafes, because although she would behave, she does shed a lot of needle-like hair and fart a lot). However, I frequently see people being dragged around by their dogs. The latest was our neighbour's 10 year old son. The parents think it's acceptable to send the 10 year old out to walk the dog, a very strong Staffie type. It's not trained to walk on a lead, and basically drags him along the road, up into people's driveways, and bowling over my dog who was minding her own business in her own garden. I saw them in the mall one day, where the mother was being dragged along by the dog. Didn't seem enjoyable for her, and certainly not for total strangers who were just trying to do a bit of shopping.

My dog is not a barker (doesn't even bother when there is someone at the door although I wish he would) but if he started barking in an eating place one of us would take him out. I agree that a barking dog is annoying.

We do take out dog to restaurants in the evening as then we can take as long as we like without worrying about leaving him too long. There are 2 restaurants in our local town which allow dogs and we are never the only ones in them in the evening with a dog.

Our dog can be left now whereas when we first got him he would cry and howl but he doesn't settle (we can see him on the camera). I guess he may in time but we like taking him with us and he seems to like it to. His body language is pretty easy to read and he is happy and relaxed with us and lays down and even sometimes falls asleep which he doesn't do when home alone

Sounds awful, and the waitress definitely should not have had to clear that up!

Difference being that no one is actually weird or a psycho just because they don’t like dogs.

However plenty of dog owners are indeed selfish.

Not my experience

'We do take out dog to restaurants in the evening as then we can take as long as we like without worrying about leaving him too long'

Restaurants in the evening too! .

We've gone from cafes which is bad enough to restaurants in the evening.

Other people do not want your dogs there. Whether it is allowed or not should not matter, be considerate to other customers.

Our dog has had a lovely day today, walks playtime snoozes at home while we went out. They should not be in cafes and certainly not restaurants. Don't some of you care that you piss other customers off. Clearly not.

Not sure how we piss other customers off when our dog lays quietly under the table and often people are surprised when we leave as they did not realise there was a dog there.

The restaurants allow dogs so we are going to take him and plenty of others do too.

Why do you get to decide that they should not be in cafes and definitely not restaurants? You don't make the rules thank goodness.

I think if other customers were unhappy at their being dogs there it would not be that difficult to see either by body language or their faces. I can imagine some on here pulling a "it's disgusting" face. I have never seen reactions like that to dogs and just about every time we take him we have other people in the restaurant talking to us about him and always in a positive way

Many people are too polite so they might not say it but they will be thinking ffs why take a dog to a restaurant on an evening.

Non dog owners associate dogs with dog hair and smells. Not something you want near you when dining oit.

You say your dog doesn't bark or howl when left but 'doesn't settle', well help it to! teach it to, show him you will return and leave him a nice big toy for company.

Be a responsible owner because how on earth will the poor thing manage if you need to go somewhere where he isn't allowed?

The business wants them there.

I will be going away on holiday soon with my mum and her greyhound. We will be going to a restaurant in the evening with her dog. We are not allowed to leave him in the accommodation.

When you say restaurant do you mean an actual smart restaurant or the local Wetherspoons? Because I'm sure there's many a dog in Spoons but I've never seen one in a restaurant.

<Disclaimer nothing at all wrong with Wetherspoons just trying to establish what some view as a 'restaurant' >

Wetherspoons do not allow dogs. Not even in the gardens.

Don't they? Good to know thanks.

It sounds like you never go to Wetherspoons anyway, so why does it matter to you?

You don't want dogs in places that you don't even go to. That sounds really entitled to me.

Fucking clueless. Banging on without doing any research.

That particular dog owner is shit. People like him drive me crazy, giving the rest of us a bad name. Go to cafes that don’t allow dogs is obvs the only advice, given that a fuckwit like that will continue to go out with untrained dogs (not the dogs fault). I have dogs - only one of whom is ok in cafes (others are very anxious), so funnily enough, I don’t take the others in! I hope your grand daughter is ok.

You’re way too invested in what others are doing. I’ve never been ‘pissed off’ by other diners minding their own business because I’m busy enjoying my own time, the company I’m in, the food I’ve ordered. Can’t imagine how difficult life is for you if other people making different choices throws you so far off.

Well obviously not Wetherspoons because they don't allow dogs!

The 2 restaurants we eat are are fairly smart ones but I guess it depends what you call smart. They are not michelin starred ones! One is a tapas restaurant and one is a turkish restaurant