I wish town centres had municipal dog crates ...

[AlphaBravoHenryFoxtons]

where you could leave your dog in a crate, with a toy, while you went to the shop to get bread and eggs. They could be lockable with a 15 minute maximum stay per dog, per 24 hours.

It would be SO convenient to be able to combine my daily dog walk with popping into the shops to pick up last minute supplies. My dog would get a longer walk. As it is, I walk the dog then go home then have to leave the dog on her own at home while I walk or cycle into town to get milk or bread or buy a birthday card or whatever.

Very sensible - you get my vote! (Which party are you with?)

I'm worse than you as I do the dog walk then leave the dog at home to drive to the shops.

I take my dog shopping. I know which shops I can leave him outside briefly and still see him. lots of shops allow dogs in. I regularly take him into Dorothy Perkins, H& M, W H Smith, all the phone shops, plus all the card shops like Clinton's. I had him in the changing rooms last week in dp, and they were fine about it. The key sometimes is to march straight in with your dog. obviously they have to be impeccably behaved, but usually I can get in and look around and out again without anyone knowing there's a dog. sometimes the staff look a bit flustered but if you look confident you get away with it. often when I take him into town, I will ask a friendly non food market trader to have him while I pop into marks and Spencer.

last week I wanted to pop into Boots and asked a man outside on a stall outside to have him for 5 mins. he said yes, so off I went. when I came back he wasn't on the stall, but further up. he was a tourist!

You have a really great idea op! I took my dog with me last weekend. We stood outside the bakery and were kindly served at the door, and the opticians, a 5 minute stop, let me bring her in with me. I would like to have done a few more things though and it interests her to go into town.

Looking at the weather today I wish there were indoor dog leisure centres where your dog could romp around without you all getting soaking wet!

Fab idea - it's a really nice walk into town here but I rarely do it as then I can't actually buy anything!

I've thought this too but of course when you get down to the nitty gritty it doesn't work so well.

What if some idiot tormented the poor dog by poking it through the crate?
What if some idiot fed it something dangerous like chocolate or chicken bones.
What if someone broke the lock and either stole the dog or left it roaming?
What if some idiot let their DC poke fingers in the crate and got bitten.

The only way it could work if it was more like a dog crèche and it was supervised, but then off course it would be expensive.

I like your idea OP.

I remember being "allowed" to take mine into Millets on the condition that he didn't touch the floor! Spent 5 minutes trying to look at things before the wriggling drove us both mad....

There was nowhere nearby I could have tied him or left him otherwise I would have...

don't ask to take your dog in a non food shop. just go in! the onus is on them to throw you out. I take my dog into millets and blacks, and trespass, and go outdoors, and Jack wolfskin regularly. dog owners spend lots of money walking their dogs so outdoor shops are not going to be off limits to you. try it

I think we all agree that in non-food shops it's worth asking, but OP was talking about picking up groceries.

Well Go Outdoors are quite clear on their Dogs Welcome policy, they have bowls of biscuits and water in the shop! Don't think places like Dorothy Perkins are suitable though.

ah yes go outdoors are dog friendly anyway. the staff in dp are friendly and usually make a fuss of him. even customers don't mind, can't see the problem.

wouldn't take him in if he were a German shepherd though, he's only little

I take my dog into shops all the time too including morrisons and asdas and I also take him in my local fish shop they love him. The trick is to just walk in and get on with your shopping, only one shop has ever asked me to leave because of the dog and that was " The What! Shop"
My dog is really small though he's a jackhuahua ( Chihuahua cross Jrt) and extremely well behaved, I just pick him up and carry him into shops.

I tie the dog up outside my local shops.
He'd get a bit excited if I took him in.

No way would i leave my dog in a crate unsupervised in a street. Goodness knows what someone might do to him.

I saw someone with dogs in Lidls. The dogs had "seizure alert" vests on. I suspect the dogs weren't actual seizure alert dogs and she'd just bought the coats which are £20 on Etsy

Aha, this is the difference then. Little dogs can be discreetly picked up and carried. I have a massive Golden Retriever and the thought of him barging round a shop wanting to say hello to everyone and shedding hair and slobber everywhere, without anyone noticing, is comical to say the least .

I don't pick my dog up, I just walk in with him. but I more like march in trying to look full of confidence, and I don't get challenged usually. my dog is a well behaved border terrier. in most shops like wh smith, its easy to hide down the aisles.

my friend has a golden lab, and the thought of her taking him in a shop is comical too. he has a tail like a helicopter, pulls her to everything of interest, and likes to jump up at everyone he meets

Mountain Warehouse have a dog friendly sign too, and our local RSPCA charity shop (I don't know why, but I was surprised when the first invited DDog in - I didn't think shops did that!)
I tie mine up outside Aldi and leave one or more of the DC with him. He is very protective of them and would bark his head off if anyone approached them. We can then do an hour round trip walk/run/bike ride/shop. Keeps everyone well exercised and a job done!
I would certainly use a town-crate if it was sufficiently protected so no-one could feed him. He'd bark like mad though if left so probably wouldn't work.

Hmmm, I can sense a business opportunity here.

A sort of fluorescent dog coat with random initials on it that anyone can buy to make their dog look like an assistance dog of some kind.

£10 for small, £15 for medium, £20 for large.

don't tell anyone but I have tried to buy an assistance dog coat, not successfully might add

I think I'd be about as likely to put my dog in a municipal crate as to put my child in one.

Ooh child crates. If there were a DVD player and maybe a comfy bean bag in there, that could work, much better than having them whining through the shops.

a large one for teens, preferably one that doesn't unlock for 24 hours.

I think you're onto something there Letsgoforawalk!

Shall I ask about child sized lockable crates at the same time as the fluorescent 'assistance dog' jackets?

Gymbob if there's a bean bag in there, so long as they've got Wifi they probably wouldn't even notice they were locked in. They don't have bladder control issues like us women who've had their pelvic floors trashed by pregnancy grown ups.