dogs tied up outside supermarkets

[HangingFive]

Not my first post, have NC'd as Waitrose will be able to ID me now.
Really interested in people's opinions after this reply to my email, see below.
Perhaps I didn't explain it v well but my main concern was that a small dog tied up right by the entrance doors is not easily seen, especially with loads of people coming and going. It could lunge at a small child before the parents noticed it. Also poor dog of course.
I've never noticed the dog bars the email mentioned.

My email to Waitrose

re: dogs tied up outside the entrance while owner shops.
Tesco now has a notice on their doors advising customers not to do this. Could Waitress do the same?
I often see dogs waiting outside the store, usually small terrier types, today there was a dog tied up right by the entrance and it didn't look happy. Young children were walking close by and one even managed to pat it before the parents noticed.
It's not fair on the dogs to be put under this stress. Also if a toddler was eating sweets it wouldn't take much for a dog to snap and bite a child's face. Of course the owners should know better but they obviously don't.

Reply

Only Guide Dogs and Assistance Dogs are allowed inside our branches. With the recent hot weather and publicity drive about the danger of leaving dogs in hot cars, responsible dog owners arriving in a car may seek an area in which to to leave their dogs. There are bars for customers to leave their dogs for those arriving by car or on foot.

Whilst I am mindful that young children will be supervised by a responsible adult to advise them on the etiquette of approaching dogs that are unknown to them, I can understand your concerns. I've contacted the xxxx branch and we aren't aware of any other customer complaints about dogs outside our stores however I will ensure that your feedback on this is noted and the situation monitored closely.

Thanks again for your suggestion and giving me the chance to look into it for you.

Dogs have been tied up outside shops since the year dot. It is down to the parents to be supervising the children and ensuring that they don't touch the dog. When my own children were small I'd give tied dogs a wide berth with them.

Can't believe you complained about it tbh. What do you suggest the owner does with the dog whilst they go into the shop?

Blimey don't you have a telly OP?

It is down to the parents to be supervising the children and ensuring that they don't touch the dog.

Of course it is. But as I said in my OP, dog was small and not easily seen as it was tied up right by the entrance doors, parents wouldn't expect a dog to be there.
The official "dog tethering" place is well away from the doors and people coming and going but no one ever seems to use it.

Yeah I'm with you OP. Just asking for an Accident let alone providing an easy target for dog theives.

I promise this isn't me with a name change!!!!!

Blimey don't you have a telly OP?

No time for telly watching, too busy standing outside Waitress guarding the tied up dogs

Quite honestly it amazes me how many people leave dogs outside shops ,our local tesco sometimes has 3 or 4 Labradors / retrievers parked outside for everybody to trip over . I would be too concerned about my dog being stolen . That said I think their response was perfectly reasonable and I wouldn't have bothered to complain as other people's small children are not really my concern .

Florainomad TBH I'm more worried about the dogs than other people's children. The one yesterday looked so vulnerable and stressed.

On the rare occasions that The Hound of The Schulenbergs accompanies us to the shops, he is left outside with a dc for company. Left alone he would deafen shoppers with his barking and probably arrive inside the shop at some point, dragging the broken tethering bar behind him and looking very pleased with himself.
I have, on rare occasion, left him tied up outside Bargain Booze while I hurtled in for emergency beer . To hia credit he sat and waited patiently for the 2 mins I was gone but I dread to think of what would have happened had his nemesis, The Westy, come along.

Harriet
My dogs would probably go into a mad barking frenzy and chew through their leads to escape if I dared tie them up outside anywhere.

I think you're very sensible in your thoughts. Personally I wouldn't leave my dogs tied up outside a shop any more than I'd leave them in a hot car. I wouldn't want the risk of them being stolen or the unlikely event of me getting sued because they'd bitten a child or something.

I sometimes look after a dog that cannot be left in a car or at home, but he is fine tied up outside a shop because he knows I'll come back out the door.

I do tie him up away from the main doors.

I do use online spermarkets, but sometimes I do have to nip into a shop.

My neighbour left her dog tied up outside the local co-op, only gone for 5 mins. When she got back a man was feeding it chocolate and saying what a lovely dog it was .

I occasionally leave mine outside village shop if nipping in for paper/wine. I can see him the whole time and he enjoys doing his pathetic, abandoned dog act for tourists. But I don't think it would be right to leave him for a 'shop'. But you don't know how long the owner was gone.

I hate to see dogs left alone like that. Would people do that with anything else they loved or treasured or valued? Surely not. It is crazy. So many dogs do get stolen like that all the time and often their fate is incredibly distressing. The same goes for dogs stolen in other ways or dogs sold online. Quite often they end up in the hands of illegal fighting rings. I saw RSPCA images of a dog sold/stolen, taped and tied up, totally defenceless and used as a bait dog i.e. a dog for the fighting dogs to practice on. It will stay with me forever. I would never risk it. The pain of having your dog stolen is not only never seeing them again but never knowing their fate.

The dog I look after has separation anxiety.
He can escape from a crate.
If I leave him alone in the car he chews the seat belts. He follows me round the house, sits in the bathroom when I'm in the shower or using the loo, sleeps in my bedroom, but he is ok to leave tied up outside a shop for 10 minutes.
But To be honest, I'd never thought of him being bait.

My dog has separation anxiety in certain situations- mostly when being left home alone, so she often has to accompany me to shops. We do our main shops online for home delivery, but I I need to pop down to the local waitrose or coop she is far happier coming with me and spending the 5 minutes outside the shop, both of which have windows through which she can see me in the queue. She is a timid dog who isn't aggressive in any way (puts up he toddler grabby hands at home) and anyways, children should be supervised by a parent. I'm offended that I would be judged by anyone for doing this- you don't know anything about me or my dog.

I wouldn't leave my dog outside a shop as I'd be worried someone would take the lovely pup. I have no problem with others doing it.

Our local Tescos recently put a notice up telling people not to leave dogs outside the store - dogs had been stolen and one of the owners was trying to blame the store for not warning there was a risk.

I would never leave my ddog tied up outside a shop I'd be afraid he would get stolen besides I always take him in with me, he's safe in his dog bag and I've never had a problem taking him in anywhere.
Perhaps it helps that he's small, cute and really quiet.

You take you dog into the waitrose? I don't think mine would appreciate me doing that- she's a 35kg beast, might be difficult to find a dog bag to fit ????

It only takes 30 seconds to steal a dog for those of you in the ' it's just for 5 mins ' camp. I would be devastated And my dog traumatised, not worth it.

I have been known to leave my children sitting on the bench outside a shop when circumstances dictate,

I see no problem with making an informed choice to leave my dog outside in a shady spot if the need arises.

My choice I think........taking into account the local environment, the character of the dog/child and the nature/pressure of the life I am living.

I would be very upset if my local Waitrose chose to ban dogs from the friendly dog area outside. But thanks for your thoughts Op

Maybe a uncuttable locking collar/lead combo for when the dog has to be left

Have you seen the Ikea dog-parking that's been in the news lately. I think more people would use the correct place to tie their dogs up if they were all made that obvious and provided water and bowls.

I wouldn't tie mine up outside a shop for fear of theft, moreso because I know of lots of cases of similar dogs being taken. There's also the possibility that someone might do something to frighten them or something, as with the law only requiring a dog to cause 'apprehension' it's too easy for them to be blamed for a situation where someone has either deliberately baited them or frightened them by accident and they've reacted badly.

That said, one of mine also has separation anxiety and I know what it's like when you have a dog that can't be left as well. Fortunately for me, he is happy to be left in the car during the winter months (although I don't drive myself, so it doesn't help me much) and I have dh to run any errands in addition to our online shop during the summer, but if I didn't, I can see there would be situations where I would have no choice but to tie him up while I ran into the local shop to grab some bread/milk/loo-roll, so would never judge anyone else for having to do it.

There are leads and collars like this one available that are both reinforced and lockable to prevent theft of tied-up dogs. I think I'd almost definitely invest in one of those if I had no choice but to leave mine outside a shop for a couple of minutes.