Dogs in public - Ya or Nah?

[doglover102]

As an assistance dog handler I can see both sides of the argument. Personally, so long as the dog can execute a loose lead walk down aisles, not sniff anything, or pee or poop or bark, and he can completely ignore my working assistance dog (no pulling, sniffing, barking, lunging ect) I don't have an issue with it.

What do we all think about extremely well behaved dogs in public?

Depends on the dog’s personality to a certain extent though. My dog is really sociable and wants to be around humans and other dogs. She doesn’t want to spend hours at home on her own. She wouldn’t want to go shopping particularly (and never has been), but she loves going to dog friendly cafes or pubs.

I don't think its that common for people to be so allergic to dogs they can't be in a room with one. The main issues are hygiene and behaviour. If they are well behaved and only allowed into areas that can be easily cleaned I think its fine.

My dogs hypoallergenic so he'll still be allowed though

I suspect by your grin at the end that you said this bit tongue in cheek and know he's know "hypoallergenic" but for the benefit of others reading this, it bears repeating ad nauseum that there is no such thing as a hypoallegenic dog. So don't buy any dog thinking that's what you're getting. You're not.

@Wayward I have a dog that tolerates but does not enjoy attention from strangers.

I've just bought a lead slip that says "ask before stroking". I've only had it on a few days, so my sample size is small, but so far we haven't had anyone ignore it when he is on lead, and I think it's reducing it off lead as I have the lead draped around my neck during walks.

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I’m a little confused as to why some posters are comparing dogs to children?

They aren’t analogous.

You might not like children, but I’m pretty sure you aren’t physically frightened of them?

Or allergic to them?
They don’t generally smell bad or leave lots of hair everywhere?
They don’t generally randomly sniff or lick people?
They don’t jump up on strangers leaving muddy footprints or ripped clothing?

Now I know there are lots of lovely, very well behaved dogs out there, owned by very responsible and respectful dog owners.

But in my experience there are also lots of irresponsible dog owners whose dogs are badly trained.

I don’t like dogs. I wouldn’t ordinarily choose to share my space with one at any time.

I do of course, because friends and family have dogs, but if you give me an active choice I wouldn’t go to a restaurant that was likely to be filled with dogs or a hotel that was dog friendly (they always, always smell of dogs).

“They don’t generally smell bad or leave lots of hair everywhere?
They don’t generally randomly sniff or lick people?”

I’ve met plenty of children that do those...

But no, I don’t think taking dogs places is st all the same as taking children, for starters you always have the option of leaving a dog home alone... childreb not so much.

'I don't think its that common for people to be so allergic to dogs they can't be in a room with one. The main issues are hygiene and behaviour. If they are well behaved and only allowed into areas that can be easily cleaned I think its fine.'

Oh so stuff all the asthmatics then. They can stay home in a bubble because you want your pet pooch to go everywhere with you?

@Greyhorses not all dogs want or like being left home on their own. Mine certainly doesn't. He would much rather be with his family or around other dogs and people. Lots of dogs suffer with separation anxiety, for example.

Mine loves going to shops and cafes - he gets loads of fuss, normally a treat or two and if we go for a meal he gets his favourite chew to munch on. It's a positive experience for him (and us) and means he's well socialised and trained to be in busy situations which I think is really important.

My dog also loves going round shops.

Her favourite shop is George Fishers at Keswick for some reason. She loves it and cries to go when we’re in town and can’t contain herself the last few feet and flings herself at the doors! She’s so happy when she’s in there and I genuinely don’t know why.....don’t think she even knows there’s a cafe upstairs!

Oh so stuff all the asthmatics then. They can stay home in a bubble because you want your pet pooch to go everywhere with you?

It's not just dogs that are triggers... I think if you have any sort of allergy, some of the responsibility is with the sufferers. There are plenty of places where dogs are not allowed and you couldn't ban them completely from open public places!

'There are plenty of places where dogs are not allowed and you couldn't ban them completely from open public places!'

I'm not advocating banning dogs from public places. I'm just saying there are plenty of places where they go already and a blanket acceptance of dogs everywhere would be really problematic for people like me and my DS.

BTW I'm not a dog hater, I actually really like them and all animals but through no fault of my own they cause me to suffer real health problems.

I don't think anyone is saying dogs should be allowed everywhere.

But there's nothing wrong with businesses choosing to allow dogs if they want to. Like myself and PP have mentioned, the Lake District is extremely dog friendly and the majority of businesses allow and welcome dogs - most even go above and beyond to cater for their needs.

But of course there are still places that don't allow them and that's fine too. I don't think well-behaved dogs should be banned from all establishments simply because some people suffer from asthma. Asthma can be triggered by all sorts of things - strong perfume, deodorants, hairsprays, air-freshener, exhaust fumes - you can't ban everything from everywhere simply because some people have allergies.

Businesses can choose to allow dogs and people can choose not to frequent those businesses if it causes them problems or if they don't like dogs.

Greyhorses, what about people on holiday? We take our dog on holiday and would never ever leave him in a strange holiday home or hotel so he comes out with us. Does that mean we shouldn't have a coffee or a meal or be able to go into a shop together?

We would not be sitting for hours at a café but even if we were we would have made sure our dog had a good long walk/run beforehand so he didn't get bored.

It's also nice after a long walk to get a cup of coffee before going home or a cool drink on a hot day

Don’t get me wrong I have taken both of mine (who are friendly and socialble) out with me to pubs etc and on holiday in the past but I think people kid themselves that the dog enjoys that more than a good run around or as a substitute for a proper walk.

For me I would rather run my dogs and leave them at home and have a meal in peace and I also don’t want to be pestered or annoyed by dogs when I am enjoying a coffee somewhere.

I hate seeing dogs dragged around events clearly bored/terrified/on the verge of heatstroke while people carry on without a care in the world. Just because a dog can go somewhere does not mean it should or that the vast majority of dogs won’t hate the whole thing. If you watch the body language a fair proportion of these dogs look miserable.

Maybe because I work with dogs day in and day out need more dog free time than most

I wouldn't just take a dog out to a cafe or the shops for the sake of it. But on holiday or stopping off at a cafe after a long walk in the woods then yes I would.

When we drive to see MIL we often stop on the way up at a pizza express and I hate that I have to leave the dog in the car. And at this time of year we wouldn't be able to.

Dog owner here - yes to cafes, pubs and some shops but even I wouldn't want a dog in a restaurant, supermarket or clothes shop. Unhygienic and not fair on those with allergies.

Lots of my local pub/restaurants allow dogs in he garden or have a 'dog friendly' room. Fair compromise.

As for taking dogs in shops etc, I often stop at my local off licence on the way back from a walk and it is just too dangerous to leave them tied up outside so it would be nice to be able to take him in with me.

Nesssie, in other countries in Europe dogs are allowed in restaurants, supermarkets etc. For a country supposedly of dog lovers we are certainly behind others. Do people in other countries not have allergies?

Other countries in Europe allow smoking inside aswell.
I love my dog but I don’t have him sitting on the sofa next to me whilst I’m eating.
And my sister is highly allergic, so it is important there are restaurants that she can eat at safely.

I like being able to stop of at a pub with the dog after a long walk. And don't mind sitting outside, But I really need the ability to at least be able to take the dog inside why I order a drink or some food. If i'm on my own there's no way I'd leave my dog tired up outside, I'd be too worried about her getting stolen.

Nesssie, I haven't seen anyone smoking inside in France, Belgium, Holland or Germany for years.

So what if your sister went to Europe? Could she not go into a restaurant in case there was a dog there or had been a dog there?

I feel Europe is far more civilised than the UK when it comes to dogs. Me and DH lived in France for a number of years and it was brilliant. We stayed in loads of hotels, gites etc with our dog. We ate in restaurants and we took him into shops.

We then returned to UK with him and found we hardly anywhere allowed him in. Certainly no shops or restaurants. Most hotels say no to dogs and so do quite a few holiday homes. Some allow "small" dogs. Really can't see why only small dogs as if the owner is worried about damage a small dog can still do quite a bit of damage. I would hope most responsible owners would not leave a dog alone in a holiday home or hotel anyway. We certainly wouldn't.

Nessie no-one on this thread (apart from me) cares about the many people who are highly allergic to dogs.

I think some of you are reading allergic and thinking 'bit of a sniffle', I'm meaning severe asthmatic allergic reaction that can take several days to fully recover from and can be brought on by contact with hair and dander left behind, there doesn't have to be a dog present.

I have no objection to there being places that allow dogs. Actually, it would be lovely to have the fact that they are dog friendly displayed outside so I can choose not to go in, buy a drink sit down and then have to leave feeling ill.

MrsChollySawcutt, I am not saying I don't care about people who are allergic. I am asking though how they manage or would manage if they go on holiday in a European country where dogs are allowed almost everywhere.

Personally, I don't go to places where I think dogs will have been. Be that hotels, restaurants and sadly friends houses.

If I'm in France, we stay with dog free relatives or hire a dog free cottage and eat in a lot.