John Lewis is now dog friendly!

[ACJ68]

Apparently it’s a soft launch,
Well behaved dogs on leads are now allowed in all John Lewis stores.
I’m not certain if any of the cafe areas have designated areas for dogs, as there isn’t any information online.
There may also be difficulties if the store is accessed via a shopping centre that only allows guide / assistance dogs.
A brave but great move by JLP - I’m just off to visit my nearest store!

[Thesnobbymiddleclassone]

I've just suddenly thought, what about their cafe areas?

Surely they can't go in there and if not, where do you leave your dog?

[IrianOfW]

It seems to me that there are more and more dog-friendly shops. Waterstones allows me to take ddog in - they just seemed grateful that I asked first. Took him into Flying Tiger the other day (after asking permission) - he was on the lead and sitting by my feet but a woman still asked me in acid tones to move my dog as he was causing a problem. She was a little scary and the woman with her mouthed 'He's fine !' to me when she had moved past..

I think there has to be some sort of compromise. My dog simply by existing in that space was upsetting that lady - she doesn't care for dogs. And of course there are noisy, boisterous or dangerous dogs at the other end of the spectrum who need to be controlled. And we will all draw the line somewhere different.

[adaline]

I've just suddenly thought, what about their cafe areas?

Surely they can't go in there and if not, where do you leave your dog?

Eh? Why not? Loads of cafes, bars and pubs allow dogs in. My dog came with us for dinner on Sunday. We had drinks and food, he settled under our feet with a chew and fell asleep. He was perfectly well-behaved and you wouldn't have known he was there unless you bent down and looked.

Dogs are allowed in cafes, just not in preparation areas. So it wouldn't be allowed in the kitchen/behind the till, but it would be fine to sit by an owners feet, under the table.

[user1457017537]

What will happen when someone takes a pit bull in.

[Bunnybigears]

user1457017537 this is very unlikely as Pit Bulls are illegal and if I owned an illegal dog the last place I would take it if John Lewis.

[user1457017537]

I know they are illegal however people do have them and call them by other names.

[Snappymcsnappy]

You do realise that most dog bites are by the family dog so the chances of being bitten in John Lewis are already slim.

You do also realise that the dog bite statistics consistently align with the most popular breeds at the time?
Last year it was dachshunds, golden retrievers/Labrador’s and spaniels the year before that?

You do also realise that pit bulls are bred to be DOG aggressive, not human aggressive?
In fact, in a dog fight scenario most dogs will panic bite any human that touches them but dog fighting pit bulls are expected to tolerate people handling them mid fight??
Therefore, they generally tolerate manhandling by kids the best of any breed.
It is this trait that earned the Staffordshire bull terrier the nickname ‘nanny dog’ and is still the ONLY dog actively tecommended for children by the kennel club?

The pit bulls you hopefully never see that are owned by gangs are aggressive because they are deliberately undersocialised and praised for fear aggression.

You can ‘train’ virtually ANY breed to be aggressive like a gang pit bull, the only reason why pits are chosen is because of their macho looks and because they are actually too passive and friendly to rip the shit out of their owner abusing them like a Malinois or guardian breed might!

[Coloursthatweremyjoy]

I like the idea of dog friendly shops. Always a relief when you are on holiday and need something. I love Go Outdoors for this reason.

Dog is very well behaved and often gets invited into shops when owners see his sit and stay (and sad face) when he is tied up outside...I'm not sure id fake him to John Lewis though...enthusiastically wagging tail...

[DerelictWreck]

What a ridiculous idea. They'll lose hundreds of customers - people with allergies, people with small children and people who are really scared of dogs.

Bet they don't, those people manage to cope when guide dogs are around. They also still go to parks, beaches, pubs etc.

[ShatnersBassoon]

You do realise that most dog bites are by the family dog so the chances of being bitten in John Lewis are already slim.

I'm 100% more likely to be bitten in John Lewis by a stranger's dog. So is everyone else who doesn't have a family dog.

People don't fret about assistance dogs because they are so well trained there is almost no chance of them weeing, pooing, jumping up, play fighting, getting freaked out by other dogs, looking for attention...

[Gwynfluff]

Said it before, will say it again. The pub trade, retail and now casual/social dining are seriously in trouble in the UK at the moment (look at the incredible drop in profits John Lewis has last year). Dog ownership is, conversely big, and therefore it starts to become good business sense to make dogs welcome

[Snappymcsnappy]

I don’t think you’ve quite grasped the point I was trying to make..

It is very unusual to be bitten by a strangers dog.
Because most bites are by family pets, to children under 5 most often.
Even more unusual if said strangers dog is on a lead and at heel (which is what John Lewis are specifying).
The chances of being bitten are ridiculously slim.
Do slim it shouldn’t even come up as a potential argument!

[Snappymcsnappy]

Also, I once had a guide dog stick it’s massive slobbery head right into my DDs pushchair and go nose to nose with her face in Poundland.

Yes they are well trained, but they are also dogs with minds of their own..

[user1457017537]

I know it’s not the dogs but the owners and completely agree with you.

[Yvbmioasp]

The "shock horror, not in cafe areas" makes me laugh. My dog has lived in our eat in kitchen for the last ten years and we're all just fine.

[CaptainBrickbeard]

I’m less worried about getting bitten in JL than I am about encountering dog hair on clothes and soft furnishings and dog wee/poo around the shop.

Of course, there will also be dogs ‘just being friendly’ aka getting over excited and jumping up being irritating and also the badly behaved ones begging for or stealing food in the cafe.

If dog ownership was better monitored so that only responsible, decent people owned dogs then I’d be less bothered, though the hair shedding would be a massive issue, exacerbated personally for me by my son’s allergy, but that is far from the case. Dogs should not be in department stores! I hope their profits tank in response to this ridiculous idea.

[PippaRabbit]

What will happen when someone takes a pit bull in.

There's always one 🙄

[user1457017537]

PippaRabbit what do you mean by your passive aggressive comment. I wouldn’t want to come into contact with any of several large aggressive breeds whilst shopping in store.

[Snappymcsnappy]

But that is the thing.
They aren’t typically an ‘aggressive Breed’.

Most pit bulls and staffs and mixes are incredibly people friendly and you just won’t find the gangster ghetto human aggressive sort in a department store.

[Gwynfluff]

Their profits have tanked already...

[Snappymcsnappy]

The only truly ‘human aggressive’ breeds are the primitive livestock guardians, which are super rare and so huge they wouldn’t even fit comfortably in the aisle and to a certain degree the working strain Belgian/Dutch/German shepherds.
Which very few people have as pets.
And even then, it’s more exuberant play rather than genuine aggression.

[CaptainBrickbeard]

Whether or not the dogs are aggressive, dog hair will end up on the stock and dog mess will end up on the floor!

[PippaRabbit]

PippaRabbit what do you mean by your passive aggressive comment. I wouldn’t want to come into contact with any of several large aggressive breeds whilst shopping in store.

There was nothing passive aggressive about my comment. Read it again. Breeds aren't aggressive, they can be trained to be aggressive, educate yourself. Why did you mention pit bulls anyway? There's always one person who mentions pit bulls on the dog threads on here - you were the one.

[MrsGollach]

For goodness sake. I've gone off dogs because of all the entitled owners who live round about me. This has put me off John Lewis now.

[Fantasisa]

Citation needed