Ireland equals DOG UNFRIENDLY country

BostonB

Judging by the crud left on pavements I could imagine why dogs get a bad rep.

Feargal as Luimneach

In Spain people bring their pets to Restaurant/Café no problem.
I went on holiday to Uk and brought the terrier. He was welcome in most shops with no hassle.
If people have a small dog, I can't see the problem with picking him up and bringing him into shops etc.
Years ago if you had a small terrier you could bring him to rural pubs with no hassle but no more. This country has turned into a nation of snobs, pure and simple:mad:

Cherry Blossom

seamus wrote: »

Yes, when provoked. I would be 100% sure, without any hesitation that my dog wouldn't suddenly lash out and bite any person just walking by. Being touched or poked by a child is a different story, but that's something you can control.

In all fairness I have a golden lab, never bit anyone in his whole life even when he was a puppy . . . untill last week at 14 yrs of age :P He was destroying one of the puppys toys n got my arm in his mouth as I went to take it from him. He was completely mortified that he'd done it, I think he ment to go for the toy, didn't break the skin or anything but I got a fair bruise from it.

Was at a dog show yesterday and had loads of people just walk up to my puppy talking to her and petting her and stuff completely oblivious to the fact there was a person attached to the other end of the lead, just spoke to puppy and pawed all over her pristinely groomed coat :rolleyes: then walked off without giving me the time of day. One little kid did have an attempt at yanking her tail.

Also I don't really think you can have 1 rule for one person and another for someone else, I can't imagine shop owners giving up their time to give obedience tests or check paperwork for dogs so they can gain entry to the shop, it's not really feasible!

adser53

BostonB wrote: »

Judging by the crud left on pavements I could imagine why dogs get a bad rep.

Should be their arsehole owners getting the bad rep, not the dogs

morganafay

I'm 99% sure my dogs wouldn't bite kids.

But I'm pretty sure they would poo in a shop. They wouldn't know not to, and it's not their house so they probably would. I think they'd think, we're just on a walk, we're meant to . . . and I think most outdoor dogs would be the same. And a lot of unneutered male dogs would just mark their territory everywhere, even neutered ones.

And as other people mentioned, it'd be very annoying for people with allergies.

I don't think dogs should be allowed in restaurants and clothes shops because most dogs aren't trained and would be a nuisance, and doggy smell isn't very appetising and dog hair on new clothes wouldn't be nice. For supermarkets, if they are controlled by their owners then that might be ok.

I took my cat into the supermarket, but he was in a cage and unconcious after being neutered, and I met the vet in there and she checked up on him because he was just waking up. I actually took him into shops loads when I was just going to get a train with him or after getting off the train, and into supermacs in heuston station . . . he went on the train, dart, bus and luas all the time When he was a kitten I used to let him sit on my lap for some of the train journey (Dublin - Cork), because he got bored in his cage, and let him look out the window and there would be about 10 kids coming up to see him everytime. But the train host kept glaring at me, and you're not meant to have cats in the carriage so I had to start keeping him in his cage. For a while I had one of those handbags for carrying small dogs around for the cat (it was leopard print . . . ) and he was clipped onto it with a harness, because the cat carrier was too heavy to carry around. But people thought that was weird so . . . and people started recognising me as the girl with the cat on the train . . .

And I took a baby guinea pig (in a box) on the luas and train too and the people next to me were looking really scared, I think they thought it was a rat.

And in Cork anyway, old-man-pubs often have a small dog or two in them. Old people get away with having small dogs in shops too, they're usually really well behaved too.

Feargal as Luimneach

morganafay wrote: »

I'm 99% sure my dogs wouldn't bite kids.

But I'm pretty sure they would poo in a shop. They wouldn't know not to, and it's not their house so they probably would. I think they'd think, we're just on a walk, we're meant to . . . and I think most outdoor dogs would be the same. And a lot of unneutered male dogs would just mark their territory everywhere, even neutered ones.

And as other people mentioned, it'd be very annoying for people with allergies.

I don't think dogs should be allowed in restaurants and clothes shops because most dogs aren't trained and would be a nuisance, and doggy smell isn't very appetising and dog hair on new clothes wouldn't be nice. For supermarkets, if they are controlled by their owners then that might be ok.

I took my cat into the supermarket, but he was in a cage and unconcious after being neutered, and I met the vet in there and she checked up on him because he was just waking up. I actually took him into shops loads when I was just going to get a train with him or after getting off the train, and into supermacs in heuston station . . . he went on the train, dart, bus and luas all the time When he was a kitten I used to let him sit on my lap for some of the train journey (Dublin - Cork), because he got bored in his cage, and let him look out the window and there would be about 10 kids coming up to see him everytime. But the train host kept glaring at me, and you're not meant to have cats in the carriage so I had to start keeping him in his cage. And I took a baby guinea pig (in a box) on the luas and train too and the people next to me were looking really scared, I think they thought it was a rat.

And in Cork anyway, old-man-pubs often have a small dog or two in them. Old people get away with having small dogs in shops too, they're usually really well behaved too.

You get plenty of Children running around like wild animals in restaurants. Why not a well behaved terrier under a chair?
Misbehaved childen and bold dogs, get them out of restaurants...
Good children and well mannered dogs can stay....

morganafay

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

You get plenty of Children running around like wild animals in restaurants. Why not a well behaved terrier under a chair?
Misbehaved childen and bold dogs, get them out of restaurants...
Good children and well mannered dogs can stay....

Well I guess it's up to the owners. If I owned a restaurant I'd probably let some well behaved dogs in. But then if you refused someone with badly behaved dog, they'd go mad . . .

It always surprises me how many parents let their kids run around shops on their own, it's so dangerous. Though I saw some awesome kids recently, walking round a shop like robots talking in robot voices saying, "it's... going ...to ..take... us... a ...long ...time.... to... do... a... lap... of... the... shop" and then two kids sliding around the shop in their socks, so I asked what they did with their shoes and they said, "we don't have any, we're poor" and then started singing/yelling, "we're poor! we're poor!" . . .

morganafay

Feargal as Luimneach wrote: »

Misbehaved childen and bold dogs, get them out of restaurants...
Good children and well mannered dogs can stay....

And get bad mannered grown ups out too of course.

antomagoo

Some days I wish I could take the dog to the shop if only going up for a carton of milk or whatever, but being a Rottie I could imagine the outcry if I left her oiutside the shop while I went in

sparkling sea

Dont think dogs should be left into shops as many people are nervous of dogs and dont want to come across them when availing of public services, lifes hard enough without having to worry about someones dog.

Just because you love your dog doesn't mean that everyone else does, so if you want a dog, walk it on a leash in public by all means but as its something that you own keep it in the back garden the rest of the time. No one will say anything to you then because they won't have any reason too.

adser53

antomagoo wrote: »

Some days I wish I could take the dog to the shop if only going up for a carton of milk or whatever, but being a Rottie I could imagine the outcry if I left her oiutside the shop while I went in

She'd probably have eaten her fill of children by the time you got out lol

I'm the same though, I couldn't leave either of my akitas tied up outside while I popped into the shop for milk and such

kylith

Qualitymark wrote: »

It's all fairly recent, this. Twenty years back it was perfectly normal to bring your dog on the bus, for instance - though only if you sat upstairs.

There is no rule that you cannot bring dogs on Dublin Bus, it's at the driver's discretion. Try and look for an Eastern European driver if possible because pets are much more welcome in Europe, and don't take the bus at a busy time. You're much more likely to be let on if the bus is almost empty. It can be a bit of a lottery TBH.

Qualitymark wrote: »

A lot of people wouldn't bother to have a car except for bringing the dogs for walks - busmen are going to burn in Green Hell.

Very true. The lottery of getting our two on buses is the only reason that OH and I have been talking about getting a car. It'd be great to be able to hop on the bus to Dollymount or Bray, but we can't guarantee being able to, and you can't bring them on Darts at all (which is a right pain).

antomagoo wrote: »

Some days I wish I could take the dog to the shop if only going up for a carton of milk or whatever, but being a Rottie I could imagine the outcry if I left her oiutside the shop while I went in

Me too! It's always when I'm out with the dogs that I remember I need milk or bread. I couldn't leave mine outside because I don't trust the local children a bit. One shopkeepr in my area will, very kindly, get your teabags or whatever and bring them to the door for you.

Sigma Force

But the OP wasn't taking the dog into shops just through the main area, Ireland is very dog unfriendly. I'm not saying dogs should be sitting at a table at a resteraunt but we are too intolerant and because owners aren't allowed bring their puppies into busy areas they can't socialise their dogs properly.

In Germany many resteraunts will allow you to bring your dog into it, pubs no problem, some shops etc. you don't gets loads of stray dogs and people clean up after them and their dogs are well socialised because they were allowed to.

Some places have become more dog friendly, the odd pub, and the odd coffee shop where you are allowed sit outside with your dog but we've a long way to go. We need to change the laws first and the public need to cop on too and keep their dogs on leads in public and under control..it's the bad dog owners that give the good dog owners a bad name so until they cop on or the law becomes more strict and follows through there's not much hope of anything changing soon.

Crux of the problem! I often think it is unfair to bring a dog into a crowded area.

There is also the danger of guide dogs being ruined by other badly trained dogs. How many thousands do it cost to train a guide dog?

Guide dogs can't be ruined by badly trained dogs, if a guide dog is in training the trainer will tell any dog owners to not distract the dog. There are dogs on leads and loose in every village, town and city so guide dogs will come across dogs on a daily basis while out training and working.

It is not unfair to bring a dog into a crowded are either, if a dog is allowed to be properly socialised they won't think twice about going in to a crowded area, it's not like the public will be moshing with the dog stuck in the middle.

If a dog is properly socialised and has basic obedience they can cope with most things. I brought my previous dog everywhere because I travelled a lot at the time and had no car, she had no issues what so ever with trains, buses, crowded streets, other dogs etc.

If I needed to go in to a shop I made the security guy hold her lead if they wouldn't let her in.

Jinxi

I have had my dog for two months and I am super aware of her in public because lots of people have a fear of dogs. She has never been off leash unless its a rural river walk, and I would NEVER bring her into a shop.

We have been(so far) chased of two beaches, told to get the f**K of a path outside a shop, told by three parents to muzzle her(she is a four month old collie pup) when THEIR kids came over to pet her then freaked out when she jumped up on them to lick them, and been told of by three strangers that we shouldn't have dogs because they are horrible.

I am quite shocked by how dog unfriendly Ireland is.

morganafay

kylith wrote: »

Very true. The lottery of getting our two on buses is the only reason that OH and I have been talking about getting a car. It'd be great to be able to hop on the bus to Dollymount or Bray, but we can't guarantee being able to, and you can't bring them on Darts at all (which is a right pain).

That's bad that you can't bring them on Darts. I'd make some kind of sign to attach to their leads that says something like, "dogs for the disabled" and then nobody would argue . . .

morganafay

My dad always says I should take the dogs to the shop and tie them up outside . . . :rolleyes: They would be stolen in about 2 minutes . . .

lrushe

sparkling sea wrote: »

Just because you love your dog doesn't mean that everyone else does.

And just because people think their kids running amuck is cute doesn't mean everybody else does. I'm sick of having to tell other people's kids to leave my dogs alone and not rub them without asking. If more people took more responsiblity for themselves, their kids, pets etc. everyone would be better off.
I love the idea the Americans have of bringing your dogs to work. The amount of stress I could relieve in work by just being able to give my dog a quick rub, brilliant!:)

Paul T Barry

Times sure have changed!

Posted on 17. Jul, 2010 by Paul in blog
Times sure have changed! 34 years ago the City Council of Santa Cruz California imposed a law to ban dogs from downtown because merchants complained that stray dogs and dog owners did not control their pets and pushed customers away from stores. But now, many store owners want to change the law only this time in the opposite direction because they are realizing that they are missing out on business from tourists and locals who would like to bring their dogs for a walk or to dine at terrace tables just as other dog-friendly cities. One thing should not change though and that is responsible ownership that should commit to train our pets to behave properly at public spaces so we can have more and more dog friendly businesses

average_runner

We all love our dogs so why do people want to put them in a situation where the poor dog could end up getitng put down for it, all because the owner wants to walk around kildare village!

Irresponisble owner to me!

morganafay

average_runner wrote: »

We all love our dogs so why do people want to put them in a situation where the poor dog could end up getitng put down for it, all because the owner wants to walk around kildare village!

Irresponisble owner to me!

Why would their dog get put down for it? Is they have it under control and properly socialised then it most likely won't bite anyone. I don't find that irresponsible.

adser53

average_runner wrote: »

We all love our dogs so why do people want to put them in a situation where the poor dog could end up getitng put down for it, all because the owner wants to walk around kildare village!

Irresponisble owner to me!

Thats a bit over the top now in all fairness

Wolfe Tone

I bring my dog into the bookies all the time, even give her some water from a cup at the cooler(and a biscuit!) and all the staff and people there all love her and never say anything.
Probably because they are too busy counting my money

Tootle

average_runner wrote: »

We all love our dogs so why do people want to put them in a situation where the poor dog could end up getitng put down for it, all because the owner wants to walk around kildare village!

Irresponisble owner to me!

Sorry but that is waaay OTT. If anything its a responsible owner who wants to socialise their dog.

Out of interest has anyone ever been attacked by a homeless persons dog?..I doubt they have, as these are the most socialised dogs you'll find. They've been exposed to everything.

I've had my little pup on a ferry and a tourist bus tour and lots of different shops with no problems. People only have problems with out-of-control dogs. Grant it my fella is small enough to carry and I think thats why I get away with it, theres no threat. I let everyone and anyone who wants to, pet him or hold him including on one walk 'a gaggle' of about 7 children. Hes still a pup and my only problem now is he sort of expects everyone to want to say hello and pet him, when we 're on a walk.

Jinxi

Tootle everything +1

Tootle wrote: »

Hes still a pup and my only problem now is he sort of expects everyone to want to say hello and pet him, when we 're on a walk.

I have the same problem with my pup. She things everyone deserve the same love and affection:o

suziwalsh

Don't worry guide dogs and pups in training still have problems gaining entry to shops, cafes etc on a regular basis...Ireland is terribly dog unfriendly.

morganafay

suziwalsh wrote: »

Don't worry guide dogs and pups in training still have problems gaining entry to shops, cafes etc on a regular basis...Ireland is terribly dog unfriendly.

I saw one guide dog on the luas, who was completely squashed. His owner was standing up (so was I or I would have given him my seat). The dog had it's head turned on a really uncomfortable angle because some guy decided to stand right in front of it. I know you're not meant to distract guide dogs so I didn't pet him or anything, but he was leaning his head against my leg looking up at me really sadly. Poor dog, it must have been uncomfortable for him, but he had to stay there and couldn't move into another position.

gazzer

I have been on holidays in New York a few times and cant get over how dog friendly they are here. You see dogs everywhere, in shops, restaurants, beer gardens, on the subway.

Contrast that to my experience a couple of years ago when I lived in Dublin 15 and was going home to my folks for xmas eve. I was let down for a lift (hadnt a car at the time). It was around 8pm and there was a bus at just after 8 (last one going as it was xmas eve). I brought my dog with me (cocker spaniel) and the bus driver wouldnt let me on the bus with her. I begged him to let me on as it was the last bus and as my parents dont drive I had no way of getting to their house. Anyway he wasnt for budging. Luckilly one of my friends gave me a lift later that night. I always remember that incident though when I travel abroad and see how dog friendly transport companies are.

kylith

I often think that we should react more strongly to people who don't clean up after their dogs. If we did then maybe animals would be more welcome on buses etc.

See 'dog sh!t girl'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_vigilantism#Notable_examples

sparkling sea

average_runner wrote: »

We all love our dogs so why do people want to put them in a situation where the poor dog could end up getitng put down for it, all because the owner wants to walk around kildare village!

Irresponisble owner to me!

Couldn't agree more - unfortunately too many people think about what suits them rather then whats best for the dog or the rest of their community

Tootle

sparkling sea wrote: »

Couldn't agree more - unfortunately too many people think about what suits them rather then whats best for the dog or the rest of their community

As I said above, what's best for a dog is for them to be socialized. If the dog is under control and cleaned up after there would be no problem.