Should I have said something?

That is absolutely a No No! I would probably have been like you and not said anything to the owners . Letting a dog lick plates in a cafe is just horrible 🤢!!!!! Dogs are welcome in so many cafe's and restaurants now and I am quite happy about that - but..... that was just too much!

Maybe the waitress meant why didn't anyone tell her, so she could have said something to the lady in question.

My response to the waitress would have been that if I see it happen again I'll let her know and she can say something.

If the looks the lady in question was getting didn't deter her then I doubt you saying anything would have either. I don't think I'd be in a hurry to go back to that particular garden centre cafe again.

What a strange way to behave.

I think my face would have said it all!... on reflection I wouldn't go there again because you would never know if you got that cup and plate..

Unreasonable to expect patrons to interfere IMO. Maybe ‘someone’ could have alerted a member of staff at the time, but I wouldn’t have said anything to the culprit. My local garden centre cafe welcomes dogs, but they now have to sit on the floor, not in a chair or the owner’s knee and must not come into contact with the cutlery or crockery. That’s reasonable I think.

Happened to me a while ago I ve never been back to the cafe since ….one dog sat on the chair at their table eat crumbs off their plates given to it, another was on the floor but the couple were putting tea in their saucers and putting it on the floor for the dog
I didn’t complain but I have never been back since
I m afraid I don’t even want dogs inside the cafe /restaurant/ coffee shop
I don’t dislike dogs but they should NOT be around food in my opinion

Wow, that's poor manners. I know the dishes will go through a washing machine at high temps, so not really any worry about contamination, but really....

I wouldn't have confronted her, either, but good that it was brought to management's attention. Yes, policies need to be posted. You wouldn't think they would have to for something like this, but my goodness!

Our dog doesn’t eat from our plates, but surely all crockery, cutlery and glassware is thoroughly washed, no matter who has used it? I wouldn’t want to think that the cup or glass I was drinking from still bore traces of the last user and whatever virus they had (cold sore or covid, anyone?) Frankly a dog would be the least of my worries.

We are seeing more and more signs in cafés saying "Dogs welcome". They make my heart sink. It's not so much the hygiene issue that concerns me, it's the fact that they are frequently not well behaved and yap

It’s a relief to see your comments as the waitress really made me feel a bit of a coward/irresponsible. I don’t think I am, but I pick my fights wisely, and the dog owner’s stare said “if you’re looking for trouble….”
I might not go back to the cafe but they’re a family run, independent garden centre and I want to support, so I’ll just buy the plants!

I'd have been just like you. So no YANBU.
I work in a café. Dogs are only allowed outside where we have 4 tables under an awning and provide bowls of water.

We are also almost next door to the vets.
I am often asked if dogs are allowed inside NO they are not and owners get a bit cross and say we are the only café not allowing dogs.
well go elsewhere then
If we did allow them, half our customers would stop coming. We are also a food store and gift shop so I don't think dogs should come inside.
After reading your story, I definitely don't..

I don't like dogs in cafes, not because they eat food off plates, usually they sit quietly under the table, but because when another dog arrives it sets off a cacophony of barking.

I think I would have walked out and complained to the staff, preferably manager, on the way. If customers can do this I do not want to eat there. I would also tell the manager that I have photos and intend to post them online if they don't do something about such customers.

Germanshepherdsmum

Our dog doesn’t eat from our plates, but surely all crockery, cutlery and glassware is thoroughly washed, no matter who has used it? I wouldn’t want to think that the cup or glass I was drinking from still bore traces of the last user and whatever virus they had (cold sore or covid, anyone?) Frankly a dog would be the least of my worries.

I agree. Commercial eateries have dishwasher(s) and the crockery will be washed at very high temperatures. Without putting too finer point on it, we don’t know where anyone’s tongue has been before they start drinking from a cup or glass and putting cutlery in their mouth. We have no idea if a customer has washed their hands after going to the toilet or changed a baby before touching a plate or a cup. Swab any surface where humans have touched and you will find traces of faecal matter. That’s why norovirus is so common. There are about 700 million cases a year worldwide and not because a dog licked a plate.

I know that is true Caravansera but it affects our sensitivities!
Out of sight out of mind is the old adage.
Our experience of eating out is not just about what we eat but the service, the atmosphere and the whole package.

Well, I should not be returning to that cafe.

I avoid any pub/cafe/guest house/hotel that says ‘dog friendly’.

My choice, I know.

but surely all crockery, cutlery and glassware is thoroughly washed

well of course it is!

still wouldn't want to see an animal that licks it's nether regions licking the crockery in any eatery that I contemplated eating in!

Without putting too finer point on it, we don’t know where anyone’s tongue has been before they start drinking from a cup or glass and putting cutlery in their mouth
Chances are its not been up their bum Caravansara

Cafes that say dogs welcome do not get my custom! They used to be the places you could go to avoid dogs!!

And as for this fashion for cat cafes .... yuck!

Yuk

Very true Caravansera. I am far more likely to catch something unpleasant from another person than from my dog. After reading about the bacteria in a bowl of nuts in a bar, due to people not washing their hands after using the loo, I wouldn’t touch them with a bargepole.

Germanshepherdsmum

Very true Caravansera. I am far more likely to catch something unpleasant from another person than from my dog. After reading about the bacteria in a bowl of nuts in a bar, due to people not washing their hands after using the loo, I wouldn’t touch them with a bargepole.

Agreed!

Not very mannerly or appropriate at all, but yes they will be washed at a high temperature in a commercial machine, so not to worry ... I've never caught anything off my dogs either!

I’m another who avoids dog-friendly cafés and I think that stupid woman should be banned, cakehunter so that you can hunt your cakes in peace.

I would have said something to the dog owner. No two ways about it. That is disgusting. 🤮

If there was a member of staff about I would have told them as well.

We have no idea if plates we are eating off in cafes etc have been licked by dogs. That's fine. What you don't know can't hurt you. It's the entitlement of the woman that gets me. I love my dog, I will let it lick my plate in front of you. Deal with it.