Dogs welcome

Recently went to a lovely pub for lunch but it was ruined by two dogs who smelt which put us off our food.

I have a dog and I would go for a meal with my dog but only outside in pub garden I feel we must have consideration for other people and don't think inside a restaurant is an appropriate place to take an animal. A cafe where they have outside space also yes. Also it does depend on how well trained your pet is and definitely a no to sitting on the chairs

Whilst I think dogs and their owners have every right to exist and enjoy the beach and the countryside just as I do I can't see any reason why I should be expected to like or interact with badly behaved and/ or smelly dogs. Having been bitten three times by dogs I am not a dog fan, give them a wide berth and wish the owners would not tell me they are harmless.
I recently saw some people feeding a dog from a plate in a pub restaraunt and, as I thought it must contravene health and safety regs, I asked my son who is a professional chef about it. He said that if the crockery and cutlery all go in the dishwasher at the proscribed temperature then there would be no health risk. However, if the teenage weekend staff see apparently clean crockery and simply re-use it there could be a health issue. Made me feel slightly queasy!
How about people friendly pubs and restaraunt?

I do not dislike dogs I find most dogs lovely but feel it is a persons choice as to if you want to be around dogs. I personally feel a restaurant isn't the place to have them or if they do only in one area.
I have a no dogs policy in my guest house as I had a very nasty experience when I first bought the business. I had a father and daughter stay who bought 2 very smelly dogs with them. I was unable to let the room for ages after they left because I could not get rid of the smell. So it cost me lost bookings and an awful amount of elbow grease to clean the room.
Sometimes people can be quite funny with me when I say to them that we do not take dogs.

What's in it for the dogs? While you are out they like to snooze on your chair, wear your slippers and have control of the remote.

There are some places best kept for people hygeine is a big enough challenge as it is in many places.

Dogs share all their owners' bacteria, etc., scientific studies show. The hygiene of the owners could be a problem, I suppose.

Surely this must be a Health & Safety issue - dogs and food? Suppose they try to jump up to get the food? I would not go to any restaurant where dogs are allowed - not all owners appreciate that other people don't love their dogs as much as they do. Our local woods are full of dog excrement where anti-social owners have not picked up - I would love to take my grandchildren there but will not risk their health. If people love their dogs so much, why do they not deal with toileting issues in their own gardens? they I just wish there was a distribution of places where dogs are not allowed so there is a choice for people who don't want walks spoiled by dog muck.

Anti social children as well and dirty nappies thrown around. I have that problem next door to me. As well as in restaurants!

I would tend to think the responsible dog owner would make sure they kept their under control when visiting any establishmant,my poppy is welcomed into all the local pubs in our area she just sits by OH and is no bother at all,if restaurants want to allow dogs into their premises just allow them to keep to one area maybe 3/4 tables and when they are in use don't allow any more in ? this happens at a posh cafe on the River Front near us and everyone respects the rule,As to smelly dog aroma, well when Pops goes out she has her blingy pink collar and a spray of doggy cologne so she fits in anywhere,there are by the way some very smelly people who frequent pubs and some over the top uncontrolable children who parents just happen to forget they have brought out with them.

Paddyann, you are certainly neither wrong nor alone in your thinking. I wouldn't dream of using an eating place where any animals (that I was aware of!) were in attendance. But.......as everyone says, it's personal choice. Just not mine, in this instance.

No matter how well behaved ?friendly?'my dog wouldn't hurt a fly' then if your dog can't be left at home while you socialise then eateries must be getting desperate.
Like dog friendly hotels these would be bottom of my list
having had just one experience of a bring your dog with you pub restaurant where the dog had flatulence problems. Well I think it was the dog but who knows?

There is a dog friendly pub near where my son lives, and when we visit we sometimes go with our small dog. He sits under the table quite happily. On occasions we have met some lovely people there who have came over to meet our dog. They would never have approached otherwise, so I see that as a positive. Some of the dogs wander around the pub, each to there own, but we like ours on a leash at our table.
In my personal opinion I think it is a good idea to allow dogs, being an owner and animal lover. I would visit Cat only places too.
We are grateful that there are more and more places doing this, as when away for the day, Bank Holidays etc, it is such a relief to find somewhere we can eat as a family, especially on a rainy day!
So, our choice would be dog friendly, but that is us :-)
I don't think it is correct though that a dog eats and drinks from the plates and cups, but if the owners took their own plates and cups for their pets, then that would not bother me. :-)

I wish more places were dog friendly as when you have a dog you tend to treat them like part of the family and when you go out you take them with you if you are going somewhere that allows dogs. We have a little shih tzu, she is very small, very well behaved, doesn't bark, doesn't bite and just sits quite happily with us.

We live fairly close to London and there are very few places we can take her around here. The last couple of weeks we have gone up to the Cotswolds for days out and we were amazed at the amount of shops, pubs, restaurants and hotels that are dog friendly and it made our days out so much easier.

I do understand the worries about hygiene though. We always have a water bottle in the back of the car and our dog only drinks bottled water so I'd always take my own water too.

Whilst we have taken our two dogs into pubs for lunch or dinner when on holiday (on leads, under the table), there is no way I would take then to a fine dining restaurant! If we go out when at home, the dogs stay home. It's more difficult if you are renting a cottage or caravan - I wouldn't leave them alone then for fear of damage caused by them being stressed. So we are grateful to find dog friendly pubs, as it's not always warm enough to sit outside. I'm always very aware of people passing us though, and hang on to the leads. If people want to approach them, fine, but I wouldn't allow them near otherwise. (By the way, I pick up after my dogs too)

I would never take my small dog into a restaurant and wouldn't want to eat in one where dogs were allowed. Having said that we do take him into pubs where I feed him chips under the table!. He knows that if he is very well behaved that he will always get chips. There are some lovely pubs in Cornwall which we always visit when we go down and it just wouldn't be the same if we weren't able to take him with us.

I have a friend who is terrified of dogs, and I'm sure she's not alone. I think it's more important that people like her can relax and eat a meal in a restaurant occasionally than that dogs can be taken everywhere. I went out with her the other week and the restaurant had started letting dogs into one specific area. Unfortunately you had to go through this area to get to the dog-free part or to go to the Ladies, so she won't be going there again!

We always had dogs when I was growing up and would only take them to places where they were comfortable and caused no trouble to anyone else, otherwise they stayed at home.

I was in London's Borough Market recently. It was so busy we were just carried along by the crowds. Yet so many people had cowering, confused dogs with them. A young stallholder stopped one owner, admired his dog and suggested that Rover would be much happier if he took him out of the crowd and off for a walk. I felt like cheering.

I love animals, all kinds so having them underfoot when dining out wouldn't bother me at all (if they are controlled) The thing that would bother me is as the OP said, barking (which goes right through you) or if they are trying to jump up at you as you pass with your nice outfit on.

Walked granddog on Hampstead Heath, lunch at the Spaniards after, leave digbin car? No way.
There is some righteous indignation being expressed on this thread - and a lot of worst case scenarios.. ??

Digbin???
Dog IN
Silly iPad!

and adding, remembering a time we dined in a beachfront restaurant in Greece. The owners had a massive Great Dane and it sauntered over to our table, very well behaved and plopped itself down beside me leaning against my chair. It was so big every time it moved, the chair felt like it was going to fall over. I didn't mind but to be fair, you don't really want it when you're trying to eat a meal.

If you are frightened of dogs, then obviously don't go to a restaurant that weocomes them. You have far more choice of suitable restaurants than dog lovers who want to take their dogs with them. There are relatively few dog friendly establishments in the UK. Give me a dog friendly restaurant anytime in place of one that allows kids to run around and scream without asking the parents to keep them still and quiet or leave. I have complained about that only to realise that the staff are afraid to say anything to these families because they might verbally, or physically, attack them!

Just to add, we avoid eating out like the plague during school holidays in order to avoid the undisciplined children. Why aren't you just choosing not to go to that particular restaurant?

I think this is a very good point - and one reason why dog owners often tell me there is no health risk associated why pet dogs. However, others don't share that bacteria and may therefore feel that there is a health risk. Particularly if you already have a compromised autoimmune system and therefore have to be careful. Or even an allergy to dog hairs.

I couldn't agree more with Stella14. If a restaurant is dog-friendly you can choose to go elsewhere, but not to avoid unruly children.

Personally I always feel sorry for dogs who are tied up outside while their owners go in for coffee, so I feel that for the sake of both owners and dogs, it's great that there are places that allow dogs in; they're in the minority, so if you as a customer don't like the policy, fine, that's your choice, go to one of the vast majority that don't allow dogs inside

In response to LJP1 reeerence to studies ....