# Dogs in a Restaurant/Café **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 1, 2020, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-in-a-restaurant-cafe/845723 "2020-01-01T17:36:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![stolatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@stolatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolatt)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2020, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-in-a-restaurant-cafe/845723/21 "2020-01-01T23:16:55Z")
I worked in a grocery store and we loaded grocery carts with trash and I’ve seen people load their returnable bottles in carts. Grocery carts are disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2020, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-in-a-restaurant-cafe/845723/22 "2020-01-01T23:33:47Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > We might leave home for an entire 4-Day weekend or longer, which is too long to leave the dog all alone at the house. Well, of course not. We just spent a week in Florida with my inlaws, and the dog went with us. But she didn’t go into the bathrooms with us when we made rest stops, nor did she go into restaurants or convenience stores with us. And when we went on a 10-day cruise, we had a friend move into our house to care for her. Heck, the one time we had to be gone overnight, we boarded her in a kennel because no one was available to stay with her. But if we need to go to Lowe’s or we want to go out to eat, the dog stays home. The years when we were both working, our dogs would be home alone for 10-ish hours (OK, alone with the cats) and I don’t consider that to be cruel. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2020, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-in-a-restaurant-cafe/845723/23 "2020-01-01T23:35:41Z")
I am fond of dogs in general (“dog person” sounds weird to me) and enjoy taking our beast out for walks and to go to the park. The only store he gets to enter is a pet store/pet supplies place that explicitly allows dogs, he’s on a leash and must be on his best behavior.\* I don’t think dogs belong in restaurants (_possible_ exception being an outdoor seating area away from other people and the dog is capable of lying there quietly without disturbing others). Lots of people don’t like or are allergic to dogs or have sanitary concerns (legitimate or not). “Take your dog everywhere” has gotten out of hand, and don’t get me started on bogus comfort animals. \*mindful of the time our half-grown pup took a large, steaming, not entirely solid dump on the sidewalk outside the pet store and Dad had to requisition soapy paper towels to help clean up the deposit. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2020, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-in-a-restaurant-cafe/845723/24 "2020-01-01T23:59:22Z")
We have been possessed by dogs. We took them everywhere - in a vehicle. They got to leave the vehicle at appropriate places, usually open spaces with much room to run. We never took them indoors except in veterinary offices and homes where they were welcomed. Yes, they got to enjoy outside eateries, far from a front door. No, we do not wish to eat in commercial establishments with dogs indoors. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![LiveFree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@LiveFree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveFree)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2020, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-in-a-restaurant-cafe/845723/25 "2020-01-02T00:29:00Z")
It’s absolutely ridiculous that people take their dogs into public places. Leave your dogs at home. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2020, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-in-a-restaurant-cafe/845723/26 "2020-01-02T00:43:32Z")
Some people have allergies. So I guess they should not bother trying to go shopping since there are dogs there because … I give up. No one loves animals more than I do but they do not belong in the grocery store or a restaurant. Jebus. What is wrong with people? The dogs would rather be at home in the back yard rolling on smelly things! Trust me! ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2020, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-in-a-restaurant-cafe/845723/27 "2020-01-02T01:23:55Z")
Most perfumes and colognes make me sneeze and some trigger off migraines–so all public places should be scent free, right? I mean, if we’re going to decide general policy based on personal preferences, might as well just go for it. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2020, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-in-a-restaurant-cafe/845723/28 "2020-01-02T01:29:09Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Most perfumes and colognes make me sneeze and some trigger off migraines–so all public places should be scent free, right? I mean, if we’re going to decide general policy based on personal preferences, might as well just go for it. If you don’t distinguish between “personal preferences” and allergies, well, I guess we aren’t going to be able to agree about this. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2020, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-in-a-restaurant-cafe/845723/29 "2020-01-02T01:59:29Z")
My point is that the world is full of both people AND allergens and it’s simply not possible outside of one of those sterile bubbles to protect everyone from everything so making the debate based on “allergies” is pointless. So you’re allergic to dogs, don’t touch them and you’ll be in exactly the same danger of having your allergies touched off as you are being around people who live with dogs and have dog hair and dander all over them–you know, like I do most of the time. I usually have cat hair on me too so if it’s only about allergies then you might as well insist that I not go into the grocery store because someone might be allergic. But then I can equally sensibly decide that no one else can wear scent or cologne because of my migraines and nobody can smoke tobacco because that smell makes me gag and sneeze and while we’re at it, the entire laundry aisle of every store has to be stocked only with unscented products because I can’t hack the stink of fabric softener sheets. Now most people are going to think that I’m being unreasonable to insist on these measures to protect my physical quirks and I’m going to go right ahead and think the people who don’t want dogs in public are just as unreasonable. Others may love stinky scents and hate dogs and I love dogs and hate stinky scents so who wins? Nobody, we all just get along and deal. If the dog is well behaved and isn’t peeing or pooping indoors there’s absolutely no reasonable argument to be made against its presence. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2020, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-in-a-restaurant-cafe/845723/30 "2020-01-02T02:02:27Z")
My point is that if dogs are in stores where I shop I cannot avoid the allergens that they leave on the products I buy and take to my home, whereas if they are left tied outside the store they will not leave allergens on the products I buy and take home. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2020, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-in-a-restaurant-cafe/845723/31 "2020-01-02T02:05:08Z")
The dogs don’t leave allergens on products, they are standing on the floor and ignoring said products. I, on the other hand, will be touching and handling and leaning all over those products and will probably be dropping dog hair all over the place and for every one of me there’s a ton of other dog owners doing the same and yet, you survive. Unless you’re allergic to the sight of dogs, this argument does not make any sense at all. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2020, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-in-a-restaurant-cafe/845723/32 "2020-01-02T02:09:21Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > The dogs don’t leave allergens on products, they are standing on the floor and ignoring said products. I, on the other hand, will be touching and handling and leaning all over those products and will probably be dropping dog hair all over the place and for every one of me there’s a ton of other dog owners doing the same and yet, you survive. Unless you’re allergic to the sight of dogs, this argument does not make any sense at all. Dogs shake like hell, spread dander all over the place. So do cats. Dog and cat dander trigger many severe allergy attacks. I’ve treated such life-threatening attacks in people who were pet allergic, and reacted to where a pet had been briefly in an enclosed space. **THAT** is how allergens and allergies can and do work. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2020, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-in-a-restaurant-cafe/845723/33 "2020-01-02T02:15:03Z")
My dogs fart. A lot. Unpredictably. ---
**Author:** ![sjankis630](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ea924/32.png) [@sjankis630](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjankis630)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2020, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-in-a-restaurant-cafe/845723/34 "2020-01-02T02:54:03Z")
> [@](#): > > My dogs fart. A lot. Unpredictably. Oh no. Lol. I am allergic to dogs and cats but they are not going to kill me. I just keep away from them when possible. I have seen my share of dogs “challenging” one another inside restaurants (both indoors and out).I try not to go near dogs inside stores. Certain stores make it more difficult - say Home Depot - which allows dogs in there and I have had on two occasions dogs off leash in the store jump up on me. That is not the store I would pick to have my dog roam around as there are way too many distractions. Some owners seem to be of the mind that some of their pets are basically their kids and so should be treated as such. I cannot say I agree with this. I am trying to remember the year I started to see larger dogs (not carried) in stores. It seems like a pretty recent phenomenon (say 5-7 years?) ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2020, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-in-a-restaurant-cafe/845723/35 "2020-01-02T02:55:32Z")
Anyone with allergies that bad needs to accomodate themselves to the world, rather than expecting the world to accomodate to them. And old people and kids in the grocery store fart quite a bit too. Some of them haven’t bathed in months, apparently. Some are drunks who exude alcohol stench for a radius around them that’s kinda frightening. Babies have shitty diaper blowouts that end up all over the grocery carts and, as has been mentioned, restaurant tables. The world is full of no end of things that are not sterile and it makes no sense to arbitrarily exclude one while allowing all the others. That’s my one and only point here. The dog exclusion is not based in sense. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2020, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-in-a-restaurant-cafe/845723/36 "2020-01-02T02:59:47Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > In my city (San Francisco) there is an ordinance that dogs must be on leash in public at all times (except for designated off-leash areas) and that **dog leashes must be in the hands of a human (I don’t know why it was written that way)**. One effect of this is that it is effectively illegal to leave a dog tied up outside while you go into a shop, and the dog owner may get a ticket. (It is also risky, there have been a lot of dogs stolen that way.) They specify that the leash must be in the hands of a human because they want the leash to be in the hands of a human. Otherwise, people train their dogs to carry their own leash. Yes, I’ve seen dogs carrying their own leashes. (ETA: Yeah, and probably also to disallow people leaving their dogs tied up unattended in public. That’s probably intentional.) Of course, dogs that do that are probably also very well-trained in general and very well-behaved. The one’s I’ve seen are. BTW: **Roderick Femm** , since you’re in San Francisco, here’s a story you might find entertaining: Back in the day, before they built those cordons around cable-car turntables, when boarding the cars was a mad chaotic stampede (like God meant it to be!), I got on a car once at the aquatic park across the street from Ghirardelli Square. Another guy got on, with a dog on a leash, the size of a horse. I think it must have been an Irish Wolfhound. The guy sat on one of the outside seats, while the dog stood alongside the car. When the car moved, and started going up that steep hill, the dog galloped alongside, all the way up the hill. All the tourists snapped pictures, and the guy explained that that’s how his dog got his exercise! No way that could happen any more these days. ---
**Author:** ![Carryon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Carryon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carryon)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2020, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-in-a-restaurant-cafe/845723/37 "2020-01-02T08:31:17Z")
I don’t mind, but I was raised on a farm, so I’m used to animals. I think two things come into play. First where i live, a lot of businesses, including one of our Starbucks, post signs that say “We welcome our four footed customers,” so clearly they feel it’s a good business idea. Second I think a huge number of businesses don’t know (or care to learn) the difference between an Emotional Support Animal and a Service Animal. Also some local and state laws will apply Service Animal laws to Emotional Support Animal laws. So first you need to check your state and city laws to see if they are including ESA with Service Animals, because if that is the case it’s not the business owner’s fault. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2020, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-in-a-restaurant-cafe/845723/38 "2020-01-02T10:32:27Z")
> [@LiveFree](#): > > It’s absolutely ridiculous that people take their dogs into public places. Leave your dogs at home. I’m sorry, but I have to point out the irony in the username of whoever posted this. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2020, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-in-a-restaurant-cafe/845723/39 "2020-01-02T13:23:02Z")
I love dogs. But I don’t force them on people who don’t. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2020, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-in-a-restaurant-cafe/845723/40 "2020-01-02T13:33:55Z")
> [@Carryon](#): > > I don’t mind, but I was raised on a farm, so I’m used to animals. > > I think two things come into play. First where i live, a lot of businesses, including one of our Starbucks, post signs that say “We welcome our four footed customers,” so clearly they feel it’s a good business idea. > > Second I think a huge number of businesses don’t know (or care to learn) the difference between an Emotional Support Animal and a Service Animal. Also some local and state laws will apply Service Animal laws to Emotional Support Animal laws. > > So first you need to check your state and city laws to see if they are including ESA with Service Animals, because if that is the case it’s not the business owner’s fault. And I assume it’s just easier to give the ESA people what they want. No business wants to deal with that sort of confrontation in front of customers. It’ll be on social media in 30 seconds. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-in-a-restaurant-cafe/845723.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dogs-in-a-restaurant-cafe/845723.md?page=3)