Should people carry their little dogs into stores?

When I was living back in Illinois, it was definitely against health laws for any animal to come inside a store or restaurant except guide dogs.

After I retired here to AZ, where it is a little less formal than Chicago, I was amazed at all the older citizens who just carry their little pooches everywhere with them...putting them in the seat of shopping cart and not thinking anything of it.

I guess I wouldn't care about it if it was in a carrying case over their shoulder, but that kind of brazenness bothers me. There are people allergic to pet hair and dander, there are people who are dealthly afraid of all animals, there are liability insurance laws to worry about in the stores but some people think it is like bringing a child in the store.

What do you think?

 

I don't think it's a great idea. What if the dog gets out and bites someone? What if there is osmeone highly allergic to a dog? I know a kid who goes into like shock if he comes within 4 feet of a dog. I love dogs but they should have to go everywhere humans do.

 

I also thinks it was not a good idea although I enjoy looking at those cute dogs. Better bring them in the park rather than inside stores or restaurants that might make others irritated just like those who have allergies. Or bring them to restaurants where pets are allowed or for pets.

 

I think it is kind of like smoking in restaurants. The only difference is that not everyone is allergic to dogs. But, there are still enough people that are which makes it a bad idea. I understand the bond between a person and there dog, but that doesn't mean those who have health issues should be punished. The only place dogs should be allowed is a pet store

 

I would agree with that, dogs should definitely be allowed in a pet store and in outside spaces.

 

I know a person who brings her little dog everywhere, but he is her support dog. I honestly don't see what's wrong about bringing a dog into virtually any store, except maybe grocery stores. There would be fewer kids with allergies and weak immune systems if they were exposed to more dander and dirt.

 

There would be fewer kids with allergies proably but I know many kids with allergies from birth. Actually new a 3 month old go into shock and have to be put into a medically induced coma when he was laying on the floor a dog had been on. Support dogs are fine, but if the dog is not there for a purpose I don't think they should be hanging out in stores.

 

The problem with this example is that it is so extreme. There would be nothing that could protect that child from being exposed to enough pet dander to put him in the hospital. Even the mother passing him to a person who had dog dander on his or her clothes would be enough to trigger the allergy. Society has a responsibility to provide safe living conditions to its populace; however, society cannot protect everyone from everything and certainly not from personal issues that do not affect a significant portion of the population. There are other countries that allow dogs in all buildings but grocery stores. The dogs are generally well behaved and well received and, unless they are well hidden, there are few reports of significant allergic reactions. I don't think that *everyone* should bring their animals into a store unless they have a reason to do so, but I see no reason to prevent animals from entering a store if they are clean, under control, and interact with humans well.

 

You're absolutely right about the allergy thing. I guess the problem is how do you control it? How big of a dog can come into the store, what qualifies as well-behaved. What about stores that aren't primarily grocery stores but sell groceries? Just throwing things out there that might cause problems.

 

I believe in personal responsibility. A person with allergies needs to take care of him- or herself; the government should not control what other people do in order to protect that person. As to the size of a dog being brought into a store, my collie has greater control over herself than some of my little dogs. Glitter, therefore, would be a more welcome visitor to a store than some of my little ones--and, in fact, has been invited into several local stores. She's never had an accident and she's always been well-behaved. The government, of course, must control the health regulations that restrict dog access to stores. I would assume that in mixed-use stores, the dogs would not be allowed to enter the part that has groceries.

 

I think the OP said it right. These people consider their dogs to be like their own children. So they don't see anything wrong with taking their dogs wherever anyone can take a child.

 

First I do not think it is a good idea because of health reason, food, and someone might get hurt. But I have done it myself, my little baby loves to go to the store with me. He fits right into my purse and sits in the cart like a baby, LOL! But I do not do it often, only if it is to hot for him to be in the car if he is with me.

 

Leaving a dog in the car baking in the sun while the owner goes into the store to buy something have often ended up with the owner coming back to find a well-baked dog. I would suggest leaving the dog at home in the first place.

 

Good advice--although I'll say that there are times that it is necessary for a dog to travel with the owner. I often stop on my way to dog shows or on the way home from training class and my dogs are not disturbed by it. I do, however, confine my dogs to crates when traveling, so I can leave my windows well down if needed and from late spring to mid-autumn their crates are fitted with crate fans.

 

Whatever floats your boat. I have a 3 lb Yorkie that fits in a purse-sized carrier. I will sometimes take him in to department stores-- not restaurants. If someone is allergic to him, they can walk away from me and/or wait until I'm done in the aisle. I could literally take him in to Target and no one would even know. He's so small and he just sleeps the whole time he's in his carrier. I'm with the above poster that suggested leaving your dog at home if the other alternative is leaving him/her in the car. Thousands of dogs die each year from their owners leaving them in cars with the windows cracked, thinking that it would keep it cool enough for the dog. Dogs have fur coats, people!! Think!

 

I went to go respond with saying that I had no issue with it what so ever, just a little jealous I can't bring my 1OO+ lb dog in to all stores either.
However once you had mentioned the part about pet allergies then I completely agree that they should not be aloud in the stores.
I hadn't thought about it that way, but if you are a person with an allergy and going into a store with a no dog policy
you should have the comfort of being able to shop with out fear of having a reaction an dropping to the ground
right there in the store.

 

Yorkie78 no offense but this is why I tended to not like small dog's for so many years, because of their owners, and how selfishly they tend to act. It tends to bleed over to the personality of the dog as well. Hence why I also couldn't stand them. Listen to what you just said, if someone is allergic to dog's they can walk away from me or wait until I'm done in the aisle. So you who is breaking the rules of the store, deserves a priority shopping experience over someone with an allergy observing the rules of the store? Yeah I don't thinks so, you should have to leave the isle, area, or store. You should have to get away from them, since your the one bringing your dog inside when your not suppose to. You even said yourself most people wouldn't even notice, well if they don't notice and they are sitting there shopping right next to you there is good chance they may have wanted to know if there was someone hiding a dog right next to them as the hives break out. This is again is why so many people have a disliking for small dogs, it really is their owners who think they deserve to get away with anything. It's real simple if it is to hot to leave your dog in your car, then you leave your dog at home.

 

Wow, that's a bit judgmental, isn't it? I have Toy Fox Terriers and they stay at home or (safely) in the car if I go into a store. If the dog is permitted to go in with me, like into a pet supply store, I always put my dog on leash and bring it in with me. My dogs don't poo in the store, they don't run around uncontrolled, the don't scream, and they don't annoy other customers. Dogs that are contained in purses--a practice that I dislike intensely--have no choice but to behave. When I think of all of the small children that do all of the above (including the poo; I used to work in a linens store and found a dirty diaper on a pile of toss pillows, where the mother had changed the infant), I am amazed that more children are not banned from stores instead of dogs.

As to the allergy thing, I still maintain that society has no responsibility to protect citizens from the world. This used to be the perspective of many, if not most people, unlike people now who expect a nanny state to take care of them. This lesson was taught to me early, upon reading the book "Follow my Leader" when I was in second grade. The main character of the book, Jimmy, was blinded at the age of 11 when a firecracker was thrown into his face by accident. When Jimmy is at the Guide Dog School, one of the other inhabitants points out a sharp corner on a mantle, right at the level of his face. Jimmy says that the corner should be padded and the person he is speaking to says, "Mr. Carter, do you expect the world to pad its corners for you, just because you're blind?" Jimmy does not protest; rather, he merely says, "Oh . . . I see what you mean." Just in case you're ready to protest this character was fictional--the author lived to be 102 and spent about half of his life in permanent darkness, blinded in adulthood. The book was written in 1957, four years before I was born. I'm still shocked by how different the world is today from it was when I was growing up. Whatever happened to personal responsibility?

(By the way, I did look up the still-in-print book to get an exact quote. I found that I was off by only a few words, after about 40 years. http://www.amazon.com/Follow-My-Lea...54/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top#reader_0140364854)

 

But society DOES have some responsibility to protect citizens from the world. That's why there are laws against drinking and driving- to protect the innocents. That's Why there are laws against smoking in public, it's why not just anyone can carry a hand gun, it's why you have to take a test to get your drivers license. What are laws and rules for if not to protect people?

 

To keep order.