Critter Talk: Should Dogs Be Allowed In Restaurants-Whaddya Say?
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OK, so I can guess what you might have to say on this topic. If you’re reading this on PetMD, you more than likely hold the POV that a dog should not be denied entrance to a restaurant based on the code of his or her DNA. After all, pets are people too.
Well, not really — a point which is actually in their favor when it comes to restaurants and their “health based,” no dogs allowed restrictions. After all, dogs are NOT human, which means they’re less likely to transmit diseases than the sniffling kid that’s aiming snot-bombs at the waitress, or the gentleman seated at your elbow who insists on sparing his dinner companions his cough … seeing as your shoulder seems so conveniently located.
What would a dog do? At worst, he’d slurp your hand, transmitting little more than some inert spit with a bevy of harmless germs. No salmonella, no campylobacter, and no ringworm. Alarmist FDA Food Codes notwithstanding, it’s my firm belief that live, non-human animals are disallowed on the basis of American culture rather than any science.
This subject got a lot of attention last week after my weekly USA Today column carried a little rant of mine. How the French can be so forward-thinking in this regard got me to thinking this problem comes down to our simple cultural differences. Here’s an excerpt:
“Why, then, does America eschew the [dining with pets] practice when it comes to our own dogs? Except for limited outdoor seating during balmy months, relatively few establishments offer the open access the French do. Is it that our culture of canine companions is not yet as evolved as France’s? Or perhaps it’s that our dogs are infinitely less well behaved (a distinct possibility, I’ll concede).
It seems more likely, however, that our culture of cleanliness is what does us in when it comes to welcoming dog patrons in our nation’s eateries. In my estimation, that which keeps our subway air somewhat breathable relative to France’s BO-infused railways also keeps us free of canine company in restaurants.
Here’s the rationale: We Americans are super-sensitive in our hygienic ways. Perhaps it’s the Puritan influence (cleanliness is next to godliness ), but personal health and hygiene products take up eight full aisles in my SuperTarget here (I checked recently).”
It’s one theory, anyway. What’s yours?
Many thanks to Dr. Patty Khuly and our friends at Fully Vetted
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I take my pitt-mix service dog everywhere I go and always have. Before his “certification” (ie, before receiving my perscription), I made sure we shopped at all the dog-friendly stores: Pet Smart, Tractor Supply and our local Lowes–which, btw, had just banned dogs because a little Yorkie had attacked a Great Dane and, instead of breaking it up, the owners thought it was funny.
He has beautiful public manners! He’s a very social animal but understands what “on task” means better than most people do when I tell them he is working and cannot be loved on right now. I appease them when we leave (if bubby has been good) with a good employee/customer love-session.
We started out at outdoor tables and moved up to IHOP. I’m a pretty strict dog.mama and if he’s misbehaving, he does not go into any establishment, be it restaurant or book store.
One night I went into IHOP and the wait staff was very disappointed that he wasn’t with me and asked me to bring him inside before I left so they could love on him! He’s that well behaved and popular.
Several hotels in several states have told me their dog weight-limit is 25lbs, but that my guy is always welcome–even at 80+lbs–because they recognize that it’s the owner, not the dog.
(That’s correct! Cesar Millan says it’s a dog first and a breed second. It’s up to the human to circumvent the negative breed characteristics and socialize. And never assume for a minute that I forget I have a pitt at the other end of the lead or that he’s a marked beast.)
I have also never, nor will I ever, mistake a hotel bathroom for a kennel! Bud has a travel crate. He also has a large cage at home–it’s his personal space and he loves it.
(BTW, for the uninitiated, crates are kind, not cruel.)
This kind of proprieter-acceptance is what we should all be striving for. Access is what it’s all about, remember? We want happy proprieters, especially since they don’t have a legal choice in the matter. As the people half of the Service Dog equation, we need to be sensitive and responsible dog owners: if he can’t be chill, he stays in the car.
If my kid starts a tantrum in the grocery store (which she would do), I give my cart to a bag boy with my apologies and come back later. Who can shop with a screaming kid in the store? I can’t: my brain stops working.
I’m not blind, I don’t require a seeing-eye, and Bud is huge and half pitt. As a result we kind of stick out.
As I was reading about the confusion the ADA has created by not having a database, coupled with the fact that all this bogus service dog paraphanelia is so readily available, I wrestled with whether or not to PUT him in a vest or get any cards, etc… He has a vest a card and a tag on his collar: vests tell the pulic instantly that he’s a service dog and most everyone asks before they pet him. (I tell them, no, he’s working, and they are respectful and leave him be: if he starts interacting with the public, he goes off task and is hard to manage after that, I’ve tried it: it doesn’t fly.) His vest has a zippered pouch in which I keep a copy of my perscription, just in case some store clerk calls the police. I figured it’s the most responsible (there’s that word again) approach. It’ll also give me the opportunity to see the face of the clerk when he finds out that he messed up and I’ll tell him with a sweet smile that I always wanted own a ..whatever his business happens to be. (I’m thinking of one very snooty coffee shop owner who insisted Bud have credentials–illegal request, I have since learned! These are the kind of people it’s handy to carry a copy of the ADA laws for, give them their very own copy to keep and read at leisure).
Whether your dog is a “real” service dog or not, IF you are going to try and pass it off as one, PLEASE make sure they know–and obey–the handy commands of “chill” and “ignore.” That it knows how to lie down as close to UNDER the table as possible (and you politely request to be seated in a place where dog will not block aisleways) and that the dog STAYS PUT until you two leave the restaurant. And please don’t let the well-meaning waitress to bring your dog water–he’s working. That can wait until after you’ve finished your meal and he can have a drink before you leave.
All dogs should go through at least one basic obedience class and I very much agree that Citizen Canine should be a goal: it’s an internationally recognized award that they don’t give away in crackerjack boxes–the dog has to *earn* it and it should be a minimum standard that all service dogs should achieve.
The main problem with pets being passed off as service dogs is that pets don’t have the same discipline requirements and the Yorkie chooses to attack the Great Dane.
What happens if the Great Dane has itself an hor d’ourvers instead of backing off in surprise?
THIS is a real danger when passing off pets as service animals and it might be your pet that gets the short end of the stick.
My service animal is an 80+lb pitt bull mix, sweet as sugar. Someone else’s pitt might not be as disciplined or patient or tolerant–I don’t want that dog around my dog! I don’t want the attacking Yorkie around my dog. If your dog can’t be chill in public, leave it at home. All dog owners should be responsible dog owners. They’re DOGS, not furry children. They think and behave like dogs, and if they are not 100% socialized with all other dogs, large small old young, and people of all sizes, shapes and uniform types, they have no business in public. If you have a dog for protection, leave it at home–at the very least, in your car.
A protection dog is not a public service dog: it’s an unpredictible danger. They tend to think for themselves and have few stops. It might decide that someone’s bona-fide service dog is a threat to it’s master and attack it. You think it’s owner could pull it off? Really?? A dog fight? A dog attacking anything? Never assume an attacking dog can be stopped until it’s done!
Bud wouldn’t know what to do if attacked and I like it that way. But he also instinctively places himself between me and anything he perceives as danger–he does this quietly and passively and steps down when I tell him to, exactly as he should.
Since this post is turning into an article, how DO you socialize this creature that could kill or maim if it decides to?
I started, like I said earlier, by taking him to every pet-friendly store I could find and hanging out there so he could meet people and other animals. We visited cops and firemen and mailmen and the whole schbang. Kids, babies, old people, black white yellow orange and purple people, all with no prejudice or fear from me on which he could hang a dangerous opinion.
I took him to a Civil War Reenactment–he was fine with the guns and the cannon and the horses–but not with the big ball that some people started playing games with–he nutted out at that and I had to take him back to the car.
Take that dog everywhere you can take a dog and as he gets better, push some limits: GO to that sidewalk cafe and teach him how to lay quietly under a table and stay put.
DOGS! They’re such dogs! They look and act and think just like dogs–evolution hasn’t changed that yet. *You have to expect your dog to act like a dog!* If you don’t, you’re fooling yourself–often dangerously.
Little dogs often do more damage than big dogs–how about jealous Jack Russells who maime/kill newborn babies? The Guardian has several stories about several attacks, all in the last 4 years.
Never assume Fifi is a higher-order animal: she’s a DOG.
That said, I don’t know what the rub is with your regular, every day, well loved, family pitt bull terrier. He will defend the children with his life and put up with just about anything–that’s what they’re bred for.
https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRH3CX2JTGStF_u6SMwCtQ4xtHKKEbBq9d3-uE10DPg04BzITa_Tg
Follow this link and see just how dangerous they can be.
In conclusion, RESPONSIBLE. Check your people-ego at the door: there’s no place for it when dealing with a service dog.
Being a bona fide service animal is an honor and a state of being with all the discipline that goes along with the responsibility–yes, your dog must be responsible too! As responsible and as predictable as an “animal” can possibly be. If you cannot take the time out of your life to dedicate time to your dog, even if it’s someone else who trains it up in the way it should go, you have no business taking said dog into public, bona fide or not. Trained or not.
Which is why sometimes my guy gets to wait in the car: what business have I to take an unruly animal into a public place? NONE! That’s ego talking, just like the lady with the purse-puppy and the lawyer husband.
Responsibility and respect. Otherwise, instead of access (which is what it’s all about anyway, bottom line) it will give a black eye to all of us. Those of you with fake service dogs–you’ll lose access, too!!
So please make sure your dog is reasonably predictible, controllable by you with whatever lead works best for your animal and, most of all, socialized.
Your guy/gal is not the only service dog on the street/in the restaurant. They need to also get along with each other. Otherwise, mayhem, and somebody might get hurt.
THEY ARE STILL DOGS.
THEY THINK AND ACT–AND LORDY, SOMETIMES EVEN SMELL, LIKE DOGS.
We’re the people.
Please be reasonable, respectful and most of all, responsible.
The 3-R’s of good dog raising, service animal or not.
We’re all in this together.
Thanks so much for sharing this with us and I would like to publish it. Let me know if that’s OK with you by sending me an email through the contact link on the site.
It should be allowed if the owners of the restaurant think it is OK. If people don’t want to go eat there anymore, then fine. There should be signs on the door letting folks know there might be dogs inside, in case of allergy or other issues they may have. This would doubtless work better in warmer climates or when the restaurant has outdoor seating.
People may not consider that some are allergic to their dogs. Friendly dogs are actually worse. A single lick can trigger an allergic reaction. I love dogs, but the allergies can be a big problem. Please consider this.
I suffer from animal dander allergies. I have seven dogs. I suffer but it is worth it. My animals are my family. The allergies can be irritating but so can screaming babies. I’ll take the dogs. Regardless you make a great point Martin. Thanks.
Barking dogs drive me nuts, but I’d rather listen to that than some yokel chattering away with much volume on his/her cell phone.
I think that the dog should have completed at least the level of the Canine Good Citizen test which would prove that they are stable & well behaved in public. Unfortunately, they do not have a Human Good Citizens test, so maybe the dog should leave the human in the car if appropriate. We offer advanced training as well as certification for service & therapy dogs which are allowed in public.
I think you should have dog friendly restuarants but I also think you need to have restuarant friendly dogs.
Unruly, badly behaving dogs are a pet peeve of mine. Don’t have them unless you have the time for them.
I agree BS. Dog’s like kids, need to know how to behave. I can’t stand a screeching baby, or a whining five year old any more than I can abide a barking or whining dog.
Guide dogs only, at least they are well trained and won’t sniffing around tables begging, or barking as you contemplate the 1962 Cabinet Savignon or 2010 My Wild Irish Rose.
I do not advocate allowing dogs to run about. Like I said to Infidel dogs should be leashed. Each of my dogs has as much training as guide dogs, at least in the area of obedience. I can command my dogs to lay down and he/she won’t get up until I tell him/her to do so.
It would be a nicer meal, if we had just the animals, even dogs 😉 instead of all the noisy people.
I agree Jess.
In Germany, you see people’s dogs in bars and resturants all the time.
Yes you do Sepp. I lived there for a couple of years and dogs were basically allowed wherever people were allowed. A very dog friendly country.
Well, the Chinese and Koreans allow dogs in restaurants, but not in the sense I think you mean.
Obviously most restaurants don’t allow dogs because most of their customers woudln’t like it. Control of behavior may be an issue. I wouldn’t want a human complete stranger licking my hand either, even if he were guaranteed disease-free. Also, non-human animals are rarely as clean as most humans, simply because it takes a fair amount of work to be so.
In other cases there are other objections.
I think it important that dogs must be polite. They must be leashed at all times of course. They sit at the table with the owners. They are not allowed to run the leash out and lick hands, paw, hump legs and etc. In other words they must behave, just like children must behave. When it comes to cleanliness I will put my dogs up against most kids anyday 🙂
My dogs are generally clean but they are all outside working dogs. As I have the acreage and they know the boundaries they run off leash in our twice daily walks. They will not cross a fence or go through a gate even if it is open without permission. But they really like to roll in stuff that smells really bad to me but is obviously perfume to them. The worst is when I am not watching and they come for a pet and a hug after finding a particularly fresh green pile of cow manure. That is when we head to the tank for a swim.
I say yes to dogs and kids, only if we can remove them at the first sream of the four-year-old with no manners! But dog can transmit ringworm 🙂 ALCP!
Only dogs with ringworm can transmit ringworm, and generally people who allow their dogs to contract it aren’t the type to bring their dogs to restaurants 🙂 ALCP!
I say yes to dogs no to kids!