Bunnings (Australia) hardware stores

Totally agree with the problems that it could lead to. I've been lucky and taken Jura in and out of the shops who allow it as part of her socialisation, and she has always been the only dog in there at the time, but can certainly see how it could lead to problems, particularly for service dogs.

As for extendable leads, I would ban them too. We were on a walk on some woodlands yesterday when we came across a man with his toddler son who for some unfathomable reason had given the lead (extendable) of a Westie to hold and was standing a reasonable distance away from him . Jura was an angel (very proud puppy mum) and recalled straight to me, but the Westie shot towards her barking, and the extendible lead caused the child to be almost catapulted through the air. The poor child ended face down and screaming. Understandably the man rushed straight to his son to make sure he was ok, which thankfully he was, but that did leave me to deal with a snarling Westie

 

Know what you mean about the extendable leads they are a bit of a problem . I can't understand why people can't seem to work out that when you extend one the dog can go in a complete big circle, which means if you are walking by the side of a road your dog can run right onto the road. seen it happen frightened the life out of me and the car driver, the dog fortunately didn't get hit.
I can't drive any more due to health reasons which means I have to walk everywhere or catch a bus, so my dogs have to abe able to visit shops and catch buses. I like to prepare them for every eventuality. A lot of the parks are use are in urban areas and i have often to walk though crowds of school children and mums and prams etc.
If i visit the vet its walk or bus so it pays to have dogs which can do these things happily. Both my large male dogs have also been taught (by me) to stand so that when I feeling faint or having a wobble attack i can hold onto them until I'm stable again. Douglas in his prime was brilliant he saw me getting unsteady and was under my hand and ready to help, he even got me out of places were i was stuck like a steep slope. I'm in the process of getting Rory to help and he's getting it and starting to understand sometimes I have to stop. He doesn't quite get it yet but he is such a clever kind boy he will. Trouble with him is he likes to snog you if you sit on the grass.
I know plenty of people who have dogs with them that need them there who arn't service dogs but they are working just the same. When Doug was out with me I knew that I would beable to make it home and that if i did pass out his id would help me.Midge was rubbish at it she bounced a ball off my head and barked excitedly at me to get up a chuck it when I fallen and broken my collar bone. such a funny hopeful little dog I then had to walk 2 miles home.

 

Well, service dogs have to cope with other dogs everywhere else.... everyone has the responsibility to act appropriately around service dogs (actually, around any other dog or person) so I'm not keen on that as a reason to exclude me going places with my dog. Not that you can go into a lot of shops with a dog anyway.

I do agree that other people's dogs are like other people's kids though! At times, anyway. But I don't have kids, and have to put up with kids EVERYWHERE, and they always belong to someone else, and I cope, so....

I just like my dog to be part of my life and include him in absolutely as much as possible of what I do. I try to take him everywhere with me, even if I'm just going to the postbox or to get a pint of milk. But because I won't leave him tied up outside a shop, unless I'm driving, I can't take him if I have to pop into a shop. I do find this annoying, really quite often. I'd love to be able to take him into the newsagent, bank, postoffice etc. he'd be able to have a fair few extra walks just as I went about my day.

 

Some banks are ok about dogs so i go in them and its amazing if you walk in a certain area people start to talk to you. Lots of shop owners in my area let my dogs in now because they know me and how they behave.. I like you never tie outside shops there have been a few dog thefts in our area.
I like my dogs being with me too, thats why I have them.
The kids in this area are mostly ok but one ran at Rory screaming and growling and destroyed his confidence for the rest of the week. Kids .. love em but couldn't eat a whole one.

 

My local newsagent is nice - he'll bring a pint of milk and a paper to the door for me, but won't let me walk in with Charlie.

 

So I'm thinking that the general consensus is to allow dogs in all stores but ban kids instead ☺☺☺

I totally agree with this! If the OH and I are both home we'll always walk to the shops and one of us will wait outside with Ella but if one of us isn't home we end up leaving Ella at home and driving to the shops instead (it just doesn't feel right to go for a walk without her haha).

 

HaHa! Yup, I'd go with that....can't see it catching on.

 

And it's not easy for them, or their owners. It really is nice to have dog - free shops when training/working GDs. For me it's a break from being quite so vigilant. I fell recently because I was concentrating so hard on keeping Twiglet to a straight line past a pet dog (admittedly going wild, but it would have been just as wild in a shop and much closer to us)

The aisles can be narrow so it would be easy to come face to face with a pet dog. The thing is with Guide dogs they are the person's eyes. If the dog is distracted then the person can fall downstairs or upstairs or end up in a very dangerous situation. Each time that happens they lose their confidence for going out, they are already incredibly vulnerable people. If the dog loses its confidence that's the end of its working life. 2 years of training and £50,000.

 

Well, yes. When Charlie was on rest I'd have preferred the world to be dog free - wasn't going to happen though, and it wasn't really reasonable of me to expect it.

I do appreciate the difficulties of blind people, but I suppose I still think there is a balance to be struck - it's not like the benefit of one group should automatically outweigh the benefits to another.

 

I live in Cape Town, South Africa, and try to take Snowie everywhere he is allowed to go. If I can't take him, then I drive! I'm with you Emily:

I had a friend visiting from Los Angeles and she was amazed how friendly all the dogs were at a local café at the beach, how calm the dog handlers were, dogs were allowed to meet and greet. She said in LA people are very uptight about having dogs at cafes.

Dogs aren't allowed most places in Cape Town -- it is very difficult going about your daily life and including your dog. Which means I tend to take him walking and not get anything done! How I would love to combine the walk with my chores, then I'd be a whole lot more productive! But I am seeing more and more cafes allowing dogs, at least to sit at the outside tables.

Ironically the shops he is allowed into are the local chemist and the health shop. I never understood the notion that dogs carry diseases that will make humans sick. Our shoes carry as much dirt and germs everywhere we go. Perhaps we should leave our shoes at the door!

 

Yes, except that the two groups do not have equal needs at all.

For us pet dog owners it's a case of "it would be nice" - and I agree, it would!

For Guide Dog owners the dog is their lifeline, they couldn't even go to the shops without them. If their dog is put off working they can wait up to 12 months for the next. This is a prison sentence for them. I know 21 year old student who went suddenly blind and got help at uni - but for it was taking her to lectures. She had no lectures from Friday to Tuesday and no help - so she was truly a prisoner every weekend. She was about to pack it all in and go home when her Guide Dog arrived gave her all the freedom we take for granted. (He's a HUGE fox-red Lab, absolutely gorgeous and she's besotted with him, I have never seen a dog with so many toys )

 

I think it depends on your perception, what you care about, and how much you value different things. You are arguing that the value you place on guide dogs, and the assistance they provide, outweighs the cost of restrictions on everyone else. Some people might agree, others not.

But anyway, are dogs are banned from shops because they might cause service dogs problems? They might be, I don't know - I doubt it though, really. I should think there is no law preventing pet dogs from entering shops, and the restrictions are probably so dogs don't inconvenience the staff. After all, pet dogs are not banned from pubs, cafes, buses, trains etc. because they might trouble service dogs.

 

Manchester trams (Metrolink) have recently decided not to allow pet dogs on trams - a pressure group was pushing for it.

They said -
“"We’'ve asked for considerable evidenced-based feedback from officers and listened carefully to Metrolink passengers, dog owners and assistance dog groups and health groups.
Metrolink operates as a high-frequency, high-volume, unstaffed system and there is no representative available on board to assess the potential risk posed by animals.
While the vast majority of dog owners are responsible, there is no way to guarantee all dog-owners will ensure their dogs behave appropriately and do not represent a nuisance or, worse still, a risk to passengers."

 

You see, I don't think that's fair, or right. I'd say that the fault here is metrolink not providing enough staff to discourage anti-social behaviour. It's the same as banning all school kids from X, Y and Z because some misbehave.

And while of course - absolutely - I do want people with assistance dogs to go about their business without being disturbed (actually, I want that for everyone, myself included) I'm not going to agree that it's right I should be stopped from taking my dog on a bus, train, pub, or shop to achieve it.

 

I agree that the 'doggie rights' of Guide Dogs and their humans are and should be much greater than the doggie rights of pet dogs and their owners. It's an equality issue. In Australia, dogs are rarely allowed into any shop or eating place, but by law Guide Dogs (and all Service Dogs) can go anywhere a human can go. This makes blind humans with a dog equal to sighted humans, in terms of their access rights. There is a fine for any establishment that refuses entry to a Guide Dog. That is totally appropriate.

Of course that doesn't mean that pet dogs should not be allowed the same access as Guide Dogs.... But I definitely think that Guide Dog owners have a more pressing need and more rights in this respect than pet dog owners, when it comes to public access with their dog.

 

There is the question of who 'pays' for this equality though - and I personally am not happy to pay for it via restrictions on me. I quite appreciate that it's a matter of public policy, properly established through a democratic process, but I do not want to pay that cost, and I'm not happy to pay that cost.

I value my freedom to move about with my dog, taking him into a lot (although not all) public places, and particularly on public transport, very, very highly indeed. It is incredibly valuable to me, and something that I am used to having, and wouldn't give up at all lightly.

If society (well, voters) want to pay higher taxes to effectively police public spaces, or run education campaigns, or the numerous other measures that could be taken - including tougher laws for those with dogs who disturb assistance dogs if properly enforced - I'd be much more willing to stump up the cost.

Taking away my freedom to have my dog with me is just never something that would get my vote.

 

Oberon I wouldn't bother looking into Bunnings in ACT as they've changed the rules today in a knee jerk reaction to a child being bitten. Now you can only take your dog in there if you either carry them or have them on lead with a muzzle! Maybe I should carry Ella?

I made the silly mistake of reading the comments on the news article and now my blood's boiling. Things like "a dog's place is in a backyard, not out around children where they could attack" and "only an irresponsible owner would take their dog to places with other people. I love dogs but they should only be allowed I'm specific dog parks" grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

Equality in society is an interesting debate. Not all people are equal and some are disadvantaged. Some of those disadvantaged need the assistance of Guide Dogs, or Hearing Dogs, to reduce their disadvantage in life. These people need their dog to be allowed into public places, pubs, cafés, restaurants, public transport etc. to help them gain some equality of life. For the majority of the rest of us dog owners, but not all for various reasons, like to take our dogs out to public places but its more a case of wanting to rather than needing to . Perhaps if all dogs were well trained and behaved the situation would be different but life, and society, isn't perfect