It saddens me that there are so many people willing to lie for financial gain and feel guidelines/rules shouldn’t apply to them.
I recently returned from an almost 6 week trip to Japan. Reentry into our American culture has been…interesting.
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But only if the owners adhere to the hotel rules. When we reserved a room block for DDs wedding, we knew it was a pet friendly hotel…but the guideline was that the pet could NOT be left alone in the room. At all. Not even for a few minutes. Imagine our surprise when the dog next door started to bark at about 4 in the afternoon the night before DDs wedding, and barked until midnight. Hotel management could not get in contact with the owners. Hotel was full…so we couldn’t be moved. They ended up comping us the room and giving us both drink and meal vouchers…all because the next door folks didn’t follow the rules.
So…yes, I understand people traveling with pets need a place to stay, but that doesn’t mean they should go off to a wedding and leave a dog unattended for hours in a hotel room.
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I’m tired of it. This past weekend I went into a little mountain community of Julian in San Diego County.
It was as though there was a dog convention! Just a small town and you can’t be letting your dog “do its business” in a small town and not expect to pick it up.
It was freezing for the dog owner, but also for the dog! Don’t people care about the condition of their dogs?
They seem to buy dogs and then forget that the dog needs every kind of care including weatherproofing!
We got hail towards the afternoon. Those poor dogs can’t take certain temperatures. Why would you do that to an animal that you absolutely adore?
I’ve had dogs all of my life. I respect dogs! They are smart, beautiful and, intelligent creatures. I know that my dog used to get stressed being around unfamiliar people and it really scared or startled them into being more aggressive.
I left them at home. We had a decent sized yard so that they could roam around.
My husband took our dog on early morning walks, up the trails, on a leash. She loved those walks because the terrain was difficult but fewer people with friendlier dogs and considerate owners.
What I’ve found was that these people are lazy. They aren’t willing to take their dogs in areas that have fewer people and fewer dogs because it takes several hours to get through those trails. The “froufrou” dog owners are not willing to spend that kind of time with their animals. It’s all for show. I’m so sick of it!
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There are rues for a reason. Many hiking trails do not permit dogs. Many hiking trails permit dogs on a 6ft or smaller leash. A smaller minority of trails permit dogs without leash restrictions. Sometimes there are different restrictions in different areas of the same hiking location. For example, leashed dogs are permitted on rim trails of Grand Canyon, but are not permitted on the within canyon trails. You should not be critical of an owner who has a well behaved dog that follows the rules for that particular location. Of course an owner of a poorly behaved dog should be expected to make appropriate choices for their situation, and can be criticized for not doing so.
It’s a similar idea for businesses. The overwhelming majority of businesses in my area do not permit (non-service) dogs. However, there is a significant minority that do, such as pet stores or outdoor seating at restaurants. You should not be critical of an owner having a well behaved leashed dog in outdoor seating at a restaurants that permits dogs. However, it is reasonable to criticize a poorly behaved dog at the outdoor seating, as the owner is not making appropriate choices for his pet.
Along the same lines, if you don’t want owners of well behaved dogs to take their dogs to election polling stations, then the polling location should have a policy of restricting dogs. It strikes me as odd that a polling location would not restrict dogs. I’m guessing this relates to not wanting to do anything that would prevent persons from voting, particularly if the dog group tends to vote for the party in power.
I do take my dog to somewhere where she can run off leash nearly every day. We regularly go to dog beach, dog parks, and athletic fields. We’ve gone on leash to pet stores, and outdoor restaurant seating, among other places. I obviously do not take her to the grocery store.
CA has a law restricting dogs from food facilities, including grocery stores and famer’s markets, as described https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=HSC§ionNum=114259.5. . However, beaches vary depending on local rules . There are many dog friendly beaches in CA – both off leash beaches and on leash beaches. Example laws for Del Mar, CA , which has an off leash dog-friendly beach, are at Municode Library .
My dog rightfully is allowed nowhere. He doesn’t do well in public.
At an outdoor festival that allowed dogs the other weekend I saw a man step backward and accidentally step on the paw of a dog he didn’t realize was behind him. Owner seemed miffed but it totally wasn’t the man’s fault. A lot of people bring to these events what I call “step on dogs” and then that’s what happens.
Only service dogs.
Most airlines no longer allow emotional support animals to fly in the cabin unless they are in a carrier that can fit under the seat (usually 10-15 pounds and you have to pay for them (often the fee is more than the person’s ticket! Only service dogs on the plane, and those will have the right paperwork filled out before boarding because they can sit at the owner’s feet.
Mine too Even if we were in the house and one walked by, she’d be frightened. She was also scared of cats, squirrels, butterflies… For a period, she really couldn’t look out the window much.
Then one day we were in a fabric store and a dog bit her sister. This made scared daughter rather delighted! Really, after that she wasn’t afraid.
I’m a ‘no dogs in stores, restaurants, public places’ person. I don’t want them on patios at restaurants either. Most aren’t well behaved, especially around food (and that isn’t their fault, it’s natural). We have a couple of food halls that allow dogs both inside and out, and I just don’t go to them.
I do walk dogs on walking paths (on a leash) and take them to the off leash park. That’s what the park is for. I clean up the poop as we walk. I don’t let them go up to other dogs or people without permission (they are Goldens and Labs, so very friendly but not everyone thinks they are adorable). I used to walk a Husky and everyone loved him, but he couldn’t have cared less about interacting with other dogs or people. He didn’t chase balls. He didn’t like treats. He just wanted to walk and then go home. That’s all I wanted to do, too, so we were a good match. (oh how I miss Mik)
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What is legal in San Diego and what is tolerated are very different. It’s a very dog friendly city and stores are not willing to enforce rules. I see dogs all the time at farmers markets being walked past the “no dogs” signs. At least they’re leashed. Also dogs all the time in grocery store carts. It’s tough on store employees because such dog owners basically think their preferences outweigh anybody else. And they can get nasty.
Edit to add that many eating places have dog menus for their patios so they encourage it.
I complained once to a woman who had her dog on the OB pier - disregarding the posted sign - on a long leash that stretched all the way across. She said I could have just asked nicely for them to move. I said she could have followed the law.
The dogs in Julian likely have owners who live in San Diego and take their dogs to the dog beaches. They come up to see the snow and eat apple pie and have no concept how to be a cold weather pet owner.
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There is a current thread on Cruise Critic about a questionable service dog that has been seen on a Princess cruise. At least the dog was dressed for formal night.
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@Marilyn I admit to unknowingly breaking the law in San Diego with my daughter’s dog. I was visiting for 10 days and took him for a very long walk every day in her neighborhood (Golden Hill/South Park). Tired of the same scenery, I decided to go for a walk on the boardwalk in Mission Beach. I didn’t think anything of it as I have seen people with dogs further up in P.B. in the many years I have been visiting. As I was walking up to the boardwalk from a side street, a man with a large dog was coming off the boardwalk. Never even entered my mind dogs were not allowed! I had walked at least 3/4 of a mile when I noticed a sign saying no dogs allowed b/w 9am-6pm. Oops! I felt awful! And then so much for my nice scenic walk as I had to exit to the main thoroughfare for the long walk back to the car. I looked up the law when I got back to the car and saw that they arent allowed in PB or even along Mission Bay during the same hours.
I will say, I have always been disgusted at the lack of responsibility dog owners have in San Diego when it comes to cleaning up after their dogs. Despite being expensive neighborhoods to live, Golden Hill/South Park has dog poop everywhere!
I live in a waterfront neighborhood on the East Coast - we have “poop stations” every few blocks with bags and trash bins. The community landscaper who mows the common areas takes care of emptying the bins and replenishing the bags. No issue with poop here thankfully!
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It varies quite a bit depending on dog and breed. A husky is likely to tolerate cold better than a greyhound. However, most dogs should be fine in daytime Julian weather this time of year. As I type this at 4pm (not far from sunset), the weather report says it is 51F. Even in 40s F type temperature, most dogs should be fine. Most dogs have fur coats and prefer much cooler temperatures than humans. PetMD.com phrases it as,
“While broad generalizations are difficult, cold should not become a problem for most dogs until the temperature falls below 45 F, at which point some cold-averse dogs might begin to feel uncomfortable.”
I also live in the SD area and sometimes take my dog to mountainous areas with snow. She adores the cold and snow, and would love to spend all day in such weather, if I let her. Based on behavior, I think the temperature she prefers most is 50s F without sun, maybe lower. Temperatures where humans feel most comfortable are more problematic. Once the temp reaches 70F, there is risk of overheating.
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I was kind of responding to @aunt_bea talking about the day she was there when it hailed. Yes, a husky would be very happy in Julian in the winter! Much happier than Escondido in the summer.
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It hailed, and the sun had retreated behind the clouds and it became darker. By the time we got down to Dudley’s, it was slushy rain. You could tell by the body language of the dogs, that they were not thrilled to be out in that rain.
My dog (rescue mutt) always had a hard time in cold weather. She didn’t have a husky coat of hair. When we got her warm, inside, she was a much happier dog. She always let us know when she got too warm because she walked towards our garage door to be let out. The point is that she couldn’t open a car door to get inside, out of the rain.
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Next visit, for variety, there are three major dog parks at Balboa Park.
https://balboapark.org/parks-trails-gardens/dog-parks/
And lots of other options.
https://www.sandiego.gov/park-and-recreation/parks/dogs/leashfree
Keeping in mind that I’m really a cat person…
In memorium when we were at a VRBO in Del Mar. I figured as long as we dragged her to San Diego, she should see the ocean. What she had seen at that moment was a poodle.
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Unfortunately some people believe rules don’t apply to them. A lot of disagreements and conflicts can be attributed to this simple statement.
As with raising children, consistency is important.
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I love dogs but am more a cat person. I do get frustrated with folks putting their dogs in shopping carts at the grocery store and folks who don’t have them on a leash.
But what bothers me more is those little lap dogs sitting on the drivers lap while driving. Animals are so unpredictable and accidents can happen anytime but that dog should be in the back seat.
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I posed a question to CC once after staying at a pet friendly hotel. I had just checked in, plopped myself on the bed with my laptop, and suddently my toes felt like they were being bitten. I saw VERY tiny black dots on the white comforter, and promplty freaked out, thinking bedbugs. I grabbed up all my stuff, went to the front desk, and was promptly moved to another room that had no issues.
The consensus of the CC responses was that it was probably fleas from a doggie guest. I took all precautions regardless, and nothing further came from it w/respect to my return to my own home.
I absolutely LOVE dogs and cats, but I agree, they don’t belong everywhere, not so much because of the dogs themselves, as much as their irresponsible owners.
I lived in France once for just under a year, and I was never bothered by all of the dogs, even in restaurants, because at that time I never observed any kind of bad behavior from any of them.
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I love dogs and have one myself, but they don’t belong everywhere. My personal pet peeve is owners that ignore the clearly posted leash signs at local trails. As a result, I can’t walk my dog - who doesn’t care for other dogs - on local trails. It’s also unfair to folks who don’t like dogs and don’t want to be approached by one - regardless of how friendly the owner says they are. And, for god’s sake, pick up the poop - if you are going to bother to bag it up don’t leave the bags on the trail!!
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