Do you live in a dog friendly area?

Toller_08

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#21
Totally not related to this thread, but I've never seen or been to a drive thru bank. Weird! Had no idea there was such a thing haha.

Anyway, my city isn't very dog friendly. There are prohibitive dog signs everywhere. Basically the only grassy areas they're allowed in are off leash parks, and everywhere else outside they have to stay on a 6ft leash maximum. Not many stores allow them in. Basically just pet stores and the odd small privately owned business here and there, and generally just if the dog is small for the latter. Outdoor patios, not usually. Hardware stores, not usually. They're allowed on public transit which is awesome, but otherwise my city isn't overly dog friendly.

They like to say they are though, because we have a lot of off leash parks. But a lot of dogs can't do off leash parks, for one thing. And for another, the majority of our off leash parks suck. They're small strips of grass on meridians (often next to busy roads) and are not fenced aside from one of those useless foot tall fences made of wooden posts and a running cable/wire type thing.
 

Equinox

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#22
I had no idea how dog "unfriendly" some areas can be. I agree that Portland is a very dog friendly area with a lot of dog lovers. When Trent was a puppy, we took him to hardware stores, furniture stores, office supply stores, electronic stores, video rental stores... and anywhere that didn't sell food, honestly. Haven't been to a restaurant with an outdoor option that did not allow dogs. I was at a brunch place the other day (best/most popular place in Portland, woohoo!) and the table next to us had a really lovely Goldendoodle. Walking around downtown, I spot dogs inside boutique stores and locally owned specialty shops.

Employees at the gas station and bank drive thrus almost always have dog biscuits handy. Trent likes to stick his head out the window to solicit attention and treats whenever we're getting gas.

I see dogs off leash fairly frequently, and there are quite a few parks and open fields available. The beach we go to (about two hours away) does have a leash law, but no dog there stays on leash and everyone's very respectful of each other.
 

Flyinsbt

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#23
I see dogs off leash fairly frequently, and there are quite a few parks and open fields available. The beach we go to (about two hours away) does have a leash law, but no dog there stays on leash and everyone's very respectful of each other.
Yeah, it's one of those, "there's a law, but we don't pay it much mind" things. Most of Portland is covered by a leash law, and dogs are only supposed to be off leash in dog parks (which are plentiful, though I don't go to them), but people do tend to have their dogs off leash in other parks. Which can be bad (Tess doesn't like being rushed up at by strange dogs when she's on leash), but as long as people are in control of their dog, I don't care if it's on or off leash, and it's nicer for people not to get anal about that stuff.
 

AdrianneIsabel

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#24
I will say most off leash dogs here are better behaved and friendlier than Vegas. If a dog was off in Vegas you could almost guarantee a rude encounter or even an attack, I have been rushed a lot since moving and thankfully most have been less than scary.
 

Shai

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#25
I will say most off leash dogs here are better behaved and friendlier than Vegas. If a dog was off in Vegas you could almost guarantee a rude encounter or even an attack, I have been rushed a lot since moving and thankfully most have been less than scary.
I always wonder how much of this is a self-perpetuating cycle. Seems like in areas where dogs aren't allowed anywhere, folks don't really know what a dog is supposed to behave like and the dogs have no early experience at not being overexcited idiots every time they leave the neighborhood. So they act like idiots, get banned from more places, and then the next dogs get even fewer experiences as a youngsters...

May have no basis but it's just something I've always wondered.

Also, I'm expanding my move into a time share between Maryland and Portland.
 

Fran101

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#26
Very much so :)

- Dogs are allowed on public transport (buses, trains)
- nearly all clothing stores/electronics/furniture/anything but food stores I've encountered are dog friendly
- At banks etc..
- Dog friendly apartments are common
- Dog friendly restaurant patios (and a few places with dog items on the menu!)
- Dog friendly parks have off leash dog areas
- Dog people are everywhere lol
- Lots of "doggy business" (Bakeries, day care, groomers, pet stores, pet spas etc..)

The dog culture is strong as well. It's a large, tight knit group. People are strict about picking up poo (poo pickup police!) and dog manners in parks because we DO RISK losing the park access we have if dog owners as a whole misbehave.

If it's an area where dogs aren't allowed off leash or you don't pick up poop..somebody is going to tell you.
If you dog is acting aggressive or you walk into the dog park and don't take your dog off leash.. someone is going to tell you.

It's so much of a MISSION to have a dog in the city that I've noticed when people do, they do it well.
I don't run into a lot of "just the family dog" people. Lol the city is very DOG PEOPLE friendly.

Everyone I encounter who has a dog is really INTO having a dog, which I think is awesome. Everyone has a favorite training center, daycare, park, pet store, dog bakery etc..
 

~Jessie~

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#27
Yes! Central Florida, in general, has been very dog friendly. Dogs are allowed on most outdoor patios in restaurants, outdoor shopping malls (outlets, strip malls, etc), and there are a ton of dog friendly parks.
 

Sekah

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#28
My city is pretty dog friendly.

I can bring my dogs on the city's public transit, into banks, stores that don't sell food, my office, etc, and there are loads of off leash parks within walking distance of just about any neighbourhood in the city. Most stores have biscuits behind the counter, including the Beer Store, video game stores, shoe stores... Loads of street level stores have water dishes outside as well. Oh, and it's illegal to restrict rental opportunities based on tenants owning dogs.

The few restritions are that dogs aren't allowed on patios (they need to be on the other side of the railing), the dog has to be in a crate if it's riding the GO Train (though I hear this rule is lax), and they're not allowed into Home Depot after an employee was bitten pretty severely on the face by a Shar Pei. Oh, and they're not allowed in the LCBO since it's I guess considered a food store, but for some reason the Beer Store isn't... And dogs aren't allowed in malls, again I imagine for the same food serving issues.

People are dog savvy here too. They'll not hesitate to cross the street with their dogs if they're coming up to another dog walker so as to avoid a confrontation, and I routinely see people using treats to work with their reactive dogs. I love it.
 

AdrianneIsabel

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#29
Oh I totally agree though, Shai, dogs here are allowed to be dogs. Big yards, lots of room to run, explore, roam, interact. It's socially acceptable to meet on leash and people seem to like it. In Vegas yards are small, dog parks are TINY and bare gravel yards, hiking outside is limited and usually packed so dogs must be on lead unless you go off hours, which got trickier every year I lived there, or way out and enjoy hiking in sand on the flat.

Even my clientele is totally different. We were excited to see a few dog friendly dogs in Vegas and the rest were reactive. Hilariously (okay, dark humor I guess) our basic obed was basically a reactive rover class. It amazed me that here we place reactive dogs in different classes, I thought you'd never have enough to fill a "normal" dog class, now we don't have enough to fill a reactive class. They exist, of course, but there is a drastic change in numbers.

I know I'm bias but I like it, a lot.
 

yv0nne

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#30
So jealous after reading your guys posts! Cape Breton is not very dog friendly at all. Also, I've never heard of a drive-thru bank.

Dogs aren't allowed in businesses unless it's a small business who likes animals, they aren't allowed to be off-leash and there's 1 "official" off-leash park on the entire island. There's lots of unofficial parks where I take Penn but I do feel badly if someone who doesn't like dogs is walking on the path& Penn goes to say hi.

There's very little in terms of dog sports either. I would venture to say about 80% of people who own dogs in Cape Breton, shouldn't own them. They just let them rot in the house or on a tie-out. The people who LOVE their dogs are now finally starting to push for more dog friendly places. It's a long road though.
 

Shai

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#31
Very much so :)

- Dogs are allowed on public transport (buses, trains)
- nearly all clothing stores/electronics/furniture/anything but food stores I've encountered are dog friendly
- At banks etc..
- Dog friendly apartments are common
- Dog friendly restaurant patios (and a few places with dog items on the menu!)
- Dog friendly parks have off leash dog areas
- Dog people are everywhere lol
- Lots of "doggy business" (Bakeries, day care, groomers, pet stores, pet spas etc..)

The dog culture is strong as well. It's a large, tight knit group. People are strict about picking up poo (poo pickup police!) and dog manners in parks because we DO RISK losing the park access we have if dog owners as a whole misbehave.

If it's an area where dogs aren't allowed off leash or you don't pick up poop..somebody is going to tell you.
If you dog is acting aggressive or you walk into the dog park and don't take your dog off leash.. someone is going to tell you.

It's so much of a MISSION to have a dog in the city that I've noticed when people do, they do it well.
I don't run into a lot of "just the family dog" people. Lol the city is very DOG PEOPLE friendly.

Everyone I encounter who has a dog is really INTO having a dog, which I think is awesome. Everyone has a favorite training center, daycare, park, pet store, dog bakery etc..
I just decided I'm bringing a dog when I visit my in-laws in Boston lol
 

MandyPug

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#32
Yes and no.

Dogs are allowed on buses and in banks and most salons.

There are 7 pet stores in a city of 80,000 people. A bit excessive.

We do have three dog parks but they put one on a rattlesnake reserve and the other two are overrun with deer and therefore also coyotes. I don't go to dog parks for those reasons and because people keep an interesting mentality about how dogs behave here.

Most of the public parks, unless there's a festival going on or something, are fairly quiet and as long as your dog is under control no one cares if they're off leash. We have the coulees too (a big hilly valley) and dogs are almost always off leash there.

Izzie is only on leash near roads or when it's busy during a festival (we're usually performing agility demos off leash for those anyway and are being watched closely so we behave when we're not performing).

We have zero dog friendly patios. Even if the dog sits outside the rail. Though we don't have many patios anyway.
 

SaraB

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#34
The suburb I live in is not dog friendly. We have the usual stuff but generally dogs aren't allowed anywhere. I was able to bring them on the patio at Dairy Queen and haven't tried the other patios yet but I'm not holding a lot of hope. I have my secret off leash hiking areas, but dogs aren't really allowed off leash there. I am very, very strict on leashing them up when we see someone though and not allowing them to go say hi as I don't want to get in trouble.
 

RD

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#35
No, where I live (the ghetto, lol) is not even remotely dog friendly. Even the more well to do parts of town are not especially dog friendly.
 

meepitsmeagan

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#36
Very much so :)

- Dogs are allowed on public transport (buses, trains)
- nearly all clothing stores/electronics/furniture/anything but food stores I've encountered are dog friendly
- At banks etc..
- Dog friendly apartments are common
- Dog friendly restaurant patios (and a few places with dog items on the menu!)
- Dog friendly parks have off leash dog areas
- Dog people are everywhere lol
- Lots of "doggy business" (Bakeries, day care, groomers, pet stores, pet spas etc..)

The dog culture is strong as well. It's a large, tight knit group. People are strict about picking up poo (poo pickup police!) and dog manners in parks because we DO RISK losing the park access we have if dog owners as a whole misbehave.

If it's an area where dogs aren't allowed off leash or you don't pick up poop..somebody is going to tell you.
If you dog is acting aggressive or you walk into the dog park and don't take your dog off leash.. someone is going to tell you.

It's so much of a MISSION to have a dog in the city that I've noticed when people do, they do it well.
I don't run into a lot of "just the family dog" people. Lol the city is very DOG PEOPLE friendly.

Everyone I encounter who has a dog is really INTO having a dog, which I think is awesome. Everyone has a favorite training center, daycare, park, pet store, dog bakery etc..
I need to merge to Portland or to Boston for the first year of my ACD's life. XD Holy socialization opportunities!
 

GipsyQueen

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#37
Germany as a whole is pretty dog friendly. You can bring your dog into almost all stores (except supermarkets) and you're allowed to bring dogs to reteraunts with outdoor patios and sometimes inside. Depending on where you live there are no leash laws ( my parents town for example). All parks allow dogs anyways.
 

Grab

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#38
Not at all. There are no patio areas. No dogs on buses (we don't even have full sized buses on our public transportation system). No dogs in stores. Half the town doesn't even have sidewalks, so there's not many places to walk dogs. No dogs in parks, aside from the dog parks. No dog classes besides the co/mart ones. You have to drive to Vegas if you want actual dog training classes. (almost an hour and a half away)

There is a little park that has one small stairwell where I so want to take a pic of Goose at in the spring months, and every year I debate if I could sneak her in long enough to snap a few pics :p I have seen dogs in that park, but it's a no no.
 

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