Can anybody tell me if there is actually a law that says dogs are not allowed into places that serve food ?
I have a local deli that i frequent that has a seperate dining area and in the summer the owner allows me to sit with my dog at a table near the door as its kept open but she said she didn't know if there was a law banning dogs (shes french so would like people to be able to come in with their dogs as used to it on the continent), she has asked me if i could find out..she doesn't know why people put "No dogs allowed" signs on their doors if there is a law standing or is it just up to the shop owners discretion..
Thank you.

pretty sure in a non food production area its at their discretion, plenty of pubs allow it

We have a cafe nearby that welcomes dogs.  As long as they are not in the food preparation area it is fine although not many places will allow it maybe because they do not wish to upset other users.

Thank you, thats what the owner thought aswell..as long as the animal wasn't by the food being prepared.

Yes there's many places if you look for the that re open for dogs.  Some area's even do 'schemes' in which you can apply to be added to a list and get window stickers which say dogs allowed.  Be lovely to know of more places that let dogs come in, although it might not be what afew people like they can go elsewhere....But more people with dgs would be happy to take their seats I would have thought :)

its only againest the law if they enter a food prep area not if they are in the dinning area.
however its still up to the cafe/restaurant to let you in ( or not)

The Kennel Cub actually runs a scheme called "Open for Dogs", which promotes a list of places that you can take your dog to--cafes, pubs, community centres, etc--and it seems that the reason dogs are barred is mainly at the discretion of the proprietor, not the letter of the law; the proprietor may not want to offend other clients who don't like or fear dogs, or jwho ust don't want to eat lunch with dogs about, and losing business is not in their interests.

Many places that allow dogs restrict them to one area of their pub/cafe, and that seems a very sensible compromise.

The KC offer stickers and flyers to publicise the scheme--please encourage any businesses you know to take part. There are so few it becomes a major part of planning our days out!

Thank you for all your replies, i will indeed try and get some "Dogs Welcome" stickers..it's a lovely little cafe/deli and have spoken to lots of the villagers who said they would eat in there more if they could take their dogs.

I think it's a real pain in this country not allowing dogs in places.When you go out for the day for example to the Peak District or Whitby it's impossible to go into any of the shops. I'm itching to go into the gift shops, but one of us has to stand outside with the dogs. At least our local pub welcomes dogs, sometimes there are up to 10 in there and its a great atmosphere. Loads of walkers come in and I'm sure the pub gets extra trade by encouraging and making dog owners welcome. We go to Italy a lot and dogs are even allowed in shopping centres there.
Liz

> Loads of walkers come in and I'm sure the pub gets extra trade by encouraging and making dog owners welcome. We go to Italy a lot and dogs are even allowed in shopping centres there.
>

lovely way to socialise your dogs as well i'd imagine- a far more relaxed environment than say a puppy training class.

I also think it depends where in the uk you are. I love going to devon on holiday because I find it so much more relaxed when it comes to dogs than in Hampshire/surrey where I live.

>I think it's a real pain in this country not allowing dogs in places.

However, most people in this country don't own dogs and so it's only natural to accommodate the majority rather than the minority. There are people who are allergic to dogs and some people who are terrified of dogs and then there are the people who have omebic brains which is reflected in their dogs' behaviour.  When you've witnessed a dog on a lead being allowed to cock its leg against produce displayed outside a shop, dog lover or no, you understand why some businesses won't allow dogs on the premises.

Dont take this as gospel but up until last year,I owned a Cafe,I believe it is up to the proprietor,I used to let dogs in,and they were always very well behaved.I have never read anything in the imformation from enviromental health that they send out.We were down in Dorset a couple of years ago and found this coffee shop with a notice on the door which said Dogs welcome and only well behaved children.Earlier on in the year after my Daxis back op She was looked after buy my cousin when I had to work,My cousin used to take her every where and she used to sit in the bottom of her babies buggy ,and whilst in Sainsbury's,the security guard caught site of the dog and told them they woukd have to tie the dog up outside if they wanted to carry on shopping,needless to say they didn't carry on shopping.If you saw some of the behaviour we get from children and the mess they leave,I would eather have dogs in anyday.

My daughter worked in a pub and the manager had a lovely boxer living on the premises.  My daughter was told not to let the dog in the kitchen because if environmental health found out they could be fined £1000.

That's right. Dogs aren't allowed in the food preparation area, but they are allowed anywhere else at the manager's discretion. H&S are now saying that this applies to B&Bs, and that the family dog is no longer allowed in their own kitchen.

>H&S are now saying that this applies to B&Bs, and that the family dog is no longer allowed in their own kitchen

That's H&S Brussels

I don't have a problem with dogs in pubs and cafes but some people take some points to the extreme IMO.  In Spain I've seen the roughest looking mangey mutts hanging around which isn't very appealing at all.  I also cannot stand to see the lapdog eating from plates whilst they are still on the table (not allowed in my house) and worse still being allowed to put its paws on the table.

At the end of the day I think it's a minority that spoil it for the majority.

> When you go out for the day for example to the Peak District or Whitby it's impossible to go into any of the shops.

Try the Lake District.  Keswick is the most dog friendly town I know.  Not many of the cafes I have to say, but most of the pubs and more shops than not it seems allow dogs.  Every second person you see in the town seems to have a dog with them.

A dog should not be in an area with food unless its outside ie if you sit outside of a cafe, coffee shop. Mind you our dogs are a lot cleaner than some people I have seen in a cafe.

>A dog should not be in an area with food unless its outside

That's not the law though. The law only says that a dog may not be in the food preparation area.

> Mind you our dogs are a lot cleaner than some people I have seen in a cafe.

Quite.  You are at far more risk from the general hygience practiced by those that cook and serve you than any dog sat at your feet. 

We were returning from a show and decided to pop into B&Q for something. We dont leave our Cavaliers in cars alone for fear of them being nicked so took the young lad ( only one that day) with us, in my arms. We got about 20 feet into the store before I was hassled by two large security guards asking me to leave. There was no food, no 'No Dogs' sign but I was told that it would upset other customers - strange I thought, many people were smiling at him and saying "lovely".
The management was called and implied that it was against "the Law" and that in some way a dog would make the place offensive to other customers. You can imagine what my reaction was especially as my dog was so clean the judge at the show later in her critique called him "pristine" ......and I was carrying him.
We seem to be trying so hard to be good Europeans that we are taking things far, far further than the rest of fellow E.U. members.

> We seem to be trying so hard to be good Europeans that we are taking things far, far further than the rest of fellow E.U. members.

I think Britain has always been like this hasn't it?  I don't remember as a child ever see a dog in a shop or cafe.  It was very common to see them tied up outside though.  If anything with projects such as "Pets Welcome" I think it has improved slightly so there is hope :-)

>I don't remember as a child ever see a dog in a shop or cafe.

Oh I remember it well. Dogs were allowed in the butcher's shop, the greengrocer's, WH Smiths - pretty much anywhere, certainly up till the early 1970s. Go to mainland Europe and they're everywhere, in the shops and restaurants.

> There are so few it becomes a major part of planning our days out!

I know it is harder than having kids ;-)

I've certainly seen that in Europe, particularly Northern Europe but really never saw it my bit of England.  I really think this is consumer led not Brussels led as after all there are no laws preventing it.

> There was no food, no 'No Dogs' sign but I was told that it would upset other customers - strange I thought, many people were smiling at him and saying "lovely".
>

On our return journey from picking up my nephews puppy Doberman (carried in his arms she was 8 weeks) we stopped at a service station, just to go to the loo and buy a drink and some snacks, my nephew was in the foyer and a vast amount of admires cooing over his puppy with oooo's and aaah's but this then caught the attention of a jobs worth in whsmith who promptly told him to get out with that dog, she had her beady eyes on him untill we came out of the loo (OH had car keys) proper meany lol, when she served us, I made it clear I thought she was abit OTT silly billy :-)

I agree that Keswick is extremely dog friendly. We have been Xmas shopping there today and enjoyed a lovely lunch in the Keswick Lodge Public House. As we sat down to wait for lunch a member of staff who had already come over to say hello to Jade, re-appeared with a lovely warm rasher of bacon for her. The Manager later came over to give her a fuss and we had a lovely chat. She was welcomed in everyshop we went into, most of which had lovely clean water bowls in the doorways. Its such a shame more towns are not like this.

i was in TKmaxx at the glasgow fort today and there was an elderly gentleman with a lhasa apso in his trolley! not sure if the assistants knew or not. made me think of this thread, and the fact its the first time ive seen it happen.

I feel a visit to Keswick coming on LOL ;-)