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I have to say that I'd probably feel responsible to pay for actual merchandise my dog peed on, even if that isn't the store's policy.

Ordinarily I would - but they really, uh, annoyed me, prior to that, so I was in a "I don't care, you deal with it" mood.

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Exactly, Will. The "one bad apple" syndrome. A dog may be put down, perhaps needlessly, and for those who enjoy Petco, Pet Supply, etc., the possibility that a NO PETS ALLOWED sign is on the front door.

Perhaps that's better anyway. Alot of people will be mad... but service animals will be allowed into the stores because they're always allowed anyway, n it'll keep the idiots dogs out.

And while we're at it, we can post the same sign at all the public parks, sidewalks, etc. where anyone might come in contact with a dog. The problem isn't where dogs are allowed, it's that we have a culture where people aren't forced to take responsibility for themselves, their children, or their pets regardless of where they are. In this case, it seems both the handler and the owner were idiots, and it's an elemental law of physics that bad things happen when two idiots collide. It doesn't matter where it happened.

Yeah, they do have that effect on people.

I doubt PetCo or PetSmart will ever fully ban dogs from their stores, it's "their thing", my opinions are based fully on frustration with the customers not with the stores and I'm not gonna care one way or the other if they ban dogs or not. It doesn't affect me really, but I can see plenty of positive benefits to doing so.

However, these stores attract a certain type of people and assemble them all together, it's like the builders convention we have in Orlando every year, it attracts all the builders in the country... PetSmart is kind of like an idiot ocnvention in some regards, there's always gonna be people who know what they're doing and people who're stupid, but since the vast majority of pet owners really don't have a clue.....

Take this situation for example.... you're the average pet owner with your super friendly 100lb dog, you're standing around reading labels or figuring out which squeeky toy your dog's less likely to destroy, you're not paying attention to what your dog's doing, you're mr. average so it didn't occur to you to teach your dog to sit/stay in this situation... the dog decides he wants to go say hey to some kid at the end of the aisle and bolts, you don't have a great grip on your leash because you're holding 3 toys in your hand making a tough decision... pink blue or green?? hmmm. The dog slips out of your hand and jumps on the kid, kid falls over backwards and smacks his head on the metal rack or hard floor. Now what? Your dog's not vicious, you didn't really mean to do anything, but petsmart is a place that distracts the OWNERS as much as the dogs. Perhaps the parents didn't see your dog hurtling at their child, turn around n see a 100lb dog "attacking" their son, suddenly you're in a world of trouble because your vicious dog was trying to kill their boy. Now take into consideration the stereotypes of certain breeds, maybe it was a super friendly pitbull or a gentle rottie or a very nice friendly german shepherd or dobie... you see a german shepherd on your 3 year old and you assume the worst.

My conclusion?
Average Owner + Distraction of being in a store vs. a park + Untrained/Badly Trained dog = inevitable disaster.

Sure it could happen at a park but typically if you're in a park you're focusing more on your dog with less handler distractions for the average joe shmo to deal with.

I don't really care if people bring their dogs to petsmart, really, I don't! Now that I chose to leave my dog in the truck my trips to petsmart are alot more enjoyable. But there are plenty of potentially disasterous situations created in stores like that which may never occur in any other setting.

Like I said, I don't care if petsmart or petco bans dogs or not, I'm just pointing out situations that could and probably have happened in the past that you're risking when you invite every dog into the store.

I've also met people with GSD's who told me they can't bring their dogs to the store because they're too aggressive n are working with a non-petsmart trainer to "fix" the problem, these people obviously made the responsible choice not taking their dog into the store - but how many people don't make that choice?

On the plus side, people who do take their dogs to petsmart always have a leash on their dog <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I agree with people taking responsibility. The dog owner as much as dog lovers who want to pet them, parents of the pet lovers too. I am just waiting when muzzle is going to be mandatory for any medium to large size dog and always on a leash. A lot of countries in Europe have these laws.
I was gointg to buy a muzzle, not because I think my dog will bite, but because in America people go to court for anything... don't kill me for that. I was told not to do that because people will assume that my dog is dangerous. I guess I dont really have much choice. I think that dogs should not to be just put down and that's it... people need to take responsibility.

I take my dog to Petsmart for the single purpose of training. I usually know what I'm going to get and where its at. Obviously this Rottie had issues and should not of been in public at all. I suggested earlier that maybe all dogs should have the equivalent of a Bh before they're allowed in public places

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Exactly, Will. The "one bad apple" syndrome. A dog may be put down, perhaps needlessly, and for those who enjoy Petco, Pet Supply, etc., the possibility that a NO PETS ALLOWED sign is on the front door.

Perhaps that's better anyway. Alot of people will be mad... but service animals will be allowed into the stores because they're always allowed anyway, n it'll keep the idiots dogs out.

And while we're at it, we can post the same sign at all the public parks, sidewalks, etc. where anyone might come in contact with a dog. The problem isn't where dogs are allowed, it's that we have a culture where people aren't forced to take responsibility for themselves, their children, or their pets regardless of where they are. In this case, it seems both the handler and the owner were idiots, and it's an elemental law of physics that bad things happen when two idiots collide. It doesn't matter where it happened.

Great point.

The Petxxs are stores that have succeeded, in some part, because they provide a novel experience for suburban pet owners who get a range of benefits from taking their dogs with them to public place with different folks. Some (most?) of these owners are possibly morons, my guess is many of those don't have bad intentions, and there is a element of risk I take on when I take my dog there but I want both she and I get used to hanging out in a world sometimes populated by mouth breathers. I go there because I think it's good training for both of us and we learn more about each other. And I am at a point where I need to learn a lot about what my dog does when she's in a field, in the kitchen, or when some cat lady walks up and tries to pat the top of her head by what I can only describe as "old lady swatting." My dog's pronged, I am in control of her, but I also recognize I am in a private business by my own choice along with, possibly, somebody who has no control over their own mutt. So.

Mike, what kind of food was it? It may explain some parasites I had to clear out of Annie a few months ago.

Kidding. I don't spend a lot of money there anymore and never on food. But Mike I think a snapshot of your dog peeing on some Iams is probably worth some bucks to their competitors...think about it.

when i was very little-maybe 3- my mom and i were at a petstore back home in California,and as we passed this cage right by the door,this monkey reached through the wire,grabbed my arm,dragged it into the cage and clawed and bit it badly. in that case,i think my folks should have sued,but that isn't how things were done in those days. i guess they figured monkeys were no big deal,because my brother had a squirrel monkey at home,and used to bring home all the time this spider monkey that belonged to a neighbour. now,because of those damn things biting me and attacking me when i was growing up,the only animal i am really afraid of are monkeys...thanks,mom.

oy! don't get me started on flexi leashes! whatever they were originally created to be used for,they are misused SO much in this country that if i see someone who has their dog on one,i head the other way! i do NOT trust pet owners who are using one-they are clueless,and think its cute to let the dog run out the full length of the thing,and with the way the handle is designed,i worry about how solid a grip they can have. i own a small one,that i keep in the car,in case i need it for pottying a dog,but so far my SchH leash does just fine when i open it out to the 7 ft length,so i have never used it.

when Anja and i are out anywhere,almost invariably i park her between me and the counter of items i am looking at,unless i am in my wheelchair or using a scooter from the store-then i prefer to have her in the same position. if not,she is on a down tight against the side of the chair,out of the way....and she knows that is where she is safe,especially from getting her tail run over! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

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The majority of the blame in this case is with the mother. Why did she allow he daughter to go up and pet a strange animal?
Nice job of stupid parenting, as usual.

Here Here Will! and secondly are we sure that little girl didn't do anything to provoke the dog?
I surely wouldn't wish anything like that to happen to any child, but we all know how 'our little darlings' can be sometimes, don't we???

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The last time I took my dog to PetSmart was about 8 months ago, he raised his leg and marked his spot on a bag of dog food, I was totally shocked, he's never peed inside a building before! But guess what, I'm not about to go buy a $50 bag of dog food because my dog peed on it, the employees didn't take the bag of dog food out of circulation, I sprayed it down with the disinfectant stuff they had on the wall n cleaned it up even though the staff member had offered to do it for me. I feel bad for whoever buys that bag of dog food because the staff didn't pull it off the rack. The incident wouldn't have happened if I didn't bring my dog into the store. How many small dogs are jumping all over the racks peeing on toys and food every day accross the country?

That's why we feed raw Mike! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />