Options for leaving a dog outside a store - SECURELY?

[Scozzie 10]

Dobermanns are velcro dogs - so they won't do being locked in any kind of cage away from their owners, lol.

 

Dachshunds are the same, hence the roller bags in the link.

[Skink 10]

Well done Towsure for being so thoughtful- even if there probably isn't one right answer here

 

We have a German Shepherd and he is not keen on being left in the car (not quite Velcro but close . )

 

If we needed to come to Towsure we would decide what we needed via web and then one of us would go in. On a hot day shade for the car would be important. We might swop over to look at clothes or something. For us dogs and shopping don't mix, and something like a dog park would be pointless

 

Do you have a shady spot to park? You could make that into "mother and doggy" spaces. Or maybe ban dogs from the high value tent display area?

[Towsure 10]

Hi, thanks all for your replies and it highlights what we originally thought, that there isn't an easy option with a store our size - a smaller floor area would be easier to manage allowing well behaved dogs.

 

Whilst some of the ideas would be lovely, like the doggy creche in-store, it wouldn't be practical sadly - shame as I'd love to volunteer for a stint - having handled plenty of rescue runs with dogs of varying temperaments I can see there are far too many unknowns and potential issues.

 

Similarly my experience (as a staff member, not company owner) with having transported dogs makes me uncomfortable with crates - I'd want to disinfect after each use with Virkon or similar and that's not, in practice, practical. Especially with the recent case mentioned in the news of store-bought pups carrying parvo, unknown to their new owners - it would be awful if one of these crates passed on the virus.

 

I like the "mother and doggy" space though...I think this might be a work in progress from the initial simple option of 2 tethering points and a water bowl near a low wall by our front canopy. Or perhaps we can make this something a little nicer for someone to sit with their dog, going forward...

 

On another note - your sign should read 'assistance dogs only' not 'guide dogs only'. Guide dogs are dogs for the blind but there are many working assistance dogs for varying disabilities who have passed their public access test and are qualified working dogs with legal access to stores etc.

You're quite right of course - "guide dogs" was just one of those turns of phrase, like "road tax" or "hoovering" with a vax. We often have assistance dogs visit, and the occasional trainee police dog getting used to different, populated places

Edited August 11, 2016 by Towsure

[TheDogLady 10]

I like the suggestion of ensuring a shady place to park but would be wary of labeling it as dog parking. There are days when it is too hot even in the shade and I don't know where you'd stand 'recommending' people leave their dogs in the car just because there's shade.

 

It's nice to see places are thinking things through though

[mike84 13]

There's a pet food store next door? Why don't you try to come to some arrangement with them on a dog area? It would probably benefit both of your businesses.