Discussions

Does anyone know if you can take your dog into shoppers Mall?

Service dogs only pretty sure.

There are lots of people with allergies, self i:ncluded. If I saw a “purse dog”, I would report it immediately. Service dogs are allowed, as the help they provide is more important than my allergies.

Anyone know if I can take my dog into Dollarama?

Anyone know if I can take my dog to a Wheat King game?

There is a sign on the door at Dollarama with a dog and a cross through it, at least at 18th st location it is. So I say no to dogs at dollarama. Same with mall, unless it’s a service dog.  
Some dog friendly places are Winners, Canadian Tire, Peavey Mart. As well as the pet stores. If anyone knows any other stores that allow dogs, let me know.  
I too have severe allergies, but just being in the same building doesn’t trigger them. I’d need to be up close to them to react. So I wouldn’t be upset to see a “purse dog” as most of them are hypo-allergenic. And I could easily walk to other side of walkway.  
For now though we stick to Canadian tire, winners and pet stores with our puppy.

Why do you need to take your dog to Canadian Tire, Winners etc.? I'm not trying to be rude I just don't understand why you feel you need to take your dog with you. As I said I'm a dog owner and my wife treats them almost better then our kids but we don't take them to the store.

I Never once said I “need” to take the puppy. I just said we do, and those are the dog friendly places we are allowed too. Someone is home almost all the time, and our dog hasn’t been left alone very much and doesn’t really love the kennel. So we take her out with us to places that allow dogs when we are going to those places anyway.  
I don’t take her grocery shopping or while we go out to eat, or anywhere that doesn’t allow animals obviously. But she is very friendly, and loves people, so we take her with us where we can. I don’t take her if I know she’ll have to stay in the car anywhere, other than a bank machine run or getting gas, things that are quick.  
Why shouldn’t we take her to places that allow them?  
 
Edited by Cheezies, 2019-02-21 23:26:38

Home Building Centre is dog friendly, as are the pet stores.

Sorry didn't mean to offend you... I was just curious why you took your dog to Canadian Tire or shopping to Winners. Seems very strange to me and clearly isn't very common as I can't honestly say I can remember the last time I saw someone with a dog in a store (other then the occasional service animal) I guess we live in a different World nowadays or maybe it's just me showing my age. But then again I can't believe how many people I see with a dog on their lap while they drive, if that isn't distracted driving and an accident waiting to happen I don't know what is.

No offence taken. I question why people do things all the time, lol. I’m closer to half a century in age myself, so am constantly in awe of the way things change.  
When we go to Winners, 96% of the time it is to buy stuff for the dog. Toys, treats, clothes, dog bags, beds, etc. So we take her with us, as it’s shopping for her. Canadian tire also has a big pet section too. And I also haven’t seen many other dogs in the stores, but if you want to take them those are the places that allow them.  
And I agree with dogs on the lap! Definite distraction. We have a car seat and a seat belt that connects to harness in the back seat.

On holidays 15 years ago I was amazed how many pets I saw everywhere on busses trains shopping etc in The UK it was the norm not unusual to them.... pets make ppl happy and they make miserable more miserable unfortunately if ppl don’t like them they never will I try to surround myself by pet friendly ppl

I love animals have several! However pets shouldn’t be taken into places of business if they aren’t trained and registered service dogs. It’s called liability if your animal attacks or bites someone you as the pet owner could be held liable and or sued. It will only need to happen once before retailers see that the risk just isn’t worth it. I love other people’s pets, but lots of folks don’t like animals have allergies etc and why should their rights be obstructed or dampened because I can’t leave my dog at home. They aren’t babies though some owners dress them like they are! Think of others if more people did this the world would sure be very different. I can never guarantee my animal couldn’t become startled by a stranger lunging or trying to pet them they are a wild animal and have unknown tendencies for behaviour.

I’m pretty sure peavey mart is dog friendly.

Thank you for your points. It is not popular to think and certainly say these things anymore, but it doesn't make it not true.  
 
There are also people who are afraid of dogs. They should be able to go shopping without fear.  
 
A place that sells people food should never have a dog enter their doors (except a properly trained true service dog). It is a health hazard.  
 
There is never a true need to take a dog with you into a place of business.  
 
If people brought pets other than dogs into a business, I don't know how well that would go over. People have never pushed that to become accepted as far as I know.  
 
How did this practice even start? It is still a relatively new thing to do. People used to just leave their dogs at home. They are still animals and not human, no matter how you treat them.

Things have changed in the last year, the only true service dogs are police K9, accredited SAR dogs (and there’s very few of those in Manitoba) and seeing aid dogs. Anyone taking their “service dogs” in to these places have basically bought a vest off amazon or a pet store and are claiming it’s legit. It’s only a matter of time before there’s a major bite or attack in a store from these pets!  
Just because you feel you need a pet for emotional needs does not mean it’s trained to do such thing. There is a reason why properly trained service dogs do not look at other dogs while working......it’s cause they are trained not to allow distractions from people, pets, or other things. I’m waiting for the first EBrandon post about a “service dog bit my kid at the grocery store” to appear and it’s only a matter of time! When I see dirty dogs walking into grocery stores with”service dog” vest on I get sickened by it. A service dog is clean and well behaved, not a dirty disgusting looking chihuahua that looks like it has a sinus infection and hasn’t had a bath in months! Leave your pets in the car or at home, they do not belong in anything but pet stores!  
(I have 2 dogs that go with me everywhere and are extremely well trained and NEVER go into stores with me, not even pet stores, cause I don’t trust all the “service dogs”)

we were grocery shopping and there was a small dog being hauled around inside the store. We love dogs but they shouldn't be allowed into grocery stores! I'm assuming that the dog was an emotional support dog? People will want to go shopping with their python draped around their neck next!

I have taken my dogs to Peavey Mart. They have dog treats for them. It is nice on cold day to take dog somewhere warm. If you cannot trust your dog that they will hurt some one you definately should not take your dog out around public.

Do you not heat your house? I would think that would be a excellent place to leave them while you head off to Peavey Mart. Or maybe I'm crazy for thinking that a dog should be left at home. Do people take their dogs to work nowadays or where do they go? Doggy daycare?

I can appreciate your sentiment and understand where it is coming from. However, your definition of service animal does not currently correspond with the nationally followed guidelines.

While I agree a lot of people do not train their dogs properly and there is a risk the dog will unexpectedly react to their surroundings or an inappropriate person who approaches wrong, dogs need to get out of the house just like us humans. A dog that is allowed to experience a variety of environments is a better socialized dog. Dogs left in the house all the time will not know how to handle the outside world. The more experiences the better. I'm glad for this thread because I didn't know all these places where a dog can go.  
 
I like to get my dogs out even just for a car ride. I open windows do they can both stick their noses out to savor the scents and the wind in their faces.  
 
As far as service dogs go, I suspect there are a lot of people taking advantage of this term. Like previous posters said already a service dog has specific requirements/training and when with their owners they are working. They are not pets. I saw a young man take a full grown black lab into Sobeys. THere was no signage on the dog stating it was a service dog. People have a strange sense of entitlement as they think they can do what they want without going through the proper channels for safety.

I guess that I will be the one who puts out the challenge.  
 
What are the national guidelines for a service animal? Do you have a link so that we can read it and all know what they are?

Different groups are working on getting it standardized across Canada. Maybe someone can find some updated but this says June 2016: http://www.nsd.on.ca/about/legislation/ for Manitoba: https://www.canlii.org/en/mb/laws/stat/ccsm-c-s90/latest/ Here’s a definition with a link to the source as well: A service animal is defined in The Code to be “an animal that has been trained to provide assistance to a person with a disability that relates to that person's disability.”- http://manitobahumanrights.ca/v1/education-resources/resources/service-animals-guidelines.html not sure where the previous posters definition came from but I’ve put links to 2 different sources stating the same definition. I don’t think people realize that there’s differences between the provinces as well as there is a difference between the United States and Canada’s definitions as well. Here’s a link to a global news article. It’s a little old however I thought the video was pretty interesting.

Sorry it didn’t paste properly to my last post https://globalnews.ca/news/1568298/manitoba-expert-warns-service-dogs-are-not-pets-they-are-working-animals/

I think the ID card is a good idea even if it’s just a standardized tag for the animal or something that can connect to the dog vest. It should only be presented to the handler when the dog’s training for the disability has been completed. The people requiring a service dog should not have to provide proof just as someone with a wheelchair should not have to provide proof. However there are a lot of people that have abused this. There also needs to be a standardized training criteria formed.

https://www.servicedogscanada.org/

Why would a dog have to go to Dollarama??

Thanks Amber69 & JustASoul!  
 
Edited by Flutterby, 2019-02-27 16:15:24

I noticed while reading the Manitoba Human Rights website that "animal" CAN also refer to other animals (although at this point, rare), NOT just dogs. This might be helpful to those with disabilities who either have a fear of dogs or an allergy. It sounds fair as not everyone is a lover of dogs (I have reasons...an allergy AND I had two traumatic experiences with dogs when I was little). People should have that choice of service animal. Just the same, I can see that going over well in public with certain species meeting. They are still animals.  
 
I think that it would be wise to standardize...require standardized training (and signage ID) for a service dog in order to cut down on the people who are lying & abusing this right (I believe that is increasing), and figure out how to also respect those who may have PTSD due to a dog attack or those with allergies. This could be hard, maybe even impossible, but it really needs to be looked at and they need to be considered as real issues. Those with allergies or dog-related PTSD should hold some rights as well.  
 
If a person truly needs their service animal for a specific reason...and it is properly trained to assist in that situation and properly cared for, I have absolutely no issue with that. It is all the other nonsense surrounding it and lack of straight forward legislation that I have issues with.

In order for me to get a “certified” dog is answer a few questions and pay $200.00 and my dog is a trained “service” dog!?! I spend between 1-2hours a day 7 days a week working with my dog on different training and all I needed to do was go onto a website link referenced here and I get to take my dog everywhere.....what a dealing!  
So now that we see there is definition in the law (which I guess I was wrong), who in Manitoba is authorized to legitimately validate a “service” dog? It’s all fine and good to have our wonderful lawmakers approve laws they know nothing about and leave it open to all the bleeding hearts out there, but there needs to be backing or we are going to have people or animals being attacked by “service” dogs. Lawmakers make laws to get votes, which does not mean they are good and safe laws.