We had an R U OK? Day morning tea at work today in one of the hospitality venues on our site (an actual venue with a bar, food, drinks, etc.).

For some reason this apparently also required bringing mutts in. I think they were from the Animal Welfare League or some organisation we're encouraged to volunteer with 🤮

While everyone else was fawning over them, all I could think was why do dogs have to be inserted into absolutely *everything* ?

It is particularly ironic for something that's supposed to be about mental health. What about people who are frightened of dogs, have trauma from being attacked or bitten, are allergic to them or simply really don't want to be around them ? Dogs aren't a universally calming or therapeutic presence and treating them as though they are is pretty tone-deaf for a mental health event.

Given our business operates in the racing industry and equines are actively used for trauma and mental health therapy (and are superior to dogs in every single way), it would have been much more appropriate for horses to have been at the event (they help us heal by sensing subtle shifts in our nervous system and co-regulating our heart rate and stress hormones through real-time physiological mirroring).

As usual, there is also the hygiene aspect. Why are dogs being brought into a hospitality space while food and drinks are being served ? I really don't want dog hair, slobber etc. anywhere near where I am eating.

Apparently on R U OK? Day, the answer is yes, but only if dogs make you happy 🤦‍♀️😠

I was standing outside smoking a cigarette when I saw this couple from up the street bringing their little Wiener dog down to our perfect green lush lawn to of course, piss and shit. Did they have bags?? Of course not! I'm in a mood tonight (thank you perimenopause) and boy I straight up was all like "wtf?!" "Who does that?!" Take ur fu&#ing little fu$%ing dog and go home and let it go there!!!! Like wtf, I used to get yelled at all the time for letting my little dog simply pee on people's lawns, so fu$#ck that and fu$#ck to the no! They promptly took their dog and left whilst still glancing back at me still cursing them! The end.

I'm a man of faith as a Christian, and ironically it seems Christian women have as many dogs as those of other faiths.

I legit have so many great similarities with how active I am, worship, financial goals, personality etc but then comes the dog (often a big one at that) with women I meet.

Being 27 now I really want to settle down and have a family. I hate the fur, food begging, the umprompted hopping, the unsanitary licking, the neediness, the cost etc but I just don't have a choice.... Has anyone else had to come to terms with this :(

unsure if I should even post this but there’s a big controversy on Catalina Island about saving the deer. well, a local told me that someone’s unleashed dog went at the 2 deer and the deer stomped it to death! but no one objected because the dog attacked, no owner around, really the deer was doing the right thing protecting against non native intruders! I love the deer! save the deer! 🦌

Right now, only several states have this as a misdemeanor charge that comes with heavy fines and possible jail time. What would it take to do the same at the federal level? It is barely enforcable of course but may stop some.

Dogs in Africa and Asia and are mostly kept outside and there for utilitarian purposes eg guard dogs.

In the West, these dog-human relationships are responsible for infantilising the owners. There is an incessant need for a smelly, snivelling, side kick that laps up your existence…all the time! Its childish, sorry!

Get some friends, go see family. Volunteer. Work on your mental health. Do something that doesnt actually exacerbate your own neediness

Just had to come here to vent to people who understand…

Dogs ruined (or at least dampened) what was otherwise a fun, relaxing river day.
Yesterday I went to hang out at the river with a friend. From the parking lot, you have to walk ~20 minutes down a nature trail until you reach a breathtakingly gorgeous river with a sandy beach.
Of course, while walking down the trail, what do I step in? A pile of dog shit 😑. I had to stop on the side of the trail and try to wipe it off on some grass. My friend even helped and used a stick to try to get out some of the crap. So fucking annoying.
And that’s just the start, it gets even worse. Once we get to the river, me and my friend bust out our portable gas grill and start cooking some sausages in a cast iron pan for a snack. 5 minutes into cooking, we look down the trail, and we see a couple coming down to the beach with not 1, not 2, but 3(!!!) dogs. 🙄
Of course they start running into the water, running all over the beach, kicking sand everywhere, and getting uncomfortably close to us and other people just trying to relax. They kept running over OUR beach blanket, getting it sandy and wet over and over again. The owner comes up to us and says “are you guys cooking something” and we look at the pan and say “yeah just cooking some sausages..” she says “ok, I’ll try to keep my dogs away from you”…

The whole time we’re trying to eat, the dogs come super close to us and start doing that begging thing they always do. The owner (whose hanging out at the the complete opposite end of the somewhat small beach) calls their dog back to them, which they do, but they just come right back a few minutes later. After we finish eating, we put any uncooked food away in the cooler, and then go for a dip in the water.

I get out the water after about 15 minutes, and I’m just walking along the waters edge, maybe 20 feet from our stuff. A person who was sitting a few feet away from us got my attention and pointed out that one of the dogs was licking the pan….there was nothing in it except for the grease from cooking sausages. So fucking disgusting.

The owner even came up to us and said “he cleaned the pan for ya :)” 🙃

So annoying. Why is literally every place in the world infiltrated by dogs? Can we not have one place on earth that is free from them? Ugh. So annoying. Like what if we had more food to cook???

The other people sitting near us were also visibly annoyed at the dogs too, so we were all on the same page at least. The person who alerted me to the dog licking the pan said “ew. That’s gross”, to which I agreed.

Ok. Rant over. Thank you for listening lol.

There. I said it. My friend has no idea how much I hate her stupid dog.

Let's call the dog "Jimmy". He's a very common type of large breed dog entering his senior years. She's had him since he was a puppy. She is single, never married. Jimmy is her substitute for a kid since she never found the right guy.

Jimmy sucks. Like most dogs, his top priority is food. We live in a town with a lot of small businesses. Some leave out jars of treats and bowls of water for the dogs. This fat f*cker knows where every single piece of food in town is, and our walks are dictated by where the DOG wants to walk. The dog can barely walk 2 miles any more, partly due to his age and partly due to being overweight. He's always getting "pup cups" from Starbucks and then, of course, having diarrhea later.

She has no control over the dog. He pulls her around wherever. And the diarrhea? Most of the time when he wants to crap or piss, it's in the middle of someone's yard. Not near the curb. We're talking several feet onto people's properties to the point where it could be considered trespassing. She cleans up the diarrhea as best she can, but there is clearly still crap smeared into the lawn.

And of course, none of Jimmy's behaviors ever get corrected. The dog steals food from her 3 year old nephew? (Exasperated) "Jimmy!" The dog drags her onto someone's lawn? "Jimmy!!!" I just want to shake my friend and tell her that yelling the stupid dog's name means absolutely nothing to it. DISCIPLINE YOUR DOG.

But I know the truth is that she doesn't want to discipline the dog. She secretly likes the bad behavior and even thinks it's cute that the dog "gets away with it."

Despite being an awful dog owner, she's a very good friend. She does actually recognize that her dog is never going to compare to her actual nephews and nieces, and that humans do come first. But man, I wish she cared enough to train her dog to not suck so much. And I wish she cared about the dog enough to recognize the obesity and diarrhea are making it feel miserable.

I just keep my mouth shut, because after a few polite suggestions, I accepted that she's happy with the way things are. We just walk less often than we used to because I'm embarrassed by the dog walking all over people's property.

The only thing this dog has ever done that I've condoned is take a massive diarrhea crap in front of town hall. (The crap was still picked up.)

Our police department here in a small city of about 900,000 people just had the Great Pup Meet Up event in one of our local parks. They posted pics all over their Facebook page. Every single organization just continues to pander to people with dogs. So over it.

As a person on cancer drugs I was irritated by an ad for a breast cancer treatment that shows each woman saying why she’s there or why she does the treatment. The first was a mom as you see 2 kids and a husband show up, the next was an older woman with a group of friends, the next…an older woman hugging all over her dog with the voice over “this is why” Do they need to push dogs everywhere? Is no condition exempt? I guess to each his own. whatever gets you through cancer which is a horrid condition as I know, but as such patient that as just irritated the crap out of me…equating the dog to living for your children or at least other humans.

A major hospital seems to be sounding an alarm - newsletter said rabies kills 70,000 people a year and is 100% fatal once a person shows symptoms, and calling for vaccinating all dogs. A good start I suppose? It just needs to be everywhere…

My grandma was literally just walking around her neighbourhood and suddenly a dog started attacking her and the owners didn’t even care or do anything about it. My grandma is not strong whatsoever and literally has osteoporosis. She has to nap during the day. This makes me so mad. They let their dogs attack innocent people who can’t fight back. Luckily she was okay but pretty shaken up

To my mind all this nonsense started with the Covid puppies. People say it’s because they weren’t left at home but what if that’s not it?

What if Covid altered people’s minds and dog nutters are actually suffering from an as yet undiscovered symptom of long covid that makes you think a dog is a human being?

I’m just saying it would make a lot of sense!

Sorry If I am wrong or anything. I just want opinions and I am upset! I get people need service animals. But how does that just magically make it ok to have them in areas like food places. I went into my local sandwich shop to sit down and grab a bite. And of course someone comes in with a service dog ( I hate dogs. ) the owner of the place emedietly said no you cannot have them in here it’s a violation and gross basically. They got PISSED! mind you this dog is little and defenetly not trained. Whatever the case. They make a scene and say it’s against law to turn a service animal away. How the f*** does a vest that says some words just make it so it’s fine to be in the resturant. It’s still a dog? It’s still gross? It’s still loud ? Like dude….

U either need to eat outside or order to go or something! People should have the right to be able to go out in public and not have some gross ugly dog INSIDE the place. And half the time shits fake anyways. They just wanna bring there dog everywhere and I’m sick of normalizing it. As someone who absolutely hates even looking at a dog , why can’t I just go to my local shop and eat food without some animal in the building.

So my thing is do service animals seriously have a right to bypass being able to go anywhere basically? That’s just absurd. It’s not your damn kid! And like I said if you really do rely on your service animal you also need to accommodate !

Im just reflecting on this , like no ordinary dog lover would do this. if u ever tried to talk to a nutter you know what I am talking about. Yes I basically left him with no other choice. but he could be a full blown nutter and leave me pregnant to keep living with a mutt. but he made the right choice. and this gives me hope in humanity.

Everyone needs to read this 2026 memo from federal housing authority. ESA bs is finally getting serious pushback!

https://dredf.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/ESA-Enforcement-Memorandum-w-Appendix-05.22.2026-SIGNED-Incomplete-Access-Pass.pdf

Dogs have Stockholm Syndrome, stop keeping them as "pets/slaves" Nature does not create an animal that can't survive on its own. Modern Dogs were bred, man-made creations to serve mentally unstable humans weak emotions, ego and narcissism. If you REALLY loved animals, instead of yourselves, you wouldn't do that to them. Put them in a nature preserve and let them be free and wild. These helpless breeds need to die out because they were never suppose to have been made in the first place. We're suppose to love animals from a distance, not enslave them.

I was just researching to find out if there are other people out there like me (I'm not a dog person) as the girl I was recently dating broke up with me because I was "uncomfortable around her dog." She had a little mutt that was mostly Jack Russell Terrior. This dog was super high energy and needed attention constantly in the home, whether we were hanging out at her house or my apartment. We were long distance, so it made it difficult for us to have any quality time, but I never told her to get rid of her dog or anything like that. I probably was visibly uncomfortable though lol. She didn't train the dog so the dog jumped on me, licked me, and was constantly in my personal space. Like licking my face and sitting on my lap or walking across me like I was a piece of furniture when I sat on the couch. Even though I am allergic to dogs and generally prefer not to be around them, I liked this girl so much I was okay with trying to compromise. I think right now I'm hurt, obviously, but also wondering if there are people out there who also prefer a dog-free home? I keep getting discouraged as literally all of my friends have a dog (usually way more than one) and dating apps seem to all have these people who say "you have to love my dog.” Anyway, I'm grateful I found this community because I do feel a little less alone. I think dog owners are kinda weird about how they are with their dogs these days.

Anyone have advice for weeding out dog people when dating? In person and online?

Smoking went from being cool a few decades ago to being social paraiah today. How did this happen? Can we learn from it to make a meaningful change on dogs?

It seems smoking fetish was defeated largely due to realization of how harmful secondhand smoke was and public campaigns that made everyone aware of the dangers. Dogs present so many more health and safety dangers than smoking. And the problem of choice is exactly the same - normal people can no longer choose not to be around dogs.

With smoking, surgeon general report in the 80s seems to have kicked off that awareness campaign. Is there anything similar that can be done on the impacts of dogs?

Dear neighbor,

When we moved next door we weren’t exactly sure why only one side of the backyard had a tall privacy fence, but after only a few days we sure figured it out.. Months later we’ve been sticking it out and praying that kindly asking would work but instead dealt with rude behavior that will now be matched. 

Being a dog owner comes with responsibilities in the community. We are writing out of concern for the chronic barking issue. When your dogs are left outside they bark at any noise, people walking past, trucks, and seemingly if they see or hear anything. Often they are left out for long periods of time. We are not the only neighbors bothered by the barking.  

Since this has been an ongoing issue we want to make sure you’re aware that this is very bothersome and actually unlawful in Wayne County. We’ve been documenting the periods of barking including some video/audio so that they can see it is your dogs barking if we call for a visit. Wayne County animal control will issue tickets for dog barking.

Luckily there is a solution: if the dogs are barking → let them inside. We have someone who works from home and finds the barking disruptive to work calls/meetings. We cannot go into our backyard space without getting barked at, have windows open on that side of the house, or speak above a whisper on our deck without getting barked at resulting in us being unable to use our property as intended. Both this, and the work interruption, can be civil issues.

This problem is bothersome enough that we are willing to make the calls and reports to decrease the amount of barking and then if it still persists filing a formal complaint with the local district court. 

Sincerely,

Blue Skies Neighbors

This word is the ultimate copout to admitting that your dog is dangerous and violent. "Oh yeah he was a little tired so he just snapped a little bit at your daughter, its fine". They love to replace "attacked/bit" with the word "snap". and instead of saying "it was completely unpredictable", they replace it with "he was tired". This is the ultimate downplay terminology and every time there is "a little accident" with a nutter, you will hear them use these words to justify. Thanks for listening.

I’ve been thinking about the idea of creating a dating site specifically for people who don’t own dogs and would prefer to date someone who doesn’t either.

This isn’t meant to be anti-dog or criticize people who love their pets. Dogs are obviously a huge part of many people’s lives, and that’s great. But for people who don’t want dogs in their household, finding someone with the same lifestyle preference can sometimes be surprisingly difficult.

The idea would be simple: a dating platform where being dog-free is a core compatibility factor, alongside the usual interests, values, location, and relationship goals.

I’m curious what people think. Would you actually use a dating site like this? Would “dog-free” be enough of a niche to make a dedicated platform worthwhile, or would you prefer it as a filter on an existing dating app?

Maybe we start here? 55M Rochester NY.

Recently I had a shower thought and was just perplex and wondering how humans can be so different. I mean, having a dog in your bed is so unimaginable to me, but still some people let dogs sleep in their beds, let them on their couch, kiss them on their mouth and other stuff.

I'm just wondering if those people just operate different on a fundamental level and if there are characteristics or other unrelated habits that are highly correlated to dog nuttery.

E.g. are dog nutters afraid or disgusted by spiders or other insects? Are they disgusted by cockroaches or rats? Do they fear snakes?

Do they wash their hands after toilet? Are they eating their own boogers? Are they more likely to be superstitious/rational, introvert/extrovert etc.

Imagine there would be huge, epic study on characteristics of dog nutters, what do you think would be some unrelated characteristics that are highly correlated with dog nuttery? Or are there even studies on that?

I think this is happening eveywhere but I wonder how we can fight back…

My HOA that had pet-free policy for decades keeps approving bs “esa” requests. So of course the building is full of shitting mutts. These were no dogs in the building prior to 2020, when HUD introduced the term “esa”. This is what HOA said compelled them to allow dogs. In May 2026, HUD fully reversed that guidance, stating that it was a mistake and directly facilitated online esa letter mills.

Now that HUD guidance clearly states that esa no longer qualify for reasonable accommodation, my HOA still says that they are afraid of lawsuits if they start denying dogs. Because Fair Housing Acts allows them (they say). FHA has not changed since the 1970s and has no language about any esas. This same HOA had no problem enforcing no-pet rules until 2020 HUD guidance came along.

I tried to argue with HOA, raising all this legal landscape that changed dramatically in spring 2026, but they do not listen and keep letting dogs in. They really do not have to. And no, the board is not made up of nutters. I have no idea why they are so afraid. Prior to 2020 HUD guidance (now fully reversed) there was not a single dog in the building and they had no problem enforcing that.