Shopping with your Yorkie

[BES]

Hello, I live in Orangeville, Ontario. I have asked some people in my area about shopping with my Yorkie (in a carrier) and apparently lots of people do this at Zellers, WalMart, Drug stores and most non-stores/restaurants. I wonder if this is because nobody noticed and didn't complain to management OR if it is okay. I would be interested in hearing from forum members about shopping with your in these kind of stores AND in particular, grocery stores. I'd be glad of any information, tips, etc. BES

[Rosie's Momma]

BES .......... its against the law to take any dog, other than a Service Dog, into any establishment either selling or serving food anywhere in Canada.

Other retail outlets and malls usually have their own rules - actually you'll probably find most indoor malls have signs posted on all their doors indicating NO DOGS other than Service Dogs.

I took my little 4# poodle into a small mall in Alberta and was promptly told to leave as dogs were not allowed other than Service Dogs. I had taken my unwell husband in for a haircut and tried to explain to the Security Guard that it was 30 degrees above outside and I couldn't, in good conscience, leave my dog in the car in that heat and I also explained that my husband was unwell and that we'd just come in for a haircut and would be leaving right after his hair cut. That didn't matter I had to leave and had to leave my husband there, take the dog out to the car and then come back in to pick up my husband.

[Miao]

My husband used to carry our shih-tzu under his arm whenever he does his banking. They generally don't mind as long as you don't put them on the ground and leashing them is probably a good idea no matter how small. I've seen others carry their bichons, poodles, daschund, shih-tzus and chihuahuas into line-ups in banks with them. Before the "trend" of little dogs started, when we only had our shih-tzu (10-12lb), it never occurred to us to take her into the mall while we were shopping. At the same time, we've seen the human daddies carrying their dog small to medium sized in those doggy back/frontpacks similar to what you carry your infant baby in into the malls which we've only NOW found to be not so pet friendly. I've also seen them being carried in their arms too. I suppose some got away with it while others got chased out. The past spring/summer, I actually for the first time saw dogs being pushed around in a stroller (concealed for the most part unless you looked closely) inside and outside of malls. I saw it only 2 or 3 times before I got my girl. I find the pet friendliest place in the Greater Vancouver Region would be downtown Vancouver. The downtown mall is pretty pet friendly. Holt Renfrew is even more so. Just stay away from the food courts, etc.

Now, as much as I take my yorkie just about everywhere I go, I would draw the line in taking my cat. She sheds. LOTS. After I got my girl, before she got all of her shots, I passed on a family dinner. What they came back telling me that night was that in that little crowded restaurant that was doors away from a vet clinic, there was a cat inside a hard carrier on the ground next to its owner who was there enjoying their dinner. I'm guessing they just picked up their cat from a vet visit and conveniently timed it to a family dinner at the nearest restaurant... An animal is an animal, so I'd be a hypocrite to tell anyone to be considerate of others and of the "system" so even if I did witness such things, I would not pass judgement nor report nor reproach anyone for their right or wrong doings.

[Miao]

Places like Staples, Toys R Us, Office Depot, some Home Depot's, Best Buys, Future Shop, and the like don't seem to mind you bringing your pet in while they're off the ground.

[Rosie's Momma]

Originally Posted by Miao

Places like Staples, Toys R Us, Office Depot, some Home Depot's, Best Buys, Future Shop, and the like don't seem to mind you bringing your pet in while they're off the ground.

Home Depot's doors bear signage indicating NO dogs allowed other than Service Dogs .......... Whats the big deal about taking your dog shopping with you any how?? Do you actually think they enjoy shopping??

IMO, people who insist on taking small dogs into stores, banks, etc etc are just attention seeking.

Come on ....... give me a break ........ if you want to take them on a special outing .... take them to a dog park and let them play with other fur butts ....... they'd enjoy that much more than being stuffed into a carry case.

[Miao]

I used to think people take their dogs into places for the attention. That was until I got my yorkie. I tried to not judge others and I'm glad I generally don't.

With my yorkie, it's made dealing with separation anxiety a non-issue. She's so well behaved that I cannot deny keeping her with me all of the time. I don't believe leaving her in the car is an option. I tried leaving her at home twice. Once for half an hour and the second time for two hours. Thought I'd "kennel train" like a lot of people here seem to. Well that didn't work out for the both of us. She was miserable and she pottied inside her cage the second and last time. I didn't have the heart to put her through what to me felt unnecessary and selfish because keeping her in a kennel is not necessary in MY life style. We all live out our days differently. What works well for some, doesn't for others. What's necessary for some isn't for others. We all choose to raise our children the way we do and sometimes we end up with similar results, and other times, we end up with something unexpected good or bad.

She's such a sweet, quiet girl who was really good about potty training from the start and went from 75% to 100% potty trained in a very short period. Because I'm always with her, she never got the chance to develop bad habits like chewing on walls, furniture, wires or even shredding paper or what have you. This also made me realize what we COULD have done years ago when we had attempted to raise a little puppy a friend's friend had passed along. But the trial period didn't last. We were young and stupid and spoiled by our late shih-tzu as she had no trouble being left at home after we had decided that leaving her in the car was a horrible thing to do too as we've done it for the first couple of years of being such irresponsible owners.

My husband wasn't using our dog as a "chick magnet" or what have you as we got her together so he already had me. He just needed to give her a walk and needed to get banking done, and if bank security at the door doesn't mind, the tellers don't mind, I don't see there being a problem. And definitely, even driving up to a bank, I would feel better knowing that our girl wasn't left in the car in whatever weather in whichever part of town. As a matter of fact, we've actually never received compliments on how adorable our shih-tzu was though we did get a really rude comment the first summer we had her and she was shaved down to the skin by a pet store owner who said she also did grooming! She was left showing pink skin and patches of black pigment. A very rude maybe in his 50's man came up to my window at the parking lot at the flea market just to ask, "What is that?" while I was mistaken in his meaning, I smiled and answered, "She's a shih-tzu." And he responds with, "Are you SURE she's a dog??" And he was the only one amused.

I've seen joggers running with their dogs and I find it very natural and not attention-seeking at all for them to pick them up and take them into a "stop" they make before resuming their daily exercise outside. Of course, the larger ones get tied or simply left sitting outside unattended.

I can't speak for everyone, but personally, I don't see why we would even want attention brought upon ourselves especially if the intent was to "sneak" them into somewhere completely contained inside a carrier and/or stroller.

Yes, we are trying to work on our girl's tendency to become a nervous wreck whenever she thinks she's alone. But I am that kind of a selfish person to take advantage of the fact that she's such a good traveller because I absolutely love seeing how happy she is when she's out with us. How calm she is when she's sleeping in her carrier and when she's riding in the car with us. How excited she gets when she sees another 4-legged friend each day. She actually enjoys seeing stranger dogs more than she did her puppy classmates each week. It makes me look at the city differently. Vancouver got really boring to me until I got to see it through the eyes and tail of my little furry treasure.

Yes, there are rules and regulations, city by-laws and such that govern our society to make it work for the majority to co-exist in harmony. I have no excuse for how I choose to selfishly live for and with my attention-seeking 4-legged wingless angel.

On another note, it's generally the Home Depot's with the Harvey's burger section that mind having pets inside. Some places that are older or just new and overlooked, do not have the "no dog" pictogram on the doors but while the Vancouver Cambie Street location is new, and I believe does have it printed on there (can't recall exactly) but they encourage you to WALK your dog in there (at least a couple of the staff do) while I only feel comfortable CARRYING her in my arms while going through to pick up something.

Also, to the OP, if you do a search on YT, carrying your little one into various places have been addressed on a couple of threads previously. You might find it a more informative read. Fewer people tend to read the regional, or rather, the Canadian regional threads so you won't be getting as many responses here.

I think my post was SO LONG that I've worn out what I have to say on this topic. If the OP didn't find any of it helpful at all, I apologize for making you read through a novel almost as thick as "War and Peace" but far from being as rewarding.

[Reinell]

I take my dog in a carrier into the mall and into small boutiques who do not sell food. Wal-Mart is a no, but I have taken him into Home Depot. He is quiet, zipped up in his carrier so he shouldn't cause a disturbance.

I can understand why people think that the dog should be left at home versus stuck in a small purse carrier like the one I have. However, in our case our dog would much rather be with us anywhere than be alone. Dogs are social animals and don't like being left alone - if a person had more than one I think leaving them both at home would be a good solution. Leaving dogs in cars alone is not good for at least two reasons. 1 - they could get injured on the car parts or chew up wires etc. under the seat or be affected by the temperature (heat or cold), 2 - they could be stolen.

I say take your dog into stores in a carrier to avoid attention. I took my dog into Shoppers Drugmart just near the entrance waiting for my husband to quickly get something and leave and was asked to leave the store. We were very cold waiting outside and now I avoid Shoppers Drug Mart. People with lice and other gross conditions can enter the store but clean dogs cannot ... makes me think they should refuse some human clientele as well.

[Yorkiekids]

If I have to take mine to a non grocery store I will take him in his stroller, and nobody knows if it's a dog, or a baby, because he always falls asleep in it.

[RhapsodicSyn]

I've brought my little girl with me into a few places. Vaughn Mills mall just this last summer, the only problem I had was they asked me to leave the food court (understandably). I've brought her into Walmart around here in Alberta and they were all to busy coo-ing at her and asking to hold her to kick us out general rule. If they carry or serve food, puppy is a no.

[Godislove]

I live in the US as I see many of you live in Canada.

I've taken my Yorkie, now 4 months old, with me everywhere except pet stores because he hasn't had all his shots. He stays in his carrier. It is NOT for attention. It is because he wants to be with me. As soon as he sees me putting on my jacket or hears the keys, he goes right into his carrier to go with me. I have even taken him into the grocery store I've gone to for 14 years. I put the purse style looking carrier in the baby seat part. They know it's my dog but because I keep him in the carrier, they have never said anything to me.

At certain stores like Macy's, or Target, people want to see him. One sales woman at Macy's wanted to hold him and I let her. I want him to socialize with humans. Only one place, a Dr.s office, was I told he had to stay in his carrier because a nurse wanted to hold him and I let her. Then I was told and I put him back in. In the doctor's office, he wanted to see him and let's me hold him in my lap.

Being a your place of choice Photographer, I take him with me in his little kennel carrier and no one minds because he is quiet and either chews on a bone or sleeps. I do let them know in advance I will be bringing him and ask if they would mind. If I ever had one that did, I would probably leave him with a friend instead of at home alone. I am sometimes on a shoot for 2-4 hours and I feel that is too long to leave him alone.

On two occasions I went out to eat with friends. I put him in his crate with something with my smell on it and had soft music playing. Of course when I returned, he was very excited and I play with him for as long as he wants to till it's bedtime.

I guess it's because I keep him in his carrier and he is well behaved. Not a single noise cause he's with his mom.

Perhaps keeping him in a purse style carrier and not drawing attention to him or letting people who find out hold him where he shouldn't realistically be, makes a difference. Or I'm just lucky.

If someone ever said I couldn't bring him in, I would leave myself and not go in. If they don't want him in there, they don't get my money.

[Sushipoo]

I've taken Sushi shopping before (even to Safeway!), but once, I went into Wal-Mart with him and my mother, and we were... harassed, basically, by not only the security, but after I made a deal out of it (why shouldn't he be allowed in? He's very well behaved, quiet, and he was in my carrier-type thing, so he wouldn't be running around, pooing, disturbing other people, or barking at all!) other people started joining in - lots of the cashiers and a customer service person came over and one even brought my intelligence into it! Now, I know I'm very smart (much moreso than others my age) and this one... imbecile had the nerve to call me a retard! Well, after that, let's just say they won't get another penny out of me!

[CaraT]

I have only had our rehomed (5 years old and 9 lbs) Yorkie, Zoee, for a few months, but my goal is to take her everywhere I can. So far she has been to Bank of America, the Arlington County library, and the CVS drug store. None of these places have any signs regarding dogs on the doors and no one said a word to me about the dog. I spent about 15 minutes in BofA with her on a leash (no carrier) and they were as gracious as they could be. The folks in line even enjoyed seeing her. My goal is try to take her every place I go. If an emloyee tells my my dog is not welcome, I'll spend my money somewhere else. Also, If I have to put up with ill behaved children everywhere I go, why would my quiet little dog bother anyone. In DC a dog in a carrier is allowed on the subway, but I haven't tried it out yet. I'll be sure to print that page from their web site before I pay the fare in case some emloyees are not familiar with the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority policy:
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