Had to smile when I read this thread as it echoes so many of our thoughts and experiences.
We love going out for a coffee and enjoy taking Loki (and now Lilac as well) along with us IF the venue is o.k. about it.
One of our favourite cafe's is quite close an open off lead area where we often meet with another Great Dane friend for a Sunday morning walk followed by breakfast.
We always book a special table that is a bit out of the way so our big dogs won't get in anyone's path (or face), not that it's really a problem as the hounds are normally tired from their running around and just lie around the table anyway - although we do tie them up for good measure.
The staff all love them, know all the dogs names (but not ours) and always come past for a special pat and cuddle.
Not long ago, on a typically busy Sunday morning, a pair of ladies, one with a very small child, arrived without a reservation and "had" to sit at a table near us, although they vociferously notified the staff of their displeasure at having to be near the dogs.
We were all about half way through our breakfasts and did our best to ignore them despite the constant glares and pointed comments to one another (obviously for our benefit) about all the things they hate about dogs being near tables, friends who let their dogs in the house, dogs being allowed in public et cetera and generally doing their very best to try and make us feel like some sort of second class vermin...but since we have giant dogs we are pretty much inured to lots of attention anyway.
Half an hour later we finished and left giving the miseries a big smile as we did.
Next week I was asking one of the staff who served these lovely ladies how it all went with them.
He told me that they spent two hours over one coffee each and then afterwards complained in detail about the unpleasantness of the experience.
They couldn't understand that no one made any effort to placate them, although they were probably lucky that the owner/chef wasn't there for the conversation...as he owns three Great Danes of his own and would have offered to bring them around next time as well.
He loves the dogs and has a whole list of people he would sooner ban from his venue before he stopped letting well behaved dogs sit with their people.
Cheers.
