Is This Reasonable?

[RiverStar-Aura]

I take my guys into Pet Barn too and they love it. I tell them "we're going shopping" and Zeus gets very excited.

They're happy just sniffing around the food and watching the resident corellas squawk in their cage. Zeus will occasionally try and get to a stray piece of food lost under the fixtures though!!

If I'm buying them a toy I'll let them pick it out because they seem to enjoy this. All I do is tell them "pick one" and the walk along the bottom shelf sniffing at the toys. The first one they pick up is the one I buy -- luckily Pet Barn hasn't caught on and started placing their most expensive toys on the bottom shelves!! :laugh:

Edited March 19, 2012 by RiverStar-Aura

[Snout Girl]

Last time I was in a pet supply store with bruce I was mortified.

he did a pee on the ground- we offered to clean it up but the owner wouldnt hear of it and cheerfully bought the mop out. she was lovely.

he then managed to snaffle a treat that was within his reach. he must of been like grease lightening cause I was watching him like a hawk!

we paid for the treat of course.

[~Shepherd~]

My hair adhered itself to a bag of Royal Canin I had in my arms a few months back. Upon further inspection it was stuck on sticky piss. I grabbed another bag and went to the counter. Another day in the world of animals. I must say that I felt less dirty squeezing my own dogs butt glands than receiving a hair treatment from a pet store, but again, who cares?

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

I know these are PC wrong but I like them anyway

http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/2009/09/13/unattended-children-will-be-shot/

Unattended children will be fed to the guard dog...

[Weasels]

That is something that really annoys me and oftens makes me dislike leashed pets welcome in our store. I have no issues if a dog pees somewhere, it's why we have cleaning equipment. But when you clearly see a dog peeing somewhere and the owner turns to see the dog doing it and they walk off else where without even letting a staff member know that's what really gets me angry.

I did this once, albeit inadvertantly Fox peed on the floor and I sent her outside with the OH asking him to put her in the car and bring back something to clean it with. Obviously he didn't hear me and by the time I realised he wasn't coming back a staff member was already mopping it up How embarrasment.

[Kirislin]

$30 is a very expensive toy, what was it?

[Poison]

A rabbit soft toy with a squeaker in its belly. His most expensive toy, that's for sure!

[Dame Aussie]

Edit to add: As far as the saliva issue, how is it any different to a dog drinking out of a "communal" water bowl at a cafe/vet or even a puddle off the ground? I'm sure they lick much worst things...

Possibly because the toy might be bought and taken home to a puppy that's still largely house-bound because it's not fully vaccinated?

Yep, if you took a toy that had an unvaccinated dogs saliva on it you could be putting young pups at risk.

Really, the toy shouldn't have been on the floor in the first place though.

[Reewel]

I would pay for it, only so as to not cause a fuss and have the store ban pets coming in at all. There are not enough places in this country that we can take our pets so I wouldn't want to risk losing one. Its fantastic in Europe where well behaved pets are welcome almost everywhere I so wish it was like that here.

[Blackdogs]

I would pay for it, only so as to not cause a fuss and have the store ban pets coming in at all. There are not enough places in this country that we can take our pets so I wouldn't want to risk losing one. Its fantastic in Europe where well behaved pets are welcome almost everywhere I so wish it was like that here.

Seconded.

[tunagirll]

Wouldn't you guys be concerned picking up stuff in a shop that allowed dogs? Unvaccinated dogs, dogs with fleas, communal water bowls etc?

[Guest donatella]

Wouldn't you guys be concerned picking up stuff in a shop that allowed dogs? Unvaccinated dogs, dogs with fleas, communal water bowls etc?

If you live by that mantra you'd never walk them in public, take them to dog parks, obedience school, vets etc etc.

[Odin-Genie]

I would pay for it, only so as to not cause a fuss and have the store ban pets coming in at all. There are not enough places in this country that we can take our pets so I wouldn't want to risk losing one. Its fantastic in Europe where well behaved pets are welcome almost everywhere I so wish it was like that here.

Seconded.

I would pay for it too. However, when my dogs come with me to pet stores, they are not allowed to touch anything. Not even things on the floor. I keep a very close eye on them at all times, and if I feel I can't do that then I don't take them along.

[Teebs]

Wouldn't you guys be concerned picking up stuff in a shop that allowed dogs? Unvaccinated dogs, dogs with fleas, communal water bowls etc?

If you live by that mantra you'd never walk them in public, take them to dog parks, obedience school, vets etc etc.

totally agree

i find 99% of the dogs that come into work loved and looked after, and while i cant be 100% sure, most of them are vaccinated. the people who dont give a shit about their pets and who cant be bothered spending money on them are not going to bother to bring them into a pet supply store.

[♪♫LMBC♫♪]

Edit to add: As far as the saliva issue, how is it any different to a dog drinking out of a "communal" water bowl at a cafe/vet or even a puddle off the ground? I'm sure they lick much worst things...

Possibly because the toy might be bought and taken home to a puppy that's still largely house-bound because it's not fully vaccinated?

Yep, if you took a toy that had an unvaccinated dogs saliva on it you could be putting young pups at risk.

Really, the toy shouldn't have been on the floor in the first place though.

If you're buying a toy from a shop that allows dogs inside, you are taking that risk anyway. How many toys would have been picked up or licked by dogs without any staff even noticing? If my dog picked up a toy off the floor at a pet shop I would probably just take it off him and put it back on the shelf without even giving it a second thought. It would not occur to me that I should have to pay for it and I'm sure it would actually happen quite often.

And anyway, what if I patted my dog and he licked my hand and then I picked up a dog toy off the shelf and didn't buy it? The dog hasn't touched it but it might have saliva on it. What if you walk an older dog outside of your home and he gets dirt on his feet and then he comes back into your house where your unvaccinated puppy is?

There are risks everywhere, so I wouldn't expect to have to pay for a toy that my dog picked up in a shop where my dog is allowed to be.

[dotdashdot]

I'm another DOLer that works in a pet store that welcomes dogs. A dog that simply picked up a toy in my store wouldn't have an issue - if it was starting to destroy the toy, that's a different issue (and I had a customer happily pay for a toy her dog "picked", started destroying - and wouldn't let go!)

I have many more gripes with customers ignoring their dogs peeing in store, letting their children pull all the toys off the shelves (creating more work when I could be mopping up pee or helping another customer) and tap on the fish tanks.

I think the staff member in question here would have potentially made many more sales by simply laughing off the dog picking up the toy, and making conversation (as I would) rather than doing what they did.

Edited March 20, 2012 by newsensation_cleo

[The Spotted Devil]

The last time I walked into a petbarn I ended up with a massive spider on me and felt totally embarrassed when I yelled get this off me!!! infront of other customers. Maybe I should have sent them a bill for all the valium I needed after

And no, it wasnt a pet spider.

:laugh:

Last time I took my working Springer into Petstock they had a talking parrot at the counter. Em's eyes nearly fell out of her head at the easy access live game, especially after a weekend of retrieving trialling....I nearly felt obliged to pay them for a training session ;)

[Reewel]

Wouldn't you guys be concerned picking up stuff in a shop that allowed dogs? Unvaccinated dogs, dogs with fleas, communal water bowls etc?

generally speaking the type of people who want to take their dogs everywhere are the type who treat their dogs as any other member of the family. They are therefore vaccinated, trained and treated for pests. The one who don't care don't generally want to take their dogs out of the yard. I think the benefits of socialisation outweigh the risk.

---

I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?2xscxk

[Sagittarian]

Try taking a BED from a dog! We have a grooming client who simply loves a particular type of sherpa bed, and managed to pick one up on her way out one day. Staff and owner were laughing so hard that she nearly got away with it, but as it was almost as big as she is (lab size), she struggled to get past a display. We've just learnt to put those beds out of her reach when she comes in every three weeks.

As far as toys... they are like candy to a kid in a supermarket. We have no issue as long as the dog hasn't damaged it, we simply take it away and clean it if required. If it was unintentional, but not saleable, I think we'd just put it down to the hazards of encouraging dogs into the store. We don't claim things like that on insurance though. Insurance is for important things, not a doggie simply doing what comes naturally.

Sags

:)