Café Canines: Dining with your dog

Photo by Los Muertos Crew

​    Dining at restaurants with dogs is not a right, but a privilege and one ill-mannered dog (or person) can spoil that privilege. It is ultimately a courtesy of the restaurant to allow dogs. Because state health regulations must be followed, owners have the final say as to whether or not dogs are allowed in their establishment's outside dining areas.
   Pets are mainly banned from restaurants due to health and safety concerns. Therefore, only the best-behaved, should be ambassadors for the cause. Dogs must be masters of basic obedience behaviors or they won’t be welcomed by restaurateurs and patrons. At very least, dogs must know sit, down, and stay. But to set a good example and remain in favor with the establishment, we’ll have Fido rocking his behavior in public.
 
Beyond Fido’s Manners: Minding our End of the Leash

• The dog should be clean and well groomed
• The dog should wear current vaccination tags
• Give the dog a potty break beforehand (a courteous distance from the dining area)
• Exercise the dog beforehand
• Always keep the dog on leash (not a retractable)
• Tether the dog to a fixed object like a railing. If a fixed object is not available, tether him to your chair, not the table.
• Choose a table on the perimeter, preferably with a quick exit plan
• Choose a table away from other dogs
• Keep the dog out of the wait staff’s path
• Do not take the dog inside the restaurant, even to get to the patio
• Bring your own water bowl
• Do not allow the dog to drink or eat from restaurant dishes (health code prohibits pets from using glasses and dishes)
• Do not feed the dog from the table
• Do not allow the dog on the table or chairs
• Be prepared to pay the check and leave if the dog creates a disturbance or becomes stressed

       • Leave a nice tip for your server
 
Fido’s Manners

• No barking
• No whining
• No jumping
• No socializing unless invited
• No resource guarding (food, mats, or people)

Beyond the Basics for Dining with Fido
    As with teaching any behavior, we won’t be doing on-the-job training. We’ll do it at home with little or no distraction, and then gradually working up to the real-life situation. We must first build a firm foundation and then help the dog to generalize the desired behaviors. The first visit to a restaurant will be short, having only a cup of coffee. We’ll practice and generalize beforehand by going to other places where dogs are typically allowed, such as pet supply and home improvement stores.

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