taking baby in restaurants

3225 Views 37 Replies 24 Participants Last post by Rocky's Mom, May 14, 2010

littledog

Discussion Starter · May 11, 2010

We are planning a trip out west from Ohio this August. I plan to take my baby with us. I have a carrier that looks pretty much like a big purse. I was thinking I could take him into the restaurant with us to eat. How have others of you worked this out. I asked Bob Evans once and they said "no". I decided if it wasn't good enough for my dog, it wasn't good enough for me. Any suggestions.

1 - 20 of 38 Posts

jmm

· #2 · May 11, 2010

It is against health regulations to take pet dogs inside an eating establishment. Some restaurants with outdoor seating are dog friendly. But no restaurant should tell you it is okay to being your pet dog inside.
Just be aware if you sneak your dog in and get caught, it is the restaurants legal responsibility to ask you to leave. Don't take offense...they have to follow the rules to stay open.

Hunter's Mom

· #3 · May 11, 2010

I was going to say exactly what Jackie said. If possible, since it will be summer, you should look for places where you can eat outdoors.

Ladysmom

· #4 · May 11, 2010

jmm said:
It is against health regulations to take pet dogs inside an eating establishment. Some restaurants with outdoor seating are dog friendly. But no restaurant should tell you it is okay to being your pet dog inside.
Just be aware if you sneak your dog in and get caught, it is the restaurants legal responsibility to ask you to leave. Don't take offense...they have to follow the rules to stay open.

:thumbsup: I'd make sure there are drive in restaurants on your route and plan your stops accordingly.

SugarBob62

· #5 · May 11, 2010

Yeah no restaurant will allow it. Only service dogs. No food stores would either. I've seen people taking dog in places like Marshalls (discount clothing/housewares etc. store) and other stores like department stores and stuff. I've taken Andy in Lowe's numerous times. (carried or in the cart) Out in the open and no one ever says anything. But if it were a food establishment they would. Unfortunately that is the law.

You can always do it, but if she were to bark or something or someone would see you, there is a good chance you'd be asked to leave, whether you were done eating or not. They could get in trouble with the health department.

maltlovereileen

· #6 · May 11, 2010

I guess I'm a rebel at heart... with our first two malts (since they were only dogs) we travelled everywhere with them (but didn't start doing so til they were out of their 'puppy phase' for obvious reasons

). I had a dog bag with mesh that was very discrete and took them into restaurants, theaters, virtually everywhere we were going. Both of these dogs were well behaved and didn't make noise in the bag. Of course, when able, we prefer to eat in restaurants with outdoor seating that allows dogs...much more fun when you can let your dog's head pop out of the bag

The BEST place to travel with a dog is France - you were welcome to bring them openly into restaurants and they would even bring a dish for your chien's dinner

For less stress than smuggling, I recommend researching pet friendly places ahead of time... google 'dog friendly' and where you are going... example 'dog friendly ohio' : DogFriendly.com - Ohio Travel Guide for Dog Owners ... you would plug in wherever you are planning to travel through

If you know ahead of time where you can stay/eat/dog parks are, etc it makes the trip a lot smoother

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puppymom

· #7 · May 11, 2010

When you sneak a dog into a restaurant you jeapordize the owners liscense. It isn't fair to risk them being fined or worse losing their food permit.

We travel frequently with the pups and find many establishments have outside seating. Cracker Barrel especially has that long front proch with the tables and rockers. We sit on the porch and order take out. At many of them we find that a wait staff person will actually come outside to see if we need anything. If we can't find a resturant that has outdoor seating we get take out and find a rest area with picnic tables.

There is a web site, and I can't remember what the name is, that helps you with "pet friendly" travel plans.

jenniferhope423

· #8 · May 11, 2010

I wouldn't take the chance of bringing my babies inside a restaurant. I'm not a rule breaker. I prefer to call ahead and ask if they allow pups on the patio area. Most restaurants with outside seating don't mind at all.

Ladysmom

· #9 · May 11, 2010

puppymom said:
When you sneak a dog into a restaurant you jeapordize the owners liscense. It isn't fair to risk them being fined or worse losing their food permit.

We travel frequently with the pups and find many establishments have outside seating. Cracker Barrel especially has that long front proch with the tables and rockers. We sit on the porch and order take out. At many of them we find that a wait staff person will actually come outside to see if we need anything. If we can't find a resturant that has outdoor seating we get take out and find a rest area with picnic tables.

There is a web site, and I can't remember what the name is, that helps you with "pet friendly" travel plans.

:thumbsup: I couldn't agree more.

Here are a couple of websites that help you plan a dog friendly vacation:

DogFriendly.com® - Pet Travel Guides and City Guides for Dog/Pet Owners

Pets on the Go: Pet Friendly Travel Unleashed!

Dog & Pet Friendly Hotels & Pet Friendly Travel - TRIPSwithPETS.com

littledog

Discussion Starter · #10 · May 11, 2010

thanks for the info - especially the websites. That will help.

michellerobison

· #11 · May 11, 2010

I wouldn't sneak one in either,it's true the restaurant can be shut down and fined,even if they didn't see the dog but another customer would complain. Personally I'd love to take them in a restaurant,they are cleaner and better behaved than some kids!
I've never had an outdoor cafe say no though,but I always ask first,just in case.

I found nemo

· #12 · May 11, 2010

puppymom said:
When you sneak a dog into a restaurant you jeapordize the owners liscense. It isn't fair to risk them being fined or worse losing their food permit.

We travel frequently with the pups and find many establishments have outside seating. Cracker Barrel especially has that long front proch with the tables and rockers. We sit on the porch and order take out. At many of them we find that a wait staff person will actually come outside to see if we need anything. If we can't find a resturant that has outdoor seating we get take out and find a rest area with picnic tables.

There is a web site, and I can't remember what the name is, that helps you with "pet friendly" travel plans.

:thumbsup:

maltlovereileen

· #13 · May 11, 2010

:blush: I guess I never really thought/worried about it since no one ever knew/would know we had a dog in there... very lucky that ours knew to stay under cover. Probably shouldn't have told anyone :w00t::blush::innocent:

jadey

· #14 · May 11, 2010

jmm said:
It is against health regulations to take pet dogs inside an eating establishment. Some restaurants with outdoor seating are dog friendly. But no restaurant should tell you it is okay to being your pet dog inside.
Just be aware if you sneak your dog in and get caught, it is the restaurants legal responsibility to ask you to leave. Don't take offense...they have to follow the rules to stay open.

yeah exactly that.

I found nemo

· #15 · May 11, 2010

maltlovereileen said:
:blush: I guess I never really thought/worried about it since no one ever knew/would know we had a dog in there... very lucky that ours knew to stay under cover. Probably shouldn't have told anyone :w00t::blush::innocent:

I own a restaurant and I can tell you it really isn't funny. Would I love to let your precious baby in, yes, but by law we can't .By people thinking it's funny or cute or by thinking they won't get caught which eventually they will our fines would be astronomical and that isn't really fair. I love ALL animals but rules are rules and we as owners have to pay for people sneaking their animals in , not them, us. :thumbsup:

pinkpixie1588

· #16 · May 11, 2010

maltlovereileen said:
I guess I'm a rebel at heart... with our first two malts (since they were only dogs) we travelled everywhere with them (but didn't start doing so til they were out of their 'puppy phase' for obvious reasons ). I had a dog bag with mesh that was very discrete and took them into restaurants, theaters, virtually everywhere we were going. Both of these dogs were well behaved and didn't make noise in the bag. Of course, when able, we prefer to eat in restaurants with outdoor seating that allows dogs...much more fun when you can let your dog's head pop out of the bag The BEST place to travel with a dog is France - you were welcome to bring them openly into restaurants and they would even bring a dish for your chien's dinner

I've snuck Leila into a restaurant before, too . She was in a purse type carrier and she was all zipped up underneath the table the whole time. She never makes a peep and she gets to be near me, which is her favorite place to be. If I have the option, I choose a place where I don't have to sneak her, but sometimes it isn't possible. My other option at the time was leaving her in my uncle's apartment alone, where he wasn't allowed dogs, so any barking would've been a big problem.

I know lots of people feel very strongly about this issue, and I'm definitely in the minority, but just wanted to let you know you aren't alone in wanting/trying to bring your malt EVERYWHERE with you.

=supermanskivvies=

· #17 · May 11, 2010

My family and I are currently planning a trip with my dog (to Door County, Wisconsin), so I've been looking into this as well. We're planning on eating mostly at places with dog-friendly patios. My mom found a microbrewery that allows dogs in their outside seating. Dogs AND beer? Two of my favorite things. :thumbsup:

If outside seating is not an option, you could always get carryout. Then you could either have a picnic, or bring it back with you to the hotel.

MalteseJane

· #18 · May 12, 2010

The food is the reason we don't travel with Alex (his health too lately). We like good food and with a dog it is just not possible to find a nice restaurant with outdoor seating. Take out is not the same. My daughter was confronted with this when she was working as General manager at La Madeleine and PEI WEI. She does not have something against it, but the law is the law. She told the people, they can stay on the patio but not inside.

maltlovereileen

· #19 · May 12, 2010

=supermanskivvies= said:
Dogs AND beer? Two of my favorite things. :thumbsup:
.

:HistericalSmiley::HistericalSmiley::HistericalSmiley::thumbsup::amen:

puppymom

· #20 · May 12, 2010

It is so nice to see such a change in tone here, I can remember years ago when discussions about sneaking our pups into places practically turned into "knock down drag out's". I've always figured that breaking the rules when it came to where the pups were or were not allowed only hurts the future prospects of more pet friendly places.

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