Restaurant Etiquette

Restaurant etiquette 101, that's right.  On Thursday I was out to lunch (ha ha) with my daughter down in San Diego.  We were at Corner Bakery, a great place with yummy sandwiches.  Anyhow we were sitting outside in the patio area, it was a glorious day.  As we sat to enjoy our meal I immediately noticed the tiniest of munchkins, a very small yorkie who was sporting an adorable moss green t-shirt and matching harness.  He was very cute but not well behaved in the least.  He was being a dog, his owner was being rude. 

The first error on the owners part was that she had her pocket pooch on an extension leash.  Ahhhhh, and........................she was letting him run to the very end.  In between all the table legs and nearly taking down several waiters as they tried to pass by his table.  He was barking his head off and................she was smiling.  Okay, as you know I am like you a huge dog lover so he wasn't annoying me but I was thinking about how much he must be annoying some of the other people who were trying to enjoy their lunch.  Even though the little monster was not bothering me, his Mom sure was.  All I could think was how rude she was being by not considering the others at the restaurant.

If you do bring your dog to enjoy a meal with you at a restaurant, be sure that they are well mannered.  I think our dogs should join us most definitely but not if they are going to bother others.  They should know how to sit or lay down by your side and stay there.  I highly recommend bringing a small mat or rolled pad for them to lay on.  Most patios are concrete, not comfortable to lay on for any dog.  As well as adding comfort while they join you, a mat gives them a clear place that you would like them to stay.  I've often brought my guys to restaurants and I always bring one of my many rolled quilted pads for them, it works great. 

If you were at a restaurant trying to enjoy a meal, would you enjoy me running around your table?  Add with that some shrieking, not so much eh?  It is very distracting as well, I was having a hardtime concentrating on what I was saying.  I did smile knowing that I had yet another topic to blog about though.  Like anything where we want our dogs to be allowed to join us, it takes one to ruin it for the rest of us.  As small as this little cutie was, it was still enough to bother people and it's not proper restaurant etiquette for anyone, human or dog.