It is pretty great how much more dog friendly our society is becoming, and how dogs are allowed in a greater variety of places than they ever were before.

However, not all dogs are going to enjoy accompanying you everywhere, and that’s ok: it’s no failure! Not all dogs enjoy all activities, just like different people may enjoy doing different things.

Dog friendly places and events are usually fairly crowded, and our dogs may have to be on a short leash. This means that they may have to interact with, or be in closer proximity to dogs and people, being unable to express their natural body language or get appropriate distance. They may have to be still for long periods of time (e.g., in a cafe) and this might be beyond their current skill set. It might all just be a bit overwhelming, scary, or frustrating.

When we go to these places and we *do* see dogs, we might start to view it as normal that dogs just come with us and cope. But I would really recommend checking in with your individual dog’s body language in these environments, to see whether they truly are comfortable and enjoying themselves.

It is not a failure to leave your dog in the comfort of his own home if you’re going to do an activity he won’t enjoy. It is, in fact, a big win to take your dog’s preferences and comfort into account, and not put him in situations where he will be overwhelmed and uncomfortable.