I've never been a fan of dogs. They make me nervous. I like animals, but dogs are just too needy, destructive, and abrasive. Working dogs are fine, but pets/companion dogs really bother me.
They are given so much free reign in homes, it makes me nervous. I shouldn't have to be hyper-vigilant to guard my food and possessions because "the dog might get it!"
They're often very loud, they demand your attention constantly, and they're always in your space.
The worst part is that people nowadays bring their dogs into stores and restaurants, because apparently a lot of dogs have separation anxiety now.
Owners will let their dogs walk right up to me while I'm actively backing away, and assuring me that "they're friendly!" But I do not want to be approached by a strange dog!! I do not know how they will react so I do not want them near me!!
I get that people love their dogs, but there is far too much poor behavior from dogs and their owners that I just can't excuse it.
It dampens my enjoyment of a place when I am forced to guard my possessions, listen to loud barking and/or constant whimpering, be interrupted by the owner who always have to yell at their dogs mid-conversation to keep them from doing something their not supposed to, etc.
Dogs are just..... exhausting.
And I'm very very tired of having to accept them into my spaces & having to deal with them in public settings. I don't believe I'm a bad person for thinking this way. I'm just tired of dogs.
That is all.
Edit: Some of y'all are really offended & have taken that fact that I don't like dogs very personal. Why can I not dislike dogs?
Perhaps I’m reading into it, but it sounds like the majority of your exposure is with someone(s) who is a poor dog owner and lets their dogs do whatever they like. Which is isn’t to invalidate your discomfort, but I wonder if you wouldn’t have a better time of things if 70%(or w/e) of your exposure to dogs wasn’t dealing with extreme misbehavior, and therefore it wouldn’t be at the forefront of your mind.
Most owners are poor dog owners. The experience is the same all around Europe. Funnily enough, the 70% good behavior is probably real already, it's just that 30% bad is insanely huge percentage when a dog is capable to maul you and your kids.
I'm the last one to disagree with you about that. I have a large dog and go to great strides to make sure she behaves, and we're actively working on issues she has, as she's still very young. But other people who are or have been dog owners routinely try to introduce bad habits to her or guilt me for not allowing them -- no, I'm not going to teach the 75 pound dog to beg for food at the table.
The reason I posted what I did was because the OP gave very specific situations (i.e. going over to someone's house and having to watch their things/food, having to stop what they're saying) that implied to me that perhaps someone in their life is a poor dog owners, and that's 100% just cause to have less to do with them. If they're not comfortable because their dog is ill-behaved, then they have every right to not be in that situation. My grandmother had a poorly behaved dachshund that she thought was terribly cute, but bit me and multiple relatives, multiple times. I stopped seeing her as much because her dog was a nightmare.