"You're barred!"- Stoke pub brings in dog ban

“I'd rather drive half an hour to the shroppy fly in Audlem with my pooch in tow, where I can eat and drink with her beside me. Beautiful place, friendly staff and no doggy odour.”

“'Round the Corner' -which corner? Are you talking Tim's place? ..or the Councillor's Annex?

At £1 cheaper -it's got to be Tim's Place where the 'walking-stick' club hold early door sessions.”

“There's some nonsense being trawled out here. There are no food hygiene regulations prohibiting dogs in pubs so lets get that misnomer out of the way. There are very few pubs which do welcome dogs and the White Star I believe was the only one in Stoke, so plenty of others places to go for those with precious sensibilities. Personally I prefer dogs to these.

The new licensee has already made a name for himself, though it can't be published here. Unlike Andy, I don't rate Titanic's sour and often unpalatable beer, and the even less palatable £3+ per pint, which incidentally at the pub "round the corner" is often available at more than £1 cheaper.

I don't believe new customers will be flocking in on the contrary. The regulars have largely upped sticks, and Staffordshire's "Community Pub of the Year" award won't be coming here again! Titanic need to wise up. Loyalty is a two way concept. Ironic the previous licensee (who earned this accolade) drinks round the corner? No. It rather says it all!”

“You've been reading too much from the twisted tongue of Wilkesy -you've not got it off to a tee.

You wouldn't kiss your baby grand-daughter either would you if she'd just being playing in some muck in the yard -and don't try and tell me it doesn't happen -either.

If your argument is going to quote on 'specific situations' -which you then use as a generality, and expect us to hang on every word -I'm afraid you're sadly mistaken.
I could quote all sorts of daft comparisons to combat that silly way of putting it. But I won't -too daft.
And the 'old chestnut' -is a fact. Come on Alb, you can do better than that.”

“That old chestnut about a dog's mouth being the cleanest place on the planet raises its head again. So, if you saw a dog consuming excrement or other detritus (they're scavengers so they do that) you would then be willing to eat your dinner off its tongue, kiss it, or at least let it lick your face to top its salt ration up? Well, as they say, there's nowt so funny as folk. Dogs have their place and are useful contributors to society as companions and most of all as working dogs, but, how can I put it kindly, thy're just not quite as fastidious as us, that's all.”

“I have been going to this pub for four years and dogs have never been a problem. All of a sudden he comes in kicks the dog owners out loses his custom then try's to justify it. He was rude and aggressive towards me and my family when we went in with our dog, as we had done every Friday. We will be taking our custom else where his manner doesn't suit a pub like the white star which had such a fantastic atmosphere before. He ruined that and we aren't the only people who think that, just pop in the pub around the corner you'll soon hear what the locals actually think of it. As for dogs being a problem around food, I've ate with dogs around my whole life and fine. What a load of rubbish. His behaviour towards customers will soon drive out the remaining few who go there”

“Regardless of what's actually at the centre of this thread -'dogs in pubs where food is being served' -as against purely drinks, I'd like to offer a couple of facts in support of dogs per se; after all, they have had a bit of a kicking on this thread.

In regard to the many comments re bacteria, -a dog, because of the wide aperture of its jaws, and it not having pores with which to lose body heat (as we humans do), and so having to rely solely on losing that heat through its lungs -panting..... it means that a dog's mouth is one of the most hygienic of all mammals; far less bacteria is found in a dog's mouth than our own, no matter how often we brush and floss our teeth.

The environment of a dog's mouth -so well ventilated, gives little or no time at all for bacteria to 'set up home' -as readily as they do in a human's mouth. 'What about 'dog-breath' I hear you all chorus?- -well all dogs don't have bad breath -that is something else, to do with the food it has consumed perhaps?

There's another, rather more startling fact that has emerged in recent years re the 'benefits' provided by keeping a dog as a family pet. The statisticians, by going over 30/40 years of medical records, besides finding all sorts of interesting stuff, found that children brought up in homes which had a pet dog residing in it with them, suffered far less from asthma in later life than those who had been reared in households which never had a dog as a family pet.

And one last thing in support of dogs -in general that is, old sayings such as 'a dog is a man's best friend' -that saying as old as the hills, don't stick around much for nothing.”

“In the old days (I mean somewhere about 1900) a man who was a real man would always take his whippet to the pub and let it sprawl in the sawdust. Today, we have moved on a bit and realise that dogs and food/drink don't really mix. For a start, dogs have a powerful aroma about them (I know, I know, so do some humans), also to stare at a drooling dog while scoffing a ham sandwich is not that appetising. A dog is populated by a teaming mass of various bacteria and often fleas (I'm itching already). Dogs are not allowed in food shops or restaurants for these reasons and in recognition that canines are not universally loved. I don't know why some pubs are allowed to have dogs and as for some of those exotic animals, well they carry some really nasty and potential life-threatening bugs. I have to say that if someone comes into a pub that I'm in with a dog, I'm not very pleased.”

“See my comment was been removed, because I pointing out that our Councillor's frequently use this facility and are the dirtiest form of animal we have in this city!”

“I think you will find that 4 legged dogs only have bad breath, fleas and a dirty backend. The other type have far worse things on them.”