5 ms·

I wish we had a testable good behavior standard for dogs. If the dog passes then they would get more opportunities to do things like ride trains.

mathieuh 4y ago
For me the problem is dogs’ unpredictability. I have a small dog, and although I believe 100% that she would never hurt a person or another animal, I still have her on a taut lead ready to yank her away when a stranger’s child wants to say hello on our walks, just in case. I would want everyone bringing a dog on a train to be in that same level of control, and judging by the people and dogs I see out walking that’s an unreasonable wish.
version_five 4y ago
99% of the time the problem is the owner in my experience. I don't like dogs near me, but I've rarely felt like the dog was the problem, it's selfish people who don't keep their dog properly leashed, close to them, and away from other people. Dogs shouldn't be on public transportation primarily because enough dog owners have shown they are unable to respect other people.
- atahanacar 4y ago
  >Dogs shouldn't be on public transportation primarily because enough dog owners have shown they are unable to respect other people. People shouldn't be on public transportation primarily because enough people have shown they are unable to respect other people.
Fezzik 4y ago
The bigger problem: people being allergic to dogs is quite common (above 10% of the population, I believe). I’m a dog lover and have 2 pooches that are my life, yet I am always baffled by people that feel they need to make everyone else deal with the pet they love.
- TapWaterBandit 4y ago
  I appreciate you saying this. I love dogs but am quite allergic and dog hair sets me off pretty badly. It would suck if public transport became a no-go or much less pleasant option for me and many others because our comfort is prioritised as less important than a dogs.
midoridensha 4y ago
I live in Japan now, and for the dogs I see in the city, the vast majority would easily pass this test. However, from what I saw in America during the pandemic and before, the vast majority of American dogs would not. That said, the bigger problems I see here are 1) how to deal with the bathroom problems (train trips last hours, and dogs don't hold it in very well), and 2) how to deal with peoples' allergies, and 3) how to deal with people just not wanting to ride near other peoples' animals. I think it's an insurmountable problem really, unless there's SO much demand that they can dedicate a whole train car to being pet-friendly (not likely). We already have ways of moving pets around: taxis and cars. Inside a city, just use a taxi. If you need to travel between cities, just rent a car. Yes, it's a lot of money, but if you can't afford that, then you can't afford a dog. Or just leave the dog at home. (If it's a cat, the cat doesn't want to take a trip with you anywhere.) (edit) Finally, I just did a little research, and this isn't really a problem at all. You can already bring dogs and cats on trains here, both the intercity Shinkansen and the local trains. The catch is that it needs to be a small dog (or cat), and inside a carrier, weighing a total of 10kg or less. It looks like there's a small fee (less than $5) for the Shinkansen. So I don't see why any of this is necessary; it's a solved problem.
- paganel 4y ago
  And then you're forcing dog-owners (which is a bigger and bigger percentage of the population) to rely on cars.
  - midoridensha 4y ago
    No, re-read my last paragraph. As long as their dog is small, they can take the train no problem. If they have a large dog, they should already own a car. Apartments in Tokyo do NOT allow large dogs, and anyone living outside the city should already have a car anyway. If you can't afford a car, you can't afford a large dog. I live in Tokyo; there's almost no large dogs here. Having a large dog is a luxury.
    - paganel 4y ago
      I was thinking mostly about outside of Japan, where the same discourse of "why do you need a car for?" has beginning to show up more and more. I need a car because otherwise having some outside activities with my dog is close to impossible, but I would love to have the possibility of not having to have a car while still giving my (medium-sized) dog a decent outdoor life. > I live in Tokyo; there's almost no large dogs here. Having a large dog is a luxury. Which I find sad that we've basically internalised and made it a normalcy. The same and even more so goes to having kids. Having a dog (or a pet, more generally) shouldn't be a luxury, because it gives one a better life (having kids even more so, but as I don't have any I can't comment on that).

mathieuh 4y ago

For me the problem is dogs’ unpredictability. I have a small dog, and although I believe 100% that she would never hurt a person or another animal, I still have her on a taut lead ready to yank her away when a stranger’s child wants to say hello on our walks, just in case. I would want everyone bringing a dog on a train to be in that same level of control, and judging by the people and dogs I see out walking that’s an unreasonable wish.

version_five 4y ago

99% of the time the problem is the owner in my experience. I don't like dogs near me, but I've rarely felt like the dog was the problem, it's selfish people who don't keep their dog properly leashed, close to them, and away from other people. Dogs shouldn't be on public transportation primarily because enough dog owners have shown they are unable to respect other people.

atahanacar 4y ago
>Dogs shouldn't be on public transportation primarily because enough dog owners have shown they are unable to respect other people. People shouldn't be on public transportation primarily because enough people have shown they are unable to respect other people.

Fezzik 4y ago

The bigger problem: people being allergic to dogs is quite common (above 10% of the population, I believe). I’m a dog lover and have 2 pooches that are my life, yet I am always baffled by people that feel they need to make everyone else deal with the pet they love.

TapWaterBandit 4y ago
I appreciate you saying this. I love dogs but am quite allergic and dog hair sets me off pretty badly. It would suck if public transport became a no-go or much less pleasant option for me and many others because our comfort is prioritised as less important than a dogs.

midoridensha 4y ago

I live in Japan now, and for the dogs I see in the city, the vast majority would easily pass this test. However, from what I saw in America during the pandemic and before, the vast majority of American dogs would not. That said, the bigger problems I see here are 1) how to deal with the bathroom problems (train trips last hours, and dogs don't hold it in very well), and 2) how to deal with peoples' allergies, and 3) how to deal with people just not wanting to ride near other peoples' animals. I think it's an insurmountable problem really, unless there's SO much demand that they can dedicate a whole train car to being pet-friendly (not likely). We already have ways of moving pets around: taxis and cars. Inside a city, just use a taxi. If you need to travel between cities, just rent a car. Yes, it's a lot of money, but if you can't afford that, then you can't afford a dog. Or just leave the dog at home. (If it's a cat, the cat doesn't want to take a trip with you anywhere.) (edit) Finally, I just did a little research, and this isn't really a problem at all. You can already bring dogs and cats on trains here, both the intercity Shinkansen and the local trains. The catch is that it needs to be a small dog (or cat), and inside a carrier, weighing a total of 10kg or less. It looks like there's a small fee (less than $5) for the Shinkansen. So I don't see why any of this is necessary; it's a solved problem.

paganel 4y ago
And then you're forcing dog-owners (which is a bigger and bigger percentage of the population) to rely on cars.
- midoridensha 4y ago
  No, re-read my last paragraph. As long as their dog is small, they can take the train no problem. If they have a large dog, they should already own a car. Apartments in Tokyo do NOT allow large dogs, and anyone living outside the city should already have a car anyway. If you can't afford a car, you can't afford a large dog. I live in Tokyo; there's almost no large dogs here. Having a large dog is a luxury.
  - paganel 4y ago
    I was thinking mostly about outside of Japan, where the same discourse of "why do you need a car for?" has beginning to show up more and more. I need a car because otherwise having some outside activities with my dog is close to impossible, but I would love to have the possibility of not having to have a car while still giving my (medium-sized) dog a decent outdoor life. > I live in Tokyo; there's almost no large dogs here. Having a large dog is a luxury. Which I find sad that we've basically internalised and made it a normalcy. The same and even more so goes to having kids. Having a dog (or a pet, more generally) shouldn't be a luxury, because it gives one a better life (having kids even more so, but as I don't have any I can't comment on that).