Tales From Retail: Your dog doesn’t want to go to the mall.
- lydiaballart
- Feb 22
- 1 min read
Moving to California from Ohio, one of the biggest culture shocks for me was that, out here, people take their dogs EVERYWHERE. Restaurants, stores, even to work. The last company I interned at had a regular attendance of six dogs per day.
Now, back working in retail, I see people bring in non-service animals all the time.
But, in my opinion, your dog probably doesn’t want to be at target. It’s loud, it’s bright, it’s full of new people and smells. It’s overstimulating in a bad way for an animal that hasn’t been desensitized to that kind of thing. My little sister works with service animals regularly as a physical therapist, and those dogs have undergone rigorous training to desensitize them to high-stress environments.
At Target, where I work, we’ve had dogs get into fights, bark excessively at other customers, and even go to the bathroom in the store. In one horrifying incident a dog got his paw stuck in the top of an escalator.
I love dogs, so I’m not complaining about seeing them. But I’m curious: people who grew up in California, what are your thoughts on dog culture?
This made me laugh but also… yeah, I kind of agree. I love dogs too, but I’ve definitely seen some in stores that looked stressed out more than anything. It’s interesting how something that feels normal in one place can feel totally different somewhere else.
Do you think it’s more about people wanting to bring their dogs everywhere, or do you think some dogs actually get used to that kind of environment over time?
Living in the Caribbean, I find dog culture a little different from what you described in California. Where I’m from, people absolutely love their dogs, but it’s not as common to bring them into indoor retail spaces like big department stores. The heat alone makes you really think twice about where your dog will actually be comfortable.
As a parent with kids who adore our Shih Tzu, I’m very protective of putting him in situations that might stress him out. Between loud music, bright lighting, and crowded aisles, I can easily imagine how overwhelming a place like Target could be for a small dog. Your example about the escalator honestly stuck with me — that’s such a scary situation and…