Dogs And Your Bar or Restaurant
Ban Dogs You Ban Customers Too
If you are anti-dogs, you will lose a lot of potential customers, as many people who live on the Costa del Sol are incorrigible dog lovers.
In summer when we are really busy we do however have to ask people who have dogs that are likely to disturb other clients to use a table at the far end of the terrace, and if we are really, really busy, we do also occasionally turn people with big dogs or several little snappy dogs away.
Whenever we have to do this, we use maximum diplomacy. Don’t delegate a task like this to an employee, do it yourself, so that you can make sure that it is done with diplomacy. Usually I say that we are sorry, but as we have young children on the terrace who might provoke the dog . . . . or I’m sorry but we could get a big fine if the police catch us with a dog in our restaurant.
That sort of approach usually ensures that the owner leaves, without feeling offended.
The law in Spain is quite clear and states that a dog must be both muzzled and on a lead whilst in a place where the general public have access. It also states that dogs are not allowed in bars or restaurants.
However apart from the really busy times when the school children are on holiday, we do allow dogs on the terrace, providing they are on a lead and under proper control. We make an exception with fighting breeds, which we don’t allow on our premises at all.
If you do serve customers who bring their dog/s onto your terrace and you do have an incident, resulting in another customer reporting you to the police, then you can expect a fine of up to 3,000 GBP.
We are actually dog lovers ourselves and have 2 dogs and would love to be able to take them when we go to a bar or a restaurant, but apart from the few places that we know will allow us on their terrace with our dogs, most establishments stick strictly to the law on this subject and like all responsible dog owners we do understand their position.
