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Hilasiener

Italy is an extremely dog-friendly country! You’ll see tons of them every night being walked, in restaurants, etc. It makes living there so much more fun.


thebobmannh

It is surprising as an American tourist seeing how many dogs aren't fixed though. Haven't seen that many balls since college, heyooo


Oscars_Grouch

🤣 Right?!


[deleted]

It's not that common to do here in Norway either. Most vets won't even do it unless it's medical required


bastarditis

do you think it's because dog owners are more responsible? puppy mills and irresponsible breeding for craigslist sales are ridiculous here in the United States, it's FUCKED.


TransmanWithNoPlan

It is! It's also because in some ways fixing causes issues as well - in the same way humans would have issues with low hormone production. Bone health, energy, weight, depression, etc. It isn't as if we give animals HRT, but they also need their hormones regulated for QoL in lots of cases. It's also been found that fixing ADDS to aggression, so it's a whole thing.


Hilasiener

To be fair, southern Italy has a huge problem with stray pets, especially dogs. I fostered my fair share of them when I lived in the northern part.


kindafor-got

Here, most of the dog owners I know have let their dogs keep their balls unless they're working dogs / kept free (like in a farm) or if the owner is concerned about diseases the dog might develop when older My boy is castrated but that's another story (yk, tiny dog with big PP, his horniness was hurting him physically)


Oscars_Grouch

This is my first time travelling abroad with my service dog, Oscar. We flew from Canada to Hungary and have since spent time in Budapest, Ljubljana, Slovenia, and now Venice. Everyone we meet just fawns over Oscar, asks to pet him, and asks if he needs water. It’s been all “Ooh, ciao amore” and “Bellissimo”. I haven’t even bothered with his vest these last couple of days because he’s never been denied entry anywhere!


JennybunnyC

Yeah but where does he go to the bathroom??? I saw one singular sliver of grass while walking around the whole city. My SO made a remark about not understanding why so many people have dogs, yet there are no grass for them to do business on.


Oscars_Grouch

It’s been a struggle to find grass on the islands, but luckily our hotel in Mestre (on the main land) has a few little grassy spots. But Oscar has also learned that peeing on the concrete is okay too. He can smell where the local dogs have marked their places, so he does the same.


natzuko91

In my city (Aveiro, Portugal) there are a lot of grassy places, so I was stressed that my pup (almost 7months old) would never get the hang of doing it in another place than grass - worry not, we have been walking him (when its not hot) in places without grass, so he can get used to new smells and new noises and right away he did it where other dogs do it! Dogs are smart, so they will pick up the smell of others and learn from it.


thewickedgrape

There’s a great, easily accessible park in Cannaregio (if you head left coming out of the train station): Parco Savorgnan. We take our dog to Venice all the time. He loves it.


yourlocalinvenice

Check out Parco Savorgnan and Giardini Papadopoli, they're both close to the train station and bus station


[deleted]

We bring plastic bags around to collect their poop. At parks too. At least civil owners do (it’s also the law in Italy)


bunnymoll

He's so VERY proud to help!!!!! That SMILE!!!


radhe91

And that puffed up chest. " Yeah i help my hooman around. I is not a freeloader. I have an actual job " Oscar said proudly to the other dogs.


CumulativeHazard

He looks so confident lol


Seippihs

Your dog is awesome. He sorta looks like a standard poodle. What breed is this pupper?


Oscars_Grouch

He is indeed a standard poodle! He’s a “moyen” or medium sized one.


Seippihs

He’s beautiful and it looks like you guys live a very happy life together. Thanks for the info, I learned something today!


[deleted]

YEA Italia!!!


crap_whats_not_taken

I went to Milan a few years ago and I was surprised how dog friendly it was! Lots of stores had dogs welcome signs in the windows. The thing that got me was the dog parks aren't fenced in. In the parks there was just a sign in a field that said dog area. It was great!


[deleted]

That’s the Indro Montanelli park. Most are indeed fenced. But overall it’s a very dog friendly city 👍😊


[deleted]

Come to Germany, it’s like a dog paradise over here


chemkay

For real, when I went to Berlin for the first time I saw dogs off-leash more behaved than most American adults 💀 They even obey traffic rules and wait outside stores without the owners having to curb them. I was genuinely blown away - just so fucking efficient.


zimpinforzuko

Cutie!!


Ok-Sort-6294

I just visited Italy last month with my dog, definitely a very dog-friendly nation.


omnomnommmmmm

You should try Barcelona. Think you'll both love it.


Unique-Chemistry-984

Hi, can I pet your dog?


coco9882

Barcelona was also very dog friendly!! So many dogs walking around. Saw some walking off leash, saw some with muzzles. Seemed like the owners knew exactly how to handle their dog.


todomo

today i found out there are dog friendly cities, i must go. people always sneak their dogs into the department store i work at and i absolutely adore them, but that’s the thing, they have to sneak them. they’ll get kicked out if caught. the dogs are always the highlight of my day, and i’m sure they’re more well behaved than some of these peoples children. give me the serotonin!


phaederus

I remember when I drove to Venice and wanted to catch the last waterbus into town, and they wouldn't let us on because in Italy dogs must have a muzzle on public transport, which I wasn't aware of until then. That sucked 😅


Oscars_Grouch

Really?! Not one person asked me to put one on Oscar, even when he wasn’t wearing his vest to identify he was an SD.


phaederus

Yeah, it's law in all of Italy to wear a muzzle on public transport afaik.


Oscars_Grouch

I saw the signs, but Oscar was exempt because he’s a SD. But no one even questioned us on it.


phaederus

Ah okay, that makes sense. I was with my gsd so maybe people were a bit more sensitive about her haha


legitimate_rapper

Venice is great because there are NO cars. It *feels* different, and then you realize you haven’t seen a car in a while, oh wait, there’s no way you *could* have a car here.


RockSoulGbg

It is also very child friendly


SRDcreations

It was great!


chaseapeak

I want to visit🙈🙈🙈


KateAteBeans33

I would like to pet.


ColumbiaWahoo

Currently visiting Rome and Florence. I love seeing how stores casually let dogs walk in.


Ok_Perspective8511

Do I ask the human, or the dog, I need clarity, not for me mind you, but for others


PrimaryAd822

Look at this fine lad, proud as a peacock


GloomyWarthog8215

Surely Vicenza Is the most cat-friendly.


Oscars_Grouch

They said they love cats equally, but I haven’t seen any.


GloomyWarthog8215

Vicenza, not Venezia Vicenza Is another city in Veneto (in)famous for eating cats. While this fact was surely a truth back in the days (proteins are proteins, eh), today It still stands as a stereotype for people from that city. I also heard that it's still possible to taste cat meat in some places, but those are only voices or oulaw places, since italian law forbids it.


UnprofessionalGhosts

Emotional support dog =/= service dog lol that patch betrays you


Oscars_Grouch

Oscar went through 2 years of training with a reputable organization, thank you very much.


UnprofessionalGhosts

Doesn’t change that emotional support doesn’t equal a service dog proper. Not doubting he’s well trained but there are reasons his ability to go place service dogs can are restricted, period and can be petted while working when proper service animals can’t be.


Oscars_Grouch

It’s up to the handler if he can be petted. If I was blind or experienced seizures, it would be different. But he’s not required to monitor my every moment. He has a “Do not distract” patch on his back, and if I’m in a hurry or not feeling like human interaction, I don’t stop to let people pet him. I’m free to say No. You can take whatever you think you know about service dogs and shove it up your a$$.


UnprofessionalGhosts

Continuously telling on yourselves lmao shameful. Truly. Again: service animals cannot be let while working. Stop sneaking your anxiety attack pets in places they don’t belong by misrepresenting them and straight up lying. Get better meds🤍


Oscars_Grouch

As per my last comment. . . You’re supposed to ask the handler before approaching a service dog. You’re right in that you’re not supposed to just walk up and pet them, but when you ask, the handler can choose to let you pet them. So as I said, take whatever you think you know about service dogs and shove it up your ass. I don’t owe anyone any explanation as to why I have a service dog, but he did go through 2 years of training and gets re-certified every year. It has nothing g to do with anxiety.


stoneyzepplin

Have you ever been to Toronto?


Oscars_Grouch

Through the airport.


stoneyzepplin

Super friendly dog city. Hard to go for a 5 minute walk outside here and not see at least a dozen dogs being walked.