Dog-friendly pubs, cafes and wineries: taking the dog out for lunch

Lunch out used to be the thing you did without the dog. Not any more: beer gardens, cafe courtyards and winery lawns across the country have worked out that people with dogs are loyal customers, and the dog-friendly venues directory on Muttmates keeps growing because of it. The deal is simple. Venues take a small risk letting dogs in, and dogs that behave keep the door open. Here is how to hold up your end, and how to pick venues where it will go well.

Where dogs can and can't be, in plain words

The general shape across Australia: dogs are kept out of the areas where food is prepared and usually out of enclosed dining rooms, while outdoor areas are at the venue's discretion. That is why "dog friendly" almost always means the beer garden, the footpath tables or the courtyard, not the bistro. The exact rules sit with state food authorities and local councils, and venues know their own obligations, so the house rule is the rule. If a venue says outside only, that is not them being precious, it is them keeping their licence. Assistance dogs are a different category altogether and go where their handler goes.

Picking the right venue for your actual dog

A venue being dog friendly does not make it friendly for your dog. A tight courtyard with six dogs under six tables is heaven for a calm cafe veteran and a pressure cooker for a reactive adolescent. Look at the layout: corner tables and end-of-row spots beat the thoroughfare to the bar, grass beats hot pavers in summer, and a venue with water bowls out the front has already told you how they feel about dogs. On each venue's page in the directory you can see the venue type and what members have noted. When in doubt, ring: every venue would rather answer a question than manage a scene.

The well-behaved pub dog, trained at home first

• A solid "drop" and settle. The whole game is a dog that lies down and stays down. Practise with a mat at home, then a quiet park bench, before the busy Saturday beer garden. Bring the mat; dogs anchor to it.
• Arrive empty and tired. A walked, toileted dog sleeps under the table. A fresh one hunts chips. The pre-lunch walk is the best behaviour tool there is.
• Short lead, under the table. Not a retractable across a walkway, not tied to a chair that follows the dog when it stands up. Loop the lead under your foot and the dog stays in your footprint.
• Nothing from the table. Chips, bones and beer are all bad ideas, and a dog that gets fed at pubs becomes a dog that begs at pubs, including from strangers who do not want it. Bring their own water and a chew.
• Know your exit. If your dog grumbles at an arriving dog, the move is to finish up or shift tables, not to narrate "he's usually fine" while it escalates.

Etiquette with the other patrons

Not everyone at the pub likes dogs, and the people who least like them will be seated, by some law of the universe, next to yours. Keep the dog on your side of the table line, do not let it greet anyone who has not invited it, and if a child wants to pat it, the parent's yes comes first and yours second. The compliment you are after, from staff and strangers both, is the one every pub dog owner knows: "I didn't even notice there was a dog there."

Find dog-friendly pubs, cafes and wineries

House rules vary and change; the venue's word on the day is final. We list venues as members and operators report them, and we are always glad to hear a correction.

Common questions