Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Things to Do with your Dog In Chicago: Dog-Friendly Shopping

The hardest part of the Chicago winters is that the pups go from having daily adventures, meeting crowds of people, to walking the streets in isolation.
Miss M especially thrives on human attention and will often seek out that other lone person trudging through the streets hoping that they will pet her. You can probably imagine how over-excited she becomes once everyone digs out of hibernation and she is able to see people again.
To ease the transition, and keep up our city skills, we have learned about several indoor dog-friendly  areas where the pups can ease their cabin-fever and we can stay consistent with training.

Even with these stores being dog-friendly, we are always aware that some people just don't like dogs and we need to be considerate to them. We don't allow our pups to approach people unless the people ask, and if the space becomes to small, they are not behaving, or it just doesn't seem appropriate for them we will leave.
Here are some of the pups' favorites:

Home Depot:
It seems we've been needing to go here a lot, and it's nice that we can run this errand even with the pups. Home Depot is an easy indoor place to take the pups, even if they've never been inside before,  because there are few things to break, aisles are extra wide and there is just a lot of space.

Shops at Northbridge (aka: The downtown Nordstrom's Mall):
I never would have expected these stores right downtown would be dog-friendly, but as we were walking by with our pups the Security Guard told us we should come inside. Dogs are allowed in all of the areas with the exception of the floor that has the food court. They even have a dog treat dispenser and water bowls near the customer service area. We also heard it rumored the Bloomingdales building is dog-friendly. Is it true?

Local Stores on our Walk:
We joke that when we walk through Wicker Park (which has made its way into many guidebooks) Miss M thinks its old news saying "I've been in that store, and that store, and that one...". While it depends on the store owners, in Chicago dogs are legally allowed in any store that doesn't serve food. Often if we're walking by, or window gazing, stores will encourage us to come inside with the pups, and the pups have hit many of the destination spots in the Wicker Park area. The pups are frequent visitors at Chrome store (they know them there!), Lomography store, Nike, St. Alfred's and even wine stores Lush and Noble Grape.

Where we don't go:
Strangely enough, even though they sell dog-gear, REI is not pet-friendly. Even if you want to try on any of the dog coats we've needed to work with a salesperson allowing us to take the merchandise outside to try on. Also, when we were fostering little Jack Frost I used to carry him in my bag and when I tried to go into Joanne's Fabric, I was asked to leave.
The one dog-friendly place that we try not to take the dogs: pet stores. With all of the food, smells, and other dogs, it's just too distracting and over-stimulating.

What are some other experiences people have had with dog-friendly stores?

Also:
City Dogs in Training
After the thaw
Mr. B helps out with the groceries
Check our Facebook page for more photos, comments, and story lines beyond the blog.

14 comments:

OG said...

Bloomingdale's in NYC allows dogs, as does The Gap and Banana Republic & Athleta. Petey loves going!

Heatherkay said...

I was walking the dog past Athleta here in KC. We stopped to get a drink out of the dog bowl, and a sales associate came out and gave me a whole Trader Joe's pumpkin biscuit to give Nimbus. His best walk ever, as far as he was concerned.

Two French Bulldogs said...

That is the coolest thing ever! I don't have anything like that around here
Lily

Anonymous said...

We don't have many places around here that are pet friendly, mostly just pet retail places. Do you have any idea how excited I'd be to be at (or even near) Nordstrom with the boys!

Trissi_V said...

Home Depot is awesome about pets...saw someone walking their cats in there once. Some of our out door dining places go steps above just letting them be on the patio. Our dogs got water and bacon from the manager before we could get our own drink order in at Holy Cow.

Unknown said...

Than i always do Dog-Friendly shopping and my dog enjoy that!

KS said...

Oddly enough, our local Home Depot is *not* pet-friendly (they have "No Dogs" signs posted on the doors). That said, our local Nordstrom is confirmed dog-friendly :)

A little gift shop near my old townhouse had a sign in the window saying, "We welcome your arm-held pets!" and I always wanted to walk in lugging Vinnie (at 70 lbs. I can *just* lift him) to make a point :P

Rachel @ My Two Pitties said...

Kaya & Norman have also been in every store imaginable other than those that sell food from Versace in Beverly Hills to Target to tiny upscale boutiques. Kaya gets bored easily so I prefers not to take her but Norman loves it. He actively seeks out sales people because he knows they usually have treats.

Agreed on pet stores! I have to be in a very special kind of mood to feel up to bringing them in one.

On rainy days I wish that Ikea would allow dogs!

caitlin said...

This is so awesome about Home Depot and Nordstroms!!

My Dog Barry said...

Great! I live in Chicago and need to take him to some in door spots. Thanks for the tips!

Unknown said...

I'm in the Chicago Northern suburbs and because of my own disability, can't walk on ice or snow. Any ideas for places to walk my dog this winter? She's aging and really needs to keep up her daily walks.

Unknown said...

I'm in the Chicago Northern suburbs and because of my own disability, can't walk on ice or snow. Any ideas for places to walk my dog this winter? She's aging and really needs to keep up her daily walks.

Unknown said...

Yes! my murphy loves go there! :)

Sandeep said...

Encourage your dog and take him out for shopping. it helps him.

Be the person who cares for his dogs

All dogs need is love

They return the love 100 times.

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