Four out of five people say dogs should be banned from Bunnings, poll suggests

A furious Bunnings worker’s rant about dogs at the hardware chain has struck a chord with Australians keen for a change in rules.

Bunnings customers are overwhelmingly in favour of banning dogs from stores, according to a reader poll.

Only one in five respondents in news.com.au’s survey of more than 24,000 readers on Wednesday were in favour of keeping the pooch policy, after a Bunnings employee begged customers to “please for the love of God stop”.

“I don’t get paid enough to clean up your dog’s p*ss and sh*t,” the Reddit user wrote.

The post sparked renewed debate over the controversial policy.

While Bunnings does allow dogs into stores, they must be “friendly” and need to be secured safely in a vehicle or trolley, or on a lead and wearing a muzzle, or be carried.

Last year, Bunnings faced calls to ban dogs after an unrestrained pit bull attacked and killed a cavoodle sitting in a trolley at the Stafford store in Brisbane.

While 80 per cent of readers voted in favour of banning dogs from stores, Matt Tyler, general manager of operations at Bunnings, told news.com.au the retailer stood by the policy.

“Customers have been bringing their dogs into our stores for many years,” he said.

“Dogs are allowed in our stores if they are friendly, under control and comply with the conditions of entry. We try to use a commonsense approach when welcoming dogs into our stores. This includes cleaning up after dogs, which in most cases, we find owners take responsibility for.”

He added, “With an evolving pets range on offer in store, we are increasingly becoming a destination for pet owners within the Australian market.”

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The current pet rules at Bunnings.

‘It’s a great place to take a puppy.’ Picture: Christian Gilles

On Facebook, commenters were evenly split.

“Dogs/cats/birds pets should be banned from being taken into shops,” one woman said. “Leave them at home and take them for a walk in the park. Agree with the employee it’s not their job to clean up after someone else’s pet.”

Another pointed out that people like her daughter with autism spectrum disorder were “scared to death of animals”.

“She should be able to go to the shop with me and not be frightened just to walk around,” she said.

A third agreed that it was “unfair” to people who have a fear of dogs or allergies.

“I certainly don’t want to purchase an expensive item and take it home to be covered in dog hair,” she said.

Several people suggested the only dogs that should “ever step foot into any store are guide dogs or service dogs”.

“I think it’s a bloody joke to allow dogs,” one man said. “It’s a bloody hardware store not the local dog park.”

But there were plenty on the pro-dog side.

“Bunnings is a great place for socialisation for them because you have loud noises, forklift beeping, lots of people and kids,” one woman said.

“It’s a great place to take a puppy. They should probably be toilet trained first though before doing this.”

Another agreed, “Dogs are part of the family, they sit very happily in the trolley getting pushed around. Owners getting stopped so everyone can pat the dog. I think it’s a beautiful experience for everyone. Dogs are in I say.”

Many commenters argued dogs were less messy than people.

“I’d much rather clean up after an animal that someone else’s little gremlin,” one woman said.

Another man who worked in retail said he was “surprised someone was complaining about a dog coming into the store”.

“If we had our way [there] would have only been dogs and staff in our hardware store,” he said. “People are f**ked.”

A third woman said she had worked in retail 20 years and “I can tell you that dogs are less messy than humans”.

“Dogs don’t leave half [eaten] food hidden behind products, half drunk beverages on shelves, rip open packaging and leave products all over the floor, or leave used condoms and pads in fitting rooms,” she said.

“They also don’t throw used nappies under fixtures, vomit and cover up said vomit with clothing in a fitting room or just leave it uncovered. They don’t leave behind mess when their kids have an accident either. It’s the lack of human class and respect that’s the problem.”

Originally published as Four out of five people say dogs should be banned from Bunnings, poll suggests