A tradesman has copped backlash for telling dog owners to keep their pets at home instead of taking them to Bunnings.
Queensland house painter Shaun questioned why customers felt the need to bring their four-legged friends with them during their visit.
‘Honestly guys, what the f*** is it with people bringing their dogs to Bunnings Warehouse?’ he said in a TikTok video on Friday.
‘Seriously, just leave them at home.’
The video, seen more than 200,000 times, racked up nearly 3,000 comments as social media users expressed their outrage.
‘I love seeing dogs at Bunnings, they should be allowed in more places, probably more than some humans,’ one wrote.
‘My dog loves Bunnings. Never trust anyone who doesn’t get joy from animals,’ another added.
‘If my dog (is) allowed somewhere…it’s coming. I’d take her to (Woolworths) if they’d let me,’ a third wrote.
The tradesman was forced to clarify his stance in response to the blowback.
‘So many people are asking why I don’t agree with (dogs inside the store), or do I hate dogs or something like that?’ Shaun said.
‘Now, I can confirm that I do not hate dogs. I’ve got a staffy who I love very much.’
Shaun said he believed dogs should be kept at home for ‘many reasons’.
‘A lot of people say they see the dogs getting into big fights in store,’ he said.
‘Or if (dogs) do their business in store then walk away from it and then an older citizen comes walking down the aisle, slips on the pee, falls over, breaks something.
‘Or it your kid has an allergic reaction to your dog after you put your dog in the trolley and they don’t realise. The list goes on and on.’
Shaun then corrected himself by saying only one type of dog should be allowed into Bunnings.
‘I think the only dogs that should be in there are guide dogs,’ he said.
Many social media users were still unsatisfied.
‘Mate, my dog is a working dog, goes everywhere with me on work days,’ one wrote.
‘If I leave him in the ute out in the sun, I’ll have the RSPCA up me.
‘What am I supposed to do? He’s better trained and behaved than most [of] the kids running around the store.’
Another said they respected the painter’s views, but would take their dog ‘wherever he is allowed to go’.
‘Let’s look at the real problem, irresponsible and disrespectful people who allow their uncontrolled dogs to cause problems,’ she said.
A social media user, who claimed to work at Bunnings, said he liked people who brought their dogs in.
‘As someone who has worked for said business for years, people bringing their dogs is the only good thing that happens,’ he said.
‘People’s children make way more mess and do more damage than dogs.’
However, others said they agreed with Shaun and said they suffered allergies themselves or had seen poorly trained dogs causing trouble.
‘As much as I love taking my dog to Bunnings, I do agree not all dogs should be allowed in Bunnings,’ one said.
‘I have seen a dog barking at everyone, it was walking around, the owner did nothing to stop it.’
‘Oh I 100 per cent agree. I don’t see the need to bring them in unless they are a service dog,’ another woman added.
‘I don’t like dogs in shops,’ a third said.
‘No hate to anyone, but what about the people with allergies? I have avoided aisles because of the dogs,’ another added.
‘My husband walks between me and the dogs.’
Bunnings managing director Mike Schneider previously said dogs are allowed into stores if they are friendly, on a lead and comply with the conditions of entry.
‘Customers have been bringing their dogs into our stores for many years and we often hear how much they enjoy the company of their pet while shopping with us,’ he said.
Mr Schneider said dogs are allowed into the store if they are friendly, on a lead and comply with the conditions of entry.
The store relies on a ‘common-sense’ approach from customers.
‘If customers ever have concerns about an experience they have our store, we encourage them to ask one of our team members for assistance,’ Mr Schneider said.