Calm.

The Brewery is a great spot to have a chill hangout with friends, for people and for dogs! A four-legged friend who can be calm and relaxed with you on the patio or in the taproom is the perfect addition to your brewery hangout. The Brewery is NOT a dog park (in most cases), so if your dog wants to go at dog-park speed and enthusiasm levels in other public places, they might have a hard time in the brewery environment. Making sure that your dog is calm and relaxed at the brewery is a big part of keeping breweries dog friendly!

Quiet.

In addition to being calm, a great brewery dog is also quiet during their visit to the Brewery. Dogs bark - that’s part of who they are! But excessive barking or whining from a dog visitor can cause a disruption in the Brewery, which impacts other human visitors, other dog visitors, and the brewery staff. If your dog barks a lot (whatever the reason: nervous, excited about other dogs, “demand barking” for attention, etc.), they aren’t quite ready for a long brewery visit. Try short trips first, setting your dog up for success with a long walk before and a delicious peanut butter kong to enjoy while you are there.

On a Leash.

This may seem obvious, but it’s actually really important - and something that more people overlook or disregard than you might think! Keeping your dog on a leash is not only essential for keeping them safe in a high-traffic area, but also a key piece of demonstrating courtesy to other brewery guests and your brewery host. Even if you are in a county or city with no leash laws (these locations are few and far between these days), the Brewery you are visiting is private property, and will likely have their own rules about dogs being on leash. Following those rules is so important if dogs are going to stay welcome at breweries in your area. Off-leash dogs cause a lot of risks for a brewery, and increase your liability as a dog owner as well. Even if your dog is reliable off-leash in general, when you are in a high-traffic area like the Brewery this is NOT the time or place to show off those skills.

People-And-Dog-Tolerant.

When you take your dog with you to the brewery, it is almost inevitable that they will have some sort of interaction with another person or another dog. Your dog needs to be relatively tolerant of these types of interactions in order to be successful and safe in the Brewery.

Your dog doesn’t have to be super outgoing or lovey-dovey with every person or dog you encounter. In fact, it’s actually a great brewery dog skill if your dog doesn’t really care one way or the other about the other dogs and people they encounter. But your dog does have to tolerate being in the same room with other people and dogs, and be comfortable navigating situations where these two- and four-legged strangers end up in close proximity to you.

If your dog is really nervous around people or dogs, gets over-excited about potential new friends across the room, or has a history of growling/snapping/biting at other dogs or people, the brewery environment is not where we would start training! Enlist the help of a qualified training professional to help you create a behavior modification plan for your dog and start working in easier environments before visiting a brewery together.