Dog Parking at IKEA
While many urban areas in the United States are becoming more and more dog-friendly, we’ve long been playing catch-up to much of Europe, where dogs are often more readily welcomed in businesses and restaurants. The IKEA in Köln, Germany doesn’t allow dogs (except for guide dogs) in the store, but they’ve added a special “dog parking” section in front of their store for shoppers who stop in accompanied by their dogs. Like much of what IKEA does, I think it’s pretty brilliant.
Each dog parking spot features a leash tie-post, an astro-turf surface for lounging, as well as fresh, cool water. For smaller dogs (or cats, I suppose), cozy kennels are available. (No official word yet on whether the dogs get any of those famous Swedish meatballs.)
What do you think about this idea? Do you think it would work where you live? Would you utilize a “dog parking” area? Bark back in the comments below!
[sniffed out via Design Taxi, additional images via Dog Splendor and flickr]
Love the idea but would never work in Los Angeles. I would never leave my dog unattended because dogs are easily taken for ransom money or other cruel activities that I don’t want to mention on a dog loving site.
I assumed the parking area is staffed and supervised. I agree that I wouldn’t want to “park” my dogs anywhere that they wouldn’t be watched.
I never leave my dog outide anywhere unattended – not even tied outside to run in soemwhere and get coffee as he but he is wary of strangers and doesn’t want them touching him. I would, however, utilize the kennels for a short pop inside to Ikea as he likes a kennel. I think other dogs would love the little grassy areas. When I was driving around Italy there was a rest stop that had a tented outside area with kennels you could put your dog in because they couldn’t come inside the eating area and it beats leaving them in the car – thought it was brilliant. Here it would be hard to take a solo road trip with my dog now in the summer because you can’t leave him in the car but sometimes you a need a break from driving and dogs aren’t allowed everywhere.
It would definitely be nice to have “dog parking” available in the hot days of summer. We have a big street festival here in the summer where dogs aren’t allowed, but they have a spot you can leave your dogs (they call it “doggie jail,” hee hee) that is attended, where they will have plenty of shade and cool water. I think it’s a great idea.
I would approve only if it was staffed and supervised by DOG SAVVY staff. It’s cute though!
What an awesome idea!! Leave it to Ikea!
I know, right?
I don’t think I like this idea at all. IKEA is not a quick, pop-in, pop-out kind of store; without stopping it takes at least 25 minutes to just walk through the place. So if you’re actually looking at stuff that you’re considering paying for, that’s what, 2 hours?! I would NEVER leave my dog outside, unattended for that long–no way! Even if it was an enclosed, play area that was supervised, I still don’t know if I’d do it because chances are the IKEA associate assigned to dog duty that day is not a trained professional who understands canine behavior. I give IKEA credit, sorta, for trying to accomodate dog owners, but this is a lawsuit or a tragedy waiting to happen so I vote no, sorry, bad idea.
I also think it would be too long to leave a dog outside when you go to IKEA. In Austria you can take the dog with you to IKEA – they are allowed inside. I think, even i the restaurant.
Marta, that’s awesome that IKEA Austria will let you take dogs inside the store! IKEA Germany’s site explained (according to Google Translate – ha!) that they didn’t allow dogs in the store for safety and cleanliness reasons, and also out of consideration for those who might be fearful of or allergic to dogs. I know many stores in the US are unable to allow dogs for similar reasons.
I very much agree that I wouldn’t want to “park” my dog for longer than, say, 20 or 30 minutes. Sometimes I’ve made very short trips to IKEA – just to return something or quickly pick up a single item. If I were doing one of those 2-3 hour marathon IKEA trips, though, no way would I want to leave my dogs for that long. I think the dog “parking” idea is a great one for stores that usually require only a short trip – the grocery store, pharmacy, post office, etc.
Thanks for the feedback, everybody!