Cover photo credit: Freeport Farm & Fleet Facebook
Blain’s Farm & Fleet is an agricultural and outdoor retail chain with 44 locations in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Michigan.
That means they have significant regional overlap with Fleet Farm, a similar retailer with locations in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Fleet Farm does not allow dogs in stores except in its Wisconsin location, due to a 2021 bill there which lifts retail restrictions on dogs.
So, does Farm & Fleet allow dogs? The answer is that Blain’s Farm & Fleet allows dogs in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa, but does not allow dogs in its Michigan stores due to state laws. For more details, keep reading.
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Can I Bring My Dog Into Farm & Fleet?
It depends on where you live. If you live in Wisconsin, Illinois, or Iowa, yes, you can bring your pup into the store.
Unfortunately, if you live in Michigan, you are not allowed to bring your dog into the store unless it is a service animal. The reason for this is Michigan’s food retail regulations, which do not allow non-service pets to enter stores where food is being sold. For more information, see here.
Contrast this to Wisconsin, which recently passed a bill allowing similar stores (like Fleet Farm) to allow dogs in retail stores with <5% food sales as part of their overall revenue.
There is one Fleet & Farm store in Michigan that sort of allows dogs, which is its Jackson, MI location. This location has a “Bath Barn” dog grooming center. So, you can come to this store with your dog, drop it off for a grooming appointment, and do your regular shopping. The dog is not allowed in the main store however.
Farm & Fleet also hosts pet adoption events at some of its Wisconsin and Illinois stores.
Before Your Bring Your Dog Into Farm & Fleet (Non-Michigan Stores)
If you do live in a location that allows dogs in Farm & Fleet stores, here are some tips to make it a good experience for you, your pup, and other people in the store.
- Leash training and obedience: your dog should be well-mannered in public. This means no jumping on people or merchandise. It also means that your dog must be leash-trained and understand basic commands like “sit”. Farm & Fleet says that it will ask any unruly or misbehaving pets to leave.
- Vaccinations: you should make sure that your dog is up-to-date on shots and preventative treatments for ticks, fleas, etc. before going out in public. This keeps both your pup and others healthy.
- Give yourself time: trying to be in a rush while your dog acclimates to an exciting new environment is a recipe for disaster. Make sure you give yourself some extra time to account for messes or extra sniffs.
- Use the lawn first: in most stores, you’re responsible for cleaning up messes. So go outside first.
- Be considerate: not everyone enjoys dogs, as weird as that might sound. Be sure to give other people (and dogs) plenty of space and keep your dog under control with a leash or carrier. Additionally, don’t lie about your dog being a service animal if they aren’t.
- Consider calling ahead: while Fleet Farm stores in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois are generally dog friendly, it is courteous to call ahead when going to a new location. Companies often allow store managers to enforce different rules at their discretion, including those pertaining to pets. So, it can be a good idea to call ahead and be sure.
Additionally, Farm & Fleet requires that all animals in the store be under 175 pounds, and on a leash.
Conclusion
We hope you’ve found this post useful! We also wrote about Fleet Farm, which has similar state law-dependent pet policies.
