‘A real dog lover would notice the dog is stressing and immediately stop’: Self-proclaimed ‘dog lover’ tries to touch woman's anxious pup despite her warnings not to do so, family vilifies her for swatting the stranger's hand away

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Sep 16, 2025 4:00 AM EDT

Many beloved canines absolutely pawdore affection from anyone willing to give it to them, while other pups are pretty anxious in nature and prefer to stay close to those they hold close to their heart. The dog owner in this story has to resort to swatting an alleged "dog lover's" hand away when they try to pet their nervous dog with a medical condition. Commenters correctly point out that a true dog lover would know the difference between a doggo who is welcoming attention and a pup who needs some alone time with their favorite person.

Listen, we all want to think we're some talented dog whisperer with a special touch for making pups love us, but the reality is that not every animal will want our affection, and not every owner will be okay with us testing their animal's boundaries. Being a pet owner means having to stand your ground when overly-eager strangers reach to boop your canine on the nose or try to rub their bellies at random.

This dog owner, though? They ensure that the stranger knows he cannot touch their dog, and when he tries to do so anyway, they move his hand away. Selective hearing, or a case of "I don't care?" Scroll to read.

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  • "I get that my blocking his hand was unwanted physical contact, but so was him touching my dog."
    via Jason Hawke For Unsplash+

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • "AITAH for stopping a "dog lover" from touching my dog?"

    My (46F) only pet (currently) is 7.5 lb of neuroses. She is 5 years old and has been with me since she was 8 weeks.
    via EurekaBoyd1979
  • Because we live out in the country and my health isn't great, she was never really socialized so anyone new makes her extremely nervous. Or MORE nervous than she usually is.
    via EurekaBoyd1979
  • On top of being isolated and anxious, she also has a seizure disorder, and her seizures are usually triggered by stress. Her vet and I have opted not
    via EurekaBoyd1979
  • to medicate her yet since she only has them every few weeks or even months. They're fairly mild but each one is still difficult to watch.
    via EurekaBoyd1979
  • Once a year, we make the 5+ hour trip to stay with family, and everyone has learned that she does best when they mostly ignore her and just let her
    via EurekaBoyd1979
  • do her thing. Otherwise, she enjoys spending time with the two other dogs there and just investigating my mom's koi ponds and gardens.
    via EurekaBoyd1979
  • We normally "warn" any visitors before they arrive so they know to just leave her alone and let her come to them.
    via EurekaBoyd1979
  • On this last visit, one of my sister's friends dropped by unexpectedly. (He was a big guy, maybe early 30s?) My dog was in my lap and quiet so he didn't notice her at first.
    via EurekaBoyd1979
  • As soon as he saw her, he headed our direction and she immediately climbed me like a tree. She tried to hide behind my head by draping herself
    via EurekaBoyd1979
  • across the back of my shoulders, something she does when she feels threatened. Plus the barking. There's always lots of that.
    via EurekaBoyd1979
  • woman holding a dog affectionately and close to her face
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • As soon as I realized he was eyeing her, I told him she's not friendly, that it can take MONTHS for her to warm up to someone new. He just grinned and reached out. He said he was a "real" dog lover, whatever that means.
    via EurekaBoyd1979
  • I thought he might have the sense to offer his hand for her to sniff, but nope. He started to reach over her head and she made a growl I'd never
    via EurekaBoyd1979
  • even heard from her before. She's never bitten anyone but I was worried she might since he was ignoring every warning.
    via EurekaBoyd1979
  • Finally, I reached up, blocked his hand, and gently pushed it back toward him. You'd think I slapped him the way his smile dropped. He
    via EurekaBoyd1979
  • wandered back to the other side of the group and I went back to the conversation he'd interrupted.
    via EurekaBoyd1979
  • After I went inside for the night, a couple of people there (friends and neighbors) were talking about "my behavior" like I'd done something wrong.
    via EurekaBoyd1979
  • I get that my blocking his hand was unwanted physical contact, but so was him touching my dog. Maybe I'm just sick of people seeing her
    via EurekaBoyd1979
  • cuteness and ignoring anything I say, but what else could I have done? I couldn't stand or move away because she was on my shoulders. So AITAH here or was I justified?
    via EurekaBoyd1979
  • Broad_Respond_2205 A real dog lover would notice the dog is stressing and immediately stop and back away. NTA
    via Broad_Respond_2205
  • LaceLurks you were in the right tho, like he ignored every verbal warning and your dog was literally screaming no in dog language. people acting like dog lover means i get to ignore consent is wild fr, you just protected your anxious lil baby.
    via LaceLurks

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dog person pet ownership dogs aita cute dogs entitled parents AITAH pets dog mom stranger doggos doggo entitled people karma pet entitled Reddit entitled people
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