'My dog is not public property': Strangers get upset when pupper parent refuses to let them pet his puppy in training, causing a streetside scene

Social media has tricked us into believing every dog you see wants your love. The truth is far from the opposite.

If you've only ever interacted with labradors, golden retrievers, or poodles and their mixes, you have a very sheltered view of the range of dog personalities. All of these dogs have been bred to be friendly to people. Some even say they're overly friendly. These dogs have all been engineered to be the ultimate family dogs. They're good with people, other dogs, kids, and are relatively easy to train and live with. However, not all dogs have the same temperament, and if you treat all dogs the same, you're going to end up with a bite.

There are many, many dogs that do not want a stranger's attention or to play with your dog. These kinds of dogs are typically fearful, and sometimes, what we in the dog world call "reactive". Reactive dogs get pushed to a point of being uncomfortable to resort to their base instincts of fight or flight, and in most scenarios, they choose "fight" to defend themselves. Even if the dog isn't reactive, you still shouldn't disturb a stranger's dog just because it's cute. Just like the puppy below, some parents take their dog's training seriously (in fact, we think more people should take their dog training more seriously) and don't want them disturbed unnecessarily. Always ask before approaching someone's dog, and if they say no, respect their decision. It is their dog after all.

If you're the one who gets upset when a dog owner says you can't touch their dog, you are 100% the problem. Believe us, we know how strong the urge can be to pet a cute dog, but the dog is not public property. Be respectful, that's all we ask.

01

via Alice Castro from Pexels

Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
02

via chelseamil33
03

via chelseamil33
What people don't see is how long it takes to get your dog back to being calm after interactions like that. Whether they're pawsitive or negative, the dog is thrown off its neutral mental state. Anytime a dog is outside of a calm, collected mental state, they start to act out. It's nearly impawssible to get any significant training done when the dog isn't in the right headspace. Think like you're trying to get a big project done, but your mom keeps calling you to tell you how cute you are. Do you think you're going to make any meaningful progress on your project if she calls you every five minutes? Yeah, we didn't think so.
04

via chelseamil33
05

via chelseamil33
06

via Lorna Pauli from Pexels

Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
07

via 79screamingfrogs
08

via NobodysLoss1
09

via NobodysLoss1
10

via NobodysLoss1
11

via Maidenonwarpath
12

via Scary-Pressure6158
13

via Scary-Pressure6158
14

via Africa images

Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
15

via DoctorPainless
16

via jennypurplethefirst
17

via Rainy_Grave
18

via Brilliant_Cattle_602
19

via exhaustednonbinary
20

via exhaustednonbinary
21

via Haunting-Earth-8593
22

via Haunting-Earth-8593
23

via Nina4774
24

via Maleficentendscurse