Entitled woman pets dog without asking owner first, is baffled when dog owner berates her: 'I don't want them touching my dogs'

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Oct 21, 2026 12:30 PM EDT

Would you pet a dog without checking in with its owner first?

We all have different feelings about how we'd like to be treated, which is why the golden rule (treat someone how you'd like to be treated) doesn't always totally work out in our favor. Sometimes people have different expectations about how things should go. This person, for example, didn't want someone to pet their dog without asking first. Every dog owner has different views on this, and every dog is different. It seems to me, though, that communication is always key. It's always better to ask before you do something. It's never a great idea to invade anyone's boundaries or personal space if you can help it. And you can help it. It's pretty easy to ask permission, and it can have devastating consequences if you don't. That's what was happening here. 

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  • 01
    A woman tries to train her dog at a park on a leash
    via A. C. For Unsplash+

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


    A woman tries to train her dog at a park on a leash

  • 02

    Told someone to ask before touching my dogs and they freaked out.

    This just happened like 30 minutes ago. I brought my mom and two small dogs to an open street food market. We grabbed some food and sat down far away from other people. I tied my dogs. to the chair I was sitting on so they were no more than a 2 feet from me. Everything was fine until some lady started walking directly towards us. She proceeded to not acknowledge me and immediately crouch down to start petting my dogs.
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  • 03
    I said excuse me multiple times to her and she kept ignoring me until I pulled my dogs away from her to get her attention. I asked her to please ask me before going to pet my dog. She started scoffing and said that because I brought my dogs to a night market I should expect people to touch my dogs.
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  • 04
    I told her you need to ask first that's the polite thing to do and what if my dogs had bitten her. She said then if I have aggressive dogs then I shouldn't bring them out. I said I can bring my dogs out in public if I wanted to. She then replied that she can do whatever she wants too. I said no that's not how that works, these are my dogs you can't touch someone else's dogs without consent.
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  • 05
    She said OKAY WE SRE DOING THIS. really loudly and took her phone out and started filming me and calling me a crazy dog person. I was so shocked and then after a minute I realized she might be an actual crazy person and stopped engaging with her while she was filming.
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  • 06
    This upset my mom pretty badly so she took my dogs and walked away. I refused to let her force me to leave after she continued swearing at me and yelling at me. I just kept eating my food and staring at her while she filmed and she eventually walked away. I honestly hated that she ruined what was otherwise a great Saturday for me.
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  • 07
    Also I want to mention that prior to her coming up to me she had sneezed extremely loudly 4 times into her hands. This is why I was already on guard when she started walking towards me.
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  • 08
    EDIT: This was a dog friendly event My dogs are not aggressive and are extremely sweet. The reason why I even mentioned aggression is because I was taken aback at her entitled response to a seemingly reasonable request by me to have her ask to pet my
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  • 09
    dogs first. I didn't realize I needed to explain to a fully grown adult why she SHOULD ask before petting a strangers pet. So I mentioned "what if" my dogs were aggressive. Even if you don't agree with the rule that you should ask before petting, her response to someone obviously uncomfortable with her presence and just wants to be left alone is unhinged.
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  • 10
    We had a mild confrontation that wasn't nasty, and then she pulls her phone out to film me and start screaming and cursing at me.
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  • 11
    FinePossession1085 It is never OK to touch someone else's dogs (or kids or preg Incy belly) without permission. The woman was aj People often don't wash their hands. I don't want them touching my dogs or my kids.
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  • 12
    damnvan13 I was at a wooded off leash dog park with my dogs, letting them run around and sniff butts with others. I saw a lady with two little kids running around chasing a dog, waving sticks saying, "tickle me doggie, tickle me doggie" over and over. I didn't pay it any mind thinking they were just playing with their dog.
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  • 13
    It was when their attention turned to one of my dogs that I lit up. I yelled at them for trying to chase her with sticks. The mom yelled at me for talking to her children like that. I explained to her about respecting other peoples pet and that if my dog had felt cornered and
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  • 14
    threatened she could possibly bite them, the mom would coddle her children and my dog could possibly go to the pound. She started to tell me I had no right to tell her how to raise her children but I cut her off and said very loudly, "You and your spawn can f right off if y'all can respect my dogs."
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  • 15
    People were noticing the exchange and she and her kids noticed that. The kids started to cried so she just glared at me and grabbed them and walked them out of the park. They didn't even have a dog with them.
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  • 16
    I have mixed feelings about my interaction with them but kids need to learn how to meet pets and I hope I kept them from getting mauled by a dog that day.
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  • 17
    A young man trains his white dog on a leash outdoors in a park
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    Scene is illustrative and does not depict actual individuals or events.


    A young man trains his white dog on a leash outdoors in a park

  • 18
    MeFolly Next time try exclaiming loudly "Oh, dear! I just put their ringworm medication on. I hope it doesn't affect you."
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  • 19
    Few_Airport7972 Always, always ask before petting strangers dogs. The dogs don't know you and you could frighten them. A frightened dog will often snap and bark. Heck, people who touch me without my permission make me want to snap and bark. LOL That person is an idiot!
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  • 20
    ailweni I saw an AITA post years ago where the OP wanted to know if they were an a h le for telling people "my dog isn't a tourist attraction" when people constantly interrupted them on walks to pet their dog. It doesn't matter if the dog is the friendliest one in the world - you ask before you touch them!
    via u/Dragonester
  • 21
    Rogue_Indigo My dog is not nice but he is allowed to go out and enjoy things as well. When I see people coming i tell them to not pet him and ive been told no its OK dogs love me..... She is crazy you always acknowledge the owner before petting dogs.
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  • 22
    not only is it r de not to, who goes up to dogs they don't know and automatically assume they're okay to pet then get mad when they're told not to
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  • When there is a lack of communication, there can be a lack of understanding and trust. When this falls apart, the fabric of society threatens to fall apart. Not to be dramatic, but if we don't have that, we don't have anything. When trust falls away, what are we left with? I'm all for petting the dogs of strangers. It's one of my favorite things to do in the park. But you can't just assume that every dog is friendly, and you can't assume that every owner is okay with you touching them. They can draw their own boundaries, and you have to protect them. The dog isn't just there for you to pet; they're being watched over by an owner, and they probably want some say in the matter. 

    Dealing with strangers is not always an easy task. You never quite know what you're going to get. People are generally kind, but not all the time, and miscommunications can happen super easily. You never know if you're going to accidentally step on someone's toes and cause a conflict. You can't go around avoiding conflict all day, but it is difficult to know how to deal with a tricky situation on the first try. Some folks just come to it with a sense of entitlement, and that can be hard to learn how to navigate. That's what it looked like here, where a woman was trying to deal with someone who was interacting with her dog in a way she didn't approve of. Dealing with one another is not an easy task, and it can take a lot to make you feel like you've done something wrong. Keep reading for more here and let us know what you think in the comments below.

  • 23
    TeachOfTheYear As a teacher I have said, hundreds and hundreds of times, "Always ask before you touch a strange dog, you never know if it could be mean." IN FACT, I have a gimmick to teach it--in circle I've used a stuff dog as the talking piece (only the
    via u/Dragonester
  • 24
    person holding the dog can speak) and when it is time to pass the dog the recipient asks, "May I pet/touch your dog?" (Then I can follow up with, "Nice, I like how you asked to touch that dog." Over and over and over and over and I teach special ed and repetition is something. we do over and over and over....
    via u/Dragonester

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