One Dalmatian, Two Reactive Dogs, And A Lot Of Judgmental Strangers: Why This Redditor Isn’t Budging When It Comes To Who Touches Their Furry Friends
A Redditor walks three dogs, two of which are people-reactive. To keep them calm, they also walk their extremely friendly Dalmatian alongside the reactive pups.
When out for walks, the OP politely tells people not to touch the Dalmatian. This is because letting anyone pet him can unsettle the reactive dogs, forcing the OP to spend time calming everyone down.
Despite the warnings, strangers sometimes give nasty looks or insist it would be “fine” to pet the dogs. On tougher days, the OP has had to position both reactive dogs behind them and be very firm with passersby.
Both reactive dogs wear visible signs and labeled leashes explaining that they need space and caution. The OP keeps these warnings in plain sight and doesn’t try to hide them from anyone approaching.
Some commenters suggested that the OP shouldn’t own reactive dogs. The Redditor clarifies that the dogs are not aggressive—they’re reactive. One is a nervous Romanian rescue dog who gets startled easily, and the other is a German Shepherd that wasn’t socialized with humans or other animals by a relative who passed away.
The German Shepherd even had to be separated from the OP’s cats because he would chase them around the house. Despite these challenges, the Redditor isn’t giving up. They’re actively working to help both dogs react more calmly over time.
When out for walks, the OP politely tells people not to touch the Dalmatian.
Here's the original post by Reddit user 'goodomens97'.
I walk three dogs, two of which are people reactive. I walk my dalmatian who is extremely friendly alongside the two reactive dogs to keep them calm and collected. Now when I walking with either reactive dog, I tell people who attempt to touch my dalmatian that he isn't to be touched because it will upset the accompanying dog and then I'll have to calm the dogs down again.
When I say that my boys aren't allowed to be petted, people usually shoot me nasty looks or say that they'd be fine to pet my dogs. There are times that I've had to put both dogs behind me and be really firm.
Both my reactive dogs wear signs and labelled leads saying that they need space and caution and I don't hide those signs, I keep them where they can be seen. So am I the asshole for not letting people touch my dog?
Edit: for those saying that I shouldn't own aggressive dogs, I'm going to clarify; they are not aggressive. They are reactive. One is a Romanian rescue who is extremely nervous. I can trip over him by accident and he'll get scared.
He is afraid of people and I can't say I blame him. The other dog is a purebred German shepherd who was owned by a relative of mine who chose to be reclusive. So the dog was never socialized with humans or other dogs.
I've just had to rehome my cats because he hadn't been well socialized with them and kept chasing them around the house. I only have the dog because the relative died and left him in the will for me to handle. I cannot change who they've become, but I'm working on changing the way they react.
Here's how the Reddit community reacted.
"You’re looking out for the well-being of your dogs."
"It is what it is."
NTA.
"You're putting too much energy into explaining the situation to complete strangers."
You're keeping people, and your dogs, safe.
"No explanation needed."
"It's their problem, not yours."
"No means no."
"No touchy."
They need to ask you AND your dogs!
They need to respect what you say.
"They are your dogs."
They're not public property.
In the end, the OP stands by their decision: protecting the Dalmatian from being petted isn’t just about rules—it’s about keeping all three dogs safe and stress-free. What are your thoughts on this situation?
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