To touch a strangers dog without permission then to be abusive when it barks

[WeHaveChocIcesInTheFreezer]

For context; we have a 4 year old female German Shepherd who is the softest, friendliest dog you can meet IF she knows you. She is not good with strangers, especially men, after some horrible experiences as a very young puppy. Typical of her breed she is loyal, loving and protective over us and our DC (6mo twins)- to note she is NEVER alone with or out of reach when around DC and has only ever been calm and affectionate towards them.

This morning I’m out walking her with a friend and have the twins in their pram, my friend pops into a shop so I’m stood outside with the pram in front of me and her sat calmly by my feet, next to the pram. Out of nowhere a young, quite big in build, man appears next to me and just lunges towards her and sticks his hand into her face. She instinctively sees this as a threat to her and us and immediately snaps at him/barks loudly. He backs off whilst quite angrily saying ‘not a friendly dog then eh?’.. so I said ‘actually she is but not with strangers and you should have asked before touching her!’ To which he raises his voice and starts saying ‘you shouldn’t have an effing dog on the streets if it isn’t effing friendly to strangers!’

At this point my friend comes out of the shop so this man storms off whilst shouting back more abuse about me being a ‘silly cow’ and having a ‘dangerous dog’..

Now I’m aware she’s a protective breed and can be intimidating to some, but I had a halter collar/lead on her and kept her by my feet/out of the way of people passing. She has zero issues around people as long as they don’t try touch her without warning. He PURPOSELY leaned across me to touch her with no warning!

AIBU to be annoyed at him? Or could I/should I have done more to avoid strangers touching her?

Every single child should be taught that you ask before you approach or touch a dog. Parents/schools can do this.

It's common sense and manners

Otherwise you are stressing the dog and setting it up to "fail".

I'd react if person I didn't know was inappropriately "friendly"

Agree with PP

I'm always tempted to stand too close to and touch the face of people who touch my dogs without asking. See how they like it.

YANBU. First rule with other people's dogs especially if on a lead is to ask are they friendly / can I say hello before touching or engaging with them. Idiot.

As a dog owner I know how annoying some strangers can be when you're out with the dog. Nobody should touch a dog without the owner's permission however if you know your dog is protective to the point he may bite if a stranger touched him I would muzzle him in public. It may not be what you want but if your dog did bite a stranger you could be in much more trouble and I'd not want to risk the backlash or being forced to put my dog down.

YANBU, only an idiot tries to pet any dog they don’t know without asking the owner first. Some people (usually men) think they’re billy big bollocks when it comes to dogs though - he probably felt embarrassed when it went wrong with yours and was defensive as a result.

In this case you couldn’t do much since he lunged past you but don’t be afraid to loudly say ‘She’s NOT friendly’ to anyone making a beeline for your dog.

If you can't be sure your dog won't bite then it should be muzzled. Bathe man was a dickhead. But even dickheads shouldn't be bitten.

It’s becoming quite common knowledge (or so I thought) that we don’t touch or stroke other dogs without owners permission as not all dogs are friendly or ok with strangers, so that is on him. Did you watch him lunge in or did you only notice when your dog barked? If you spot someone I think it’s only fair you give them a heads up before they get to touch your dog

Dont touch strangers dogs without asking. Its simple really

YANBU.

I have a springer, who is friendly and loves fuss and attention, but very much on her terms. She can be a little shy so is not keen on people grabbing at her without warning. She just backs away and hides behind me, which people seem to take offence to - she’s not a toy and I’m not going to force her.

I have actually asked people who do it how they would like it if I randomly started hugging them or stroking them without warning or permission and they get huffy.

I remember standing at some traffic lights with my old boy, on a lead, sitting nicely, waiting for the lights to change so we could cross over.

A child walking behind us, just kind of launched himself at my dog for a hug. My dog didn’t snap, or bark, but just kind of stood up in surprise so there was a clash of heads and the child fell towards the road before I grabbed him. The child’s Mum went absolutely nuts at me - ranting about my dangerous dog - I was like, maybe you should teach your child to ask permission before hugging random dogs.

He was more likely being abusive because he took offence to you reminding him that he shouldn't touch a dog without permission. At least, from your account it seems that he didn't mind her barking as much as you talking.
Not saying that you or your dog did anything wrong just that you may want to avoid entering into conversation in the future to save your sanity.

I only realised as my dog was reacting, he was that quick and appeared from behind me. If anyone even looks to be thinking about approaching I usually give a ‘she’s not great with strangers/is nervous, please don’t touch her’.

He was in the wrong.

But kids often do the same thing, could your dog be a risk to them?

I find it amazing both that any person ever tries to touch a dog - why? what’s the attraction of a dog? - and that owners think it’s ‘normal’ or ‘reasonable’ for a dog to react aggressively.

If your dog reacts like that, muzzle it, as a pp has said. It’s clearly not fit to be in public otherwise.

Just to be clear, she has never bitten anyone before. If she feels threatened like in this instance, she snaps/barks quite animatedly, which I appreciate given her breed can be quite scary to some. I’m confident (as confident as you can be) she would not bite someone or I’d muzzle her when in public. In response to a question about how she is around children- she actually loves children and has shown zero anxiety around any, even when I’ve introduced her to new ones (family, friends children etc in a safe way).

Agree. My kids are being taught to ask but my youngest has special needs and if he sees a fluffy dog, he might try and touch it without asking. I’d be pretty upset incandescent with rage if he was bitten.

People are very silly.

I have a cute dog. Very cute. He isn't friendly, unless he knows you, in which case he is extremely friendly. Woman stuck her hand in his face yesterday, despite being told that he was not friendly. He barked at her. She was actually shocked! I have a bright sleeve on the dog lead that says "do not touch". It's astonishing that people come and ask to touch.

If you have a large reactive dog it should be muzzled in busy public places where you can't always control interactions. Just because he hasn't bitten YET, doesn't mean he will never. It protects not only the people around you but also your dog.

As for his over reaction, assuming you never provoked it with the way you spoke to him about daring to touch your dog, of course it was wrong.

As a parent I can agree I’d be mortified if my child was bitten, however ultimately it’s the parents responsibility to stop their children from approaching strangers dogs, I understand much harder if a child has special needs.

As even the most mild mannered dog with zero history of reactiveness could turn? By your logic should all dogs be muzzled all the time to avoid parents having to stop their children?

He was a dick.

Who actually goes to stroke a dog face on without permission?!

An idiot, that’s who

She'd have been pretty useful if it had been you he'd been lunging for...

I don't understand at all why people seem to have a thing about touching other people's dogs. I think it's weird. When people approach us, even if they ask, I say that I'd rather they didn't. Why on earth should they? Get your own dog!

Don't give it a second thought, as a pp said he objected to YOU not really the dog . The dog isn't a problem mine is the same, any one getting in his face without permission gets what they get, and before anyone comes for me he has never bitten,and is not left alone with children. But that's just common sense, people should not be near a strange dog without asking.

You should always ask, and be polite if the owner says no. I was taught this as a small child. Some people have no manners

He was totally in the wrong.

Another inadequate man screaming crap at a woman in public (with her babies there!). Yawn. All too common now.

Please try not to dwell on it and don't let it affect your routines.

I think there is an argument for muzzling dogs in public, especially large breeds that could do considerable damage to or even kill a person.

Ideally nobody should approach a strange dog however there are plenty of vulnerable people who might do so, or could in some other way inadvertently cause a dog to react with a bite. I think the onus is always, always on the owner of the dog to make sure they minimise the risk as much as possible e.g. by muzzling, keeping on a short lead, ensuring perfect recall if off lead etc.

I'm sorry you had that experience though, it must have been very unpleasant.