Man's Reaction to Labrador in Restaurant Splits Opinion: 'I'm Not Friendly'

We all love dogs, or do we? One man recently split opinion on Reddit with his reaction to another person's dog sniffing his ankles in a restaurant.

In the post from June 28, user BeautifulSad6074 wrote that he went to a brewery restaurant with his wife. Walking across the patio to their table inside, the poster added that they got stopped for a moment "behind a table leaving and saying goodbye. In those moments, a lab type dog gets up and starts sniffing my ankles."

The poster wrote: "I look at the owners and say what the hell? and point at the dog. They just say the classic line of 'oh don't worry, he's friendly'. I admit I was a touch rude, I just say, 'I'm not friendly'. They pull the dog back under the table."

The poster added that the dog owners said, "if you aren't friendly you shouldn't be coming to a dog friendly restaurant. I tell them just because the place is dog friendly doesn't mean that it's okay for your dog to come up to me. I don't want it in my f****** space.

"They seem baffled that someone didn't like their dog," he wrote, adding that he chose an indoor table as it was not dog-friendly.

Ali Smith, dog trainer and founder of dog-advice website Rebarkable, told Newsweek: "Both sides have merit. The poster recognizes that they were in 'dog friendly' space and we must recognize that dogs are not perfect.

"What happened was a sniff of the ankle. Whilst surprising, it's not like he put muddy paws on a white Versace dress or stole a toddler's lunch," Smith said. "We must remember that dogs don't go into these spaces knowing the rules, and they have to be taught and refined as they go along, that training a dog is a process, not a switch.

"At the same time, the 'it's OK, he's friendly' excuse is used far too often with dog parents, as though friendliness creates a free pass, and it doesn't," Smith added. "In this instance, everything went fine and well, but even friendly dogs get into situations where they act to protect themselves or others. Essentially, as dog parents, we have to be able to manage the risks our dog presents.

"Keeping a friendly dog under control is always required, and it's why, if I take my dogs out socially, we pick a spot where there will be minimal interaction with others," Smith said.

"I think it's also important to note that the business could have stepped in here. Should they force non-dog friendly people into the dog area to get service?" Smith added. "If they have two separate areas, it seems strange that someone would be asked to enter a dog-friendly area when they had specifically requested not to."

Reddit users voted that "Everyone sucks" in this situation.

"A dog in public should not go up to strangers. A person trying to get indoors shouldn't have to change route because a dog is at one table," wrote one user. "Going to a dog friendly bar and then becoming livid when a dog interacts with you is absurd," posted another.

"I get that shops need customers but some of us have phobias and prefer our environments to be dog free," commented a third.

"If the idea of a dog sniffing you as you stand next to their table sends you off the deep end, you should probably not go to a dog friendly restaurant," wrote another.

Newsweek has reached out to BeautifulSad6074 via Reddit for comment.

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