there's been this weird shift from like when i was a kid and it was just customary that you didn't approach dogs you didn't know and you didn't touch a stranger's dog without permission to people feeling completely entitled to just touch your dog

to the point of disregarding and even arguing with you when you say no

i have an aggressive dog and the number of people who insist "well, dogs love me" and reach out to touch him anyway is ridiculous

i feel like culturally we've treated dogs so much like children that people have largely forgotten that at the end of the day they're still animals and animals are not always predictable, logical, or even safe

Adjacent point, and possibly unpopular opinion, but it also seems like there’s been a large increase in entitlement from dog-owners too — specifically them assuming that their dog is automatically allowed into every public building or retail space, not even checking if there’s a sign on the door, and having a go at retail workers if they’re not allowed

And no it doesn’t make a difference if they’re “only small” or “well-behaved, not like other dogs”

There are many legitimate reasons that places don’t allow dogs — as stated above, they are still animals, they are unpredictable, even the most well-behaved dog could be provoked. Dogs could have messy fur, many people are allergic to dogs, many young children are scared of dogs — assuming that they should be let in places as default is a dangerous habit which definitely seems to have increased in recent years