Woman asks if she was wrong to let dog knock over kid she had already warned.

Being a responsible dog owner means never taking your dog off-leash in public places, proper training that doesn't just mean 'sometimes he sits if we have a treat,' and keeping your dog comfortable and happy for the safety both the animal and other people...

So, when a frustrated dog owner decided to consult the moral compass of the internet otherwise known as Reddit's 'Am I the As*hole?' about a conflict she got into with a neighborhood dad about her puppy, people were quick to help deem a verdict.

AITA (Am I the As*hole) for letting my dog push over a toddler?

I (20f) have an 8 month old puppy. He's generally very well behaved, we've been going to a trainer with him since he was 4 months but he's still an excitable puppy. I have him around young kids pretty often but I have them greet him properly first so they can play safely.

I take him for two walks a day which double as training sessions since he gets really hyped up outside and pulls/jumps which we'd like to stop even though he's not particularly big and that means we're frequently stopping and starting.

Today he started pulling near a local daycare, I stopped and he corrected himself so I gave him a treat and we went to head on when two young girls (2f, 4f) rushed over.

I knew them, they're my neighbors and I generally get along with them so I paused to say hi, letting them know that my dog was okay to pat if they'd let me settle him down first since he gets a little excited and I didn't want him jumping on them in case they got hurt.

The girls seemed to understand but their dad came over and told them to 'hurry up and pet the dog so we can go home'.

I tried to explain to him that I needed them to wait a second since he loves kids and if they wanted to pet him I just need to grab his collar and have him sit since he was still in training but he wouldn't listen and told the girls again to 'just pet him'.

So they did and my dog who was getting increasingly more excited about all these people immediately did what I warned and jumped up.

The older one didn't mind to much and let him lick her but the other fell over and immediately started screaming.

She didn't seem hurt, just startled, but the dad immediately went off at me for having a 'feral, untrained mutt' and told me I should never have my dog near kids before stormed off with his kids.

I did try and warn them but I love little kids and I feel awful about her being knocked over, especially since I probably could have grabbed him if I was paying more attention to my dog and less to the dad. AITA for what happened?

Here's what people had to say:

NTA (Not the As*hole). The dad is an as*hole and an entitled one at that. You were completely within your rights to tell him and his children no. Dogs are not communal property. You were doing the right thing, and your puppy was also doing the right thing. Even the children were doing the right thing. The dad is a dick. - Adm_Hawthorne

NTA (Not the As*hole). You were trying to do the right thing and settle your pup down before the girls came close. The girls were willing to wait patiently for him to be calm. The raging boor of a dad, however, is the only one to blame here. He is the only a*shole in this situation. Keep up the good work in training your dog, and here's to many happy years with him. - AnselaJonla

ESH (Everyone Sucks Here) (minus the kids) you’re the owner. You’re not obligated to let anyone pet your dog especially when you’ve already determined their actions will over excite your dog. You warned them. They didn’t listen. So you should have just pull your dog aside and said another time. - laurabland

ESH - the dad was totally at fault for rushing, but you should have left as soon as you realized your dog was overstimulated and jumpy. You could have just told the kids 'not now' and left. - Athrynne

NTA. The girl's dad is the as*hole for not teaching his kids how to act with animals. That said, as the owner of a 70lb basset (aka kid magnet) who is also inclined to get excited around kids and jump on them (...splat...), you need to work on a better way to control the dog around kids. For the dog's sake. Expecting the kids to wait is too unreliable, they're impulsive.

What works for me is squatting down beside the dog, one arm around his neck, the other petting him, and telling the kids that he's 'very shy' or 'a bit scared', most of them understand that this means that they have to approach cautiously but I have full physcial control of him if they don't. - PurpleWomat

ESH. Its YOUR job to control the dog. That includes dealing with people including kids around them. If the kid had been actually hurt your dog could been put down. If you don't have good control of the puppy, then the answer is 'No.

Kids cannot come pet him' and it's your job to get the dog out of the situation. The father was an entitled idiot who should've never told his kids to just pet a stranger's dog. - Revolutionary-Yak-47

So, there you have it!

The opinions were a little mixed on this one, but most people thought that while the dad was definitely in the wrong, this woman still could've been a more responsible dog owner and taken her puppy away when she realized proper protocol wasn't being followed.

Nobody is entitled to pet someone else's dog and she didn't need to entertain the idea just because they were kids. Good luck, everyone!