Having a high-energy dog can be a lot of fun – but it can be a lot of work, too.

Many pet parents enjoy letting their pup burn off some energy at the local dog park, which is usually a great solution – unless, of course, the owners ruin the fun.

In this story from Reddit, one such dog owner tries to treat the public park like her personal playground, until the author pushes back.

AITA for not leaving the dog park when asked?

The title definitely sounds misleading but I’ll try to explain!

Early yesterday morning, I (26f) went to the fenced in dog park with my 2.5 year old australian shepherd/border collie.

Anyone who has or has had these types of breeds know they require a lot of work and have a lot of energy.

Working dogs have a lot of extra energy to burn, and often need an open space to do so. Enter, the local dog park.

We have been to this park a couple times before when we are doing yard work at home and my dog can’t use yard to play and what not.

He loves to run around with the ball and loves to run with other dogs and is very good with the other dogs that are usually at the park.

Most of the times when we’re there, there’s at least 3-4 other people, but there happened to be no one there when we went – like not even in the parking lot or anywhere near the dog park.

I thought maybe it was closed but I checked around the area and there were no signs anywhere that said it was closed or open and I checked on our city’s park website to make sure that it was not closed and it said it was open.

And in our city if any type of park is closed, they have the metal fence up so you can’t go in or park in the parking lot.

It’s always nice to have the whole park to yourself, but a lot of social dogs don’t mind some company too. Unless it’s bad company. Enter, our antagonist.

So my dog and I went in and were playing fetch for about 10 minutes when out of nowhere a lady and her dog came up to the gate and told us we had to leave right now so that her dog could go in.

I told her that my dog is good with other dogs if she wanted to come in anyways.

She said no because her dog is not good around other dogs so she can only play by herself and wanted me to leave so her dog could use the entire dog park.

She had a little dog that I think was a Pomeranian or Chihuahua or something which does not need that much space.

Sounds like a her problem, not the author’s issue. The author agrees.

So I told her no I wasn’t leaving and that this is the only area near our house that my dog will have to play in for the next few days and he needs to run around to let his energy out.

She said I should just take him for a long walk and that he didn’t need to be running around like that and I shouldn’t take up the entire dog park for something so simple as walking around the block a few times.

The author claps back.

I then proceeded to tell her that if she wanted to walk my 85 lb dog, who is full of energy, around the block a bunch of times to get him tired then sure I’ll leave after that, but if not then I’m not going to leave so her lil demon dog can “take up the entire dog park for something so simple as walking around the block a few times.”

She said I was a b**** for not “respecting others” and the needs they might have and only thinking about myself.

So, AITA for not leaving the dog parked when I was somewhat asked to?

Let’s see what the folks on Reddit have to say about this dog park dilemma.

Top comment says the dog park is for dogs to play together. If your dog can’t handle that, don’t bring them.

Another commenter shares their personal experience, where they avoided taking their anti-social dog to a social setting.

Maybe take the tiny dog for a walk, since that will generally exhaust them, says this comment.

The entitlement of some people!

Lastly, a dog park Karen spotted in the wild.

Every dog should have its day, even if its owner is being problematic.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a daughter who invited herself to her parents’ 40th anniversary vacation for all the wrong reasons.