Anytime you’re in public, there are basically two types of people: those who mind their business and those who don’t.

So, what would you do if your reactive rescue was finally making progress on a leash, only for other dog owners at the dog park to insist you were doing everything wrong?

Would you risk a setback to appease them?

Or would you stand your ground, even if it made you a target?

In today’s story, one dog owner finds himself in this exact predicament and is unsure if he’s in the wrong.

Here’s what’s going on.

AITA for keeping my dog on leash at an off-leash dog park

So there’s a dog park near my (22) rental.

It is an off-leash park (fully fenced) with signs that say your dog must be under your control at all times.

Many people come here all the time, and I’ve been going every day from around 10-11:30 am for the past two months since moving.

My dog is part Great Dane, so he is bigger than most and very strong.

He was also rescued and not socialized as a puppy, leading to a lot of reactivity.

Four months ago, I finally found a trainer who really helped me work on his reactivity, and he is a dream to walk on a leash.

There’s good reason why he still keeps his dog on a leash.

Off leash, however, due to his anxiety, he gets overstimulated and doesn’t recall, or know how to calm himself down without assistance.

He will sprint and bark after bikes, **** other dogs or not listen when they tell him to leave them alone, and can jump on people.

Again, this is only when off leash, and on leash, he is great and will only occasionally bark when another dog is playing with him.

So when I take him to the park to socialise, I leave him on a leash.

He’s been loving it, and I let him off leash when there are only a few dogs uninterested in playing and no bikes.

The past few times, there’s been a small dog that will run up to us, barking and growling.

It gets very aggressive without fully attacking, which upsets my dog and makes him growl back. The owner is an older woman who has to leash her dog and drag it away from barking in the park.

The first encounter was tense, but the next one was much worse.

The first time this happened, she told me her dog hates dogs on a leash and that leashes make dogs act worse.

She said I should let my dog off the leash.

I explained my situation, but she still insisted I take him off.

I just kept walking the perimeter and went home.

I hadn’t seen the aggressive dog for a few days, then today I arrived an hour later than usual.

The woman saw me, leashed her dog, and started yelling at me, asking when I usually come because she’s been trying to avoid me.

I explained I was late, apologized because I understand reactive dogs are hard, and told her when I’m usually there.

She leaves angry, and spends about five minutes at the other end of the park, angrily telling other patrons why she’s going before storming out.

Then, another patron came over and got involved.

One of those patrons came over and started interrogating me.

I explained his situation.

She told me it’s an off-leash park, and my dog needs to be off-leash.

I told her I don’t want him to jump on someone elderly or an injured dog, and she asked why he isn’t trained after a year of having him.

I told her I’m doing my training.

She told me I should go to a different park.

That lady then went on talking to everyone, who then kept on staring at me. I was so anxious that my dog noticed and started getting unusually reactive.

I had to go home early. I’m not sure what to do.

AITA?

Yikes! This sounds like a whole ordeal.

Let’s see what advice the folks over at Reddit have to offer about off-leash dog parks.

This person thinks he’s in the right.

For this reader, there are no winners.

This person suggests just going for a walk.

Yet another person who would go somewhere else.

He needs to check the rules.

If it’s posted that dogs must be off-leash, then he’d be better off going to a different dog park or just taking a walk. The drama isn’t worth it.

If you liked this post, you might want to read this story about a teacher who taught the school’s administration a lesson after they made a sick kid take a final exam.