Why do people approach stress-barking dogs? My dog is people-nervous, and has some kind of PTSD going on, and we've much figured out how to manage situations to keep her the least stressed and therefore less likely to lash out at people as they leave the room or (in the case of one cousin) try to hit her. But this lady arrived without warning and even though my dog was barking and I said "Don't come close, she's anxious" she tried to approach the dog until I literally screamed "Please, don't."
Society, at least the society I live and work in, has this habit of viewing dogs as public property, even though they are not.
Dogs firstly are their own animals, and they have their own comfort zone, which if you cross is likely to end up with you being bitten, but they are also private property which means nobody should approach or touch any dog without permission.
Tumblr is a funny place to see these posts, because while I see lots of posts about humans and mental health and the importance of consent, but I also see lots of posts about ‘Doggos! Luv all teh doggos! I pat all da doggos!’ without considering that, like humans, perhaps there are some doggos which do not want pats.
Some people perceive dogs as objects, and will automatically assume a dog will react how they want them to react, and also believe that they have a right to interact with the dog. I believe some service dog handlers would have quite a lot to add on this topic. This sort of person will often take great offense when they are asked not to touch your dog, and will often ignore requests to do so. They may also bark back at or antagonize an already stressed dog to ‘talk to it’ or ‘show it who’s the bigger dog’. This is not recommended and makes no sense.
Lots of non-dog people don’t understand dog body language or read their cues well. To be fair, lots of dog owners don’t either, which is why so many dogs are said to be ‘dominant’ when they’re really just scared.
It’s also why I’m frustratingly frequently told on the street, when I stop to let a stranger’s dog sniff me, that I ‘shouldn’t be afraid, they wont bite’ when I am not at all afraid of dogs, but I am being polite and allowing the dog to approach on its own terms. It’s no wonder so many people get bitten.
This is why continuing, accessible, accurate education about animal behavior, especially pets, is so important. Both for human safety and animal welfare.
So the short answer is: Entitlement, ignorance or mis-information.
