I took my dog to the park today. since she’s relatively young and struggles with some polish on her obedience, I keep some treats on me to reward her for good behavior/prevent the “We’re not leaving” runaround. I’m always careful to keep only a few tiny, dry treats, and make sure they’re secured close to me in a zippered pocket. I never offer them in front of other dogs, only to recall away or when we’re leashing up off to the side. Basically, I try to be as discreet, minimal, and safe as possible.

In the last year, I have never encountered a problem beyond dogs showing light interest in me and then settling for pets until today.

A woman’s senior Aussie who had been lying down a couple feet away for a while walked up to greet me, but then bit onto my pocket and started tugging. He gave up after a minute and laid back down, and as I started to back away, this woman walks over from across the park absolutely scathing. “You don’t happen to have anything in that pocket, do you?”

I apologize and sheepishly admit I had a couple treats just in case. She starts going off on me. “This dog is on PREDNISONE. Do you know the kind of torture you’re inflicting on all the other dogs here? It’s just plain awful for them. Look. These dogs aren’t having a good time at the park like they should be; instead they’re being tortured. You’ve ruined the best part of their lives bringing all that in here.”

I apologize again, as I look around at the other dogs. Most are playing loosely, some are relaxing. Hers has gone off to continue sniffing. She rolls her eyes and shakes her head at me and walks away in a huff.

I can understand the upset to some extent, but I haven’t been able to stop kicking myself from how harsh and pointed it all felt. I try hard to be responsible, so it hurts deeply to feel I missed the mark so much and could be really upsetting people so much or being so stupid. AITA?