A family visit took an awkward turn when a curious aunt accidentally ate dog food — fueling a heated Reddit discussion about etiquette.
In a post on the popular "Am I The A--hole" community, a user wrote that she lives in a house with her medium-sized dog and keeps a designated area for her pet's essentials.
"My kitchen is structured in a way that there is an area dedicated to my dog's things: dog food storage, bowls, food toppers … basically everything that has to do with his nutrition," the 25-year-old woman wrote.
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The user's dog food powders are made from a variety of different meats and fish, including beef sirloin, mussels, lamb and chicken, she said.
"[On] the label, it says what it is and what it is intended for, but there's no dog [shown] on the label that would make it super obvious at first glance that it's a dog item," she added. "That's just how the brand labels products."
An aunt’s accidental taste of dog food (not pictured) during a visit sparked an etiquette discussion on social media. (iStock)
The drama began when the woman's 60-year-old aunt stopped by to help set up her phone.
"I saw I needed something long-ish to be able to open the compartment that would let me add the SIM card in," the Redditor recalled. "I told her to wait, and I went to look for one."
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The aunt, meanwhile, went to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Next thing the niece knew, the older woman was holding one of the dog food jars in her hand.
"I hear her asking what I use that powder for and that it tastes quite nice," the niece wrote. "I immediately gasped and let her know I use that for my dog — it's dog 'food.'"
"I apologized for the fact she had eaten that in my house, and she started blaming me," wrote a young woman on Reddit about the pet food drama. (iStock)
She then said her aunt "freaked out."
"I assured her that while it's used for dogs, it's completely fine and safe for humans and that nothing's going to happen to her at all," the original poster wrote.
"[T]he best remedy going forward is for the woman to use warmth and good humor to smooth over the incident."
"I apologized for the fact she had eaten that in my house, and she started blaming me for leaving the food toppers 'there.'"
The woman concluded, "She has now gone to my mom, other aunts, cousins."
Commenters on the Reddit thread were quick to call out the prying aunt, accusing her of being nosy.
The powdered dog food topper was made from beef, mussels, lamb and chicken (not pictured), according to the Redditor. (iStock)
"Aunt will be known forevermore as 'Snoopy,'" one user joked.
Another argued, "If you open cupboards in someone else's home and help yourself, no one 'let you' eat whatever you consumed without asking!"
Lisa Gache, CEO and founder of Beverly Hills Manners in California, told Fox News Digital that the concept of "petiquette" has been long-established – but the Redditor's situation is unusual.
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"I have yet to see specific guidelines that dictate labeling pet food items in one's own home," the expert said. "In this scenario, the food items were stored in a designated dog area and the assumption is that they would not be mistaken as anything other than dog-related food."
"I have yet to see specific guidelines that dictate labeling pet food items in one's own home," said an etiquette expert (not pictured) about the situation. (iStock)
In similar situations, Gache advised hosts to show calmness and empathy – something the Redditor seems to have done.
The expert said that the aunt bears the responsibility and that rummaging through someone else's cabinets is "ignoring basic guest etiquette."
The two women might "have a good laugh about this in the future," an etiquette expert said. (iStock)
"While the aunt didn't help matters by blaming her niece and gossiping to the family, the best remedy going forward is for the woman to use warmth and good humor to smooth over the incident with a hug and say that she hopes they can have a good laugh about this in the future," Gache suggested.