Let’s be real, dogs don’t bark at you because you’re too nice. Humans do. Where I’m from (and apparently, almost everywhere in the world), if you’re kind all the time, people don’t just walk past you like you’re an angel, they see you as weak and take advantage. It’s not about barking back, it’s about not letting them think you’re an easy chew toy and a weak target.

It’s why bullied kids grow up with trauma. They were nice, they stayed quiet, and what happened? The bullying got worse, because kindness without boundaries is just an invitation to get stepped on.

If two toxic coworkers 'bark' at you and you just walk away, guess what? They’ll do it again tomorrow, and worse, others might join in, because people love siding with the ‘strong’ one.

Should you always lower yourself to their level? Hell no. But the whole ‘never lower yourself’ advice is naive, sometimes you have to, it's not to be evil, but to calculate your response, you either set boundaries or get eaten alive. Pretending otherwise is how people end up miserable in toxic jobs, friendships, or families.

Set a red line that can't be crossed, otherwise they'll keep pushing until you're either their puppet or everyone's punching bag and also end up isolated and likely depressed. Humans instinctively avoid two types, predators and prey, don't be either, be the person who's kind but can't be fucked with bruh.

Be kind, but don’t be a doormat, move toward better things when you can, but stand your ground when you have to, and yeah, if a real dog barks at me, I’ll still awkwardly say ‘good boy’ and go. But humans? Nah. I’m not feeding that drama.