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AIBU?

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Angry re dog

131 replies

Dogmadlove · 09/06/2025 18:45

We are a family of 4. We have a 3 bed terrace house with an ok size garden. DH is adamant we can’t get a dog. He says the house is too small 🙄. I think it will have a calming effect on our 2 boys and family. How can I convince him??

OP posts:
WhatATimeToBeAlive · 10/06/2025 09:57

HangryLikeTheHulk · 09/06/2025 18:48

What are you looking forward to most ?

a) picking up their still-warm shit

b) paying ludicrous vet bills

c) replacing all the stuff the dog damages

Bit like having children then presumably 🤔Apart from the vets.

AllyDally · 10/06/2025 09:56

Dogmadlove · 09/06/2025 18:50

My 2 boys fight a lot and friends have said getting a dog helps in terms of being a positive distraction.

This is a dreadful reason to get a dog. At 11 and 8 the kids just need training 😂

AllyDally · 10/06/2025 09:55

Oh I missed the being out all day bit, in that case then I wouldn't get a dog at all. A cat will be better.

AllyDally · 10/06/2025 09:54

I have similar house, I have large dog approx 50kg and a small dog. House doesn't feel too small. If the small dog was big then it would be but large dog is super chilled.

Hoppinggreen · 10/06/2025 09:40

Dogmadlove · 09/06/2025 19:19

Garden or with dog walker

Garden?
You plan to chuck the dog out in the garden while you are out at work?

lizzyBennet08 · 09/06/2025 22:04

Totally wrong of you to get a dog when you’re both out of house all day. Dogs are uber social creatures and crave company. If you plan on leaving the dog along for large chunks of time it’s utterly the wrong thing to do.
ita very likely they would howl allot like my old neighbours dog did when it was left and it drove us crazy.

SusanChurchouse · 09/06/2025 21:25

As someone who lives in a terrace next door to 2 constantly yapping dogs, don’t. Not unless you want to piss off your neighbours.

ChicaWowWow · 09/06/2025 21:02

Same! I give a fuck about the dog(s) too, @DoyalikeDags . Good for you that you found the perfect one for your family, @Invisabledisappearingperson but if you'd read any updates from the OP, I doubt you'd want them to have a dog, tbh. Your positive anecdote does nothing for the OP's case, for whom having one sounds like the worst idea (mostly for the potential dog).

sandyhappypeople · 09/06/2025 20:50

I wouldn't do it OP, I have dogs and love them, as does my DH, but I know someone who pestered to get another dog after their last one passed away, husband was dead set against it but she wore him down and got her way eventually.

Husband and children have absolutely nothing to do with the dog, and I mean nothing, not out of protest as such, they just have zero interest in it and never wanted another one. She is 100% responsible for all it's care, feeding, walking, health issues (which are quite a few), anything the dog does wrong, she gets blamed for for not training it properly. It has caused a lot of resentment within their family.

Apart from you and husband not having any time to dedicate to it, the other reason is if the children have not been bought up around dogs then they won't know how to behave around one, bringing a dog into a house where the children argue and fight is a recipe for disaster to be honest.

saltnvinegarhulahoops · 09/06/2025 20:48

We had a dog in our house growing up while we were warring teenagers. The dog thoght it owned the house, and used to bite the teenager it thought was in the wrong. Regardless, for you to have a dog and 2 children while working full time, you both need to be absolutely in agreement on getting one.

WittyJadeStork · 09/06/2025 20:48

Cats? Find a local rescue and wait for a couple of confident male cats. Personally I’d avoid long haired cats

Arran2024 · 09/06/2025 20:47

DoyalikeDags · 09/06/2025 20:32

The relevance of the size of your house would depend on the breed. Fine for a sausage dog, probably not for a Great Dane.

You both work FT anyway so I wouldn't bother. It is cruel to leave a dog alone all day long.

Tbf a great dane is most likely to lie around sleeping all day, moving only to change position. I have 2 bernese mountain dogs and they dont race around like little dogs do.

WeHaveTheRabbit · 09/06/2025 20:46

The size of your house and garden would be fine for most dogs IMO. But the reason you've given for wanting a dog (to use as a calming distraction for your fighting children) is really not great. You should only get a dog if you actually want a dog. It shouldn't be the means to an end but an end in itself.

As for working full time, that very much depends on your schedule. If you and your husband are both out of the house for 8+ hours a day, it really wouldn't be fair on the dog. OTOH if you work from home or have flexible hours, that would be a different story. My DH and I have always worked full time, but we have flexible jobs, can work from home for much of the time, and can tag team each other. It works fine, some days our dog is left alone for an hour, sometimes two, and he is completely content.

Invisabledisappearingperson · 09/06/2025 20:46

DarkForces · 09/06/2025 20:36

I give a fuck about the dog.

Not my fucking dog though. Stop targeting my replies.

Delphiniumandlupins · 09/06/2025 20:45

Don't get a dog unless everyone in the family is committed to looking after it - walking, training and cleaning up. Don't expect a dog to fix your children or their behaviour.

Notashamed13 · 09/06/2025 20:43

He doesnt want a dog......don't force him, if it's a deal breaker then you know what to do.

EzioAuditoredaFirenze · 09/06/2025 20:39

Dogmadlove · 09/06/2025 19:19

Garden or with dog walker

So you'd leave your dog in the garden all day? All weathers?

Please do not get a dog. Dogs deserve better than that.

themonkeysnuts · 09/06/2025 20:38

full time work, fighting kids = recipe for disaster

VickyEadieofThigh · 09/06/2025 20:38

Stickytreacle · 09/06/2025 19:36

Greyhounds are very sensitive souls, I wouldn't put one, or any dog in household with fighting children.

It sounds like the whole dynamic is wrong for owning a dog at the moment OP. Why not let your children volunteer at a rescue if they are into dogs? Spending time doing something useful will be more distracting than a dog in the home as the novelty inevitably wears off.

They're 8 and 11 - which dog rescues do you reckon allow young children to volunteer?

Canarybutterdaisy · 09/06/2025 20:38

Dogmadlove · 09/06/2025 19:19

Garden or with dog walker

Is that a joke? Dog stuck out in the garden on the days you are both working full time?
A dog that is to serve as a distraction for your two fighting lads?

No, don't get a dog.

DarkForces · 09/06/2025 20:36

Invisabledisappearingperson · 09/06/2025 20:35

Can you stop telling me. Tell someone who gives a fuck.

I give a fuck about the dog.

Invisabledisappearingperson · 09/06/2025 20:35

DarkForces · 09/06/2025 20:28

You were very very lucky. Relying on a canine to sort out problems 2 human adults can't, leave them
alone all day and live in a home where one adult doesn't even want them is a terrible idea

Edited

Can you stop telling me. Tell someone who gives a fuck.

Cherrysoup · 09/06/2025 20:33

The dog takes up as much space as it stands in. When we moved here, we did decide it was the right house for a dog, big kitchen. We had a galley kitchen previously and yes, we thought it wasn’t big enough. The garden is reasonably important, ours are very energetic and like to roam around, but ultimately, they get 3 walks a day, so again, not hugely important.

I wonder what his real issue is? They are a huge tie, we don’t go abroad anymore, kennelling is really expensive (we’re extremely fussy where they go!)

DoyalikeDags · 09/06/2025 20:32

The relevance of the size of your house would depend on the breed. Fine for a sausage dog, probably not for a Great Dane.

You both work FT anyway so I wouldn't bother. It is cruel to leave a dog alone all day long.

MoominMai · 09/06/2025 20:30

@Dogmadlove I don’t think your reasons or environment are good to get a dog right now tbh. The biggest issue is you both work FT, not even WFH PT. Also, do the boys even want a dog? Additionally, I don’t think a dog will magically cure sibling squabbles. If anything it may distress a newly rescued dog who I imagine need the calm environment themselves in the first place to grow that trust and bond with you and your boys - not bring it in as a canine troubleshooter to create the calm environment for your kids! You’ve got it the wrong way around!

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