To pay/not pay the dog walker

The DP is calling it the DS’ dog and really it doesn’t matter, you get a pet for your child as the parent, the pet ultimately your responsibility not the child’s.

Agree. Your DP is “too busy at work” to be a present parent and a dog owner.
Do not buy his deflection of his responsibility on to a child for the dog.

Keep the dog, change the man
.

No one can “make” a 16yr old do anything they don’t want to.
However, that is no excuse to neglect a pet.
It is your DP’s problem to solve and he’s not doing it.
I would be calling the RSPCA and if that didn’t work, I would rehome the dog.

Ofc that means the end of the relationship and not because DP’s son is lazy, but because your DP is willing to let a dog suffer neglect as a pawn in whatever mind game he is playing with his teen DS.

That’s nothing. It’s cruel and neglectful. If it’s the boys dog, he should walk it. He can’t call it his and ignore its needs. The father should insist and withhold privileges every day he doesn’t exercise the dog for at least half an hour morning and night.

OP you are enabling a lazy DP. It’s so easy for you and the partner to blame the teen when really this is down to your DP’s parenting. Not your circus — why on earth are you staying with this man?

It is not your dog and not your responsibility. DP needs to walk his own dog or get his lazy son to do it or pay for it.

There is no reason the DS can't walk the poor dog. What else does he do with his days? If just sat at home no excuse.

I can't see that this is your problem at all. Not your dog, not your teenage son, certainly not your responsibility to pay for a professional service. Leave them to it.

[I would feel sorry for the dog except that in my experience dogs are quite happy to sit on the sofa and play Football Manager day in day out as long as they're with their boy.]

Rescue the dog from its awful owner and get rid of your boyfriend.

Massive red flag here. That kid is just going to be an increasing pain on you by letting him behave like this.

To be fair it's been too hot to walk dogs most afternoons recently, someone could do it mornings and nights, either your partner or the teenage son. My partner will leave for work at 6am so will get up and walk the dog before and after work. Sometimes he works Nightshift so will walk the dog when he gets in, when he wakes up and before work. It's not hard to do.

Is the teenager in the house all day every day? I was never home during the day as a teenager, especially during the holidays.

This is disgusting! A dog shouldn’t be left for 8 hours alone even if the door is open.Im out for around 8.5 hrs a day and sometimes my daughter is there and I pay someone to call in on my dog and sometimes they walk him but not always.I know money is tight with everyone but re home the dog please if it’s not going to be cared for properly.

He has a dog and a child and not looking out for either and it’s reading like you’ve been appointed chief dog carer. Hopefully you don’t do housework when at his or cook for both of them. It doesn’t matter how lazy the son is, it’s down to the lax parent.

As an experienced dog handler - Stop enabling this nonsense. Stop paying and stop walking. Tell them you will personally find a shelter for this dog if they do not stop neglecting it and leaving it unattended all day.

Does your partner pop home after 8 hours at work? Either he works long days and the dog is left for longer than 8 hours or your partner works a standard number of hours. Either way he is lazy and negligent about his dogs wellbeing and I would find that a massive turn off.

He needs to get up earlier to walk his dog in the morning and walk it again in the evening, he pays someone else to do it or he gets his son to do it. If he can't make any of those options work he needs to find a better home for the dog.

I don’t know why you’re with a man who treats his innocent lovely dog this way. It’s cruel not to walk the dog and what this says about him is Get Out while you can. Selfish lazy !!!!

Left on his own because he spends the whole time gaming.

Presumably he is at his dad’s house now during the holidays because he lives with his mum the rest of the time.

Pay him to walk his own dog?

The OP says the dog belongs to the teen!!!

If anyone pays the teen to walk his own dog, it should be his Dad.

I feel for the dog but also the DS.. 16 Yr old left on his own all day... Where's his mum?

Why don't you pay the son to walk the dog? Less than you’d pay the walker. I’m sure he’d get off his lazy backside for money. Most teenagers do.

Thats's some loser you are with.
Shit father too raising a lazy son.
Poor dog.

I presume DP’s son will have pocket money stopped? Most importantly it’s an opportunity to teach the kid about looking after things / people / animals and recognising when to help out.

Personally I'd dump the "partner" and adopt the poor dog.