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To pay/not pay the dog walker

131 replies

sophh7 · 18/08/2025 16:26

I don’t live with my partner but we’ve been together a few years. He works Monday-Friday, long days, this has only been the case for the last couple of years (he’s self employed so work isn’t always guaranteed either).

He used to pay the dog walker for a walk Monday-Friday, but stopped this a couple of months ago as work dried up and money was tight. I work from home so would pop over 2 or 3 days a week and walk her. This wasn’t always the case each week so I offered to pay for the dog walker to do once a week (I was happy to - although the dog is fine on her own for 8 hours a day I felt sorry for her. She also had access to the back garden still).

His 16 year old son has been at my DP's house since the start of the school holidays. I said to DP I’d stop paying the dog walker / popping over to walk to the dog as his son was there every day (it’s his dog). DP said he couldn’t force his son to walk the dog but he’d try. We’re now over half way through the holidays and it turns out his son hasn’t been walking the dog. At all.

I feel like asking the dog walker to start doing once or twice a week again, even though his son is there as currently she is only getting walked at the weekend when DP is at home. I feel dreadfully sorry for her not being walked, but why should I pay when there is a perfectly capable child at home that should be being made to walk her?

Apologies for this being so long winded!

OP posts:
sophh7 · 18/08/2025 16:40

Just to add, DP does walk the dog at the weekend and she gets a very quick round the block a few nights a week when DP gets back from work.

OP posts:
takealettermsjones · 18/08/2025 16:40

I don't know why you were paying for it in the first place, but there are a few things here that would have me raising my eyebrows. The lack of prioritisation of the dog, the apathy towards parenting his son (can't/won't make son walk dog = wants to be mates, not parent and child?).

If work has dried up such that he can no longer pay the dog walker, why isn't he home more to do it himself? 🤔

Ponderingwindow · 18/08/2025 16:37

This is not your problem to solve. You should expect better of your partner, not step in to rescue him from his own incompetence.

Lennonjingles · 18/08/2025 16:37

There’s a lot of hours in the day for your DP or his DS to walk the dog, not just daytime, like you I would feel sorry for the dog, does the dog get walked at all.

Bananapotato · 18/08/2025 16:32

No way would I pay for that! The lazy teenaged article needs to get out of his damn bed and walk HIS DOG.

TryingAgainAgainAgain · 18/08/2025 16:31

I would be massively put off a man who didn’t ensure that his dog was walked and had no ability/willingness to ensure that his teenage son walked his own dog.

I would prioritise the dog here, but it would be easy for a pattern to develop more widely where he opts out and you pick up the slack.