Sorry I can't see you on Thursday because ....

[PaperwhiteTheFriendlyGhost]

... there's nobody to have the dogs. Four golden retrievers. How bad is this? Nobody can have a relationship with Bob because he can't leave the dogs.

I don't have any animals so should golden retrievers always be watched?

😆 good point! Just me, Ricky & our 184 dogs & cats!

If you love Bob you're going to have to love his dogs.
Four big dogs are a big lifestyle choice.

I love GR dogs. I have a beloved (very needy and slightly pathetic) Cocker Spaniel.

Do I sometimes leave her alone for the day with the tv on? Yes.
Does she survive? Yes.
Does she get rewarded with a disgusting muddy walk? Yes.

He needs to get a grip. Dogs are a responsibility, but they aren’t children.

Bet his house is a fluff fest and if they sleep in his bedroom then you'll be spitting out hair most of the night! I'd give this one a big swerve from that alone.

Basically
4 Golden retrievers is a lot of dog especially if he lives in a standard house. If it's a mansion the gold digger in me would be tempted to strong it out a bit longer

But yeah I'd leave Bob with his dogs

Urgh, four dogs? 😳 If I was single again tomorrow- dog ownership would be on my ‘new boyfriend deal breaker’ list. I don’t hate any animal, but I cannot bear the pong of wet dog, or the barking or the eating of fox poo. #catperson

Love this post. You've thought of everything.

His house must smell disgusting

Sorry, OP, it seems Bob is already in relationship.

Most single mums do have the dad involved though to some extent! When I was a single mum my kids stayed with their dad EOW and some weeknights too

Bob is already in a relationship, he just hasn't realised that yet. Bless him, he's well suited to his Goldens, nice but dim.

Someone who knows.
OP, listen very carefully to those that know.
Having 4 Golden Retrievers is not dabbling with dog care, this is serious dog commitment and you need to be on board or it will not work.

But if it's a Brideshead Revisited situation then 4 GR fit in fine

🤣🤣🤣 yes, this!

Four golden retrievers sounds like too much of a good thing.

@Eyesopenwideawake asking for a four legged friend, how does one get invited to a GR party?

What’s wrong with bringing the dog on the date? I’m assuming it was a pub and not somewhere totally unsuitable like the theatre. Some dogs are awful at being left, Bob is likely to be telling the truth. If you don’t like dogs tbh is definitely isn’t the man for you.

That's all very well and good but one of Bob's dogs is an old lady who probably can't hold on for that long to go for a wee and another is anxious and will probably assume the worst (that dad is in the secret services and has been caught by a Russian spy) so will start shredding the important documents from the firesafe box if left alone longer than 2 hours . The other two will have started preparing dinner in an effort to be helpful but they turned the oven on and forgot about it, and they set the house up with booby traps Home Alone style and now the smoke alarm is going off and there are sirens in the distance.

My dp has a dog and it can't be left alone for more than a couple of hours because it will try and eat just about anything (even down to scented candles and polystyrene, and it's own shit). I won't let her bring it round to my place because it's also incontinent. Not ideal, but we work around it.

However, someone who owns 4 big dogs is a red flag in itself (unless they live on a farm and they're working dogs).

@lookwhatyoudidthere Ditto for me. Dog ownership always made me instantly delete any potential man off the list.

Eh, in this case what's one person's red flag is another's heaven. If you love dogs and don't have one; free fluffy snuggles. If you have a dog, provided they will all get on you could have very compatible lifestyles.

I'm a dog owner who is online dating and I filter out people if they don't seem like they're dog-friendly, the same as somebody with children would filter out people who said they wouldn't want to date somebody who has children. It's just a compatibility thing.

Oh dear, this did make me laugh though.

If I wasn't married and dating I would see this is a green flag. A man who can prioritise something else before his own wants and needs. A man that can organise his dog care. If he got to four GRs then he must love a cuddle.

It sounds like you find them all a bit much though so he will be someone else's lucky find and someone less doggy will have you as a lucky find. Nobody's wrong but you don't sound a great match

I have to say 4 golden retrievers sounds like heaven to me! 🤣

@Electricblankettime makes some good (and endearingly earnest) points.

If your question had been "how good is this?" rather than "how bad is this?" then you, Bob and 🐕🐕 🐕🐕 would be a match made in Heaven.