Going backwards in all the progress I have made in the boundaries I’ve established with these mutts. It was so nice to not have the dogs destroying the house for a while, them having their own space, but now he feels bad about it so I get to live in a stinky piss and shit pit again. I have decided to resume smoking. I’d rather smell that than dogs.

My mental health has been circling the drain lately and this is probably going to cause it to go straight down. Having to see how these animals have decided to wreck the house every time I get home from work. Even if I don’t clean it I still have to deal with it.

It’s all my fault anyway, I decided to show them the smallest amount of sympathy and now it’s like all of the problems I had never existed. Go figure right? These animals prevent me from making the next step in my life. It’s taking a huge toll.

One of the more frustrating things about socialising with dog owners is being relentlessly interrupted by them shouting at their dog. Having every single sentence I say cut short by them repeatedly shouting ineffective commands at their dog is just so disrespectful and dismissive. I once spent a couple days in the company of a guy who didn't have his dogs with him at that time but he'd spend maybe 70% of the conversation talking about his dogs and would inject them into any topic which I found weird... He also said he feels zero empathy for humans - even suffering children wouldnt move him- only make him laugh but the whine of a dog tore his heart apart and was unbearable for him.

Then he found out where I spent my summer and drove all the way to there (across the entire country) and invited me camping (this time with his dogs) and literally 95% of the time he was talking to his dogs or about his dogs. This was supposed to be a courtship and him getting to know me which HE initiated but he'd interrupt every single sentence I'd speak to talk to his dogs and micromanage them even when they literally weren't doing anything. Just one of the dogs moving a millimeter to the left would warrant him interrupting me and redirecting all attention towards the dogs. The dogs, especially one of them which would just lay and chill the whole day, weren't even particularly problematic or attention whores, he'd just be hyper fixated and hypervigilant and trying to control everything about them for no reason. And once he came back from that sometimes he'd make an attempt to resume the conversation, but most of the time he'd redirect the conversation to the dogs and what they did or just stay quiet. Felt like I was utterly irrelevant and unneeded there and obviously nothing about me or anything I say would be important or interesting enough to not be interrupted. Oh and my needs were substantially less important than the needs of the dogs which always needed to be well fed and rested while it didn't matter if all I had was a tomato for dinner or if I hadn't slept in 3 days- zero care, affection or regard for me.

Guy stood like 5 meters away from me at all times while laying down, kissing and spooning his dogs. Zero warmth or affection or kindness or interest in me, but all the warmth and love in the world for the dogs which endlessly fascinated him. When I slept on the one bed I repeatedly invited him to sleep next to me but he was insistent on wanting to sleep on the floor next to his dogs. He told stories of volunteering every week at a dog shelter, being proud that dogs bit him and hating all humans because they're evil and wicked (and it would be better if all humans die) while loving dogs because they're good. Said he'd spend his last day on earth with his dogs, laying in the grass and letting them loose so they can attack any humans that come near. After pursuing me for a couple months (during which I turned him down several times because I didn't think he liked me that much or I was dating other people) he dumped me the moment I reciprocated the interest because he stated he prefers his freedom and is very selfish about his free time (not sure how spending 99% of your free time micromanaging and tending after your dogs is freedom) and would prefer to dedicate his life to dogs. He finished off with a consolation prize statement that I'm "not bad for a human" (but obviously can't measure up to any dog on the planet). Never again getting near a dog owner, will always be second place, not even second place actually - more like beneath every dog in existence

I'm so sick of my boyfriend's two dogs.

When he's at work they're fine and mainly sleep.

I'm disabled so I'm usually home, and I spend most of my time upstairs to avoid the dogs who are separated from the upstairs by a gate. When I do go downstairs when my boyfriend isn't around, I mostly ignore the dogs, or I yell at them to get out of my face if they get too close. I've done this often enough they've learned to not beg for my attention too much. When I'm upstairs home alone, they don't bother trying to get my attention.

As soon as my boyfriend gets home, they demand every fucking second of his attention. The second he goes upstairs, even just to go to the bathroom for a few minutes, they scream their heads off!

We had to raise the gate on the stairs higher because the Labradoodle with fucking horse legs kept jumping over it. I keep begging my boyfriend to hardware mount it and the other gates because with them pressure mounted, the dogs keep ripping them out of the walls. I'm very sensitive to sound and have CPTSD so the scream barking is bad enough without the crashing of gates falling over!

My boyfriend's "solution" to the dogs freaking out is to constantly spend time with them while he's home. It's never enough for them. He can have spent hours with them and they'll still scream their heads off the second he leaves them alone. I tell him over and over he's just making it worse by spending more time with them every time they demand it, instead of rewarding them with slowly increased separation times. He doesn't listen and keeps allowing them to demand his constant attention.

The second he comes upstairs to spend time with me, they're fucking screaming. If I try to watch something on TV with him on the couch, the dogs are constantly jumping up in between us and on us, acting like they're lap dogs when they're too big to be. They'll violently wrestle each other next to the couch and he'll say they're "just playing" as I get scratched and bruised from this shit. I've started getting up and walking away if they start the wrestling shit. I don't care if it's normal dog behavior! There isn't space for it in the living room!

I am a FTM and live with my husband and his female pitbull. He came into this relationship having owned her already for three years. I’m not much of a dog person but for his sake, I put my opinions aside. However, since I have gotten pregnant, i cannot stand her more and more every day.

When I was about 10 weeks, I was laying on my back in bed talking to my husband and she came running into the room and jumped directly on my stomach. I was in a lot of pain for two days and panicked, and I think that is where my issues with her started. She is constantly jumping up on my stomach despite us telling her “no”. I cannot even lay down or sit next to my husband without her whining, climbing on top of me so he has to pay attention to her, or her nipping at my face to get me away from him. We also have a 5 month cat and she will bite at him (some occasions, hold him down with her paws and bite at him) if he is getting ANY attention from my husband. I’m now 21 weeks and she has started growling at me and doesn’t listen to me anymore. She has never acted this way ever and would listen to us both equally, would lay with us both and at some point, got more clingy with me due to me being the one home with her all day.

I have had multiple breakdowns over feeling like I’m a terrible person for disliking her or being tired of feeling like i’m constantly competing with a dog for my husband’s attention. I tell him all the time that i’m scared she will not adjust well to our daughter considering she doesn’t even like me or our cat getting his attention, i tell him to not “reward” her by giving her attention when she nips at me or climbs on me but he does anyways. It is so frustrating and i feel like i’m being overly dramatic or sensitive. I have such a fear that she will randomly attack me or our daughter and every time i bring it up, he gets so uninterested or just says “she will learn eventually.” WHEN? When she attacks me or our newborn? Will she think she can climb on top of our newborn and nip at her face when my husband is holding her or taking care of her?

I just want her out of the house, i feel like she is a threat to me and my baby’s safety. I can’t control her on my own, she’s too strong. She can go stay at his mom’s house which is still close to us and she will have unlimited access to a backyard as opposed to just daily walks around our apartment complex. But he doesn’t seem to understand my concern and I’m not sure how to explain it or make him see my point.

Any parents have experience with a situation like this? How did you get your partner to see your point of view? I’m at a complete loss and don’t know what to do. Any advice is appreciated!

Yesterday I caught one of his dog in our bathroom trying to take the trash out of the bin. This often happened but I never caught her red handed. Just random toilet trash in the middle of the living room. This frustrates me because it’s just unsanitary. And when I scolded her yesterday, she bit my index finger, it’s not bleeding but a long scratch mark and broken skin on the nibbed area. I told my husband and he scolded her but he told me he couldn’t understand how that happened even after I explained it to him, this makes me feel like he questioned me. Ever since that, I don’t want anything to do with the dog. She always trying to come to me whenever I cook or eat hoping I would give her something but heck why would I feed a beast who bit me? So I always tell her to go away. And I’m scared to get my hands close to her. She’s a 5yo mixed mutt, around 30-40 pounds? She’s pretty big imo bc I’m quite small for a human being and I don’t want to risk anything because I’m currently pregnant as well. But whenever I shoo the dog, my husband’s face looks frustrated, I said I’m sorry and he confirmed that me telling the dog to go away frustrates him.

We (me and the dog) have a rough relationship to begin with, because the arguments in our marriage is always about my husband’s dogs (their fur is everywhere even in my underwear and towels and on my plate 🤦🏻‍♀️, they make our bed dirty with poop stain, they always beg for my food, take the trash out, making mess, etc). But last week was tolarable, and just when I thought I can compromise living with the dogs, this happened. I’m honestly on my edge. On the other hand I feel bad for my husband because I know he loves his dogs, but I can’t imagine when the baby comes with this bite issue. Mind you both of his dogs have bit him before.

This makes me really sad because I honestly don’t know what to do anymore. I don’t even want to be in the sane room as the dog and even looking at it makes me angry. Everything it does just annoy me. Because what kind of dog bit the person who feeds them every morning? I’m tired of feeling angry and annoyed, but I don’t know what else to do except counting the days the dog walk on the rainbow bridge.

I’m so damn mad even though they’re not my chicken tenders, they belonged to my sister who ordered them on DoorDash, from Raising Canes, and I don’t know which combo she ordered but if it was The 3 Finger Combo then that would be the whole damn meal that the stupid fucking dog stole. Just the fries, a slice of toast, a drink… with the main course missing aka chicken tenders. The problem with my mom is that she’s plays Savior and if you try to discipline the dog, she would say “stop” or “don’t hit him”, and she’s the same person who then babies/baby-talks the dog, but she somehow had it in her to do (what we try to do to her dog) some similar things onto her own kids though, when we were little kids. And then my other sister, the clown ass sister, takes him back out of the cage after about 30 minutes to an hour, and keeps talking to the dog like asking it “why did you steal her food?” and not like in an angry way or annoyed, because she then starts-baby talking the dumb thing, mentioning his stupid toy that’s he’s playing with, bending her stupid ass over to get her face close the dog’s face and talking the dog, like it knows what the fuck she’s saying, she even looks over at me because she probably thought I was watching her weird behavior, and now she wanna say “let’s go” aka go to bed, in her room and closes the door behind her.

I can’t comprehend why people think they can bring a dog to a relationship and expect their partner to share the work. Why do you even have a dog if you aren’t willing to do what it needs? You get a dog, you don’t like taking care of it so now it’s my job? And im the bad guy for not wanting to do it? I didn’t ask for this, i don’t have a dog, i don’t want a dog. On what planet is it my responsibility? Every day i miss the peace of living a dog free life where my house is clean and quiet and i can go where i want when i want. This is just awful. I hope this is the last year for it because i can’t take it anymore

I agreed to watch him for ONE WEEK NOT TWO MONTHS!!!!!!!!!!!

The last 2 months have been HELL for me. My backyard is fucked, majority of my kids books and toys are destroyed and my sister REFUSES to take her dog back all because of another dog being at her house that’s not even hers. I have begged her over and over to take her dog back that I only agreed for that one week while she was away and she just keeps telling me “not yet” WELL THEN WHEN? When will it stop?

I’m sick of cleaning my backyard just for it be destroyed again. I’m sick of being lied to that he’s trained and went to puppy school when clearly he hasn’t! He doesn’t even listen for fk sake he just does whatever he wants to my house.

One time a bird flew into my house and this stupid dog chased it around my living and kitchen area and I couldn’t get him to stop, it was CRAZY!

All of my other family members cant take him in and she’s asked her friends they don’t want to take him in either.

What do I do?

I think I’ve reached the point where I’m seriously considering letting go of my relationship, and it’s honestly heartbreaking because this is the most stable and secure I’ve ever felt in my life.
I’ve been trying to weigh the pros and cons, and the pros genuinely outweigh the cons. My partner is a good person, and we’ve built a life together that I truly value. But there’s one thing I cannot seem to get past: their three dogs.
I know this might sound ridiculous to some people, but these dogs genuinely bring out a level of frustration and anger in me that I struggle to control. I constantly find myself biting my tongue because I don’t want to say something completely out of line.
To be fair, things have improved significantly. I’ve personally put effort into training them, and my partner has gotten much better about keeping up with grooming and their general care. I can acknowledge that progress, but the truth is, I still cannot stand living with them.
It’s the constant need for attention, the whining, the begging for food while we’re eating, and the responsibility that comes with having three animals. I don’t enjoy any of it, and I don’t want that responsibility.
Our lease recently ended, and we’ve been considering moving into a beautiful home we toured. I was genuinely excited about starting that next chapter together. But today, one of the dogs ran away and completely ignored me when I called for it, only responding to my partner. When I expressed my frustration, my partner defended the dog, saying it wasn’t its fault because it didn’t know any better.
That response sent me over the edge. I was so angry that I caught myself wishing the dog would get hit by a car. I know that’s an awful thought, and I’m not proud of it, but that’s how overwhelmed and resentful I’ve become. It’s honestly concerning to me that something like this can trigger that much anger.
We’ve also had an issue with one of the Chihuahuas, which is currently staying with my partner’s mother. That dog was by far the most difficult and untrained of the three. Now my partner has mentioned possibly bringing it back, and I’ve made it very clear that I’m not willing to live with that dog again.
I also feel like my partner may have built up resentment toward me because of my comments about the dogs and the fact that I have absolutely no interest in giving them affection or attention. And I can understand why that might hurt someone who genuinely loves their animals.
What makes this situation even harder is that leaving wouldn’t just affect me. Financially, it would be difficult to start over on my own, and I have a teenager to consider. My child is the happiest and most stable they’ve ever been, and the thought of disrupting that breaks my heart. I’ve even tried discussing alternative living arrangements with their other parent, but that isn’t an option.
So now I’m stuck between staying in a relationship that offers me so much stability, love, and happiness, but also comes with something that makes me miserable on a daily basis, or walking away and potentially giving up a life I’ve worked hard to build.
I don’t necessarily think my partner is wrong for loving their dogs, and I don’t think I’m wrong for not wanting to live with them. But I’m starting to wonder whether this is simply an incompatibility neither of us can compromise on without growing resentful.
At this point, I’m mostly ranting because I don’t know what to do. I’m genuinely curious what others would do in my position. Would you try to find a way to make it work, or would you accept that sometimes one issue, even when everything else is good, can be enough to end a relationship?

Earlier this year I moved out of my dad’s house. I moved out for many reasons, but the dogs were definitely a contributing factor. My older sister still lives at home, and her and her dog have taken over the entire house, even when I still lived there. That dog has destroyed so much stuff in the house and she thinks they make the rules. In reality, she’s 28 years old and doesn’t contribute a penny to the house.

Today I stopped by to see my dad, something I do whenever I’m in the area. I don’t like going in the house because of the dogs and because of how much of a mess it is. Again, she’s taken over the entire house and my dad allows it so…

Anyway, my dad was in the garage when I got there. We stood in the garage/driveway talking for maybe 30 minutes. It’s a nice day out, why go inside? During our conversation, the neighbor stopped by and all 3 of us were just hanging out talking. Surprisingly, you couldn’t hear the dogs barking from where we were, but apparently they were.

About 30 minutes after I got home, I receive this text from my dog nutter sister: “I would really appreciate if you’re going to come over to at least see the dogs so they stop barking or doing something so they don’t go nuts.
I was trying to sleep earlier and I have to deal with the dogs going nuts because of you and Paul.
What is the point of coming over if you aren’t going to come on the house?”

Umm… the person I came to see was outside… so we stayed outside…
I responded with “Um I can come over anytime I want and do anything I want while there. I don’t need your permission to talk to dad in the driveway. Nor do I have to listen to instructions from you. Stop being a b—— for no reason. It’s not my fault Paul came over. I came there to talk to dad who was already outside. There quite literally was no reason for me to go in the house. I’m not going in the house if I don’t want to. You’re not the home owner. Stay in your lane and learn to control your dogs”

I mean…. How ridiculous. So because you can’t control your barking dogs, people are expected to take orders from you… when they didn’t even come to see YOU… maybe if your dogs weren’t so out of control, people would actually wanna come in the house. mind you this is at 1:00 in the afternoon.

Sorry, humans come first. Humans are allowed to be outside and enjoy the nice weather. We shouldn’t have to accommodate to dogs.

Thought you all would get a kick out of the ridiculousness of this.

I spent an hour cooking a meal for my husband to have ready right when he got home from work. I know an hour isn’t that long, but with a newborn who wants to be held 24/7, even the simplest things can be hard to get done. Of course, the first thing he does when he gets home is say hi to the dog before anyone else, then take a shower before eating. I should’ve known something was going to happen, but I heard my baby crying and went to check on him.

About 15 minutes later, I heard a HUGE crash from the kitchen. We can all guess what happened: the dog knocked the pot right off the stove and helped himself to the entire meal I had just cooked. I genuinely thought the stove being hot would keep him away, but I was wrong. What bothers me most is that everyone seemed to find it funny and cute, even though the dog was the only one who got to enjoy the meal I spent an hour making. He gobbled the whole thing up in five minutes, and I’m still wondering why nobody stopped him.

Honestly, this makes me worry about the future. What happens when my baby starts crawling or walking? What if the dog gets jealous, knocks him down when he’s doing something cute, or steals his toys? Will everyone still find it cute then? Because to me, this isn’t just about a ruined meal. It’s about feeling like my effort doesn’t matter and worrying that people aren’t taking my concerns seriously when it comes to my baby’s safety.

My husband is pissing me off. If you read some of my other post I talk about how I’m pregnant and his dog is a straight menace. My husband wants to get rid of my animal I can’t say it on here but my animal is the 2nd most common pet ppl get. Well that animal has gotten me through loads of shit like depression and anxiety I don’t want to get rid of him. But I told him I’ll give my pet to my mom so I can frequently visit him. Well my annoying ass husband hates my pet he loves his nasty smelly rude Labrador that gets into everything and tears shit up and makes my pregnancy miserable. Like I told him no I’m not getting rid of my animal if your dumb ass dog stays here that’s not happening. Like I’ll get to the point to where I’ll purposely let that dog run away and never come back. He’s trying to fuck with me and be funny. He gets to keep that damn mutt but I have to give up my happiness for my animal THAT DOES NOTHING because he doesn’t like it. It ain’t happening like I said that dog will end up “missing” idc

I've been living with a dog for 3 years now and for the previous few months, its health started to decline. Because of that, the dog now has to be taken outside more often so it doesn't shit and piss in the apartment. Long story short, I now have to take melatonin due to my partner and I staying up late until midnight to sometimes 1am just so it doesn't piss or shit inside. And yes, we have dog pads that it uses, but its still disgusting to witness piss and shit indoors. I haven't been able to sleep fully through the night in so long with how much this dog screwed up my sleep schedule. I've been waking up randomly every night after only sleeping for 2-4 hours at a time. I then fall back asleep after 30mins to sometimes an hour of being awake, and the cycle continues. Thankfully the dog's health has been declining more with each passing week so I know its time is almost to an end. My partner and I have talked about getting it euthanized soon and he's been so exhausted because of the damn thing too. I'm honestly so damn excited to finally be able to get a full nights rest and get my sleep schedule back on track once this thing goes! And of course I'll be overjoyed no longer having to live with a dog!

it’s not that i hate the dog, i don’t, i actually do love dogs and especially my own. but for nearly two months now, i’ve been taking care of my boyfriends dog, and he has more bad days than good ones. he barks at any and every little sound, doors closing/opening. but what pisses me off the most is how ridiculously greedy he is. and i hate to say it because i adore my boyfriend but he wasn’t doing me or him any favors by allowing him to sit 2 inches away from him every time he eats, and allow him on the bed (he’s a Pomeranian and his hair is literally worse than anything i’ve ever seen, everything i own is covered in hair if i don’t obsessively keep up with it, my clothes, getting in my mouth, EVERYWHERE) because now it’s been hard to break that habit in him. when i’d sleepover at my boyfriends house, something he used to do was literally demand someone takes him outside anywhere from 5-7 times throughout the night even when he didn’t have to go, he only stopped because i started telling my boyfriend to just refuse, but he’d literally wake us up at least 5 times in the middle of the night barking to be let out, but not because he actually had to go, just to be fucking annoying. like literally he stares at me every time i eat anything, at this point i just put up a blanket or my knees just to block him from staring, no amount of food will ever be enough for him! literally trying to dodge the blanket as we speak to stare at me as im eating and typing this. i have to put a home made happy hoodie on him to keep him a little quieter. but sometimes he still just decides to do what he wants and he does not listen like at all, the past few days i’ve been working (i work from home) and i’ve had to have my mic on to do different activities and of course that’s when he decides to start barking incessantly at fucking nothing, and just won’t shut the fuck up!!! sometimes it feels like he intentionally does shit to piss me off, really it does. but most days after i’ve fallen asleep he’ll get up, take it off, and go lay by the door so he can bark if he hears footsteps, he doesn’t mind waking me up at 4 am when i’ve gotta get up for work 3 hours later. sometimes i really feel like i’m at the end of my rope with him. i told my boyfriend that if we’re moving in together i refuse to live with this dog while he’s untrained, and he’s 5 so it’s kinda hard to teach him anything, so hopefully formal training will help. the thing is i love the dog i guess, but i absolutely, positively, do not like him. ugh that’s all, just needed to vent

In other words, the constant barking and all of the other annoying sounds that dogs make, that howling too. And the nutters with their baby-talk and the annoying fucking voices that they make and the mispronunciation of words, especially when they act as if they haven’t seen the fucking dog in a year or two, always talking about dogs, they have a conversation with someone and somehow their dog is brought up or dogs in general.

Am I the only one who is genuinely scared about what the future might look like when it comes to my husband and his dog? His dog has already had cancer once, and knowing that cancer can come back, I can’t help but worry about the possibility of it returning for round two. The vet has already explained that if the cancer does come back, the dog is less likely to survive, and that thought has made me think a lot about what might happen in the future. But honestly, my fear goes beyond the cancer itself. I’m scared that when his dog eventually passes away, whether it is because of the cancer or simply because of old age, my husband will decide to get another dog, and I will find myself right back in the same situation all over again. What makes this fear so difficult is that he already has this dog despite me being against having one in the first place.

I didn’t want a dog, and yet I ended up living in a situation where I had to adjust to something I never agreed to. Now I can’t help but wonder whether this is going to become a repeating cycle in our marriage, where one dog eventually leaves our lives and another one takes its place, regardless of how I feel about it. I’m scared that no matter how many times I explain that I don’t want another dog, my opinion will never be enough to stop it from happening. I’m afraid that I will always have to live with the possibility of another animal being brought into my home against my wishes, and that my feelings will continue to be overlooked simply because my husband wants something different from what I want. It makes me anxious thinking about how many years this could go on for, especially if he sees having a dog as something he will always want in his life while I see it as something I never wanted to begin with.

I don’t want to feel like I have no control over my own living environment, my daily routines, my personal space, or the kind of life I want to build for myself. Having a dog affects so many aspects of everyday life, from the responsibilities and expenses to the noise, the mess, the cleaning, the scheduling, and the constant need to account for another living thing when making decisions. These are not small things when you are the person who never wanted that responsibility in the first place. What scares me most is the possibility that my husband will assume that because I eventually had to live with his current dog, I will eventually accept another one, too. I don’t want my willingness to tolerate the situation I’m already in to be mistaken for permission to repeat it indefinitely.

Just because I have learned to live with something does not mean I want it, and it certainly does not mean I have agreed to spend the rest of my life going through the same situation with one dog after another. I want to know that I have a genuine say in what happens in my own home and that my husband understands that bringing an animal into a shared household is a decision that should involve both people. I’m scared that if I bring up these concerns, I will be made to feel unreasonable for thinking so far ahead, even though the reason I am worried is that something similar has already happened.

It is difficult not to think about the future when the present has already shown me that my wishes can be disregarded. I keep wondering what will happen when the time comes, whether he will even consider my feelings before deciding to get another dog, or whether I will simply be expected to accept it because he has already made up his mind. I don’t want to spend years feeling anxious about something that should be a conversation between two people who are supposed to make decisions together. I don’t want to feel as though I have to prepare myself for another disagreement before the current situation has even ended. And I certainly don’t want to feel trapped in a cycle where I never get the chance to live the way I want because there is always another dog coming into the picture. This isn’t about wanting to control my husband or telling him what he can and cannot enjoy. It is about wanting my own preferences, comfort, and boundaries to matter just as much as his. He is allowed to want a dog, but I am also allowed not to want one, and neither person's preference should automatically cancel out the other's.

I want to feel confident that when I say no to something that will affect my everyday life, my answer will be taken seriously instead of being treated like an inconvenience that he can ignore. Sometimes I wonder if anyone else is afraid of this kind of situation repeating itself, because from the outside, it might seem strange to worry about a dog that is still here and a future that has not happened yet. But to me, the fear is understandable because I have already experienced what it feels like to have something I did not want become part of my life anyway. I’m not just worried about whether his dog’s cancer will return; I’m worried about whether I will ever have a real choice when it comes to having dogs in my home. I’m scared that even if I make my feelings clear now, I will eventually find myself in the exact same position, trying to explain why I don’t want another dog while my husband makes plans as though my opinion does not matter. I don’t want to have to fight for the same boundary repeatedly throughout our marriage.

I want to know that my husband can understand where I am coming from, respect that we have different preferences, and agree that neither of us should make a decision this significant without the other person's agreement. Because what frightens me most is not simply the idea of another dog; it is the thought that my life could continue to be shaped by decisions I never wanted and never agreed to, with no guarantee that things will ever be different. Am I the only one who is scared of this happening over and over again, especially when the first dog was already brought into the relationship against my will? He already talks about getting a “best friend“ aka dog, for our son when he gets older. But is it bad I secretly hope he doesn’t like dogs or has some kinda allergy towards them ? So we can never ever get one and I’ll never had to deal with another four legged beast again.’ Or I’ll try to make up the “kids are already expensive we don’t need to be spending $30 on dog food 4 times a month again” or “we really don’t need another month to feed“.

Ever since I was born, there’s pretty much always been a dog in our house. The first one was quiet and gentle, so growing up around it wasn't bad. But when that dog passed away when I was around 12, my mom became obsessed with the idea of becoming a professional dog trainer like her parents. Since then, our house has been constantly overrun with dogs—sometimes up to six at a single time. We literally had to move out of our previous home because dogs weren't allowed there. Growing up, I was constantly forced to walk them, and if I refused, my mom would fly into a rage. I can’t express even the mildest frustration or criticism about their behavior without her taking it as a personal attack and throwing a list of my own "flaws" back in my face. Even my dad has started calling her out, telling her she prioritizes the dogs over everything else. To be clear, it’s not physical neglect, but it genuinely feels like she cares more about these animals than her own kids. I’m an adult now, so at least I can leave the house to get space, but moving out isn't financially realistic for me yet. I am just so burnt out. I hate the constant barking, I hate the smell, and I honestly can’t stand being around these animals anymore.

After 3 painful years of living with my bf’s old dog, it left us. I don’t even start saying how many posts I made (mainly from other - now banned - account) complaining about usual: being n2, not having “us” time, all the barking, whining, smell, shit and piss, not being able to say what I think, this dog literally running this house. I left a few times, lived with my friends, but always came back because I love my bf. I know that a dog is like a drug to some - it’s a dopamine provider (especially the little dogs) and I just didn’t want to let this dog win!

The past year was a nightmare, because the dog would get very sick and then would magically recover. It wore diaper for the last 6 months, had dementia, was blind, lost all its weight. It needed 24/7 care, but it wouldn’t let go. The last week of its life made our home into a mental hospital. The dog would bark every 5 seconds for 2-3 days - day and night (no breaks), wouldn’t eat or drink, would shit in its bed, wouldn’t be able to walk. But then it would recover fully for 1-3 days. And then it would start again. We didn’t sleep… the vet bill was accumulating (all the vets were suggesting euthanasia, but my partner couldn’t let go). But then… it was too much. Us and the dog were just fully exhausted. So it had to be done.

The first day I came to a dogfree home - it smelled like flowers (and not like dogs shit and rot), it was so quiet! And there was a lot of love!!! It’s over, ladies and gentlemen. It was the hardest time of my life, but it is finally over!!!

And no, there will be no other dog.

I am so tired mentally and physically. I don't know how to cope. I live in chronic anger every single damn day because of my husband's dog.

A little back story. My husband got this dog when he was 16 years old. He's 28 now and that dog is still popping and locking. I love animals, I grew up in a farm but I believe animals belong OUTSIDE not where you dwell. I knew marrying him would consist of the dog coming in our home but I was willing to deal with it but what the actual fuck.

We moved into our first new home about 3 months ago and the dog has peed on our carpet which now he is strictly not allowed in any carpet rooms. We got a new couch and he's peed on it multiple times along with ripping the cloth from his nails. I'm a firefighter and got home from a 48 hour shift and tried falling asleep on the couch but couldn't because the smell of dog absolutely reeked. Every day I am constantly sweeping and mopping but the dog hair don't ever stop! He leaves puddles of drool, so much that I think it's pee. Not too mention his breath.

If there is dirty dishes in the sink he will pour his nasty water bowl on top and use our scrub to wash his bowl. He will go cuddle the dog and then stick his hands in the jar of cashews we all eat from. At work I go to put on a fresh pair of socks and see that the socks have nothing but dog hair. I'm living in disgust every single day.

My husband is a fantastic husband and fantastic father to our daughter. He is an amazing man. I love him more than I hate the dog. But sometimes i just can't take it. I am angry and in a bad mood and take it out on my husband literally every single day because I am there cleaning up and trying to make the house smell clean. He cleans too but not to my standards.

My husband knows I don't like the dog and ultimately hurts him because he loves that dog, probably more than me. He is a very willing man and does try to keep that dog away from me but you can only do so much when a dog is living inside the fucking home.

How did you cope with this, what did you tell yourself in this situation? Any products or tools that helped keep the house clean or yourself sane?

Everyone I’ve spoken to about the absolute vitriol I hold for my partner’s dogs treat me like a psychopath.

Reading through these posts has given me so much comfort and relief to know I’m not alone; Googling life expectancy.. being forced out of the main living area.. etc.

I am just so sick of being demonised for insisting on what I consider to be very reasonable requests, such as not hanging off the kitchen counter when we try to cook and staying on their beds while we eat. They absolutely rule the roost. To give him his due, my partner has put effort into instilling boundaries but I often have to do it myself or remind him. But after yelling ‘out of the kitchen!’ or ‘on your bed!’ He’ll often follow with some kind of consolation for those horrible creatures like ‘yes I know.. I’m sorry.. I know you want pats but she doesn’t want to pat you.. ‘ Seriously??!

Over time I’ve been made to feel like these requests (which are huge compromises on my part) are out of order. I’ve been made to feel ‘oversensitive’ for being repulsed by their incessant gnawing, licking, chewing of their paws, constant scratching, sneezing, barking, and demanding to go in and out of the house as they please, and will scratch repeatedly at the security door (which sounds like grating on a giant washing board) until it’s opened for them. And Christ almighty.. the smell.

I KNOW it’s not their fault that they were allowed to develop these habits and have their skin issues or yeast infections or god knows what untreated. But that knowledge doesn’t magically grant me unreserved tolerance.

Anyway.. it’s nice to be amongst people who 1. truly appreciate the magnitude of resentment, and 2. understand the sacrifice of the only two options essentially available: leaving the relationship or yielding to the animal.

My mom has two 8 pound rat dogs that she refuses to train, they bark out the window all day long even if nothings there, they piss and shit on the floor not even 5 minutes after being let back inside from the backyard, they torment my cat, one of them isn’t even friendly and it makes no sense because we got him as a puppy from the same breeder as the other one and he’s always just been skittish and mean, AND she feeds them human food for every meal while we’re already in poverty and I’m eating ramen for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You can’t even say anything about how they act because she instantly gets defensive. The other day someone walking their dog at the same time as my mom said something like “I’m crossing the street to get away from your dogs” and she came home PISSED. I tried to be reasonable and said maybe the other woman’s dog was aggressive or something and she just kept talking to her dogs in her stupid ass baby voice “you guys did nothing wrong, you guys are perfect-she needs to train her stupid ass dog” then my cats auto feeder went off and her dogs SPRINTED after my cat and I yelled at them because my cat doesn’t deserve to be chased, and my mother yelled at me saying that her dogs can do anything they want and not to correct them. So much for her yappy rats being “better trained than the other lady’s dog”. She has also become “anti pit bull” even though we used to have pit bulls and they were MILES better than her stupid ass dogs. I swear I used to be a dog person, but I dream of the day these dogs are gone, even though I’m sure she will have more by then.

If ppl want to have a dog, idgaf. But dog houses are invented for a reason.

For context I have a partner who has 4 dogs. She doesn’t let the dogs out in their big ass yard because her previous dogs died due to lepto and parvo. Now all the dogs are INSIDE THE HOUSE ‼️Living room, kitchen, bathroom and even BEDROOM‼️No boundaries at all, her sister doesnt even wants to visit and sleep here because of the pets. They’re loud, would chew anything, would drool over the place and mind you, since my gf’s dogs are not allowed to go outside the yard means that dogs are kept inside the house, her dogs SHIT, PEE AND PUKE INSIDE THE HOUSE, FOUR (4) DOGS 🤬

We hired couple of pet-sitters but most of them leave after a week or 2 and I trully understand why, it’s hard to keep the house clean when you have 4 dogs who pees and shit after you just cleaned.

I try to talk her out about dogs sleeping in the same bed as ours but we almost broke up. She told me that I am crossing her boundaries as her dogs were there when no one did, she told me when her family was not even there to help her, her dogs were there. I truly understand and I’m thankful to the dogs for keeping her sane. But I’m not asking her to unloved her dogs. I just want her to have boundaries with her dogs. Imagine having seggs with dogs on your bed scratching and their skin flakes, hair and saliva sticks to your body. ITS GROSS🤮

I actually compromised my comfort, i her as long as the dogs gets cleaned with anti-bacterial wipes with soap and perfume then it will be okay if they sleep with us, but here’s the thing, I DO ALL OF THAT! I DON’T EVEN OWN THESE DOGS‼️🤬

My gf goes to the gym at 5am and i asked her to let the dogs out if she’s out because its been a week of me waking up after 2 hours of sleep to the smell of dog poop and pee. My gf took it as offensive stating that she pity the dog. I told her i dont want to wake up in the smell of unimaginably disgusting dog shit and pee. Guess what she told me “adjust your sleeping pattern” LIKE ARE YOU FR?

I’m starting to actually hate her dogs and her as well. My bad for being so stupid for still loving her. She’s really a good person you just need to take the dogs out of the picture.

My fiancé will complain about a slight mildew smell in the bathroom from a wet towel in the hamper, about a water bottle and wrapper I left in the vehicle, about my children leaving crumbs on the floor. But he refuses to clean the area the dogs stay in the most and are gated in while we’re gone, his office.

I’ve refused to clean it just to see how disgusting this “clean freak” would allow it to get. I’m not exaggerating when I say the hardwood looked like it had a carpet of black dog hair on it. And in the corners it piled up. The dog bed smelled like pee even though he swears they would never do that.
The dogs themselves smell like a giant walking fungal infection mixed with earwax. They have chewed almost entirely through a wooden chair.

This room went untouched for months, the dogs were never bathed. The beds were never washed. It just got worse and worse until I could smell it from my living room and couldn’t take it anymore. I shop vacced all the hair, the hardwood underneath had a noticeable greasy feeling. I hand scrubbed it. The towel I was using turned completely black. There was hair all over his desktop, in the keyboard, on sentimental items he had displayed. No care in the world for any of it.

I had to bathe the dogs twice, once in dawn dishsoap because their fur was so greasy and stunk so bad. Same with their beds, washed twice.

But let my child drop a crumb on the floor and I never hear the end of it. I would usually be able to take criticism when it comes to this stuff if it weren’t for the fact that feet away is his room, his responsibility, and it’s a fucking biohazard. It just infuriates me to hear any kind of comment on my cleaning and the way I keep a home. And I’m not perfect by any means, but the level of disconnect is insane to me.

I literally hate my boyfriend’s dog so much and I’m miserable.
We first got together about 3 years ago & at this point he did not have a dog. He started living with me pretty early into the relationship as he became homeless. Then, knowing he was homeless, his dad decided to dump his childhood dog on him & literally move across the country.
The dog then stayed with a very generous friend for a while. During this I made it extremely clear that I had no desire to live with the dog and that he would be living on his own when he could get on his feet. And I kept my word, he eventually found a place, got the dog from said friend (friend also had no intention of keeping dog long term & was getting burnt out) and moved out on his own.
Now at this point I didn’t have any negative feelings for the dog. He was friendly, I’d sleep with him & play with him & we’d hang out. I just didn’t want the responsibility that would come with living with him. Then one day I was sitting outside with him on the porch when I watched him attempt to lunge at someone walking on the sidewalk. He absolutely completely ignored my commands and the only thing that stopped him that day was that he was on his lead. From that point forward it was like a switch completely flipped & I just couldn’t bring myself to like him anymore.
My partner said he was just being protective, but it just didn’t sit right with me. I grew up around violent strays & that person was literally just minding their business. Plus he has no reaction if someone just walks into the home (I feel like if anything that’s the time to be protective) and he also reacts to cats in the same violent way. Plus as stated, he completely ignored my commands & was completely locked in what looked to be like a prey drive (that’s the scariest thing!)
So I started to I keep my distance & tried to go over there as little as possible. The one time I did I went to get into bed to see the sheets literally covered in skin flakes & blood & skin grease. I was so grossed out I left & just stopped going over there.
For the long term plan here, I kept being told the dog was not permanent & his dad would come back for him.
And then, of course, I got pregnant 🫠
We moved in together (dog still there!) and I essentially just had to get over it. I set boundaries such as no dog in kitchen or bedroom & he needed to be crated when we were gone (he destroys houses bc of separation anxiety) which was all fine & whatnot but the dog was still disgusting
And he became my responsibility somehow.
So I’d brush him & bathe him & do a whole routine despite not liking him so that I could at least bear to live with him. And things were relatively okay like that. He didn’t stink & the large amount of time I spent everyday grooming him made him listen to me better. (Unless he was in prey drive, I just kept his lead very short & would physically restrain him from attempting to run at anything)
Then baby came & literally everything went to hell. His dad ended up having to move in with us (so dog still here) and said he’d take care of him for us, but then he literally does the bare minimum. Dog gets fed & let outside on lead (alone) & that’s it. No baths, no brushing, no sweeping, no doing his laundry, no playing with him or walking him. Plus somewhere along the line he stopped getting crated & now is blocked off areas with baby gates. I can’t even leave the room with my baby because the house literally disgusts me. Plus, being postpartum has made everything a million times worse. I feel extremely protective of my baby, I don’t trust him at all. He met baby one time was very disinterested & barks when he cries too loud. It’s led to resentment towards my partner & his dad & genuine hatred of the dog. Like I’ve never hated anything more in my life it makes me mad to even look at him. I just want him gone. This has also bled into dogs as a whole. I used to actually like them before I met this one & now I can’t stand them in general.
My partner genuinely works insane hours and I don’t expect him to bear the responsibility of the dog on top of it. He spends what little time he has off bonding with our child and I don’t want to take away from that, but I can’t stand living here. I also refuse to have any responsibility for the mutt. I don’t even like it & I have enough on my hands dealing with baby.

This stupid fucking mutt pisses or shits on the floor every single night after we go to bed. It won’t go outside because it’s easier to wait until it comes back inside where it’s comfy. So for a while we were putting it in the crate at night so it would have to go either one of the many times it is let out in the evening or right in the morning when it is again, let outside.

But after a while he stopped. He is the one that deals with them at night because I go to bed early, especially when I’m up at 5:30am for work. He said “oh he’s been so good lately” yeah it hasn’t shit or pissed on the floor because we haven’t given it the opportunity. Now that it knows it isn’t getting crated at night it just… goes on the floor again. Even though it was having no problems actually going to the bathroom outside at night when it knew it was going to spend the night in a crate.

Now I wake up in the morning to a mess every day. Because he refuses to lock up the dog. I am fighting a Mount Everest of smells and I can’t get to the top. I am going fucking insane.

The other dog doesn’t do that. Just this one. I am so tired of having the conversation that this dog needs to be locked up at night to prevent messes.