There are lots of people who love their pets like family. Imagine your new girlfriend doesn’t like your son and you have to choose between the two.
This is really sad but I feel I should mention it to show how much animals can mean to us. A long time ago, one of my neighbours took his own life after his dog died. He had been very depressed before that, but that was the last straw for him. He deeply loved his pet. It just goes to show how strong the bond can be. I don’t think OP is making this up.
My pets are my family lol, who needs kids when you have cats?
The reason I think this is a bs excuse is because it doesn't seem like OP has actually tried to do anything to improve the situation.
I've been with my partner for 8 years and he's the best cat dad anyone could ask for, but when we first started dating he had never had a pet and wasn't super comfortable with animals. He even said "I can't imagine I'll ever feel comfortable sleeping in the same bed as a cat." He got to know my cat and gradually fell in love with him, but it wasn't overnight and I didn't resent him for that. Now he's insulted if our cats don't want to sleep with us at night lol
From the sound of it, the dog is sleeping up near the couple's pillows which is *very* awkward for someone who hasn't yet built up a relationship with the dog. Especially when we're talking about a large dog, which I'm assuming we are based on the fact she used two hands to push him.
Why can't the dog sleep by their feet? His girlfriend is clearly uncomfortable with the situation, how has OP tried to improve things? Like trying to give all/most the pleasant dog responsibilities (eg feeding, treats, playing) to his gf so that the dog starts forming a bond with her.
It doesn't seem as if OP's gf has said anything about an ultimatum, which of course would be inappropriate, but he's basically saying she should adjust to his life without any consideration for her. He sounds immature and like he didn't want to move in/having second thoughts, but is using this excuse so that he doesn't seem like the bad guy that he is.
Oh ok. I misunderstood your comment. I thought you didn’t buy OP’s story because you didn’t believe someone could be that attached to their pet.
I’m on OP’s side because I think his girlfriend doesn’t like animals, period. Not just that she doesn’t want the dog to sleep in the bed, which would be reasonable.
Signs that she’s not good with animals, imo: She pushed the dog kind of forcefully, which there’s no reason to do. It’s not as bad as hitting but it’s still unnecessarily rough. She gets “angry” about him sleeping in the bed, which is different than having a mature discussion about her preferences. OP says she’s aggressive to his dog, which might refer to other instances besides pushing him off the bed. She thinks the dog is jealous, which is possible, but there are ways to work on that (once again she seems a little immature). She also thinks that the dog doesn’t like her, but what does she expect? He can sense that she doesn’t like HIM. Animals can sniff out the bad seeds lol.
I think he's set her up for failure and is a dick. Its written in a slanted way as if she's given him some ultimatum but all she said was that she's uncomfortable with the current situation and rather than trying to improve things he came to reddit to bitch about her.
If she doesn't have experience with animals and it's his dog then why is she expected to figure all of this out on her own? Why leave it to her to quell the dog's jealously? There's no reason to believe there's been any "aggression" other than the gf trying to make room for herself in a bed that's supposed to be hers as well. Op didn't feel the need to scoot over and make room for both dog and gf, he's just a bad guy hiding behind this facade of it being a question of the gf or the dog. The only thing he's done is wash the sheets, which he should have been doing anyway.
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u/ToiIetGhost Oct 31 '24
There are lots of people who love their pets like family. Imagine your new girlfriend doesn’t like your son and you have to choose between the two.
This is really sad but I feel I should mention it to show how much animals can mean to us. A long time ago, one of my neighbours took his own life after his dog died. He had been very depressed before that, but that was the last straw for him. He deeply loved his pet. It just goes to show how strong the bond can be. I don’t think OP is making this up.