Would You 'Let' Your Spouse Get A Dog Breed You Didn't Like?

[huntergreen]

Originally Posted by Freestep

No. I would not let my husband have a breed that I couldn't stand. And I WILL use the word "let", because I am the Dog Boss in the household and he knows it.

However, my husband has a thing for Basset Hounds. I told him that was a breed I never want in my house, and why (health problems, attitude problems, drool, etc). He still thought they were great. I said, that's because you've never lived with one. He didn't believe me.

So, just to prove a point, I said, "okay, just to show you what I'm talking about, let's foster a Basset Hound for a while and you'll see!"

So I contacted a rescue org and, sure enough, they had a Basset that needed fostering. This dog was owned by an elderly couple and he had been walking all over them and starting to act aggressive. When the dog was ON the dinner table on Thanksgiving day, and attempted to bite the owners' son when he tried to remove him, it was the last straw and the dog came into rescue.

This dog was about a year old, thankfully had been neutered, and was a drooling, snapping basket case when I received him. He did all the nasty Basset things; baying, resource guarding, biting, fighting like a marlin on a line when getting his nails done, the usual.

DH loved him.

We were able to get him socialized and trained to a certain degree, got him to accept his nails done, to stop resource guarding, and to stop biting every time he was in conflict. He did help herd my chickens, and was awfully cute when running at full speed in tall grass. I think we had him for three months or so, then he was successfully adopted out to a big guy who had always wanted a Basset, and didn't care about the history of biting. "Aw, he's a little nipper, eh? Heh heh heh!"

After it was all said and done, I said smugly "Now see how awful that was? THAT is why you don't want a Basset Hound!"

But my plan backfired.

DH loved the dang dog, and now he wants one more than ever.

However, he deigns to my leadership as Dog Boss. Since I am basically the one who does all the research, selection, care, feeding, exercising, training, etc. with the dogs, and all he does is cuddle up with them on the couch at the end of the day, he can pretty much take any dog I bring in.

This isn't an unequal relationship. He is the Car Boss, the Gardening Boss, the Beer Boss and the Boss of Heavy Lifting and Anything Mechanical. If I wanted, say, an old Fiat to drive around, he would veto that decision based on his knowledge and experience with cars, and the fact that he will be doing all the repairs and maintenace. I trust and respect that, and when we were looking for a new vehicle, I brought all the cars I liked to his attention and he made the final decision.

if you were my wife and didn't let me get my dog of choice, i would insist on you having that fiat! lol

[catz]

I wouldn't stop my OH bringing home a new pet, he hasn't stopped me doing anything so I have no reason to deny him what he wants.

I'd actually love if he decided he wanted a dog, I'd get a new baby and he'd have most of the responsibility

[Jo_in_TX]

I do believe partners have some "say so" or veto power over who gets to live in the house, be it two legged or four legged.

For instance, if one partner wants a dog that sheds a lot (huh????), but the other partner is the one who does all the sweeping and vacuuming, I think the "cleaning" partner should have a large say so in the matter, unless he really believes the other person will step up to the plate and clean up.

In our case, I'm the one who wanted the german shedder, and I do most of the sweeping and mopping.

[GSDolch]

I don't like using the word "let" because that implies that he has to ask permission for stuff.

I will say, that by doing it this way, when something comes up and one of us has a flat out "no" answer, the other one knows that it REALLY is an issue. Case in point: My husband wants to get his car repainted soon, no biggy. The issue? He thought about having out neighbor do it, I am not comfy with that because there are drugs always in and out, cops called often, etc etc. He paints cars as a side business, he's actually very good, I know my husband doesn't do drugs, but I still wasn't comfy with it, but still didn't do that "NO" bit...until...he told me that he would have to have it done at an ex girlfriends house who just so happens to live across the street that he never told me about.

Other issues come into play, but when I broke down and said "absolutely NO" or it would cause problems, he realized it was a serious matter.

If he wanted a certain dog, we would talk about it, the same as if I wanted a certain dog, we would talk about it.

[Jag]

There are some breeds I simply wouldn't have in my house. Luckily, we are in agreement on most of those. The only one we had a slight hang up with was a rottie. My wife is too lenient to have a rottie. It would walk all over her and be out of control. I bought her a rottie mix instead. She looks mostly rottie (looked exactly like a rott when she was a puppy) and doesn't have the same extent of bullish qualities. However, the dog still only listens to her when she wants. Whenever she brings up wanting a rott, I use her current dog as an example of 'why not' and it's dropped. If she was the type of person to be able to keep control of a dog like that, I'd be more than happy to get her one!

Oh, and she has come over to the shepherd 'dark side'. She now really likes them, but still lacks control over them. Yes, I am also the 'dog boss' in the house.

[GoSailGo]

Absolutely not. Hubby wants a bulldog, which is a notoriously flatulent breed. Hubby is also notoriously flatulent. ONE IS ENOUGH! I know all dogs fart, but adding another naturally talented farter to the household would be painful. Our home would float away.

[JakodaCD OA]

I don't like using "let" either , but I'll answer, NO NO NO

I'm the one that takes care of the dogs and does everything "dog", lucky for me tho, he likes the breeds I like, so I have no fear that he would bring something home or insist on a breed of dog I didn't want to live with

[Mrs.K]

Originally Posted by GoSailGo

Absolutely not. Hubby wants a bulldog, which is a notoriously flatulent breed. Hubby is also notoriously flatulent. ONE IS ENOUGH! I know all dogs fart, but adding another naturally talented farter to the household would be painful. Our home would float away.

[PatchonGSD]

Originally Posted by GoSailGo

Absolutely not. Hubby wants a bulldog, which is a notoriously flatulent breed. Hubby is also notoriously flatulent. ONE IS ENOUGH! I know all dogs fart, but adding another naturally talented farter to the household would be painful. Our home would float away.

You just described my husband and the dog he wants, flatulence and all. Your husbands name wouldnt be Joe, would it?

[GoSailGo]

Originally Posted by PatchonGSD

You just described my husband and the dog he wants, flatulence and all. Your husbands name wouldnt be Joe, would it?

Haha nope this must be a trend. Hubby said he wanted one, so I didn't a little research on bulldogs and told him "Apparently they fart a lot." And he says, "Even better! Lets get one!" Noooo way right now there is one safe side to the couch. Thats like the female embassy of the living room. Unless its chili night, then no place is safe. He calls it "friendly fire."

But I still love him to death.