I always used to say, “If my dog doesn’t like the guy I bring home, there’s a good reason for that.” That is until I was the person that my boyfriend’s dogs didn’t like. Unfortunately, it was such a big issue that it spelled the end of us.
- I’ve always loved animals so I was excited to meet his two gorgeous labradors. Sometimes, I’ve felt like a bit of a pet whisperer because dogs and cats will gravitate towards me. I told this guy about that and then instantly regretted it because something just wasn’t right with his dogs. I could tell from how they were staring at me despite the fact that I fell totally in love with them the minute I saw them.
- The dogs hated me. As I approached one of his dogs, it growled at me. Uh, OK. My boyfriend said that was strange because his dogs were usually “super-friendly.” I know that labradors are usually really gentle and chilled, but these were the exception to that rule.
- I tried to avoid them. I realized it would probably be better to avoid his dogs as much as possible throughout our date because I really didn’t fancy getting bitten by one of them and having to rush to the ER. The problem was that they stayed inside the whole time, and things were about to get worse for me.
- I couldn’t touch my partner because of them. Every time I tried to hug my boyfriend, one of his dogs would jump on me. It was scary because they were so big. As someone who’s really short, it felt like they could take me down.
- I couldn’t even sit next to him. After dinner, we sat on the sofa to enjoy coffee, but I couldn’t sit within an arm’s length of my boyfriend because his dogs both jumped up onto the sofa and plonked themselves in between us. It was cute until it just wasn’t. If I tried to pet them or my boyfriend, they’d growl and snarl at me. What the hell?
- Things got crazier when he left the room. When my BF went to the bathroom, I was left alone with the dogs and they started to jump on me. One of them kept nudging me with its nose as though trying to push me off the sofa! It was crazy. I told my boyfriend about it when he got back but he just laughed and insisted that his dogs weren’t like that.
- My boyfriend thought I was overreacting. When I went to the kitchen to get more coffee, one of his dogs followed me, growling the whole time. I asked my BF if the dogs could be put into one of the other rooms, but he insisted that was unnecessary. He added that they were “just dogs” and I shouldn’t overreact so much. That was so insulting! If there’s one thing that will make me mad, it’s a guy telling me that I’m overreacting. I mean, see the situation from my perspective, dude! How was I supposed to feel?
- I actually felt bad for the dogs. I wasn’t just concerned about my face being bitten off, although that was a big worry. It was also that I felt bad for the dogs. This was their territory and they saw me as someone who was trying to take it away from them. Worst of all, my BF kept ignoring every example that his dogs didn’t want me there.
- It showed me his lack of empathy. Seriously, this situation told me a lot about my boyfriend. He didn’t have much in the way of empathy. He didn’t seem to care about how I was feeling with his dogs in the house and he didn’t even care about what his dogs were feeling, because clearly they were upset. Was this guy going to continue erasing my feelings and making them invalid if we continued dating? Honestly, I didn’t wish to find out.
- Dinner again? Forget about it. At the end of the uncomfortable evening, my boyfriend walked me to the door and said he had a great time and would love for me to go to dinner at his place again soon. Um, right. I just couldn’t imagine going back there and having to feel uncomfortable all night. He also showed me that he was a selfish guy who didn’t care about anyone other than himself because he had the nerve to add, “Don’t worry—my dogs will learn to love you.” All I replied was, “Gee, thanks” and then I never saw him again.
