My long time girlfriend and I have been together almost 2 years, and we love each other very much.
However, there is a constant source of tension, the pets. She has 2 dogs that she loves to death, as do I. However, we disagree on how to care for them properly, within the confines of our relationship.
We live in southern california, about 15-20 minutes from the beach. We have a decent sized yard, and it's always 70-80 degrees out. However, despite this beautiful weather, she freaks out whenever I let the dogs out for more than 10-15 minutes at a time.
The dogs are absolutely spoiled rotten. They have their own doggie beds, they have their own sofas to lay on all day, and they have their own temperpedic bed to sleep on at night, with an open window with a cool breeze. They get the best dog food, including organic chicken that we bake once a week.
However, I feel that things have gotten a little out of hand where we are living at the whims of the dogs, instead of treating them like pets and we the owners.
For instance, my GF has a hard time sleeping. When we sleep together I massage her back and she falls asleep. The dogs wake her and me up regularly in the middle of the night, because they sleep all day and want to get up early in the morning to be fed. We feed the dogs twice a day, once when we get up, and once in the evenings.
The dogs are eager to eat, so they get up earlier and earlier, and scratch at our door wanting to get us up and eat. However we are suffering from lack of quality sleep. So I suggested to my GF that we'd feed the dog much later in the day, instead of first thing in the morning, so they don't associate waking up with eating.
My GF became pretty upset about feeding the dogs late, even though they are so spoiled and we live our lives around their schedule. I feel like this is not reasonable. We feed the dogs great food, but it shouldn't be such a chore to try to get some sleep and living around the dogs' schedule.
I grew up with dogs, and they were always outside / backyard dogs. These dogs do nothing but lay in the bed or sofas all day, doing nothing but waiting for their next meal. I feel this is not healthy. My GF thinks it's cruel to have them outside, in a part of the world where we have the best weather for any human being, never mind dogs... My mind is kind of blown with that concept.
I don't know... we get into arguments over what's reasonable for the dogs... and I tell her that she's my biggest priority, not the dogs... she doesn't get it. She acts like I'm abusing the dogs, when I want to keep them outside longer, or feed them later in the day....
I'm kind of rambling here, but has anyone else dealt with girls who are so "in love" with their pets, and treat them better than people? I'm a dog lover, but I think this is kind of nuts.
Looking for some advice / tips / thoughts there.
However, there is a constant source of tension, the pets. She has 2 dogs that she loves to death, as do I. However, we disagree on how to care for them properly, within the confines of our relationship.
We live in southern california, about 15-20 minutes from the beach. We have a decent sized yard, and it's always 70-80 degrees out. However, despite this beautiful weather, she freaks out whenever I let the dogs out for more than 10-15 minutes at a time.
The dogs are absolutely spoiled rotten. They have their own doggie beds, they have their own sofas to lay on all day, and they have their own temperpedic bed to sleep on at night, with an open window with a cool breeze. They get the best dog food, including organic chicken that we bake once a week.
However, I feel that things have gotten a little out of hand where we are living at the whims of the dogs, instead of treating them like pets and we the owners.
For instance, my GF has a hard time sleeping. When we sleep together I massage her back and she falls asleep. The dogs wake her and me up regularly in the middle of the night, because they sleep all day and want to get up early in the morning to be fed. We feed the dogs twice a day, once when we get up, and once in the evenings.
The dogs are eager to eat, so they get up earlier and earlier, and scratch at our door wanting to get us up and eat. However we are suffering from lack of quality sleep. So I suggested to my GF that we'd feed the dog much later in the day, instead of first thing in the morning, so they don't associate waking up with eating.
My GF became pretty upset about feeding the dogs late, even though they are so spoiled and we live our lives around their schedule. I feel like this is not reasonable. We feed the dogs great food, but it shouldn't be such a chore to try to get some sleep and living around the dogs' schedule.
I grew up with dogs, and they were always outside / backyard dogs. These dogs do nothing but lay in the bed or sofas all day, doing nothing but waiting for their next meal. I feel this is not healthy. My GF thinks it's cruel to have them outside, in a part of the world where we have the best weather for any human being, never mind dogs... My mind is kind of blown with that concept.
I don't know... we get into arguments over what's reasonable for the dogs... and I tell her that she's my biggest priority, not the dogs... she doesn't get it. She acts like I'm abusing the dogs, when I want to keep them outside longer, or feed them later in the day....
I'm kind of rambling here, but has anyone else dealt with girls who are so "in love" with their pets, and treat them better than people? I'm a dog lover, but I think this is kind of nuts.
Looking for some advice / tips / thoughts there.
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