Any kid who has ever begged their parents for a dog has heard the same thing: “Well, you’re going to be the one taking care of it!”

And while most kids find a way to wiggle out of this responsibility and leave their parents with most of the work,  you definitely don’t have that same option as an adult!

So when this user’s girlfriend said having a dog was non-negotiable, he agreed, but told her that she would be the one who had to walk him. 

Was he wrong to leave her to take care of the dog that she wanted?

Decide for yourself!

AITA for telling my girlfriend she will have to take care of walking the dog if she wants one?

Me (M27) and my girlfriend of two years (F28) are not currently living together, but hope to in the future.

Talking about living together and what not, she stated that to her having a dog at someplace in our future is fundamental.

I love dogs, but do see a big effort in taking care of one and always thought I would be more of a cat person in life.

OP’s main problem with a dog was how much work it took to have one….

I’m not very keen on the idea of having to take a dog for a walk twice a day, and in the long run I would consider it a burden.

I would want to make a sure a pet of mine can have a happy, healthy life, which would be harder if I get lazy and don’t take it for regular walks.

Basically, it wouldn’t be fair to the pet.

I don’t mind having a dog in my home, I just don’t see myself having the patience to walk it all the time, there are days I don’t want to go out of the house and that would force me to.

So he made it clear to his girlfriend that if they got a dog, she would be walking him the majority of the time.

So I told her that I acknowledge the importance of her desire to have one, and that I would be ok, but that she shouldn’t take for granted the fact that I will walk it as often as her.

In the house I’ll be happy to give it baths, buy it toys, clean etc, but I want her to be sure that she could bear the effort of walking the dog by herself.

This is also because she currently lives with her family, they have two dogs, but they are family dogs so when she moves out they would remain with her parents and sister.

And even with her family’s own dogs, OP had noticed she very rarely wanted to take them on a walk.

Since her parents are the only ones who constantly take the dogs out, and she also doesn’t feel like walking them most of the time.

Knowing me I’m afraid I’ll be the one who has to do it when she doesn’t want to, just like her parents.

She says that she would do it if her parents didn’t and it was only up to her, but she also blames me for only wanting to take care of “the fun part” of having a dog.

But OP said he wasn’t even the one who wanted a dog, and was just trying to compromise!

I do see her point, but I think a relationship is about compromises and I’m trying to compromise about having a dog, which I hadn’t pictured in my life.

But it feels like she is reasoning in absolutes (“I have to have a dog in our life”). At the same time I feel guilty, I should trust her to be able to take care of it.

Previous experiences in my life led me to resenting my then partner for leaving all the workload on me and I don’t want that to happen again, which is why I think these conversations beforehand are important.

So, AITA?

Absolutely not! It would be a different story altogether if OP also wanted a dog, but still expected her to do all the work in walking their pet!

But at this point, he’s just setting boundaries in an attempt to accommodate what his girlfriend wants!

Reddit assured OP he was being perfectly reasonable, and this user warned against getting a dog with his girlfriend, from his own experience!

Many said that walking your dog was one of the joys of having one, not the chores!

This person thought that it sounded like OP’s girlfriend was hoping he would change his mind once they actually got a dog…

And finally, this user said if anything, that she was the one who only wanted “the fun part” of having a dog!

Well, the dog sure isn’t going to walk itself!

If you liked that post, check out this story about a guy who was forced to sleep on the couch at his wife’s family’s house, so he went to a hotel instead.