My in-laws gave my teens a puppy. WTF?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People that hate dogs have a sickness.

People who can't read have a mental sickness.

Exactly. Not wanting a dog in my house is not the same as hating dogs. I would be livid is someone showed up at my house with a dog that they expected me to take care of. OP's inlaws are super disrespectful and I'm glad they were forced to take the dog with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish I knew if OP is WOH or whatever.
If she is SAHM then she is just selfish. Sorry.

She could be sitting on her ass all day long doing jack shit and her in laws still wouldn’t have any right to make this decision for her. GTFOH

I’m not saying the in laws have that right. But that doesn’t mean OP couldn’t make the choice to make it work.

IF she decided to get a dog. Her ILs don't get to decide for her.

ILs shouldn’t have done what they did.
But they did, and the dog was there. Still OP’s choice whether it stays or goes. Hopefully the ILs are up for the challenge.

If someone gifted my kids a dog, it would absolutely not stay. If Its wouldn't take it, I'd immediately take to a shelter the following day.
What a terrible imposition by the ILs. I'd be livid.

Eh, I’m betting you would dump the dog by the side of the road because you were so livid.

Didn't take long for the crazy dog people to show up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People that hate dogs have a sickness.

People who can't read have a mental sickness.

Exactly. Not wanting a dog in my house is not the same as hating dogs. I would be livid is someone showed up at my house with a dog that they expected me to take care of. OP's inlaws are super disrespectful and I'm glad they were forced to take the dog with them.

+1

[Anonymous]

Glad it worked out, OP, and that DH put his foot down to his own parents. Insane.

If husband didn’t put his foot down, I would just not do anything at all for the dog, not assume responsibility. Very quickly DH and kids would realize it’s more than they can handle and deal with the situation.

SAHM are not slaves. The poster who suggested a SAHM would be selfish to not take care of the dog. That’s toxic right there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Glad it worked out, OP, and that DH put his foot down to his own parents. Insane.

If husband didn’t put his foot down, I would just not do anything at all for the dog, not assume responsibility. Very quickly DH and kids would realize it’s more than they can handle and deal with the situation.

SAHM are not slaves. The poster who suggested a SAHM would be selfish to not take care of the dog. That’s toxic right there.

I'm so glad you said this. The amount of husbands and in-laws who believe this in America in 2025 is insane. Of course they think they'd don't- but they really do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you all. Back to update. DH told his parents that they should keep the dog at their house. They reluctantly agreed. Kids were OK with it, but I'm still shaken that they even tried.

Wow. I hope for the dog’s sake they’re up for that commitment.

+10

[Anonymous]

I have teens and can confirm a puppy is endless work even with the rm helping out. They each walk puppy one time a day and watch him after school and help on weekends. But I’ve had to work from home a ton, get up in the middle of the night and am otherwise exhausted and behind taking care of puppy. They are in for the cuddles but not for the training or the cleaning up of diarrhea and I can’t ask them to get up for the 2 am pee breaks because I don’t want them to fail out of HS.
An older dog could potentially be cared for by teens but not a puppy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids who grow up with dogs are better off overall.

Our little dog is everything. We have dog sitters when we go away, we take him with us a lot because he only weighs 7 lbs. There are so many carriers now, even for bigger dogs. I can’t say enough about the positive addition he is to our family.

I know it wasn’t a good idea for grandparents to do that but their hearts were in the right place. And playing sports won’t be going on for much longer anyway. Grandparents can take the dog on weekends!

Here’s a good article on the benefits of having a family dog.

https://total.vet/24-benefits-for-kids-growing-up-with-dogs/?srsltid=AfmBOopoEaMSZK8IF_64V84DMjY2SfbYXLxkdG7Q0FMx5LjlHTNEnVyC

I absolutely love dogs, I am the one asking people to pet their dogs all the time. Our dog is a member of our family.

She’s also a LOT of work and a lot of money and it causes us stress when we travel because we find a good dog sitter but then they move away or stop doing Rover.

I would never impose a dog on someone who didn’t want one, even if research says it’s good for kids and even if *I* think it’s good for kids. It may not be right for that family and everybody needs to respect that.

I understand that no one should buy another family a dog. It’s a shame that they can’t make it work. Did OP say they bought a purebred dog or a rescue?

No reputable breeder or rescue would provide a dog under these circumstances.

My sister got her dog from a breeder and they asked for pictures of her living space and a vet to forward records to before she was allowed to take her puppy home. I got a stray kitten from a rescue and also had to send them pictures of her food/bowls/litter box and provide vet records to show my current cat was up to date on medical care.

Perhaps the grandparents put in the application for the dog using their home, address, etc.?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids who grow up with dogs are better off overall.

Our little dog is everything. We have dog sitters when we go away, we take him with us a lot because he only weighs 7 lbs. There are so many carriers now, even for bigger dogs. I can’t say enough about the positive addition he is to our family.

I know it wasn’t a good idea for grandparents to do that but their hearts were in the right place. And playing sports won’t be going on for much longer anyway. Grandparents can take the dog on weekends!

Here’s a good article on the benefits of having a family dog.

https://total.vet/24-benefits-for-kids-growing-up-with-dogs/?srsltid=AfmBOopoEaMSZK8IF_64V84DMjY2SfbYXLxkdG7Q0FMx5LjlHTNEnVyC

I absolutely love dogs, I am the one asking people to pet their dogs all the time. Our dog is a member of our family.

She’s also a LOT of work and a lot of money and it causes us stress when we travel because we find a good dog sitter but then they move away or stop doing Rover.

I would never impose a dog on someone who didn’t want one, even if research says it’s good for kids and even if *I* think it’s good for kids. It may not be right for that family and everybody needs to respect that.

I understand that no one should buy another family a dog. It’s a shame that they can’t make it work. Did OP say they bought a purebred dog or a rescue?

No reputable breeder or rescue would provide a dog under these circumstances.

My sister got her dog from a breeder and they asked for pictures of her living space and a vet to forward records to before she was allowed to take her puppy home. I got a stray kitten from a rescue and also had to send them pictures of her food/bowls/litter box and provide vet records to show my current cat was up to date on medical care.

I’m sure that’s true in this area. I’ve adopted animals from a pound in a rural area. All you need is a pulse and the $50 adoption fee. They are happy for any animals that get adopted, since so many end up euthanized.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even if I had a specific litter in mind, I'd still want to actually pick out my dog. Dogs are definitely a whole family consent situation.

I love dogs and it's because I love dogs that I see this situation as bonkers. Dogs are companions, they are a commitment of over a decade and thousands of dollars a year. They are not toys. Springing a dog on someone like this is treating a dog like a toy.

Agree! I love dogs and this would make me furious even if we were in the middle of actively looking for a new dog!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Send the dog home with the in laws. It’s their dog not yours.

This. Shelter tomorrow

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Send the dog home with the in laws. It’s their dog not yours.

This. My BFF’s in-laws did the same to her. The dog ended up living at the in-laws house and the kids got to play with it when they went over to visit.

[Anonymous]

I would be livid. They took all your agency away, not even being able to pick the kind of pet yourselves. People who do this are very selfish and create chaos in your home. There is an unwritten rule that people should not give living creatures as gifts. They totally lack any consideration, but they want to score all the points with your children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you all. Back to update. DH told his parents that they should keep the dog at their house. They reluctantly agreed. Kids were OK with it, but I'm still shaken that they even tried.

Even they were reluctant to take it! Crazy they didn't think that through at all.

[Anonymous]

I would completely ignore the dog as if it weren't there. The in laws would then have to deal with it. Or DH would have to.
Wasn't a gift for me and I don't want it.