The Dog is Making Me Crazy!!
This may seem ridiculous, but it's seriously driving me insane.
My dad's girlfriend moved in a little while ago. We get along great for the most part, and I like her. However, when she moved in she brought her dog with her. I like the dog for the most part. She's really friendly and loves everyone, and she's adorable, but she seems to have an issue with going to the bathroom on the floor.
She never pees in the house, but she poops all the times. I've mentioned it to my dad's girlfriend and she seems really sorry and apologizes, but it's just so gross. The other morning I heard my dad cussing because he was getting ready for work and didn't bother to turn the dining room light on and stepped in a pile. Every morning when we wake up there is somewhere in the house this dogs feces.
I can't stand it. We have a cat who us litter boxed trained for a reason, and I even have trouble handling that. I clean the litter box twice a day because the idea of it even starting to smell is just so gross to me that I can't take it. I seriously just stepped in a pile in our dining room after getting up to get a bottle of water. At least my dad was lucky enough to have shoes on when he stepped in it. Also, I'm sick of cleaning it up. She mostly does it upstairs, and no one but my sister and I ever go up there so we have to clean up after HER dog. It's so gross. How do I get her to descipline her dog or at least clean up after it so I don't have to step in it's messes???
This is disgusting and
This is disgusting and totally unnecessary as it is easy to housetrain a dog, unless she has a bowel problem. http://www.wikihow.com/House-Train-an-Older-Dog
I would suggest you request a baby type stair gate so the dog cannot get upstairs. Also when the dog is left alone in the house it should be confined to a crate (they will not usually poop in a crate) or at least shut in one room such as the kitchen.
The first person to get back to the house when the dog has been alone should let the dog out to poop if it needs to and give plenty of praise for successes. Don't leave the dog on its own for more than a few hours - if it's alone shut in all day of course its going to poop. If this is the case your dad's girlfriend should arrange and pay for a dog walker to come at midday to let the dog out to do its business. Good luck!
I agree with Kes. I also
I agree with Kes. I also think you should talk with your dad's gf about this asap and suggest paying someone to let the dog out. Maybe you could offer to let the dog out when you get home/are home? I have 2 dogs. When we are all gone for the day, I call one of our neighbors who loves the dogs to let them out.
I'm suppressing chuckles,
I'm suppressing chuckles, qtpie. Just as male dogs pee to mark their territory, females (let's say it - "bitches"!) often poop to mark theirs. My girl was completely house trained, but pooped on my bedroom rug and then on Baby Huey's bed the first time I left ex-bf and son alone in the house without me for a couple of nights. More recently, she pooped on the living room floor next to the couch where the now ex had taken up residence as our relationship deteriorated.
Regardless of the reason for the in-house pooping, it should be fairly easily remedied with the recommended crate.
I would start by suggesting
I would start by suggesting (very strongly) that all food be picked up after dinner time & water be picked up after 6:30pm. The reason for this is it would give the dog time to eliminate before bedtime. I know many people who feed their dogs immediately after they get home from work for this same reason.
Also, as the dog is leaving piles in random spots, is the dog not in their bedroom? If it's free-ranging overnight, suggest putting her little butt into a kennel overnight. As it's in your house & you're the one cleaning up its mess, I'd almost say that it's your right to put the little sucker into a kennel.
Is it a puppy or small breed dog?
Sorry to hear about the dog troubles.
Their bedroom is the only
Their bedroom is the only place the dog ISN'T allowed. She comes and goes from all the other rooms in the house. My dad never even let our litter trained cat in the bedroom. He just doesn't like animals or their hair anywhere near his bedroom. I've taken to closing my bedroom door, which I never used to do, at night to keep her out of mine, but then I feel bad because that's where my cat always slept before the gf and the dog moved in, but once she pooped on my carpet I said no more animals in there either.
Most dog problems are created
Most dog problems are created by dog owners being inconsistent or flat out lazy. The problem needs to be addressed in several ways:
1. Always feed the dog at the same time and take it outside as soon as it eats.
2. It needs to be walked regularly, ideally, 30 minutes twice a day. That will get it's bowels moving better and more regularly.
3. Crate it at night, let it outside first thing in the morning. While a babygate overnight will help, it will still poop in the room its confined it.
Get the GF to think of it this way, what would she think of a parent whose child craps in the middle of the floor all the time? This isn't any different.
She should get rid of the
She should get rid of the dog. It's not fair that your house has to stink. I would've told her the dog wasn't allowed in the house before she moved in.
yes, she should totally do
yes, she should totally do whatever an 18 year old still living at home tells her to do. :sick:
Since the father said the dog
Since the father said the dog was allowed to come into the house - the OP has no say in the matter - I have not read any of your posts OP but why are you still living at home if you are 18 - are you still in high school?
No, I graduated in June. I
No, I graduated in June. I can't afford to pay for college on my own, and my father said the only way he is willing to contribute is to let me live here rent free.
I am a full time student, and I'm taking 17 credits a semester so that I can graduate early. I also work about 25-30 hours a week making minimum wage. That barely covers my gas to and from school/work, I go to school at a University 45 minutes a way, my phone bill, my car payment, food, and insurance. If I'm lucky I have maybe $20 left after every paycheck, and all of that goes into a bank account so that I can afford to move out next year.
I don't see why you're being
I don't see why you're being so cruel. I'm not degrading my dad or his girlfriend. Seriously, if I was causing problems in their relationship my dad wouldn't hesitate to put an end to it, and it is nice to be living rent free I appreciate it very much, but so is the girlfriend. She's a part-time student with no job. My dad pays her bills accept for the car payment, and he pays to feed her and the dog. It's not like I'm a free loader. The only thing he helps me with is letting me live here, and I'm attempting to move out, as I said. Maybe you had to live on your own, but I don't. Why would I work harder than I need to and watch my grades suffer or push myself harder than I have to? You might kick your kids out at 18, but my dad thinks it's fine that I live here until i can get on my own feet as long as I'm working, in school, and trying to get out on my own.
Sorry, but this is just weird
Sorry, but this is just weird to me. You are going to school, working, you should hardly even be home that much, and should be dating or out with friends. Why do you have so much free time to worry about your daddy?
I don't. I'm not worried
I don't. I'm not worried about him. I'm worried about the stupid dog. I have a boyfriend, and I have friends. However, I'm really dedicated to my schooling. It's the most important priority in my life so my free time after class and work is very limited due to my study time, and the Christian club that meetes twice a week. I sleep here at night. The dog poops mostly at night, and usually once during the day. THAT'S what I'm worried about.
I agree. I don't get the
I agree. I don't get the other responses-
The girlfriend is living there. She is an adult, in a relationship with the dad. HE should be discussing the dog with her, not the SD.
Also, OP, this sounds like another case of you fighting your dad's fight for him, or protecting him from the "evil stepmother."
It is a shame, because in these situations it comes across as these dads are weak, lily livered things that can't stand up for themselves and need their barely out of puberty children to do it for them.
I wonder if these dad's,
I wonder if these dad's, knows that they are perceived as being so weak-minded? If that is the case, and the dad is afraid to say something, it is really sad that their child, especially a teenager, has to fight his battles.
DH's ex does this with her kids-One is 15 and if there is any disagreement between DH and his ex, the 15 year old jumps in defending her with long emails and ranting and raving.
She just makes her mom look like an idiot, and the sane adults in the situation tell her it is none of her business.
I can almost relate to your
I can almost relate to your step daughter in a way. My dad was alone after my mpm died. He worked long hours, and I would clean and cook dinner or do the lawn. I would do whatever I needed to do in order to make his load lighter when he got home. I even used to feel guilty when my sister and I would go out on the same night, because he would seem sad to be alone all the time, so I cut my going out time when my sister raised hers.
However, I differ in the fact that I know it's his gf's job to take care of him. It's weight off my shoulder not to have to worry about whether or not he has clean underwear anymore. However, when I do move out I will still be sad to leave my dad and sister. We've all gotten really close to each other over the last 5 years.
And, not all kids are brats, I enjoy family time, with a gf as well. I'm disciplined with what I believe to be a good future ahead of me, I'm going to college to become an orthodontist. I respect my dad and the rest of my family. I still won't even say a curse word in front of my dad. I don't complain about chores very often, unless I need to study.
Well, it's the way it was. My
Well, it's the way it was. My sister and I were expected to do all of the chores before his girlfriend came along, and I had to keep track of what clothes he needed otherwise he would be pissed about not having them.
Honey, you are just upset at
Honey, you are just upset at losing your "wifey"status. I have a friend whose SD is doing the same thing as you,except her DH realizes that he did his daughter a disservice by treating her as an equal and letting her take care of him for so long, and he is trying to remedy that. The problem is, just like you, his daughter can't move on. She has no friends, can't mantain friendships, and is deathly jealous of the new wife who has done nothing to her except be alive. It is really quite dysfunctional that your dad is like that, esp with his clothes.
I never felt like a wife. I
I never felt like a wife. I never liked doing the chores, and I'm grateful that I don't have to do them anymore. I'm happy my dad is happy. I honestly am. I know for people who have had skids who felt the exact opposite way it might be hard to accept that there are kids out there who really want their parents to be happy, but I DO. My goodness. You are all over reading into dog crap. Heck even I was. Turned out really easy to remedy the whole situation. And I do enjoy what freedom I have. I have friends, and I also have a boyrfriend. I go out when I'm not working, studying, sleeping, or in class. However, I still like to spend time with my family. Are you guys so traumatized by bad experiences that you now believe it's wrong for someone to spend time with their kids?
How does me not liking the
How does me not liking the dog crapping on the floor turn into not having boundaries.
I don't think she's evil at
I don't think she's evil at all, I actually like her, and we get along well enough. I don't want to fight my dad's battles for him, but like I said he only stepped in it once, and he had shoes on. I've stepped on it more than once with no shoes on, and find it at least twice a day. Am I just supposed to keep stepping it, or having to smell it when I walk through the house? It's ALWAYS cleaned up before my dad gets home, and I would never stop. It would be just plain cruel to ask him to go to work all day to support everyone, and then to let him come home to a disgusting house.
clapping!!!!! children
clapping!!!!!
children should stay in a child's place!!!
I don't fight my dad's
I don't fight my dad's battles for him EVER, but he's only stepped in the dog crap once, while I just keep stepping in it. I don't want to go to my dad and put him a position where he feels like he needs to get in a fight with his gf over the stupid dog. Heck I even like the dog she's a little pomeranian and ridicuously loving, but the crap she leaves everywhere is just plain gross.
I don't think there is much
I don't think there is much that you will be able to say without getting attacked.
Sounds like you are motivated and I see no problem with you living in the house if it seems to work. The dog thing may be annoying but in the picture, compared to what other people here are dealing with, it isn't that big of a deal. Gross, yes, but something that hopefully can get worked out. It sounds like you all are getting along pretty good, so no matter that others are telling you that you overstep your boundaries, it sounds like you are doing allright.