Reddit Labels This Dad The A-Hole Because He Wanted His Son To Walk Their New Dog
Getting a dog is a big responsibility. It is something that some might consider a full-time job. Often, the whole family must help take care of it.
Do you want a dog? Great for you! But are you ready for all the lifestyle changes you’ll face once you get that fluffy new addition to your family?
In the case of this family of five, four of them were in favor of getting a dog while one son was against the idea.
A Reddit user made a throwaway account so that he could share and ask the community if he is an a-hole for how he handled the issues with the relationship between their family’s new dog and the reluctant son.
On to the story!
So, we have a family of 5. Wife, husband, and their three young sons: Alex(15), Dylan(11), and Jake(8). The husband said that he always wanted to have a dog when he was still a kid and his interest resurfaced recently, so he asked his family their thoughts about getting a dog. His wife was reluctant at first but eventually relented, as our OP said, after a few weeks of him asking. Two out of the three kids were enthusiastic, but Dylan was immediately opposed to the idea.
OP then added that Dylan was “always different than my other sons” and that he always found it hard to connect with his son since Dylan was more subdued and uninterested in sports, as opposed to his brothers.
Dylan was adamant though. OP and his other two sons managed to convince Dylan to get a dog, but Dylan made an ultimatum. If their family did get a dog, he said he wasn’t going to be interacting with it whatsoever. Taking care of the dog would be solely the father’s and the two sons’ responsibility.
“I found this ridiculous, but I agreed in the moment, hoping he would change his mind after meeting the dog,” the OP wrote.
Skip to seven months later, and Dylan hasn’t changed his mind. OP said that Dylan has not warmed up to their new dog, Zeus, in the slightest. Coldhearted, perhaps, but Dylan did say he didn’t want a dog. Some people are just not into pets, and that’s okay!
Here comes the start of OP’s problem… He decided to take matters into his own hands. He didn’t like the nonexistent relationship between Zeus and Dylan, so he assigned Dylan to walk the dog every day after school.
Dylan refused, naturally, and the dad put his foot down and said that if Dylan didn’t start listening to him and just walk the dog, he’d prohibit Dylan from going to the comic book store. Dylan then snapped and went to his mom and told her what happened, OP’s wife is now upset and told him that he knew what he was getting into. (Well, OP, you did agree to Dylan’s conditions.)
Now OP ended his post by saying, “My wife has been short with me ever since that conversation, and Dylan is cold with me as well. Alex is now agreeing with his mother, which is making me have second thoughts. So Reddit, AITA?”
Reddit’s answer? OP is the A-hole. And I agree.
The comments section in this post didn’t hold back on telling the OP that he’s in the wrong, from describing his son as “weird” to apparently not disciplining Zeus enough and letting him jump around Dylan and seeing it as a form of affection.
In the end, the OP acknowledges his fault and wrote that he might be the a-hole because “Dylan did tell me that he didn’t want to take care of the dog, and I did technically agree to those conditions”
So far, we don’t have any new updates from the OP. But hopefully, the family works things out and figures out their new dynamic with Zeus in the house.
The original post is below if you wanna check out the comments section!
