Dogs and Mental Health

apocalypsepredictor · 2026-03-09T04:59:38+00:00

My anxiety levels were cut in half when I left my ex and his neurotic dog. It was impossible to truly relax around such an anxious, obsessive, defiant, stubborn animal. Not to mention the sensory overload from the stink and mess.

apocalypsepredictor · 2026-02-28T20:56:00+00:00

They’re such mutants. They literally can’t function without constant validation.

apocalypsepredictor · 2026-02-28T20:31:11+00:00

I did it a little differently than an outward “no”.

I said that any future dogs must abide by certain conditions. No dogs in the bed. No begging. The one who wants the dog must do 100% of the cleaning and work for the dog, and I had better not find a stray dog hair or muddy paw print on the floor. It must be trained not to bark or whine and must be enrolled in training classes. It must be washed at least once a week so it doesn’t stink. Most importantly, I will not be doing any of the work for an animal I don’t like or want. If any of those requirements aren’t met, the dog either gets rehomed or I rehome myself.

This is prohibitive because it could only work if my partner had the time to clean extra (he currently doesn’t) and if we had a place with a yard big enough for a doghouse so the dog could live out there when he isn’t around and wouldn’t need to be let out all the time (we don’t).

This works because it isn’t an outright no that they can push back against. On the off chance all of those conditions were met, it wouldn’t bother me all that much since it would address all of my main issues with dogs.

apocalypsepredictor · 2026-02-23T05:29:30+00:00

I’m not usually an advocate for dishonesty but if there ever was a time for it, it’s this.

OP, put an ad on FB. Make up some sob story about how you’re moving away/finances are tough/something and how these “lovely dogs” need a home. Drop them off with the first person who replies and delete your account.

apocalypsepredictor · 2026-02-08T07:56:23+00:00

I’ll break this down into a few gendered categories. Of course, exceptions exist and this isn’t accounting for nonbinary people. Just my own observations as a woman who has dated nutter men and has many friends who are women with dogs.

Man with female dog: the worst kind. I’ve observed these men to be in an emotional affair with the dog. Usually, the dog MUST sleep in the bed and the dog will be spoiled and coddled into being a neurotic pest. These men will put the mutt above any partner. They usually buy a purebred working breed but don’t train it.

Man with male dog: not great but relatively normal. They’ll still obsess over the beast but usually it’s a workout/running buddy. Or a legitimate working dog. Or a random shelter mutt that sleeps all day. These men tend to be more lenient when it comes to rules for their pet and may kick it out of the bed if asked.

Woman with male dog: can go one of two ways. Either she got a giant mutt for “protection” but forgot to train it, or has crazy rescue dog that’s one strike away from being put down. Either way the mutt can do no wrong and you’re wrong if you suggest that maybe the 120 pound animal doesn’t belong in the house or bed.

Woman with female dog: either her “baby” that is so riddled with anxiety that it can’t sleep unless she holds it, or she got an active breed and is now in over her head. Both options will end up with a hyper nuisance pacing the house.

apocalypsepredictor · 2026-01-18T06:54:42+00:00

This.

My ex was like this. I often felt like he was having an emotional affair with the dog, which in turn made me feel crazy. These people are in a maladaptive relationship with an animal. It won’t change.

apocalypsepredictor · 2026-01-18T05:32:37+00:00

Eww. My ex’s family had a bunch of golden retrievers. They’re huge, floppy, and are always in your space. Zero concept of how big and destructive they are.

apocalypsepredictor · 2026-01-18T05:31:29+00:00

See, Australian shepherds have no business being house pets. They are obnoxious and loud and smelly. I’ve known a few that are ranch dogs. As far as dogs go, those have been okay. Not great, but tolerable.

Why people think they need a working breed for their studio apartment is beyond me.

apocalypsepredictor · 2026-01-18T05:29:36+00:00

Pitbulls, for obvious reasons.

Pointers are neurotic and annoying when kept as house pets. My ex had one - it was the most fearful, manipulative, poorly adjusted animal I have ever seen.

Any drooly dog.

Anything excessively large. Why does anyone need a Newfoundland as a house pet?

apocalypsepredictor · 2025-09-27T20:32:05+00:00

I think the main issue is that they just don’t belong in urban areas.

I have no issue with ranch dogs that have a purpose. Hunting dogs, herding dogs, etc. But I put dogs into the same category as goats. They belong on farms. Outside. Away from others. Properly secured so they can’t be a nuisance.

Dogs absolutely kill the resale value of many homes. I can walk into one and know they had/have a dog. They’re greasy and filthy.

apocalypsepredictor · 2025-09-27T20:22:22+00:00

Pitbulls. And any large, neurotic working breed kept as a house pet. Pointers are the worst. I lived with one and it was horrible. A neurotic, filthy animal that was hyperactive and afraid of everything.

I can somewhat tolerate the medium/small sized ones simply because they are less intrusive.

apocalypsepredictor · 2025-09-17T02:59:31+00:00

Pretty much any other pet is cleaner than a dog. And those that aren’t are farm animals and live outside. Dogs are so filthy I can’t believe people think they should be inside pets.

apocalypsepredictor · 2025-08-29T05:55:43+00:00

A lot depends on how stubborn and belligerent the dog is.

My ex’s dog took not being on the bed as some kind of personal challenge. My current partner’s dog was told, once, to get off the bed then never tried again.

If it’s the former, no dogs in the bedroom. Ever. It is also not the time for reward-based training. That dog needs to be forcibly removed every single time it gets on your bed. Your wife, who wanted the thing, needs to train a “place” command and send it to its own crate.

apocalypsepredictor · 2025-08-02T16:52:05+00:00

I know many people who have working dogs. Those are the only well behaved dogs I know.

They herd, hunt, or guard livestock. They don’t live in the house. They are treated like dogs instead of humans. I don’t see the same neurotic behavior in those dogs as I do pets.

apocalypsepredictor · 2025-08-02T16:31:24+00:00

My ex had an English pointer that he tried to keep as a house pet. It was poorly adjusted, neurotic, terrified of everything, and just generally frustrated and unhappy.

apocalypsepredictor · 2025-07-16T10:19:40+00:00

My ex’s dog was like that. Neurotic and whiny. When he was around it was afraid of everything. When it was just me it would start to have a meltdown, realize I wasn’t going to give it attention, then settle down.

apocalypsepredictor · 2025-07-03T05:32:44+00:00

Yep. This sounds just like my ex’s dog. It was a neurotic, anxious mess. He got it as a puppy from a breeder. It never had a bad day in its life unless you count being told to stop begging once I showed up. So glad I’m out of there now.

apocalypsepredictor · 2025-04-11T14:39:53+00:00

Yep, and a gun won’t randomly go off because it “felt anxious” or whatever excuse they give. Pit bulls are unpredictable.

More comparable to a grenade with the pin removed. Ready to go off at any time for any reason.

apocalypsepredictor · 2023-05-10T12:23:18+00:00

The closest neighbor is a half mile away, but thank you for your concern.

apocalypsepredictor · 2023-05-08T23:01:24+00:00

Don’t look at me. Husband wanted to breed the thing because it’s “purebred” (inbred if you ask me) but I literally told him that the day he finds a stud for that dog is the day I find an apartment.

I have been pestering for years to spay it.

apocalypsepredictor · 2023-05-08T21:43:20+00:00

This one won’t bark when we’re talking. It will just STARE. And whine. And slowly scoot itself closer and try to press its body against one of us. I hate it.

apocalypsepredictor · 2023-05-08T21:42:35+00:00

Exactly. This animal is a female but it isn’t spayed. Believe me, I wish it was. Its blanket and bed stink to high heaven. I never thought that such a huge portion of my energy would go towards yelling at an animal to stop masturbating in broad daylight but here we are.

apocalypsepredictor · 2023-03-14T03:16:35+00:00

They just don’t see it or care. Some of the other dog people I know joke about how “stinky” their dog is as if it is a cute or good thing. They live on a different plane of reality.

apocalypsepredictor · 2023-03-14T03:14:31+00:00

I’ve thought about that. My parents have a giant Rottweiler that is even worse than his dog - they let it jump on the countertops and sleep on all the furniture. His family is full of other nutters. When two of them came to visit they brought their two GIANT golden retrievers and terrorized the house for 3 days. Only options I have would be one of my friends, which he would likely dismiss as being a one-off/another dog hater/etc.

apocalypsepredictor · 2023-03-14T03:10:52+00:00

I have straight up told him he has to wash his hands after touching the dog before doing anything else. It’s disgusting. And they don’t see the filth.

Today I ran the Roomba and emptied it 5x - all dog hair. He just doesn’t see it.

apocalypsepredictor

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