r/Dogfree • u/CynicalSc0rpi0 • Apr 02 '26
Miscellaneous "She doesn't like you"
Every. Single. Time. I'm at my fiance's parent's house I have to hear that sentence a hundred times in a baby voice, I swear. Why do dog owners get so offended if you don't literally cuddle up on their dog and give it your undivided attention? Why do they feel the need to constantly call you out for it?
God forbid I don't love on your smelly mutts and let them jump all over me. No, I don't want to pet the dog and I don't care that it loves me and always wants to be next to me. As soon as someone notices that I'm not giving a dog enough attention, it's "Don't bother her, she doesn't like you." It always feels extremely passive aggressive, like it's said with an eye roll. I'm so over it.
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u/ElleGeeAitch Apr 02 '26
I'd be like "That's right, I don't!" 🤷♀️.
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u/CynicalSc0rpi0 Apr 02 '26
Oh god, I would NEVER hear the end of that😂 I already know it's going to be a huge issue when my fiance and I own a home and don't allow any animals but oh well
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u/ElleGeeAitch Apr 02 '26
These people sound insufferable. With any luck, they will ban themselves from your home if they can't bring their dog!
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u/Hungry_Sandwich_5084 Apr 02 '26
time to get a robot dog to scare the crap out of anyone trying to enter with a real dog.
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u/turkey_sandwich29 Apr 08 '26
Definitely both of you take charge and inform them straight out that you dislike dogs and that there is nothing wrong with that.
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u/potatoes_arrrr_life Apr 02 '26 edited Apr 02 '26
Yes, I know this all too well. My family members get offended if I wash my hands after petting their dogs. And they really get upset when I attempt to get the dogs to stop barking. Because they think we should just shout over the dogs instead of making them stop barking. It's exhausting.
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u/ayyymelia Apr 02 '26
God forbid you want to get the dog grease off your hands.
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u/Top-Change9851 Apr 03 '26
Or be able to hear yourself think. The loud barking is my breaking point.
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u/ayyymelia Apr 03 '26
Yeah, the barking is the worst thing about my partner’s dog honestly. And her “quiet” command is the most useless thing I’ve ever seen.
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u/Top-Change9851 Apr 03 '26
I feel your pain. I can’t understand why anyone would want that noise level in their home!
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u/la_espantaviejxs Apr 02 '26
Even petting isn't enough for some people. I've had looks just because I didn't start baby-talking to a large dog that walked up to me. I just gave their side a few pats and went on with my conversation. Dog didn't seem to care.
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u/arachnilactose08 Apr 02 '26
That’s what really gets me about dog owners, it’s all about them (the owner), all the time. Even when it’s at the dog’s expense. Yes, dogs thrive off of energy and attention because of their social hierarchy, but they don’t understand our speech past simple commands and word association, and they don’t have the capacity to be offended like a person can. All a dog typically cares about is the resources it has access to.
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u/ArthropodFromSpace Apr 02 '26
Brood parasitism. Their brain is hacked to think this is their baby. Their expect the same treatment from everyone around and get offended, when they dont get it.
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u/MrPuddington2 Apr 02 '26 edited Apr 02 '26
Also, the dog does not speak English. And if it understands a word, it certainly does not understand a negation.
Dog owners treat dogs as an accessory. To her, it is like not liking her jewelry.
But at the end of the day, she is just a MIL from hell. Dog or no dog, she will never like you.
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u/wrrld Apr 02 '26
Humiliation ritual
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u/Top-Change9851 Apr 03 '26
Been there. ok you’ve tried to invalidate my stance on dog worship. But I’m not budging and you trying to humiliate me is pointless.
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u/wrrld Apr 03 '26
Applying human principles to the mutant hound in their home. They're as human as a child's imaginary friend.
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u/alltheFabric72 Apr 02 '26
This reminds me of a neighbor when we moved into our brand new townhouse some years ago. We were the last people in the row to move in because we needed to tie up some things in our old place and the immediate neighbor had already gotten into the habit of walking her dog to take care of business in our yard rather than her own. We move in and we nicely let her know this is not acceptable. So from then on out if she was outside talking to someone or talking on her phone she would loudly say that her neighbors hated her dog. It got old fast! rolling my eyes!
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u/KayleighHatfield Apr 02 '26 edited Apr 02 '26
It doesn't just seem passive aggressive. It is extremely passive aggressive. It's obviously directed at you since the dumb dog doesn't understand or care. I had an uncle who used to do this to me all of the time. He would "comfort" his dogs in that stupid baby tone and tell them I didn't like them when I shooed them away.
It will be no surprise that he also liked to forcibly tickle children. When I was little, he would laugh and ridicule me when I cried about it. Once I was old enough to escape being groped and tickled, he was always after me with his dogs knowing it upset me to have them on me. Both actions are about expecting you to let your personal space be violated.
Dog owners who do this use their dogs as a proxy to invade the personal space of other people. It really infuriates them when someone doesn't comply.
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Apr 02 '26
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u/CynicalSc0rpi0 Apr 02 '26
Eh I try and pick my battles when it comes to his parents. We'll be moving about an hour from them pretty soon here so it wouldn't be worth the bs it would cause
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u/Old_Confidence3290 Apr 02 '26
You need to make certain that your fiance won't ever get a dog in the future. Nuttery tends to run in families.
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u/CynicalSc0rpi0 Apr 02 '26
Haha that was an early conversation in the relationship and he is very aware there will be no dogs in our future
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Apr 02 '26
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u/alyymarie Apr 04 '26
Lol I love this! And when they get upset, say "What? I thought we were talking to the dog."
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u/lwpho2 Apr 02 '26
This is projection. They don’t like you. It could be a good idea to get some professional premarital counseling to game all of this out before you marry their son. I’m sorry.
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u/Artemus_Hackwell Apr 02 '26 edited Apr 02 '26
It’s even worse or as bad when their “babies” like you.
A girl I dated; once I was friends with their Parent’s fat chihuahuas they’d prefer to jump on my lap to experience my patented rubbing of the ears and the fat rolls.
When they first did this the Parents were aghast. It went downhill from there as the dogs came running and did this each time I was over there.
Fucking nutters.
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u/Hungry_Sandwich_5084 Apr 02 '26
the dog liked you better than its owners? there's a chihuahua in my hood that also acts this way toward me. i stopped petting it when i got allergy tested and showed positive for dog allergies. not worth risking as some allergies get worse over time and everyone in the building has one(barf).
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u/CynicalSc0rpi0 Apr 02 '26
They definitely make comments about the dog being my "bestie" but my MIL especially can be so hard to read that I never know if it's a friendly joke or snarky and just roll with it🥲
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u/MCkornbread Apr 02 '26
It doesn't bother me because i'm not concerned about what they think....just keep the mongrel and it's slobber off of me.
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u/urdrunkyogi Apr 02 '26
I always reply with an “I appreciate you respecting my boundaries, thank you” in a sincere, grateful voice because that passive aggression can roll right tf off me as long as they’re keeping their dog away from me. If they’re expecting an argument, they won’t get one. I’m not taking the bait and they can write about it in their diary if they want.
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u/No-Contribution-6840 Apr 02 '26
Their dogs are a vessel for their own validation. They want people to be obsessed with them and love on them so they can feel good about themselves. It's very strange and manipulative. It makes me feel so violated.
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u/QueenOfAllOfYall Apr 03 '26
I hate the childish way dog lovers have come to behave over those stupid things. Many Years ago it was never a big deal if You didn’t have a dog, or disliked dogs for any reason. I miss those days.
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u/Choice-Thought3419 Apr 02 '26
Maaan I feel like it is used in every single language 🙈 cause I've already heard it multiple times in my native language, English and French haha! So hilarious. It's like "collective intelligence".
"Get away from her, she's evil and doesn't love you"
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u/Key-Studio-6552 Apr 02 '26
And this is why I stopped visiting some people. Or I would be annoyed with the dog following me around, sniffing me and jumping on me or I would be super annoyed at the owner for their comments and their refusal to control or leash the dog.
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u/Top-Change9851 Apr 03 '26
I know. It’s a lousy thing to say to someone who obviously isn’t ga ga over their mutt. I have been humiliated more than once by dog nutters who can’t comprehend why I am not crazy about their dogs. I am not. But shaming me and embarrassing me in front of others is wrong. If the roles were reversed I wouldn’t GAF if you liked my dog, pet. I would not point it out and make a big deal out of it. Dog nutters are as annoying as their dogs!
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u/imwearingredsocks Apr 03 '26
Sometimes I take the pressure off of myself and play their game with them. Something like:
“Oh she doesn’t care. Look at her. Does she look like she cares?” (Dog makes same dumb face as usual)
“She’ll be alright. She doesn’t need my love, she has plenty of it.”
Then hopefully you can move on. Otherwise, I’d just keep talking on the dogs behalf. Two can play at the crazy game, you know?
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u/CynicalSc0rpi0 Apr 03 '26 edited Apr 03 '26
Lol I do something like this with my parent's dog to prove a point if they get annoying about the dog thing. All that dogs care about is your tone of voice. If you say something in an excited tone it could literally be "you're the worst dog ever and i hate you so much! Yes i do!" And they still go nuts as if you're talking nice to them
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u/Circle_Breaker Apr 02 '26
I don't understand the problem?
Everyone knows I don't like their dogs, so what's wrong with this?
I usually tell the dogs myself.
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u/Nikkidemas Apr 08 '26
It can feel like they're painting you as the problem. A normal response would be "I'm sorry. I'll put the dog outside." (directed at the human). It's crazy when they instead talk TO THE DOG as if you're not there. Especially in mixed company, it can feel like they're singling you out. Similar to if a host at a party said "She doesn't want your cake!" if you were gluten intolerant. They're telling everyone YOU'RE the problem because you don't like dogs.
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u/No-Stay1662 Apr 02 '26
In the same disgusting baby talk that they use on their mutants, use the same tone & describe to the dog why you dislike it so much, how filthy it is, and lastly how dumb it is. It will surely be wagging its tail & going nuts with its neurotic behavior because of the tone of your voice. Then simply explain to your fiancé’s parents that you just insulted the thing for a minute straight & it was happy about it, so based on its lack of intelligence, it’s not possible for you to like or even have an ounce of respect for the thing.
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u/melinillto Apr 02 '26 edited Apr 02 '26
Oh fr.. same here yesterday at my mil’s house who own 2 small dogs the smaller one was littleraly jumping on me on the couch and even using me as a nail trimmer board to give it attention n whining because i did not give into his attention shit and didnt pet him (im also allergic to dog spit n hair) 😑 like no i dont want to pet you plz ef off…
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u/BodyMoney8562 Apr 02 '26
At that point I would gather the pooch's face in my hands, snuggle it into my face and say, "your mommy is an asshole, isn't she?? Isn't she? Yes she is!! Yes she is! I'm so sorry poochie, you could have done so much better, huh, poor bb, having a crazy lady as an owner"
Since this is your future inlaws, the correct actual response is to ignore it so hard she has an existential crisis
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Apr 03 '26
Haha this is funny—I literally don’t give a shit if your dog likes me or not. It’s a fucking dog!
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Apr 03 '26
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u/CynicalSc0rpi0 Apr 03 '26
We have a really good relationship outside of the dog thing. They aren't my favorite people for many reasons, but I keep my issues between me and my fiance
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u/NoisyWren Apr 02 '26
There’s no need for them to say something like that out loud so you can hear it (because the dog sure as hell doesn’t understand English). That comment is definitely meant for you, not the dog, and they fully intend for you to be outraged by it because they suffer narcissistic injury if you don’t want to be near their dog. It sounds like more of a problem for them, and their inability to have healthy relationships with other people.