The Best Things To Do When You Want A Pet But Your Partner Doesn’t
If your partner doesn’t agree to purchase a pet, first consider fostering, visiting a local animal shelter, or pet sitting
When couples run into difficulties in agreeing on specific terms of their relationship, it can be hard to find a way forward, and nothing can cause more issues than when a partner isn’t sure about pets.
When partners do not agree on subjects like pets, there are several factors that have to be taken into account. When talking with a partner, firstly decipher if it’s only a preference, if they have ever been exposed to animals, or do they actually hate your preferred pet. Once that is decided, you can choose how to move forward as a partnership.
If it is just a preference, then you can come to some compromise that you could foster a pet for a family or friend and see how that turns out. If they have never had any exposure to animals, then while they may have preconceived ideas of their love of pets, they do not really know as they haven’t been exposed to animals for a prolonged period.
Again fostering a pet from a family member or neighbor could help this, or volunteering at an animal shelter, as they may gain a new perspective on animals in general. More often than not, they will bond with some animal, and their life will be open to fur babies in the future. Unfortunately, if it is hatred and there is no wiggle room, then it becomes a more significant relationship problem.
Another factor to consider is if one person in the relationship actually had pets previously before the relationship began. If your partner dislikes pets and you already have one or multiple pets, then see how they react to the pets that you have now. While some people say they do not like pets, some people’s minds can be changed.
Do they engage with your pets? Do they offer to take care of them while you are away? Will they walk, feed or cuddle the pet?
If any of the answers are yes, while they may not be open to pets at the moment, they know that you have them and are willing to forge a relationship, making the situation very promising.
During the conversations and compromises, you may find while they are happy to have the pet in the house, they may not want the responsibility of them; that is when you need to decide what compromise is acceptable to you.
If your partner is still around when they know you have pets and love them, it must not be a deal breaker for them regardless of their opinion; after that, there is definitely some wiggle room. But communication is the main thing that is needed in this situation. If they are willing to foster a pet or have one live with you, constant communication is necessary throughout this process until some kind of equilibrium is reached.
Couples have to go through many different topics they do not agree on entirely at first, but working as a team, treating each other with respect, and communicating will always give a positive result.
