Relationships and Communication - Pets are Part of the Package
Pets are a serious consideration with regards to relationships. Many people, me included, consider pets to be an integral part of the family. If you and your significant other disagree on the issue of pets, it will cause problems. Having pets, affects many aspects of daily living and for many people their pets are “non-negotiable”
“Pet People” need to date other “pet people” especially if you are looking for some kind of long-term stable relationship. You need to know how your potential mate honestly feels about pets. Don’t ignore any pet “red flags” that you may find, take them seriously and make certain that any issues are honestly and adequately resolved or you and your significant other may need to part ways. You both need to be completely honest about what pets mean to you and your pet “ownership” expectations. I don’t believe we “own” pets but I use the term loosely as a topic of conversation that needs to happen in relationships. I don’t plan to ever live a moment without several pets and anyone in a relationship with me, needs to understand that and take it seriously. If they think, “well as soon as this pet passes away, then I will be pet free”, think again. Pets enrich my life and I absolutely will not live without them as a huge part of my life. For example, my dogs WILL ALWAYS sleep on the bed. I have no interest in keeping them off. I talk with my pets and love my pets a ton! Relationships with pets are like relationships with humans, you get out of them what you put into them. I get so much from my pets it’s unbelievable. I’m very good with them. I talk with them and they understand. It’s amazing! I want everyone to get what I get having pets in my life because it’s such a blessing that I am so thankful for!
There are so many things that need to be communicated about and understood in relationships, but please don’t overlook the animal companionship issue. Many times, I think the importance of it is downplayed. Although it isn’t as important as the child issue, it is a very close second.
Some questions to use in starting to determine where you are both at with regards to your feelings about pets:
1) Are you allergic to animals? If your fiancee were allergic, would you give the animal away.
2) Are there any pets you refuse to live with?
3) Do you allow pets on the furniture?
For more helpful questions on communicating about pets and other issues in relationships, I’m inviting you to visit http://www.relationshipdesignquestions.com – from Heidi Schaden
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