Should I be more attentive to my roommate's dog?
I always feel bad when I get home, because she's mostly his responsibility, and I don't want to play with her that much. Every once in a while, I take her for a walk, and I spend a few minutes scratching her head and saying hello, but then I shut my door for most of the night until bed. So from 5-12 PM, she's just sitting on the couch moping.
I mean, clearly, I should, but she interrupts my work and tries to jump on my bed. She always wants to be petted, so she tries to squeeze her way between my arms or whatever.
I'm not doing damage to her or anything, right? She's okay for a few hours with intermittent pats on the head and such?
So what if the dog wants to jump on your bed? It's a fucking dog.
The right thing to do is leave your door open so he doesn't feel lonely, if he comes in just maybe rub him a bit, he might lay on your bed and go to sleep
Consider this. Dogs sit at home all day doing nothing but sleeping and eating, so when someone comes home its like an event because finally theyre not alone, so of course theyre much happier. But when you lock yourself in your room and he can't even get to you, you might as well not be home.
Tl;dr the dog has feelings, keep your door open and let him on your bed, he's not going to destroy it
You're not liable since it's not your dog. If you want to out of your own volition then go ahead.
>>17244521
>him
it's a she. nice projection
>>17243538
Your roommate should be more attentive to his dog. It's not your responsibility.
>>17243538
It's not your responsibility to take care of your roommate's dog.
I play with and take care of my roommates dog when he's not around because I want to because his dog is cute as shit and I love dogs. My roomate considers it a favor and never asks me to do it. That said, I feel no responsibility/guilt for leaving her in her crate if I have shit to do.
If you suspect maybe the dog is being neglected or not played with enough maybe you should talk to your roommate. You shouldn't feel obligated to take care of her if you don't want to.
It's your roommate's dog, not yours. Where the fuck is your room mate during all these hours?
If you're concerned, there are various treat-dispensing puzzle toys you can get that will keep her happy and mentally stimulated for decent periods of time, if you want to consult /an/ or do some googling (pic related).
If the dog isn't audibly complaining or desperate to get to you or anything, she might be totally fine being alone for these hours assuming she's interacted with at other times of the day. Dogs are pretty good at just sitting and chilling. But most dogs could use extra stimulation, so it'd probably be a good thing anyway.
With a bit of patience and effort, you could also probably train her to calm down and just chill in your room with you without bothering you, if you're concerned that she's lonely.
All this said, it's your roommate's dog. So not only does the roommate kinda have to be on board, but you also don't want to 'spoil' the dog too much if they ever move out, to where she suddenly goes back to being ignored.
>>17244521
The dog rolls around in dirt and walks around areas where she shits on the ground in the backyard. I don't want that jumping in my bed, thanks.
>>17244522
I don't want to go to /an/ because they're going to be biased and say "of course you should dedicate all of your time to the dog and the dog should never be alone and it needs constant stimulation." They love animals.
>>17244716
My roommate is working. She's not bad in the way she wants attention, she just wants to cuddle. And he cuddles her a lot. When he's home, she's basically in his lap and they're inseparable, so she kind of expects that. I don't want to train one of his dog's favorite traits out of her.
>>17244801
>I don't want to train one of his dog's favorite traits out of her.
That's fair enough, but dogs can have different kinds of relationships with different people. She won't suddenly dislike cuddles in general just because she learns she won't get them from you. My old family dog, we'd cuddle and rough house constantly, but when I wasn't home, she'd happily chill on the study couch for hours without a peep while my mother worked from home.
All it really takes is a comfy place for her to lie, brightened up with some chewy treats so her bed's more interesting than you are, and a sense of consistency where you become boring and she just doesn't expect cuddles from you when she's in there.
But again, it's not something I'm necessarily advising, just throwing it out as a possibility.
>>17243538
Wow, you care wayyyy more for the dog than my parents did for me.
