Man Admits He No Longer Wants Kids After Seeing How His Wife Cares for Their Dog

For most couples, getting a pet together is the perfect trial run for having kids. Of course, babies are a whole lot more work than puppies or kittens will ever be, but learning to practice patience, responsibility, and compassion for your little fur baby will at least give you some practice at the basics. Unfortunately, though, one man on Reddit said getting a new puppy had the opposite effect on his desire to have kids — and it actually had nothing to do with the dog.

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According to the Reddit poster, he and his wife have been married for seven years.

Because they got together pretty young, they put off the whole kid thing for a while and have been living a "child-free life" pretty happily. But now that they're both heading into their 30s, they've recently started to discuss the next chapter.

So far, they've had a very 'If it happens, it happens' mentality about having a kid.

In other words, they're not exactly trying to get pregnant, but they're also not trying not to get pregnant, if you catch our drift.

In the meantime, they've been playing "Mom" and "Dad" to a brand-new puppy, which they decided to get in October when his wife suddenly had a desire to bring home a new pet.

"We're both animal lovers and we thought it was a great time, since both of us would be at home and we could watch over and house train it," the husband explained in his post.

So, they took the plunge and got a new puppy — and according to the husband, they both "love him dearly."

However, there's just one problem ...

His wife kinda sucks at taking care of the little guy. And by sucks, we mean, well, she barely even tries.

"Ever since we got him, I've had to bathe, feed, and clean up after [the dog]," the husband shared. "Don't get me wrong, she helps out as well, but I would say it's in a 90/10% ratio."

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"It gets extremely tiring after awhile and sometimes I just want to kick my feet up, have a nice beer and watch TV without being interrupted with, 'Hey, the puppy just peed! Can you come clean it up!'"

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The couple quickly fell into a bit of a pattern when it came to dog care, and after a while, it began to wear on him.

Finally, after getting off a recent Zoom meeting for work, the husband lost his cool.

"I exploded and told her that she needs to do her share of looking after the puppy and I'm tired of being the one who does all the work," he relayed. "She told me I was being calculative and trying to undermine her. I told her that its clear that I've been doing all the dirty work and all [she] wants to do is play with the puppy."

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Then he said something that might have taken it a bit too far.

"I told her if I cant trust her to look after our puppy, how can I trust her to look after a baby," the husband continued. "If we had a baby, I won't be able to take cleaning up after him all the time and she had to do her share as well. If she was going to act the same way, I would rather not have a kid."

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His wife was NOT happy about this.

In fact, he said she screamed at him, burst into tears, and stormed out of the house.

"She has been staying at her parents for a few days now but things don't really seem to be improving," he went on. "Her parents are telling me it was a horrible thing to say as looking after a puppy is not the same as a baby and that she would make a great mum, and that I should come over and apologize to make things right."

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The thing is, he knows what he said was harsh, but he feels he 'had to take a stand.'

"I wouldn't know what to do if a baby comes along and she continues acting the same way," he concluded.

Still, he wants to know: Do others agree that he crossed a line, or did it have to be said?

A lot of people took the man's side.

In fact, some even had some very strong opinions on the matter and said her behavior now is a sign of things to come.

"Poor division of labor with a baby and young children is a relationship killer," wrote one person. "It leads to deep resentment. If she's not equipped to do half the work you guys should really wait to have kids."

"Coming from someone who does have kids … NTA," another person told him. "Her response is typical of someone who lacks insight and objectivity. Yes, a dog and a child are not the same, but people who act this way often carry it into parenthood. If you asked me, you dodged a bullet there."

"Do NOT reproduce with this person if you want equality in a relationship," the person added.

Some people commented on the idea of comparing a dog to a child.

But they didn't exactly say he was wrong for doing it.

"I’m pretty sure a dog is much easier to take care of than a kid, so if she can’t take care of a puppy I doubt she would be a very responsible parent," one person noted.

"I'm inclined to agree," wrote another commenter. "Looking after an animal is often described as being a bit like looking after kids, so if she is getting funny about clearing up s— now she's going to be very upset when it's a real kid."

In a later comment, the husband elaborated a bit further on his wife's behavior.

"I was thinking I can't be the one feeding or changing their diapers all the time or wakes up every time they cry at night," he wrote. "When she does clean up the poo, she always makes this 'ewww so gross' face and tells me to do it the next time."

This little tidbit stuck out to at least one Redditor.

"So, she makes 'eww gross' noises when she picks up after a puppy that obviously does not poop as much as a baby, or pukes as much as a baby," the person wrote. "She goes running to her parents because you confront her and they say she will be a great Mom based on what? That their little girl cannot do anything wrong? And then on top of it all, because I am sure there is a lot that worries you.

"She does not even consider what you said, all she cares is she is not viewed as the best Mom ever already?" the commenter continued. "Yeah … she is an entitled and narcissistic parent in the making. Also, is she going to go 'eww gross' when she (maybe) poops herself while giving birth?"

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Still, people were a bit split on the husband's actual delivery of his message.

"Brutal honesty has its time and place and some folks don't get that," one person wrote.

"I think brutal honesty may have been warranted here," another person countered. "However, folks who pride themselves on being brutally honest seem to enjoy being brutal more than being honest."

Whether the husband truly meant to be that cruel is a bit of an unknown, but one thing's for sure: It doesn't seem as if these two are currently fit for parenthood if they're already at each other's throats over caring for their dog.

"You could’ve addressed it in a better way, but hindsight is 20/20," noted one new mom. "I’ve just had a baby and she’s now 10 weeks old and it’s been rough. If your wife finds it hard and tedious to clean up after a puppy, the reality of motherhood will hit her HARD. The first newborn poop, breastfeeding, the potential perineal tears or episiotomy, finding time just to shower … they’re all a huge systematic shock to someone who could be unsuspecting."

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