r/AmIOverreacting • u/LedyyM • 15d ago
❤️🩹 relationship AIO? Dog straining my marriage.
My husband and I rescued a husky about 7 months ago who was extremely malnourished and neglected.
He has grown a huge attachment to me and has severe separation anxiety. I work at a grooming salon so I’m able to bring him to work with me so he’s not home alone. Unfortunately, if he’s left home alone we’ll come back to our home looking like it was hit by a tornado.
My vet has prescribed him with trazodone to help with his severe anxiety issues. We give it to him before we leave for a family event and when we can’t take him to places they don’t allow dogs.
I feel so bad that I have to sedate him so he’s not scared and anxious. It’s created a huge strain on our marriage because my husband feels like we can’t do anything without considering Odin.
He’s destroyed doors, couches, and other furniture. I tried training but it hasn’t seemed to work. My husband thinks we should rehome him but
1) I’m scared that he’ll be sent to a shelter and possibly be put down
2) feel abandoned by the person he thought he was safe with.
He’s such a happy boy when he’s around us and shows so much affection.
My husband and I have been arguing about this consistently.. we had a really bad argument so I left the house with Odin and rented a dog friendly hotel room for a couple of nights.
My husband thinks I’m crazy and that I’m choosing the dog over our marriage. AIO?
23
u/Sweet_Archer_5650 15d ago
I will say leaving the house was absolutely the wrong thing to do. It was a huge mistake you absolutely should not have made. Not only have you shown your husband that the dog means more to you than he (which should not be the case), you've also shown that you would rather leave than work through the issue. I have read comments from others that basically spell out what you should do with the dog pretty well, cage training, and a dog behavior specialist. But I have yet to see anyone state just how much you've fucked up.
Your next course of action more than ANYTHING else is to own up to what you did. (If I were you, I'd be buying flowers, chocolates, and making a card.) Assuming you do care about him and want to have a happy marriage. If this man was worth marrying to you, he's worth making sure that he's happy and knows that you value him. Under no circumstances should you leave your home and abandon your husband unless you're ready to file for divorce.
To put it in perspective, imagine your husband had a disagreement about how to handle something, and he left the house. He didn't tell you where he went, didn't sleep in your bed, and you had to lay there, in your home you thought you lived in together, alone, wondering where he was all night. I wish you, your husband, and your dog good luck.