AITA for giving my stepson an ultimatum when he unexpectedly brought home an 8 week old puppy?

A Reddit user is grappling with a situation involving her grown stepson, who brought home an 8-week-old puppy without any prior discussion or supplies. Despite previous warnings about the challenges of introducing a new dog into their household—especially with their 10-year-old senior dog—the stepson went ahead with the decision.

Now, the senior dog is unhappy, and the OP feels the burden of training and caring for the puppy will fall on her and her husband. She gave her stepson an ultimatum: either move out or rehome the puppy if the two dogs can’t coexist.

‘ AITA for giving my stepson an ultimatum when he unexpectedly brought home an 8 week old puppy?’

So my grown stepson lives with me, his father and our 10 yr old senior dog. He’s been talking about wanting to get a dog of his own. He works all day so the dog would essentially be me and my husband’s responsibility.

I already told him I won’t train another dog and I was concerned that our senior dog would not be friendly. She’s never been aggressive, however she doesn’t like dogs that get in her face. Well, he came home the other day with a puppy and zero supplies. No food, no cage, no bowls, nothing. I was visibly pissed & told him I am not training it or going to be in anyway shape of form responsible for it when he’s not home.

As predicted our senior dog is not happy. She’s been growling at this puppy when it gets near her. I told him if our dog and this puppy can’t get along he can either move out or re-home this puppy. Seriously, WTAF??. Am I being unreasonable?

Here’s what people had to say to OP:

VelvetPenguin87 −  NTA. It seems like your “grown” stepson has no idea the responsibility of dog ownership and has put that burden on you. Stick to your guns on this one, if he doesn’t find a new place to live then start posting online to find someone who can properly take care of that dog (& please do everything you can to make sure the puppy gets to a home where he’ll be cared for!) Hope he spent a lot of money on it and learns a lesson from this.

toosheeptheorist −  NTA – as much as your SS wanted a puppy, he does not own the house. Even if he pays rent, adding another pet to the mix required ALL residents to agree on it. If SS wants a puppy, he needs to be able to care for it, feed it, train it etc and not leave it up to others. Good luck.

Lanky-giraffe-100 −  NTA and your stepson is a j**k. That being said, it’s very common for an adult dog to growl at a puppy. It’s actual communication, and far more preferable than no growling. A growl is a warning. Puppies need to be reeled in and an older dog can really help with that. If you decide to let the puppy stay, they will likely bond but your older dog will do it on her time.

anthroid9246 −  NTA but why is this a you problem and not a husband problem? Where is his father in all of this? Stepson is out of his mind but this does not belong to you. Hubby needs to step up and parent his young ‘un.

extinct_diplodocus −  NTA. Adding a pet to the household requires everyone to agree. He unilaterally got a puppy despite this. Your two alternatives are totally reasonable.

StAlvis −  ESH. I already told him I won’t train another dog and I was concerned that our senior dog would not be friendly. You needed to tell him a hard “**no**.”. He heard “yes, but…”

mdthomas −  You don’t bring home a new pet unless everyone that lives in the home is OK with it.. NTA.

Jealous-Contract7426 −  NTA but why isn’t your husband handling this?

tosser9212 −  NTA. He’s not in a place to train and care for a dog.

Next-Wishbone1404 −  You should never have let the puppy cross the threshold. Take it to a no-kill shelter and tell your stepson he can go get it when he’s signed a lease on his new apartment. NTA.