Ruled out dating a guy who gives his dog beer?

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO)
#1

I was interested in a guy until he mentioned that he buys his dog its own separate case of beer every week, which he feeds it presumably every day. I know many of you are probably laid back about this sort of thing and there are those of you who see this as cruel, but do you think it’s a fair reason to be turned off by someone?

I think how people care for their animals indicates how much empathy they have. This is not healthy for the dog, nor can it give meaningful consent about drinking it because it doesn’t understand the consequences. To me it’s like doing the same thing to a child!

Is it fair for me to assume it says something about his character?

#2

I would totally give a dog a little beer. But a case a week is extreme and rather unbelievable. How much does this dog weigh, anyway?

#3

It’s a case of a smaller-sized beer and it’s a big dog. But I think it’s a shitty thing to do to an animal, it’s not good for it.

#4

I would question his own relationship with beer, if he thinks it’s something important enough to share with his dog.

It’s also < healthy for the dog. A case a week? That’s 3 beers a day for the dog. Depending on the size of the dog, that’s maybe 1/2 to 1/3 of its required calorie intake for the day, with no real nutritional benefit. And I’m not a vet, but that seems like a lot of alcohol to body mass, it’s probably bad on the liver and kidneys.

There are some vets floating around, though…

#5

Is it a good beer? If so, it’s a waste of good beer. If not, then he buys crap beer. Either way you are better off without him.

#6

Perceptive. He had also recently announced he had quit drinking. I think he drank every day, although I don’t know if he was actually an alcoholic. But no one announces they gave it up unless they had some sort of problem with it at least.

It’s the empathy assumption I’m wondering about. Is it fair to draw a conclusion about his empathy levels from this behavior?

They ARE smaller cans of beer, not 12 oz. But I don’t think it’s good for the dog and an asshole thing to do to an animal you’re supposed to take care of.

#7

Not altogether seriously, I have to wonder whether he thought Poster might look askance at just how much beer he goes through in a week by himself, so he panicked and said, “Oh, this other case is for the dog.”

#8

He never hid that he drank with regularity, and I am 100% sure he was giving the beer to his animals. He mentioned jokingly that he was annoyed the cat won’t drink it so he’s not sure they could be friends.

#9

Well, I get the feeling you did the right thing by ruling him out.

How the hell has nobody registered the name **Poster **before??

#10

No, so stop with the assumptions…

#11

It was the first username I tried just now and it took!

Thank you for answering my question, Sicks Ate. I don’t know if it’s fair to judge someone’s overall character by something like this, but it’s my gut feeling.

#12

To be fair there were other things that made me question his empathy. Almost everyone (including me) dislikes one of his (adult) friends who searches for underage girls on the internet that post about having daddy issues or eating disorders, presumably so he can exploit their psychological problems. Everyone thinks he’s a creep EXCEPT for him. He loves the guy and thinks it’s funny I guess.

#13

Seems a little eccentric, but I don’t think it reflects poorly on the guy. Presumably the dog likes the beer, and I don’t really see any evidence that its bad for the animal.

#14

So really, the beer thing was your second clue, right?

#15

Well the dog thing came first and I didn’t completely withdraw but I started talking myself out of him even though I liked him intensely. Then other stuff like that cropped up. I was wondering if it was fair for me to judge him based on the first thing though, or if I was being “uptight.”

#16

He sounds rather immature, if nothing else.

#17

So you are holding that against him because of his friend?

#18

I don’t know, but I’d certainly question his judgment. He’s spending money on something for his dog that he should know is bad for the dog.

#19

Well the dog thing came first, and the thread subject line is a bit misleading because I didn’t rule him out at that point – I started talking myself out of him and looking for other signs of empathy problems. The fact that almost every other male friend does not find Creepy friend funny, yet he loves the dude, does make me think he has less empathy than average.

#20

Do you have a cite that its bad for the dog?