I have a large dog, and live with my brother who has a small breed puppy. My dog is still young and is a herding breed so is VERY active, so when my brother wanted to get a puppy I said not to get a small breed as I was worried while playing my dog could accidentally hurt the puppy. Well he got a small breed a few months ago anyways. A few nights ago they were outside playing with the puppy running under my dog’s paws (which it always does for some reason) and my dog accidentally stepped on it. The puppy had to get to the vet and its leg is sprained. My brother was blaming my dog saying he should be more gentle (he is actually very gentle with the puppy but i’m not going to stop him from running and playing in his own backyard) and that I shouldn’t let my dog act like that. Am I the asshole? I don’t think I am because I knew this would happen and said not to get the little dog, and it’s not like my dog did anything on purpose.
ESH you should not let your big dog around small dogs without any concern for their safety, and your brother should be protecting his small dog by not letting your big dog around it
This belongs in r/IsMyPetTheAsshole
NTA. Maybe keep the dogs separated outside till the puppy gets bigger.
ESH. Both dogs are puppies, so they’re going to be very active and likely fairly clumsy. It’s on you and your brother to protect your dogs from this sort of accident. Both you and your brother are terrible dog owners.
NAH. Clearly your dog didn’t mean to hurt the other one. However, I am curious. You said that you live with your brother. Do you share a house together, or do you live in his house? Because if you live in his house, you can’t really tell him what kind of dog he should/shouldn’t get.
ESH. Not all dogs shoukd be allowed to play together and its up to both of you to supervise their activity. What’s the living situation? Do you live together as in rent a place together or living at your parents, are you out all day working or….? And how old are you both?
Your brother needs to get some veterinary insurance.
Your both at fault the dogs are not and shouldnt be blamed for you guys not watching your pets!
This isn’t going to end well for either dog. ESH. Your dog should not be playing with a fragile puppy ever again if it can’t regulate itself. A few years from now, you could turn into one of those pet owners that calls your dog “reactive” so you have a phrase to excuse his jumping up on things, etc. So… no off leash playing with the puppy ever again. Take turns in the backyard. The puppy doesn’t know any better and doesn’t realize the larger dog can/will hurt it, even if unintentionally. You and your brother both know better. IDK how old you are, but maybe you shouldn’t be living together.
ESH. You should both control your dogs. Being a puppy is not an excuse for bad behavior. And if you can get the dog you want, then so can your brother.
ESH. It’s both of your responsibility to keep the dogs apart. It sounds like your dog is gentle and didn’t do it intentionally, but with that big of a size difference between your dog and the puppy, the owners of the dogs should have kept them separated for safety. He did a shit job protecting his puppy and you did the same shit job making no effort to prevent it from happening.
ESH.
You saw this coming, I’ll give you that much credit, but you own this big energetic dog and he owns this fragile little puppy, and neither one of you had the sense to keep them away from each other. And the two of you humans are perfectly fine, it’s this little animal that got hurt. Shame on both of you, do better.
ESH you guys should supervise the dogs whenever they’re together
Your dog is a young, herding dog who must run and play. Maybe his little dog shouldn’t be outside unsupervised when your dog is out.