Finding a date that you are compatible with can sometimes be hard. You may meet someone that you hit it off with immediately, but somewhere along the course of interacting or getting to know each other, you find out that they have traits you will struggle to put up with. One such trait is your new date being a pet lover while you are not. What if they are committed and love their animals in a crazy way but you shudder at the thought of a dog or cat or whatever animal they keep bringing closer to you? Can the love between you still blossom?
Below are some tips that can help you to date an animal lover while you are not.
Decide if you are willing to compromise
The ball is in your court and you have to look at every aspect and decide if you can compromise. You must ask yourself to what extent you are intending to be cooperative. If you love the person and they make you happy, is it worth giving up your relationship because of their pet?
While considering several things and making your mind on up on whether or not to compromise, you need to think about the long term. If you are to go on with the relationship and take it to the next level, you will not only move in with your lover but also with their animal. Pets can have relatively long lives–dogs can live between eight and thirteen years and cats can live up to twenty years.
You need to make a huge commitment if you do not like the animals and you have to live with your partner and them for so many years. You should not think of forcing your partner to make a difficult choice with an outcome you may come to regret.
Communication
You and your date may not have had serious communication on issues like keeping pets. The reason could be that you have not had time to talk face to face because you met online, for example on a dating site like Happymatches. In such a case, you need to let your partner know how you feel. For example, let them know that you do not like the animal sleeping on the bed with you and your partner when you have a sleepover at their place. Unless you share the issues that you have with pets, your date will not know them. Since your partner regards their pet as a member of the family, you need to know that as they make adjustments to accommodate you, you may have to make some compromises. For instance, the partner may suggest that the pet sleeps in another place in the bedroom if not on the bed you are sharing. You have to reach a consensus without getting into a heated argument and clearly state the compromises you are ready to make.
Try to do activities that can incorporate the animal
It is possible that one partner may feel jealous or ignored due to the other partner’s involvement with their pet, which may take up much of their time. The animal lover could be finding it hard to balance their time between the pet and the lover. The reason for this is that when they were single, they had all the time to spend with the pet. The critical thing is to understand that your partner loves and treasures the animal and wants to have time with them and you, too. You need to be patient and look for ways to incorporate the pet in activities that you can all do and enjoy. Think of something fun like walking with the pet since you can all do that together. Your animal-loving partner will undoubtedly take note of the efforts.
Conclusion
Although it is a demanding thing, dating a pet lover is possible with some perseverance and understanding. With time, as both of you occupy a bigger space in each other’s life, you will soon find a routine that accommodates all of you including the pet.