‘Fred has never heard the word “no” in his life’: Wife scolds husband for saying the word “no” to her mother’s dog, Fred, and a whole pot roast ends up on the floor while the only person who would correct him stays silent

Dogs are family, we all know that, and Fred is the sweetest proof with soft ears, bright eyes, and not a single crime to his name. When people decide dogs are delicate snowflakes who are too fragile for gentle boundaries, pot roast can end up on the floor instead of in stomachs.

Fred is not scheming. Fred is hoping. He reads kindness like a storybook and follows the pictures. If giggles are the only rules, gravity becomes the chef and the carpet becomes the plate.

This mother-in-law, bless her sparkling heart, believes in a cutesy, squeaky-clean version of life where every tail wag is a diploma and every boundary is a mean rumor. She giggles, she waves off the word no like it's a mosquito, and she narrates Fred's every move as adorable destiny. That's sweet, but it's not dog language. Dogs don't need perfection, they need consistency. They don't need endless positive spin, they need clear, gentle guidance so their brilliant animal brains can relax into trust.

Cute is wonderful. Clarity is kinder. A calm no followed by a happy yes helps dogs relax because they know what earns the party. Endless aww without guidance is confetti. Pretty, everywhere, and impossible to sweep.

Author image for Etai Eshet Etai Eshet
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    Stop telling the dog “No.” Okay…

    Cheezburger Image 10553923584
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    So my MIL has a very cute but very bad dog I'll call Fred. Fred has never heard the word "no" in his life.
    via Delicious-Pea-7594
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    Whenever he does something bad, my MIL will just laugh and shrug her shoulders. When I visited recently Fred did a couple of naughty things
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    and I told him "no" which of course he didn't understand. After about the third time, my wife angrily pulled me aside
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  • Fred did not steal dinner. The no is mean policy basically served it to the floor while the mother-in-law cheered for vibes over sense. Sweet intention. Silly outcome.

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    and said to stop telling him no, since it is not my dog and MIL is getting upset. Fast forward to dinner, I'm sitting at the table alone
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    while wife and MIL finish some last minute things. Fred jumps on a chair and knocks over a whole plate of pot roast on the floor
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    and of course I say nothing. During the clean up my wife asks if I saw Fred at the table.
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  • So when the pot roast meets the floor in a slow-motion ballet, Fred is not the culprit, he’s the witness, then the clean-up crew, then the satisfied friend who has, through absolutely no fault of his own, made the best of a gravity event. The policy that banned no and installed giggles did the rest. Call it hospitality malpractice with gravy. Fred’s innocence is radiant here, the mother-in-law’s sugar-only playbook is what turned dinner into improv.

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    I said, "Yep, I saw everything and you said I can't tell him 'no', soooo..." My wife bit her tongue so hard.
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    fuzzentropy2 Reminds me of the time I was told to stop correcting nieces and nephews at mother in laws house because "they're not my kids, and not my house" I was a little annoyed, but I knew my time would come (very soon as these kids were wild). Next time they were doing something crazy I told
    via fuzzentropy2
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    my child to come here so I wouldn't alert the other kids and told her to stop, did not say anything to the other children. Something got broke and of course they got yelled at and I got the "Why didn't you stop them??!!" from the sister in law in a raised voice. Calmly told them I was told not to correct them. Look on their face was priceless.
    via fuzzentropy2
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    YakWabbit A previous dog of ours was a very good doggo. RIP Ollie. We could leave food by the couch while we get drinks in preparation for TV night, and he wouldn't do any more than sniff it. Well... one night, I heard sounds from the kitchen. I looked over from the couch and see Ollie with a chicken breast in his mouth, making his way toward the bedroom, while looking guiltily in my direction (he got up on the kitchen counter to grab it). I
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    followed him to the bedroom, stared at him, and said "please don't do that again." He set the chicken breast down on the floor and laid down with sad puppy eyes burning a hole in my heart. I picked up the chicken breast, and he followed me back to the couch where I finished my dinner. I then cut up the chicken breast, put it in his bowl, and set in front of him. He looked at me and I said "go ahead, you can eat it now." He nommed away at it, and never took anytihng off of the counter again.
    via YakWabbit
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    CelticGaelic Every time I've done something like that, I got called a "smartass" and was on someone's shitlist for at least the next couple of days.
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    Tremenda-Carucha I've gotta hand it to you, that's one creative way to handle a dog. Reminds me of when my kids were learning about cause and effect, all innocence, eh?
    via Tremenda-Carucha
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    dannixxphantom This reminds me of the really smart jacktzu I had as a kid. She was well cared for and had free outdoor, fenced-in access, but she was an escape artist. She was also a velcro dog so I always knew within minutes of her getting out and would go. apprehend her. She often went to the neighbors to taunt their dogs from the outside of the fence. A few times, she was returned to me before I found her myself.
    via dannixxphantom
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    One day I came home and she wasn't there. I found the hole under the fence and immediately searched the neighborhood to no avail. I was roughly 3 hours in and just stopped back home to make sure she wasn't actually in the house somewhere. I opened the front door to leave again, and she was sitting on the stoop, soaking wet and looking terrified. It's worth noting that it hadn't rained and we lived near no bodies of water. I very sternly told her to never do that again and let her inside. She act
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    Diogenes Dog Even if the dog wasn't at the table I would've knocked the roast on the floor and then blamed him and replied the same way you did.
    via DiogenesDog

  • The fix is simple. Give Fred a cozy spot and a chew. Praise him for staying there. Teach the word kindly and mean it. Then the roast stays on plates and Fred gets treats, rubs, and the hero credit he deserves.

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