Readers please email your question to [email protected]. Your letters are edited solely for grammar, spelling and length.
Dear Doctor Love,
My girlfriends’ children are spoilt and rude little girls who bully their mother into giving them what ever they want. I was brought up by parents who expected me to treat them with respect and learn good manners. These girls are barely in preschool and they sass and fight with their mother about everything.
The problem is that if I try to stop them my girlfriend gets mad at me. She reminds me that I am not their father and says it’s her job to parent her children. She won’t listen to anything bad about her kids and doesn’t want to talk about changing their behavior. I can’t stand to hear the way these kids speak to her but if I say anything, it starts a fight between their mother and me and if I tell them to behave, they just tell me I am not their daddy. How are we going to be a family if I don’t have a say in raising these girls? I really hate to argue with her, but she’s too easily manipulated by her kids. Is this something we can get over or will it break us up?
/s/Not the Daddy
Dear Not the Daddy,
Yes—it is going to end your relationship.
Your approach to child-rearing does not fit with hers and she will side with her children against you every time. You can try to come to an agreement on the parenting of these girls but if, as you said, she’s unwilling to compromise on the way the girls will be disciplined, it is likely useless to try. Child-rearing is something a couple should agree upon when they decide to marry, preferably before having children. That time has passed. Move on, this isn’t the relationship for you.
Dear Doctor Love,
My neighbors’ dog had puppies and they don’t think it’s important to vaccinate against parvovirus and Canine Distemper. Should I worry about my vaccinated dogs?
/s/Furbaby Momma
Dear Momma,
With Parvovirus and Canine Distemper on the rise in San Pedro, The Doctor went to the experts at San Pedro Animal Hospital for the answer.
Dogs who have been vaccinated against these two contagious diseases can get still either one, and if left untreated, they are almost always fatal. Vaccinations can prevent and even eliminate these diseases if everybody does it. Keep your dog away from your neighbors’ pets and be aware of any change in your dogs’ temperament or health. Find out when SAGA or SPAH is having a free vaccination clinic and offer to take your neighbors’ pack for their shots. Spaying and neutering are the next important step!
