Would I be wrong to exclude my mother's pets from our family getaway when other animals are welcome?

Sci-Fi, Dystopian & Simulation Game
1

I am NOT the original poster, original poster is u/Parking-Ratio155

Originally shared on r/AmItheAsshole & r/AITAH

Would I be wrong to exclude my mother’s pets from our family getaway when other animals are welcome?

Thanks to u/queenlegolas & u/soayherder for suggesting this BoRU

Content Warnings: >!manipulation, property destruction, pet neglect, mentions of childhood neglect!<

Outcome Preview: >!frustrating, concerning!<

[First Post]: July 25, 2025

My mother has 2 mixed breed dogs that are half Yorkie and half Maltese. These dogs mean everything to her. The problem is they are obsessed with food and will do anything to get a hold of human meals. It started with a bag of BBQ chips on my counter that they ripped open and devoured, leaving behind a big mess.

Next, they stole an entire pizza from the table when I stepped away for drinks. In less than a minute, when I came back, half of the pizza was gone, and the dogs were standing in the other half, with pizza sauce all over my carpet.

At the next family gathering, they got inside even after I asked my mom to keep them in the backyard. They tore open two packages of hamburger buns and devoured around $40 worth of raw hamburger meat, as well as a block of cheese. After that, I told my mother that her dogs were no longer allowed in my house. Since then, she has stopped visiting altogether, which hurts my feelings because, when it comes down to it, she will always pick the dogs over me.

I’m planning a family vacation and booked a nice cabin for everyone. My sister is bringing her dog (a well-behaved female Pitbull), so I expect some tension when I have to tell my mom that her dogs can’t come along. I don’t want to spend the entire weekend making sure no food is left out for even a second, or her dogs will destroy it and potentially mess up the cabin I paid for.

My sister suggested I just tell my mom to keep a close eye on her dogs, but I’ve tried that approach before, and she’s shown time and again that she either can’t or won’t control their behavior.

Would I be wrong to say no to my mom’s food-obsessed dogs for the family trip, even though another dog will be there?

Judgment: Not the Asshole

Notable Comments

User 1: NTA but perhaps just say

2

Your mom basically gave up training them. That’s not normal dog behavior; it’s resource guarding with zero boundaries. She won’t even supervise them properly, which makes everything worse. You’re paying for the cabin, so you make the rules. Maybe missing family events will finally wake her up to the fact that her dogs need real training.

3

Yeah, $40 of raw hamburger would be my limit too. That’s not just annoying - it’s dangerous for the dogs and expensive as hell. Your mom picking not to visit over this shows exactly where her priorities are. She made her choice, now you can make yours about the cabin.

4

That might be true, but it’s tough when family pets create chaos. You have to think about your peace during the trip too. It’s fair to set boundaries if the dogs can’t be controlled.

5

Dogs stealing entire pizzas sounds like a nightmare vacation waiting to happen.

6

Those dogs need serious training, but your cabin trip isn’t the time to deal with that chaos. If your mom won’t address the problem, she can’t expect to get invited.