Chip Chick
This 24-year-old woman is struggling with how to handle her 46-year-old mother’s behavior. Her mother recently got a small/medium dog, Otis, and carries him around in a bag wherever she goes.
The puppy is about to be a 1-year-old, but her other still has not gotten him neutered, claiming she doesn’t have enough time. She doesn’t believe this claim but has recently run into a larger argument.
Her mother has repeatedly dropped Otis off at her house without letting her know very far in advance. She herself has a 16-year-old dog who does not do great around other dogs and is suffering from medical issues, so when her mother first got Otis, they agreed that the mother would give her at least a 24-hour warning before bringing him over.
“I’ve done a LOT of training and tried socializing him as much as possible, but ultimately my boy is very grumpy. He and an overactive dog do not mix. My mom is aware of this and told me that I can just keep Max in my bedroom while I watch Otis,” she explained.
She obviously did not appreciate this suggestion and tried explaining to her mother that doing that would be unfair to her older dog. Her mother, however, did not seem to take this seriously.
At 2 in the morning, she received a text from her mother asking if she was off of work that day. When she woke up at 6:30 a.m., she responded that she was off. Her mother immediately asked her if she could watch Otis for the day, explaining that she would be working nearby and wanted to be able to work without the distraction of her puppy.
She tried to tell her mother no, because she already had plans for the day and that Otis should be fine for a few hours alone. Her mother started pushing her, trying to change her mind by guilt-tripping her and trying to convince her that it would be a good idea.
“I told her no again, and she then proceeded with knocking on my door at 7:15 and texting me with pictures saying Otis is sad that I won’t answer,” she said.
Her mother continued to stay at her door until she opened it and agreed to watch Otis that morning as long as she left, but she couldn’t do this again.
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