AITA for refusing to give my niece our dog’s room?

A Reddit user shared their dilemma about their niece, whom they’ve allowed to stay in their home. While the niece, referred to as “Princess,” initially agreed to sleep on the living room sofa, her parents and she are now pushing for the family dog’s room instead.

The user refuses to give up the room, citing the dog’s comfort and the niece’s problematic behavior, including partying late and being rude to family members. The situation has created tension, with the sister accusing the user of valuing a pet over family. The user is now questioning if they are in the wrong for standing their ground.

‘ AITA for refusing to give my niece our dog’s room?’

For the past month my 24 year old niece has been living with us. I’ll call her Princess because that’s what her parents call her most of the time. She is a medical researcher (Studied medicine but wasn’t interested in the practical side of things more interested in the theoretical) and took up a position near where we live,

and my sister convinced me to let her stay so she can save money. I was apprehensive because I know this girl has been coddled and babied since she was little. We have a 4 bedroom house. Me and my husband, my son (16), my daughter (21) and our 4 year old rottweiler Freddie.

I told sister that Princess would have to sleep on the sofa in the living room which she seemed OK with, but when she arrived both mother and daughter set about trying to convince me to clear out the dog’s room and let her sleep in it. Princess even said it would be OK to make him sleep outside because ”it’s just a dog”.

It’s getting a lot colder now and I’d never let Freddie sleep outside. I told Princess that this is where she’d sleep, take it or leave it, and she was and still is really sulky about it, sulking about how we think a dog is more important than her. In all honesty I was right in thinking having Princess stay is more trouble than it’s worth.

She goes out clubbing and partying a lot and makes no effort to keep the noise down when she comes home in the early hours of the morning. Since she’s arrived the living room smells of weed and that smell definitely wasn’t there before she came. She’s also rude to my kids.

My daughter got engaged and we were all delighted, but Princess was lovely enough to say that if her BF had gotten her a ”cheap” ring like that she wouldn’t even get out of bed for the wedding. Daughter was in tears because of this and both husband and I had a word with Princess, who then cried and phoned up her mother saying we were rude to her.

Had another phone call with sister today, and she still tried to convince me to put her daughter in the dog’s room. I made clear this wasn’t happening and sister got upset with me saying how n**ty it was to value pets over family. I also said that her daughter was skating thin ice and that I wouldn’t tolerate her behaviour for much longer.

Sister was very offended and said we should be happy to have her daughter there. Sorry but how can I be happy to have a spoiled overgrown child who keeps trying to steal a room from a dog in my home?

Here’s the feedback from the Reddit community:

Kari-kateora −  ESH. The kid is clearly a b**t, but you’re a pretty terrible host for leaving a dog a room and making your guest sleep on the sofa. No matter who they are, that’s incredibly rude on your part, and she’s right to be offended.

rowdysilence −  ESH. Obviously your niece is being incredibly rude but I don’t understand why you couldn’t give her the dog’s room for her stay. Why didn’t the dog sleep in the living room? You can’t use “she’s being a b**t” as an excuse when you made the decision before she moved in.

dave_the_slick −  Who gives a dog an entire room??

SatanJChrist −  I thought hard about this and I think YTA. I feel as if you didn’t want this princess in your home to begin with. So you took steps from the beginning to make her uncomfortable. You didn’t give her a chance to prove she wouldn’t be a b**t. Granted you were correct.

But would it have been different if she felt as if she belonged from the beginning. We’re there even rules and chores set down? My dog has his own room and when I have company I clear out my room and sleep in my dogs room so my guest is comfortable and my dog isn’t put out. But that’s just me.

I would be so uncomfortable and weird sleeping on someone’s couch for an extended period of time. Where’s her privacy? What if she wants to nap in the middle of the day? What if she needs to masturbate? What if it gets hot and she needs to sleep in her underwear? What if she needs to study in silence?

What if she wants to have friends over? The weed issue is irrelevant since we don’t know what state you’re in and it can be legal in some places. But if I were living with you. I’d need to come home high so I can deal with the fact that my dog cousin is more respected than me.

mssheevaa −  ESH. Yeah, that girl would have her ass out the door for half the crap she’s been pulling…but it is pretty weird to give a dog a room over a human guest.

GinTrouble −  NTA but I want to see how you’ve decorated the dogs room. Does he have his own nameplate on the door? A closet for his dog coats? I am delighted by this whole concept.

Abblz −  Sounds made up tbh

Youhavemyaxeee −  ESH because what do you do when you have guests? It is strange to give a dog a private room and make guests sleep in a public area of the house.
Your niece obviously sucks and has the freedom to move out at any time.

mach_oddity −  YTA. Plain and simple. Dogs can literally sleep anywhere. People need somewhere to get dressed, have quiet time, and escape. Dogs lick their balls in front of company.

AnAngryShrubbery −  YTA I have had dogs most of my life and they are content sleeping on the couch. I can tell your niece is a b**t, but I can also tell you probably are too. If I was under the impression that you only had a couch available and then showed up to find that there was a whole room being used for just a dog and would stay that way,

I’d be upset and feel disrespected. I’m saying this as a fellow homeowner with kids. It also seems like you were very aware that your niece had a personality problem and chose to let her live with you anyways. If she offends you after that, you brought that on yourself.