The Argument — Sleeping In The Doggie Bed or Mom’s Bed

Charlotte looked at my bed and then her doggie bed.  She looked at my bed again, and then at me. A minute later, she carefully considered her options, then, whomp! She was up on my bed, on my stomach, staring at me with intense eyes, pretty sure, maybe not absolutely sure, but mostly pretty sure, that this was okay.

I, on the other hand, groaning from the impact, was pretty sure it was not okay. 

Harry Potter Doggie Day Bed

Charlotte and her sister, Georgia had their own beds—nice ones, I might add, which I had spent a pretty penny on. This was not to mention, their two very large and lush doggie day beds downstairs under the stairwell in Harry Potter style. They loved to nap on these in the late morning and after a good romp at the park.

We started out with one very large day bed, big-enough-for-two, so they could cuddle together. But they were decidedly, “big girls”, all of six years old, and needed their independence.  This became a favorite, almost sacred space, that they would continually jockey for. So, I ordered another one and placed it next to the first. And now they had a perfectly large resting space for two under the stairwell.

From the beginning, they have really loved their day beds, (especially if humans have already filled up the furniture)! They can hide out in a semi-protected area and lazily check out what’s going on in the living room. They can also keep an eye on the backyard through the glass slider and guard their territory.

Doggie Bolster Bed

We went through the same routine with their upstairs nighttime bolster bed, which was a perfectly nice, oval-shaped big-enough-for-two cozy bed with a round soft outer ridge to rest their heads. It was guaranteed to make them feel secure. But again, being the “big girls” that they were, another bed was purchased to prevent arguments about who slept where. 

Now, I did try another type in between the bolster beds and the kennel just to see what they liked best.  They were six years old, which is like forty-two in human years. So, I thought their bones might be getting a bit achy and an orthopedic doggie bed might be warranted.  I certainly needed a more firm but cushy type of bed for my stiff back and sore hips.  But then, I am older than forty-two. 

Next, I installed a very large, rectangular 4” thick, orthopedic doggie bed with memory foam and royal red trim, that was big-enough-for-two dogs with weary bones.  

Charlotte and Georgia were nonplussed.

So, I went back to the bolster bed concept. Strangely, after all the fighting over who would sleep in the one bolster bed, they both ended up in the same one! When I introduced the second one, I placed it on the other side of the room to give them space. But, for some reason, they both ended up in the one closest to my bed. They apparently thought it was better to sleep crowded together in just one of their secure, oval-shaped bolster beds nearest to me.

Funny how they preferred to sleep all curled up together like willow branches, rather than stretch out on the rectangular 4” thick memory foam orthopedic bed with royal red trim, that was guaranteed to keep their spines in alignment.

I ended up placing one bolster bed in the bedroom and the other in my office. This turned out to be perfect, as they loved to hang under my desk when I was working. They usually shared it pretty peacefully unless someone introduced a new favorite chewy bone. That caused a fight that totally destroyed the pleasant quiet in my office!

The Argument

Now, these beds have all worked out pretty well–during the daytime, anyway. But then the argument started about whether or not it was okay to sleep in my bed at night. At first, both girls pounced on me only in the morning when the sun was coming up, and they had to poop, and it was almost time for the breakfast.   Seemed like a lot of anxiety brewed over getting that breakfast.  When I was soundly sawing logs, the fear-o-meter went sky high as to whether or not I would wake up any time soon while their tummies growled and like they were totally empty. Dinner was such a long time ago!

So, the pouncing began. First, gingerly, around the edges of the bed, and one morning Georgia, the smaller one, jumped right into my arms and looked up without blinking as if to say, Aren’t I adorable?   Charlotte then jumped onto the corner, not too close, but eventually on top of my legs. Pretty soon, both dogs began to lie on either side of me, pinning me under the covers until I yelped for help.

At first, it was kind of cute and sweet and snuggly on cold mornings. But, I am not sure at what point, this started to become a nightly routine. First, they slept on the far corners of the bed; then on my legs; soon nestled against my back; next they inched ever so close until I felt dog whiskers on my nose. Dogs seem to have very specific preferences when it comes to sleeping with certain family members and beds.

We would argue.  You have your own bed! I would plead—many, as a matter of fact.  I have one bed.  Your Mom is older and stiffer and needs to sleep so she can get up and work and bring home the kibbles. 

In the end . . .

Charlotte, with her intense stare and radar ears, would look at the bed and look at me. Then she eyed the bed again and glanced at me. One more longing look at the bed, and whomp!  Pretty soon, Georgia, who sometimes liked to sleep by herself on the day bed Harry Potter style under the stairwell, decided her bigger sister was the wiser one. And pretty soon there was another whomp! We were now all in a dog pile on my bed that was big enough for me, but apparently big enough for me plus two.

I looked back at them and glimpsed at the clock.  After fluffing my pillow and stretching out as best I could with doggies on top of me, I turned out the light and sighed. Not worth the argument. And, it was kind of sweet in a bed for one that probably, almost certainly, could work for one, plus two.