Friday, November 30, 2012

A New Habit

When we first got Ray, when he was only a year old and full of beans, Ray was kept in the kitchen at night. Gregg would let him out before going to bed and when Ray would come back in, he would plop down on his bed, curl into his tight little ball, and fall instantly asleep. I felt bad about keeping him away from the rest of the family, but Ray didn't mind. He didn't know any of us or feel any burning desire to sleep with us.

Then we had the kitchen renovation (or the large, undisclosed amount of money dog door project, as I like to call it). We had to move Ray's bed somewhere, so we put him in front of the fireplace. Ray adapted to his new spot pretty quickly, especially because there was no 'kitchen,' to return to, just a gaping hole where a cozy room used to be. And as before, Ray would come in, find his bed, curl into his usual tiny mass, and fall asleep.

When the renovation was finished, we left Ray's bed in front of the fireplace. It was easier to not have to move it every night, and he had completely adapted to his new spot. So Ray's bed remained where it was.

Then Gregg got cancer, and I became the dog taker-outer at night. Ray would come back inside, and for while, would go back to his bed in front of the fireplace. At some point during the harrowing months of Gregg's treatment, Ray started following me up the stairs to bed. He and I made a pact that he could sleep upstairs, but it would have to be on the futon outside the bedroom. To make sure that Ray abided by this agreement, I engaged the hook-and-eye on the bedroom door, a tactic that Hugo was highly in favor of.

But at some point in the past few months, I'd stopped using the hook-and-eye on the bedroom door. It seemed kind of pointless since Ray was obviously abiding by the long-ago agreed-upon futon-pact. 

However, at the beginning of this week, after returning from a 4:00 a.m. perambulation around the backyard (it's a howling mistake to let him out by himself - he needs to be taken out on a leash), Ray launched himself onto the bed and curled up against Gregg while I was in the bathroom changing back into my jammies. Since it is impossible for me to move a dog of his size off of the bed without a huge struggle and a lot of grunting (thus waking my sleeping beauty of a husband), I let sleeping dogs lie. 

It turns out that this has been a rather bad error of judgement on my part. For the last three mornings, right around 4:00 a.m., Ray has snuck into the bedroom and launched himself up to sleep with Gregg. For a large dog, he is amazingly stealthy and light on his feet. He can land all four feet on the bed simultaneously without any cumbersome clambering. One second he is on the floor, the next he is on the bed. It's like a magic trick. 

"I woke up this morning being spooned by a dog," said my lovely husband yesterday morning.
He was surprisingly calm about the whole thing. Thinking that maybe this was a hint, last night when I went to bed, I re-engaged the hook-and-eye. This morning, at 4:00 a.m., Ray came to the bedroom door and found he couldn't get in. He scratched. I ignored. He scratched again. I ignored. He whined. I ignored. Gregg got up, unhooked the hook and let Ray in. 
Apparently, he has no objection to being spooned by a dog. Hugo, however, is appalled. 

10 comments:

  1. I wondered if Ray would ever wrangle his way into your bed. Elvis likes to snuggle up to my chest with his stinky little butt right under my chin. Beagle farts at 3am sure are a rude awakening! It's a small price to pay for the puppy snuggles, though. I love that little beagle boy <3

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  2. Give 'em an inch... Happens every time :)

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    1. Gregg was reading something in Wikipedia about Treeing Walker Hounds. It said they were obedient but liked to "exploit loopholes." I think it must be a Redtick trait as well.

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  3. Brilliant, had to read this out loud to my son as it was so funny. We gave in years ago to the bed sharing regime, although luckily Conor is not too fussed as if he was we would definitely need a super king sized bed, which we don't have room for !

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    1. We have the king-sized bed and I don't mind if Ray sleeps on it as long as he stays on Gregg's side. I've already got Hugo's extra body heat next to me and he's so hot I'm practically bursting into flames. Most nights Moonie makes an appearance as well but she likes to sleep on top of me, doesn't stay all night, and is as cold-blooded as a snake (no fat on her).
      We'll see if Gregg lets this continue.

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  4. I am wondering if Hugo stays on the bed once the bell tolls 4am. (once again he is proving he is a 'watch' dog")
    Moonie-Pie needs to learn how to burrow under the covers to warm up her little bag of bones!
    Since it is the cooler time of year I dont think you will be dog free till the weather warms up, if then ;).

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    1. Hugo has been standing (laying?) his ground. Once Ray is on the bed, Hugo hisses and growls menacingly but doesn't give up his spot. (I'm so proud of my scaredy-cat.)
      Moonie likes the warmth of under-the-covers but doesn't like the blankets touching her ears so will only get under briefly before going back to her own room and her own bed. I keep trying to convince her that sleeping on top of the dog would be the best option for her but she is not buying it.

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  5. That magic trick is astounding tho' :0]

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  6. Hilarious! Good going Ray, the blind ones from acd6pack are proud of you. See, just another example of how smart Ray is (or how easy going Gregg can be?) Poor Hugo though. Our old cat Oscar feels the same way but won't leave his spot!

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