Not everyone likes to share a bed with their pets. The hair can be a definite issue. But I knew before I even got my first dog that I wanted to let him or her sleep on the bed with me. These days, I share my bed with two dogs.
If you haven’t been introduced yet, here they are. Lally is a boxer/Shar-pei mix who comes from a shelter in Vermont. I brought her home three days after my first dog Miko passed away. She’s my little athlete — we’re always playing ball together. And I do mean always. I also share the bed with Lally’s squeaky ball; she brings it to bed with us at night. Gotta be careful where you roll, in my bed, or you may be rewarded with a squeak!
Moose is a mostly German Shepherd (the vet says he’s mixed with something that has a fat head like a rottweiler or a pit bull) who was originally going to be a foster but I ended up keeping him. He’s my cuddle buddy — he likes to sleep on the softest thing available, whether it’s the couch, the rug in the living room, or the pillows on my bed.
After more than two years together, the three of us have worked out a system for sleeping. Moose gets the side of the bed closest to the wall. I get the middle. Lally gets the outside edge of the bed. It works pretty well, as long as everyone is happy in their assigned spots.
Lucky for me, Moose knows and listens to one command: MOOSIE MOVE. That’s what I say when he’s in my spot. I don’t even have time to get both words out and he’ll get up and take his spot along the wall. But when Lally doesn’t want to sleep on the edge, she’s more reluctant to move than Moose is. It usually takes me cramming my feet underneath her and lifting before she’ll move.
Once I’m asleep, all bets are off. There are nights when I go to bed and my head is on the pillows, I swear. Somehow, by morning, I’m somewhere around the middle of the bed and pillow free while King Moose is reigning supreme in the nest of ultimate softness. I have no idea how a nearly 100 pound dog can move me around like that without waking me up. Of course, there are also nights where he steps on my head and that DEFINTELY wakes me up.
I love my dogs, and love sharing the bed with them, despite all the antics.