The Dog Bed Chronicles

Despite my occasional indulgences of Choppy, one area where I have never indulged her was with my bed. From the day she came home, she was not allowed in or on my bed at home.

[Note: the previous paragraph does not apply to times when we are at a hotel, when Choppy gets her own bed (her preference) or sleeps with me (definitely not her preference). It also does not apply when we are at my parents’ house, when I can’t keep her out of the bed all night. Or when we go camping, when she lounges on the air mattress. In related news? “Occasional” may not be the proper description of how often I indulge Choppy)]

Once Choppy decided she was done with her kennel (an event that happened approximately two months into her living at our house), she moved up to the bedroom at night, where she happily dozed on the floor. Eventually, I found a blanket for her (my college bedspread), which she used or did not use as the mood struck her.

Eventually, though, I decided she needed something nicer for bedtime, and bought her a rather expensive dog bed. Obviously, she would like it. After all, it was super soft and comfy – almost more so than my own bed, and definitely more so than the floor.

Choppy wanted nothing to do with it.

And then, once Paul – the husband – moved in, she suddenly developed a taste for the bed. Perhaps she is attempting to show her love of me by showing a love for something she knows I want her to love. Perhaps she thinks that if I see that she likes the bed, I will let her up into bed with us. And perhaps she finally realized the bed is more comfortable than the floor.

Or, it could be that I just moved the bed to a place where she can keep an eye on everything going on upstairs. But that’s not as much fun for an explanation.