Thursday, October 16, 2014

Some things we just don't share.

Murphy and Belle will share the rug on a sunny day.

They'll share the dog cushion.

They'll share the old sleeping bag on the floor in the reloading area.

They'll even share the guest bed, although they're not supposed to be up there.

But the one thing that isn't shared? MY bed.
Murphy is allowed to sleep on my bed when I'm there, with this permission dating back to a period when I worked nights and needed to sleep during the day. The only way to get some sleep, free of his paws constantly clicking on the hardwood and his barking at things outside, was to bring him up on the bed with me and make him sleep there, too. It worked, but now he still feels entitled. Belle, on the other hand, was never granted that priviledge initially, although it was pretty clear early on that she wanted to get up there, too. Recently, I've softened and began inviting her up, but Murphy won't have it and every time she's tried to come up, he growls her back off. A couple of times, I've coaxed her up when he wasn't around, and she's in her glory right up until she hears him coming down the hall, at which point she skedaddles. And if he's around when I pat the bed, calling her to join me, she just goes over and plunks down on her dog bed; she will not come up on my bed if he's anywhere nearby. Considering that she established herself as the Alpha dog when she came into the household last year, this is curious indeed.
Dogs can be so quirky.

8 comments:

  1. Too cute!
    PS - I am back to blogging after a long hiatus. New blog site.
    Leslie

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    Replies
    1. Welcome back to the blogosphere. And meet Belle.

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    2. Thanks! Looks like I have missed out on a quite a bit while I have been away. Belle looks like such a sweetheart - I will have to play catchup on posts to read more about her (and Murphy, of course!)

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  2. My sister has confessed to sleeping on the sofa when the dogs have pushed her out of bed.

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    Replies
    1. There's room on my bed for the three of us. Murphy just won't let Belle up there.

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  3. I had an 11 month kitten who slept on my bed with me. I adopted an eight week old female kitten who weighed a third as much as the male did. When I brought her home, she kicked his ass off my bed and would not let him back up for two years.

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  4. I had a black lab and Samoyed husky at one point when I was quite young. The Sammy was quite old and arthritic and got to sleep on the bed with the electric blanket. The young lab got the dog bed. I lived pretty isolated out in the country in a tiny little rental home. One night there alone, the lab rushes to the door, hair raised, barking furiously at the front door, which was never used by anyone to enter, everyone friends and family came to the back door off of the garage I was a bit concerned, and went to get the Colt off the nightstand. The Husky, roused by the commotion, figured he'd best try and protect mom and slowly made his way to the front door. At which point the lab, hair smooth, trotted back to the bedroom and took his spot on the bed. He'd been set up.

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  5. Anonymous7:29 PM

    Amazing dogs for sure

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