Let Sleeping Dogs Lie, Let Sleeping Habits Evolve

It’s a mystery. On the couch Uša and Bea can squish up with each other next to me but on the bed at night none shall touch (unless it’s to touch me).

The couch is a double-seater, so real estate is prime. Half of the couch I try to claim and whoever gets to the other half of the couch first, gets to curl up however s/he wants. The second dog to jump up on the couch may decide to curl up next to me, on me, or against the opposite armrest. It’s random, it’s chaos, it’s bliss.

The bed currently presents a dilemma for the dogs, well, for Uša mainly. The bed, much bigger than the couch, has been divided in half: my half and the dogs’ half, and on their half, back rests against the wall make cozy little curl-up spaces for each. For the longest time, Uša claimed the quarter of the bed by the headboard. This has been his spot since I adopted him as a pup. For a few months it was just Uša and me, and then Bea joined us. Over the months she has expanded her zone of comfort. At first, she curled up in a tight little ball in the dogs’ quarter at the foot of the bed and all was well among the three sentient beings sleeping on the bed. But now I come into the bedroom to find her curled up in the smack-dab middle of my half and Uša won’t even come in the room. Bea has taken the bed!

It’s not as drastic as that sounds. Bea, unlike nearly every other dog I’ve had, does not give me a look of disdain when I ask her to move over. She moves over but makes sure that she remains in contact with me. I don’t know if she said something to Uša that makes him shy away from the bed — he will come to bed only with coaxing or about halfway through the night — but she’s not apologizing. He knows his spot is waiting for him next to my pillow.

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