[Dailydrool] Blanket and bed hogs

[Pamela McQuade]

When she was a puppy, our first hound, Jane, used to sleep nicely at our feet--the ultimate in well-behaved bassetness. It was also one of her rare good behaviors.
 
Belvedere joined us and used to burrow under the covers, sleeping between  us, north-south in an east-west bed. Naturally Drew, who is bigger and stronger than I, never was discommoded by this, but I began having to fight for a mere quarter of the bed. Bed had a thin coat and loved to be undercover anytime he could be. He was also a great bed warmer. When we lost him, I missed that, among many other things, even though he frequently stole enough covers that I had to keep a spare blanket on hand, in case I ended up with no covers at all.
 
Abner, Alexis, and Holly all preferred dog beds, perhaps because of back and arthritis problems. They've slept in nice warm beds, usually in our bedroom. But if they wanted to sleep in the living room, that was fine too.
 
Foster (ha!) Dexter also has a thin coat and likes to cuddle under the blankies when it's cold. He curls up in a little ball right next to me. If I don't make a point of pushing him over while he's getting settled, I usually end up with about an eighth of the bed. At some point, I often end up on the couch, because if you try to move him, he yelps as if you'd seriously hurt him. Again, Drew is never bothered by Dex's undercover moves because he is asleep by the time Dex and I get into the bed and takes about half the bed anyway. If the weather is warm, though, Dex usually sleeps on the couch, and I get a reprieve.
 
I am a pushover when it comes to hounds sleeping with me. But I have learned from long experience that if two people are in bed, only one dog can be there. Jane stopped going on the bed, most nights, once her adored Belvedere took that spot. There just wasn't enough space. She has a cushy bed next to her favorite human--Drew. Once in a while she commands the bed again, but usually not at night. If Drew takes a nap, she likes to cuddle right up to him. 
 
You can say that I'm a true basset slave when it comes to blanket and bed hogs. It's mostly because having to wake myself up in the middle of the night to move a lead-weight basset doesn't appeal to me--nor does it seem to work very well, even when that basset is only about forty pounds!
Pam, food and bed slave to the Dashing Bassets
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