Discipline: Not My Forte
Posted by Moose on February 13th, 2007. Filed under: My Brain Needs a Drink.Sunday is Dog on Bed Day. Really, it’s Dog on Bed For 45 Minutes Day, because Meeka is invited onto the bed with us when we wake up on Sunday morning and allowed to stay there until we get up. Then she is firmly ushered off.
This system worked very well, at least until the usual enforcer of canine good behavior left for the weekend and I decided no harm would come of starting Dog on Bed Day at 12:01 a.m. Which is officially Dog on Bed Day though everyone knows it’s still Saturday night. ‘Cause, come on. If you’re in bed by midnight, you’re officially lame. And old. Like me.
I had to coax her up because somewhere in her doggy brain she knew this was Not Allowed. She eventually snuggled next to me and we snored happily together for more than 10 hours. She was very pleased with this new arrangement and, not surprisingly, assumed it was to continue. When I got home on Sunday afternoon, there was a suspicious dog-shaped dent in the middle of my nicely smoothed covers. She looked at me all innocent-like before flopping down on her own bed and pretending to ignore me. (Her perky ears give her away every time. If she’s ignoring you but her ears are still pointing up, she is LYING.)
Yesterday morning, when we gestured her over to get morning pets, she took that slight beckoning of the hand as an invitation to take a running leap onto the bed and curl up contentedly.
Oh, dog. Her poor puppy illusions were shattered so fast I could see her brain whirling. Well, chugging. Dogs aren’t that bright. She was so confused. She sat down next to the bed after we kicked her off and looked up with a heart-rending look of expectation and betrayal. Dangling bed rights in front of her nose and then cruelly snatching them away. I am a confirmed monster.
But Meeka has hit upon the perfect revenge. One sly swallow of seawater at the beach today and she’s suddenly able to clear a room of human life in under six seconds. (Probably insect life too, but that has yet to be verified.) I’m waiting for the moment she realizes that all she needs to do is fart a steady circle around the bed and it will be hers again.
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February 14th, 2007 at 7:19 am
We had every intention of not letting Rufus on the furniture, but it seems that the people who fostered him gave him free reign. We started shooing him off and then discovered that he would jump on the couch and chair and curl up in a tight little wad of cuteness while we weren’t in the room. So we let him on the furniture. It’s adorable, he comes over and puts his head on the edge of the cushion and raises his ears at you, like “Well? Can I?” If you say yes, he hops up. If you say no, he raises his ears higher. ADORABLE.
February 14th, 2007 at 9:46 am
We do not allow the dogs on any of the furniture, however I never point the angry finger at them if they are unleashed into the bedroom and manage to get my wife out of bed on a early Saturday/Sunday morning. I found that 180 lbs of happy puppies tends to get my wife out of her slumber quick.
February 14th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
I wish there was something I could do to keep my cats from crawling all over me at night. Cats? Reeeaaaalllly don’t give a crap what you’re preferences are or whose house you happen to think it is. It makes it much harder–OK, impossible–to train them. I know what you’re thinking: duh, close the door, right? RIGHT. Claws. Scratching. Door. All. Night. Long.
ANYHOO, that’s my life. I really love my bratty cats and…Happy Valentine’s Day!
February 15th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
My cat has gotten a bit more agressive in terms of making sure he gets pet each morning and has taken to curling up on my lap, paws on my laptop computer, refusing to move. I move him, and he comes back.
…On the other hand, I’ve really taken to enjoying sleeping between my “boys,” with my boyfriend stretched diagonally across most of the bed, me curled up in the middle, and the cat curled up behind my back. It’s really a rather nice way to get a night’s rest.
February 15th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
Dogs, don’tcha love em? The big beast used to get up on the bed with us once in a blue moon, but she usually got overheated/annoyed after about 10 minutes. When we switched to a higher bed, she just thinks it’s not worth it.
February 15th, 2007 at 11:52 pm
She’ll figure it out. They are clever like that.