Sharing Your Bed or Four on the Floor?

I recently read an article about whether you should let your dog sleep in bed with you or whether four should always be on the floor.

It discussed how dogs are pack animals who sleep in 'dens' and how their sleeping arrangments can dictate their place within their 'pack'.

The article talked about how some dogs can interpret sleeping on the bed as being higher in the 'pack heirarchy' than they actually are, which can bring about some behavior issues and such 'characters' should probably sleep on the floor or in their own pet bed so the 'pack leaders' or 'alpha' members are clearly defined.

The article also talked about how sleeping on the bed can strengthen the bond between human and canine, as they can offer body heat and a sense of security to one another.

Kodi sleeps in bed with us, between us to be exact. He stretches out with his head always at the foot end of the bed, his hind quarters near our waists. He always starts the night with his shoulder on my hip, sliding down so his chin can rest over my calf or ankle. His body stretched out the length of my own with his back against my leg.

I've found that I can't go to sleep without him next to me, keeping me warm, supporting me so I lay in a comfortable position and allowing me to rest my hand on his hip or to wrap my fingers around his fluffy tail. He's become a soothing and comforting presence for me.

Because of my disability and pain level it is always difficult for me to get to sleep. I find that my body, my muscles, have difficulty relaxing. I sometimes have to consciously think about relaxing parts of my body. Petting or touching Kodi relaxes me, my breathing deepens and slows, I feel peaceful.

He also offers a sense of security, knowing he's there, that if he were to hear anything out of ordinary within the house, he would be alerted and because of our close proximity in bed, we would be alerted by his movements.

Though we are 'cozy' with the three of us in bed together, I don't think I could sleep at this point without him in bed. There's an emotional bond now, that I've become somewhat dependent upon.

Going for an Autumn Walk

This evening my husband and I were talking about taking Kodi for a walk before it got dark.

I stepped into the bathroom before getting my coat and power chair ready to go, as my husband got his shoes.

Kodi came into the bedroom and looked into the bathroom at me. I told him I was almost ready, then we could go for a walk. He looked at me, whimpered, looked at my sneakers on the floor by my night stand, then picked them up, one by one and brought them to me in the bathroom, putting them at my feet.

After he dropped my sneakers he went back into the bedroom and picked up one of my socks, which he took out to my husband. This makes sense, because he often helps me get my socks on when we are going out.

This evening he found a video cassette tape case on our bed where my husband left it when he brought some holiday cartoons out to watch. Kodi picked up the case and took it out to my husband, handing it to him.

While I was sitting in my recliner tonight, I finished looking through some catalogs that came in the mail today. I asked my husband if he wanted to look at them, to which he replied, "later, not right now."

Kodi took the catalogs, one at a time, off the arm of my recliner and walked them across the room to my husband, where he handed them to him.

Sometimes I think he's more human than some people I know.