The Battle for the Bed

We are entering a new chapter in our lives. Ever since February, when we welcomed Bristol and Sami into our home, our house has been turned upside down in some respects. With the purchase of four dog crates, trying to get the right size for our quickly growing pups, and discovering the value of the two-doored style, our house has seemed overrun with crates. There have been dog toys and blankets covering every floor surface. 

Wanting to block the puppies' access to certain furniture and rooms, we have creatively, but not artistically, blockaded sofa surfaces and room openings with other furniture and large boxes and totes. In an effort to hear the puppies when they needed to go out (or in Bristol's case, needed to be covered with a blanket in the middle of the night), we set up an air mattress in the family room so we could sleep downstairs near the fur babies. Basically, our house has been a wreck. Yes, Our House Had Gone to the Dogs. 

Slowly but surely, we are taking back the house, and making it into less of a dog house, and more of a home for a family consisting of two humans and two canines. 

Last night we moved back upstairs to our bedroom, and invited the puppies to come; no crates this time. They would have free range in our bedroom. We hung a set of bells on our closed door, in case either one needed to go outdoors.

Chuck had been concerned from the get-go about having the puppies sleep upstairs without being in crates. I spend most of every day with those two, and I was quite confident once they fell asleep, they wouldn't be a problem. I watch them sleep nearly all day long; once they are asleep, they are absolute angels. 

Neatly folded stacks of fleece blankets were available for the dogs on the floor, but as we got ready for bed, there was a big misunderstanding. We ended up having a three-ring circus when Sami and Bristol showed how excited they were that we were generously providing a queen-sized bed for them to sleep on. 

While I got ready, Chuck kept telling them to get off the bed. As Chuck was brushing his teeth, I repeatedly pushed the puppies to the edge of the bed, and had them slide to the floor. It was a futile fight, so I just let Sami lie on Chuck's side of the bed, and Bristol sat behind me, licking my shoulder, until Chuck could help me battle the insurgents. 

Finally, we took back the bed from the canine occupation, and each of the puppies stretched out on the floor. We turned out the light, and within a couple of minutes, Bristol and Sam found a place to sleep, and except for Bristol's changing locations on the floor a couple of times while we slept, we had an uneventful night.

This morning I let all of the air out of the spare bed in the family room, and removed it from the room. I folded all of the blankets, and washed the bed linens. We are going to have a family room again.

Whew. I was beginning to wonder if this day would ever come. With each passing month, we are getting closer to our dream of having two calm dogs to share our home with us. Dinner time is much more pleasant these days, and we enjoy having their company in the office with us when we are editing pictures. And now we are sharing our bedroom with them, and I think once the lights are off, they will stay where they're supposed to stay. We're making progress, my friends!