When my boyfriend and I visit his parents’ place, we get to see not only his parents and his brother, but also his two dogs (happily, usually not emergency roadside assistance). And they are both delightful. There is a bigger dog called Taylor, who is a cross between a lab and a weimaraner, and then there is Dora, the miniature dachshund. As you can imagine, these dogs have very different personalities and habits, and these differences are apparently not only during the day, when they’re up and going and doing their dog things, but also when it comes time for the doggies to go to sleep.
First of all, they each have a rather different pre-sleep routine. Taylor, who is, granted, quite a bit older than Dora, behaves pretty much as you might imagine an older dog would, in that you can very often find her on a bed you’re probably going to sleep in before you have made your way to the bed yourself. Sometimes it’s rather startling, actually, if you don’t know she’s in there, and you hear a thump thump thump as her wagging tail hits the bed when you enter the still-dark room. Dora, on the other hand, has a very different routine.
Dora’s bedtime routine involves getting outrageously worked up right before sleeps. You’ll say “Okay, Dora, time to go to bed!” and although she was falling asleep on the couch not three minutes before, she’ll jump down onto the floor, tail wagging, ready to play. Then you’ll have to chase her around for a few minutes before you can snag her and whisk her away to bed. This is, of course, all in good fun, and always incites joy as opposed to frustration. And though Dora might have a longer pre-bed process, she is certainly easier to sleep with once you’ve got her into bed.
Dora, being a dachshund, is a little burrower, in that she likes to sleep under blankets. Other than being adorable, this also means that she will not be breathing her dog breath in your face as try to fall asleep, and b. she won’t take up a ton of space on your pillow. Oh, and she won’t scratch your face with her massive dog paws every time she moves. No, Dora just snuggles in down around your feet and stays there. Only thing you have to worry about is kicking her, but that’s never really been a problem.
Then there’s Taylor. Taylor is not a small dog. Taylor likes to be right up where the action is. Taylor loves my boyfriend, and my boyfriend loves Taylor, which means that no matter how many times Taylor punches my in the face with her massive dog paws, she is still allowed to sleep in the bed with us, in between my boyfriend and me. Which … obviously my favourite. And yes, she does have dog breath, and yes, she takes up way more room than I do on the bed, and I am convinced that she tries to kick me off. Just goes to show how much people prioritize the comfort of their pets, even if those pets are kinda being jerks.