Sleeping with Nin

I have had three dogs in my life: Ivan, the regal dog, who should have been a butler; Steeler, the goof, happy dog; and now Nin, the nut!  CCI had rules and when I got Ivan they recommended that service dogs sleep in a bed or crate but not with the human. I obeyed for about six months until Ivan made it on the bed and not for lack of trying. In my defense, it was my Mom who broke the rule and invited Ivan on my bed when I had pneumonia. I was living in Philadelphia, going to graduate school, and it was a particularly cold winter.  This particular week we were experiencing a severe ice storm. Due to the demand on the power grid, the Philadelphia power company had to institute rolling blackouts.  I was living in an old building with radiator heat, it was cold. Combine that cold with my pneumonia and I could not get warn. Hoping Ivan would lay on my feet to help me stay warm, Mom invited him up on the bed. That was exciting for Ivan but lying on my feet was not in the cards. No matter where I slept in the bed, Ivan would find a spot where he was not touching me and most of the time preferred his bed.

Now Steeler in the other hand was invited into the bed on day one. We were staying in a hotel during training and Steeler, to my dismay, was a barker. Any noise in hallway our outside would start the barking, so to comfort him I invited him on the bed. Steeler was respectful of space to an extent. He rarely would try and sneak a pillow, he was always at the bottom of the bed but had to touch me. Be it paw, his tail, his back or a nose some part of him was always touching me.  He would start on the bed until I fell asleep at which time he would quietly take his toy and go back to his bed.

Then came Nin!  I am told by Kathy, a work colleague, that female labs are a different breed than the males.  She will test every boundary, look for any command loop hole, and just be a all around brat.  If she wasn't so cute, funny and entertaining, I would send her back (just kidding) but she is my love.  

Now when it comes to sleeping, Nin has a variety of locations. She has her Pittsburgh Steelers bed, and her (expensive) big bed. This bed would fit three of her and even has a raised edge that can serve as a pillow.  Now she likes this bed, she always has to have a pillow for her head and it is a designated place she can go when the world gets overwhelming, otherwise known as, when I give her a command or need something. Now, I know you are thinking that this is a pretty good set up for a dog but apparently, these beds are not to Nin's standards.  There is no need to worry about her because she has found herself a queen size, gel memory foam, two way adjustable bed. The only problem with this is that this is also my bed.  Unlike Ivan, who had to be untouched and Steeler who always had to be touching me, Nin has found her sleeping spot on top of me!  Remember what I said about her needing a pillow, well she found one...me!  It doesn't matter what I think, she has decided that my stomach, leg, foot and arm are the best pillows in the house.  It can be 100 degrees outside or minus ten, doesn't matter, she has found her bed. Command, or not when she is ready to go to bed-- up she goes.  It does not make a difference that the largest portion of the bed does not contain a human, her spot is on me. There have been nights when I wanted to move (silly me) and command, after command, she refused to move. I decided to adjust the bed into the position I call a taco, nope, she held on and would not move. I tugged on her collar, nope would not move.  CCI teaches us that when we give a command we need to follow through, so this session went on for over an hour. "Nin, off," no movement. "Don't!" As I give her collar a tug, no luck.  This went on until I finally gave up.

The next night, I tethered her to her bed. I had the tether too short for her to jump on the bed..."I will show her. I AM the alpha dog!" I said and I won! For two weeks before we went to bed Nin was tethered and for two weeks there was no problem.  So, I decided to let her sleep without the tether--I really was not a fan of the tether because I always worried she would get stuck or I would need something and she would be stuck.  However, there were no incidents and after the two weeks I put her tether away.  

As I was getting ready for bed she stayed close, just like always.  Next I get into bed, so far so good.  I pulled up the covers and laid down. THUMP, she bounds up and finds her spot, right on my legs!

As she gets older she has become more considerate. She always lets me get settled before bounding on top of me. She, now, obeys the "Off" command but just long enough for me to move or get comfortable before jumping back into bed.  The funny thing about it is that if I am not in my bed, neither is she. That is when she utilizes her dog beds.

I have decided to pick my battles with her and I got a fan to keep me cool. A  dogs average temp is 99.5 - 102.5, now that is a very warm 75 lb pound blankie!

So this is her win, she (kinda) works hard and sleeps harder.  I always have a companion very close by. Now, just don't ask me about the sofa that I got for my office for meetings with humans!