winnie the sentry

While we were home the past two weeks Bill and I tried letting Winnie sleep upstairs with us. Unlike some dogs Winnie cannot get on and off our bed without us picking her up, so when she sleeps with us it is until one of us gets up.

Sentry Duty

Now I love my dog and I love that she warms up my bed for me and snuggles most of the night near my feet, but Bill doesn't have the same opinion or experience. You see, Winnie feels that Bill's side of the bed is her side of the bed (might have to do with all those nights he works late and she comes to bed with me as a guard). Winne also feels it is her duty to make rounds and guard us (see above). so, while I peacefully sleep Bill is woken up basically every hour with the dog version of "1 o'clock and all is well". and then as she settles in for another power nap she tries to politely push Bill out of the way.

Sweet Dreams

Then there are the dreams. I have no idea what dog dream about, but they must be very vivid. It isn't unusual for us to wake up with Winnie either snoring or chasing something, but the other night we had something new. she barked very loudly (in her sleep) and proceeded to have a case of hiccups while sleeping. while we were both annoyed at the bark it was too cute to be mad.

Wake-Up Call

Finally, Winnie is programed like a precise Swiss watch. It doesn't matter how late she went to bed or how tired you are almost exactly 7 hours after going to sleep or at 7 am (which ever is earlier) Winnie wakes up. she starts with some stretching and then quickly moves on to licking her lips, playing double dutch between our legs and coming very close to our faces ("I'm not touching you" close) to stare us down and see if we're awake.

All of these antics have made me love Winnie more, but Bill has decided the dog's place is downstairs in the family room. I can't say I blame him, but every night when I go up to bed I see her sad little face and I feel so bad. So I think it will be Bill's job to put Winnie "to be" from now on.