Dog bedtime rituals

If you're new here, check out these posts straight from the mouths the dogs: 

Ain't no shame, ladies do your thing. Just make sure you ahead of the game (Mae)

From the Desk of Augustus Gloop (Gus)

Meet Geege (Geege)

As we were about to board a cruise ship years ago, I texted my brother Stephen who was watching the dogs and asked him how it was going. He replied, "Gus is awful to sleep with, he thinks this is his bed." I asked if he was sleeping in our bed. He was. I texted back, "That IS his bed."

When we first got Gus as a puppy almost 10 years ago, he was meant to sleep in his crate. I passed out after Michelle's block party and woke up in the middle of the night to an empty crate and puppy Gus sleeping on MFD's chest. The next few nights, I tried to put Gus back in the crate but it never worked. He slept in our bed and as the other dogs joined the family, they did too.

Before we go any further, this is not the place to comment about how you don't agree with dogs on the bed. No one currr for that opinion here.

That being said, dog bedtime at our house is absolutely a circus of our own creation.

They know what bed means, and when I say it Mae cannot launch herself up the stairs fast enough. Geege is slow going and Gus needs a little help getting onto the landing sometimes.

Once upstairs, Geege needs to be told to get up up. Mae and Gus go nuts with bones for a while as soon as they get on the bed. If there are bones on bedside tables or under furniture, they will want those bones and not the zillions of bones they have scattered all over the bed. Mae growls like crazy at anyone who comes near her bone and has to be told to stop eleventy billion times.

Geege has no time for bones, but he has plenty of time to lay facing the door so he can stare at it and guard the rest of us, barking out of a dead sleep when appropriate.

Gus typically gets down to investigate something downstairs or get some water. When he comes back up, he needs to be picked up from the side of the bed, always a precarious situation but one that enables me to do it without actually getting out of bed. He's ready to settle in for the night and will assume his position at the bottom of the bed in between my feet. Geege will lay on the other side.

When Mae is finished growling at Gus, Geege, and MFD, she lays down by her brothers until Gus moves to get her off of him, then she comes and licks my face to say goodnight before retreating under the covers for a while. She inevitably emerges to lay on one of our pillows so she can stare at me like a little creep. She can move around, but when other dogs or humans move, she barks ferociously.

The dogs rotate positions throughout the night, and sometimes I wake up with the two boy dogs laying next to my left leg and Mae laying next to my right, all stretched out. It's like the freaking dogs are a chalk outline of my body.

And of course if you've read this blog for a while, you know that Gus is the President of the A-hole Wakeup Committee on weekends but none of them can be bothered to be up and out of bed on weekdays. Must be nice, suckers.

Mother, we don't get up on Tuesday mornings. Leave us be.

And those are the dog bedtime rituals at our house.

You might also like: Ain't no shame, ladies do your thing. Just make sure you ahead of the game (Mae), From the Desk of Augustus Gloop (Gus), and Meet Geege (Geege).



Linking up with Erin today for

Linking up with Kristin and Joey for Stuff & Things

All We Want For Christmas: From the Pugs

Everyone gets their shot at a Christmas Wish List...

I require the following. I'd prefer my desires to be granted today but if I must wait for Christmas, I will. I may pee on the curtains to show my displeasure, however. Fair warning. My wish list:

1. Total world domination.
2. Twenty-four hour a day access to the same food my humans are eating.
3. A weekend or 15 without my sister. And for her to have to wear silly costumes every day for my amusement.
4. For my parents to never go away on a trip. Ever. Then I won't have to pretend to be deaf for 3-10 days after they return home to make them feel guilty and terrible for not taking me with them. It's hard for me to remember I'm supposed to be deaf so they're doubly putting me out.
5. A world where no one tries to clean my ears.

1. Daily romps in our fields, Treat Lady's woods, or on the beach with tons of time to mark everything in my path. Geege was here! I say it with pee.
2. The freedom to hump the air or lick Gus's ears without getting scolded by my mother.
3. For my mother to stay home 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, so I can guard her and our home, following her everywhere and barking like a good guard does every time a person, dog, or car passes by. I am the Royal Guard and you shall not enter!
4. Fresh fruit at every meal.
5. A world where no one tries to take me to the vet.

1. A blinged out grill and some sweet hoodies.
2. A recording contract with Jay-Z. My Gremlin noises will be the next big hit in the music industry.
3. Endless scratches from my adoring fans.
4. For bullying my brothers and sitting staring in Gus's face waiting until he's done with his bone so I can steal it to be cool with everyone involved.
5. A world where no one tries to tell me where I can and can't sit. Yes, I can sit there and I WILL.

Peace out and happy Christmas Eve Eve on behalf of the dogs.

You might also enjoy this blog post by Geege, this blog post by Gus, and the most popular - Mae's blog post.

*************************

Haikuesday

Dog blogs: I like them.

Dogs want stuff for Christmas too.

For real. I asked them.

*************************

I would be remiss if I didn't wish you all a Happy Festivus today.

Meet Geege

Oh dear. This is it. My mother told me it's time to leave my mark in words. I much prefer to mark my territory in other ways, always have and always will, but I digress.

I'm not much for the spotlight. I prefer to sit behind Gus and the new girl and let them take center stage. Too much attention makes me nervous.

I'm Geege. That's gee like gee whiz, followed by juh. It was a made up nickname but now it's just my name.

My parents adopted me from a nice family who called me Jake. I came to live with my Mom and Dad in May 2007. For the first week, I sat at the window and barked. For the next six months, I sat on the couch or the floor and warily surveyed the situation. After that period of reconnaissance, I decided to actually sit on the couch next to my people. I've never regretted it. I will always appreciate them not rushing me...letting me feel out the situation and be a part of the family when I was ready. Gus? He appointed me his lackey from the moment we met. It might sound like a raw deal for me, but we are very very very best friends and have been from the minute I walked into that tiny apartment.

These are my roles: protecting my people to make sure this kingdom is guarded and on lock down at all times, following my mom around the house to make sure she's doing everything up to code, and refereeing Gus and the new sister. My command center is the front window, but the front door and basement level sliding doors are my posts as well.  How do I do performance-wise? I'm a super hero, and that's not a brag. I take my duties very seriously.

Even Spider-Man has fears. I'm afraid of loud noises like booms and things that crackle and light up the sky and make my mom yell "Enough fireworks, you assholes!" out of our windows. Loud noises make me shake and cry and have earned me the nickname Heebie Jeebie. Sometimes I have to hide under the bed. Other times I like to crawl under the bed just because I can be a weird guy.

The burdens of guarding my people and fellow canines as well as overseeing the running of our kingdom tire me out. When I sleep, I burrow into my people and I sleep hard. I've earned it because I've been patrolling all day. You can tell I'm tired when my tongue is out. My mom says I'm the cutest sleeping dog ever.

My life isn't all guard work. When I take a vacation, I prefer to visit places where I can run free, free like the wind! My soul bursts out of my body and carries me through Treat Lady's woods like I am a puppy instead of a 10 year old. I also enjoy romps along the beach. When I'm on vacation I can show my free spirit who likes to chase butterflies and gets distracted easily, running from one thing to the next with adrenaline and pure joy.

At home, I take my breaks in the sun. I love to go on walks and be outside, roll in the grass and run free in the fields by my house when no one else is around. It's important to appreciate the small things in life. Especially when you have a good one like I do - freedom to roam, tons of belly rubs, vacations, people who love me, siblings to play with, being allowed to sleep in a big bed with my head on pillows like a person, an important role as guard and protector, tons of toys I rarely play with, food I bark insistently for every day and cheeseburgers on my birthday. Life is good. And my mom calls me her best boy every day.

I don't have much else to say. I'm just a soulful guy trying to live a noble life. Don't be sad if you see me looking concerned in photos - I'm just always more concerned about you than I am about me.

I'm very soft and easy to love and I have endless love to give. Kisses too even though I'm told my breath smells like buttholes. Mom, what's a butthole again?

Tomorrow my mother will be back and my Auntie Debbie is giving bracelets and earrings away. I heard ladies like those.

In service and good stead always -
Geege aka TeeTee aka GeeJosh aka Tatie aka Gee-kah-baba aka Genie aka Tahtita

*****************************************************
Click here to read Gus's blog: From the Desk of Augustus Gloop
Click here to read Gus's birthday blog
Click here to read Geege's 8th birthday blog
Click here to read Maisie's blog

Linking up for Pets Are People Too