2 Dogs, 4 Dog Beds, and This?
My husband and I got our dog, Riley, in 2005. There happened to be an event at the convention center that weekend, where vendors were presenting the latest-and-greatest in dog care products. We bought a bed for Riley there, and we still have it to this day. He has always loved it. Even when we bought him newer beds, softer beds, he wanted “that” bed.
In December of 2016, we acquired a second dog, Stella, who was just a year old. We, of course, bought her her own bed; but it wasn’t long before we noticed that she and Riley were almost always in the same bed – HER bed.
We couldn’t determine whether or not Riley preferred her bed, if he wanted to be where she was, or if he was just making a statement that he was the Top Dog.
Stella’s bed was softer than Riley’s bed was. Now that Riley is nearly 13 years old, we thought that maybe it was the softness that was appealing to him. So we went out and bought 2 more beds, exactly alike. Soft pillowy beds. Beds marketed specifically for older dogs. And now we had 2 dogs and 4 dog beds, and sat back to watch what would happen.
We find, more often than not, Stella and Riley are still in the same bed. We’ve also noticed that it is Riley that will climb into the bed where Stella is resting, and not the other way around.
So now we have 4 dog beds, and we’re still in the same situation we were in before. Two dogs in one bed. Is it the bed? Is it the companionship? Or is Riley saying, “Okay, you’ve been here a year now, but I’ve been here nearly 13; so I’m STILL the Top Dog.”
What do you think?
Comments (17)
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I think he is protecting her. She is the baby; he’s the dad! This is soooo cute. What we go through for our animals. I got a package the other day that had a loooong sheet of brown paper in it. I put it on the floor and Heidi is loving it. Is it still there? Yes. Does my living room look like crap? Yes! LOL They are our babies! How is Stella doing in her doggie classes?
That’s very interesting. We hadn’t thought of that. That’s entirely possible. When they are outside, and he comes in, he wants her to come in too. He will go back and forth from the house to where she is, until she finally comes in with him. Huh. Stella has graduated from class. I would say she got a C-. LOL. She’s great with Sit, Stay, Leave It. Not so good at Come – but WAY better than she was. She still barks at cars on our walks; no progress there. She still barks when anyone comes to the house, but we can distract her a little bit better when that happens. We’re learning too!
I think Riley is just being the protective big brother.
I have absolutely no dog experience other than being an “aunt”, but I agree with the big brother / protector role.
Sooo interesting. I’ve been thinking about this “angle” all day. It’s entirely possible!
That’s a hard call. Maybe all of the above and he is the ‘big brother’ protector or just likes to be with her. In any event….very cute pups; they are a treasure.
I think both Riley and Stella have YOU WRAPPED around their little paws! They are so cute. Golly I didn’t realize that Riley was almost 15…where has the time gone.
We had two dogs–one was older, and had been here several years –she was smaller too. Then Henry showed up. Molly was king of the house, keeper of whatever she wanted. Henry was obedient to her!! When we had to put Molly down because of an injury, Henry had been here about 1.5 years. We had always fed them in different rooms. After Molly wasn’t here, Henry started leaving a few kernels of his food in his dish each feeding time. We think he was trying to find out where Molly was, and why she wasn’t coming around licking her dish out. We think he was trying to entice her to come out from wherever she was! He’s adjusted to her not being here now–after another 1.5 years!! Dogs are so funny.
About that protective instinct, I agree. Years ago I had a young beagle, about 2 named Pepper. She was an only dog but then a tiny Siamese kitten appeared in her world! We worried she might not like having a cat around, particularly a wee one. We feared MaiTai (kitten) might be manhandled. Well, yes but no. For an unknown reason, Pepper decided on her own that MaiTai should spend lots of time in our upstairs bedroom closet. She pulled down pieces of clothing and fashioned a bed. At first we were unaware although I kept finding pieces of clothing that had fallen off hangars in the back corner of our closet. One day that proverbial light bulb lit up! I heard a light thumping coming from the staircase area. Got into the livingroom just in time to see Pepper gently carrying MaiTai by the scruff of the neck. She was just at the top of the stairs and while I looked on, dumbfounded, she went towards our bedroom. Following quietly, I saw Pepper putting MaiTai into that bed in the closet. She never hurt her and MaiTai didn’t seem to mind. This continued a few months with the thumping getting louder and eventually a little mewling from MaiTai. By then, MaiTai was nearly full grown (small but long from head to tail) and Pepper, being a beagle, had very short legs. Yep, you guessed it. That thumping was poor MaiTai’s rear hitting each step as Pepper carried her upstairs. That worried me but evidently they reached an understanding. I quit hearing the thumping and my clothes quit falling off their hangars! So yes, that protectiveness can be there whether brother/sister or mother/daughter type.
What an amazingly sweet story!!! Thanks for sharing, Sue!
One thing is they both seem to be very happy together there. Looks mutual to me.
LOL! Yes, that is true, Lou Ann. Very true. 🙂
I think he is protecting her. She is the baby, he is the dad 🙂
I think I am agreeing with you!!
[…] in January of 2018, in 2 Dogs, 4 Dog Beds, and This? I shared how we had purchased some new dog beds, but Riley and Stella always seemed to be in the […]