Sleeping with Vizslas

As a rule, we don't allow our dogs to sleep in bed with us because we want a decent night's sleep. There are exceptions: when a dog is ill or perhaps dying or when Michael is away or when I stay in hotels at dog shows. Until recently, only Sasha had the privilege of sleeping with me when I went to dog shows - because he was getting old and just because he was very special. Some dogs are bed hogs; they stretch out, push you with their legs, dive under the covers, lick themselves. There are some dogs that like to sleep under the covers but thankfully, mine don't. Sasha would curl into a ball and stay that way for most of the night and was so quiet that sometimes, I didn't even know he was sleeping with me.

Last weekend, I stayed at a hotel for the Finger Lakes shows, made an exception and permitted both Miska and Nova to sleep on the king-sized bed with me. It was a mistake because each had to snuggle into position on either side of my body, with the result that I was pinned into place under the covers and could barely move. And each time I shifted position or tried to roll over, Miska would think it was time to get up and would grab a toy and stick it in my face, wiggling her butt so hard that it would shake the bed. "Go back to sleep", I would growl. When I woke up, I found myself lying diagonally across the bed or almost lying across it, rather than in the 'normal' position, just because the girls had their space to protect. Needless to say, I didn't get the best sleep. We were there for 2 nites and I vowed that they would sleep in the crates the next night but I relented and the same thing happened in the bed. It was, after all, only 2 nights out of my life. Who needs sleep anyway?