Transitions and adjustments

Every change in the dog population, plus or minus, results in some changes in the routine. Gigi's death left a large vacant spot in the bed as well as in our hearts. Clay and I both have leg room in bed that we haven't had in years. We speculated on who would fill the empty physical space in bed. Maya was the odds on favorite given our general policy of only allowing the girl dogs in bed. Maya always hops up to snuggle in the morning because she's not really keen on going outside pre-dawn like some of the boys. She will also get up in bed in the evenings, but she always got down when it was time to actually sleep.

This is Maya laying on top of me for some petting and
snuggle time before going to sleep.

We invited Maya up to Gigi's spot, and she tried it out as shown here, but she didn't stay the night. I don't know if it's because we move around too much and it disturbs her, or if she just prefers a spot on a dog bed.

TJ is very focused on pack hierarchy and he
wants the position closest to me even though
he's not really keen on snuggling or petting.

I thought maybe Sparky would like the spot and I really tried to get him to take it, but he wouldn't get up on the bed. It would be helpful if he would, because he, Vince, and TJ all want to be on one of the two dog beds on my side of the room. Vince has to have one of them or he paces all night and we get no sleep. If Sparky is on the other then TJ lays on the bare floor blocking my access, or else he and Sparky get into a bit of growling match to see who gets the bed. Maybe I need to rearrange the furniture to make room for three dog beds over there. Sometimes I just encourage Sparky to stay in the office with Max at night to make things easier.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Jackie has given up the big round bed in the corner of the kitchen. Instead she has taken over the Cabell cave. That's the small storage space under the stairs. Our dog Cabell pioneered its use as a dog den and it hasn't had a regular user since Samantha died. I have a nice big dog bed in there and Jackie has taken a liking to it. It's in the middle of everything without being in the way. Whenever I come downstairs she always sticks her head out to see what's happening. Jackie is on one more round of antibiotics. We get through some nights with a dry kitchen floor, but not always. Actually it seems to happen more during the day if we don't get her outside often enough. She does not ask to go out and her signals, if any, are so subtle that they have escaped my notice.

Vince needs one of these two dog beds or he will pace around
until I move a dog to make one available for him.

Vince in his preferred location. That's TJ on the next bed.
Sparky and TJ vie for that second bed and I do not want
them to develop a serious conflict.

That's Jackie peering out of the Cabell Cave.

She first moved in here during that really cold
weather. I'm sure it's cozy in there.

Maya at the entrance to the Cabell Cave, Jackie just inside.

When we have any more work done on the
house I hope to have them finish this room
to make it even nicer for her.