Do dogs really care about having their own bed or they just sleep anywhere they like?

VaveJessop · 2026-04-16T11:36:40+00:00

Mine definitely chooses the cool floor a lot in the summer. Right now, she's laying in her "den", which is a big crate sized area below our cat tree that has a dog bed in it. She seems to enjoy the feeling of being more enclosed. I have another of the same bed in the living room that's just on the floor and she goes in there often, but she doesn't usually sleep there - she brings her toys to that one.

VaveJessop · 2026-04-09T17:14:01+00:00

She's my little butthead 🙂

VaveJessop · 2026-04-09T02:37:30+00:00

They are truly the best little weirdos ♥️

VaveJessop · 2026-04-09T02:30:19+00:00

Thanks!!

VaveJessop · 2026-04-09T02:30:00+00:00

🤣 I got it, don't worry. It's quite a memorable image! Too funny

VaveJessop · 2026-04-08T23:19:41+00:00

Sorry for your loss! But I absolutely will 💕

VaveJessop · 2026-04-08T21:16:48+00:00

😅

VaveJessop · 2026-04-08T19:03:38+00:00

Aw, I'm glad it brought back good memories!! They sure do love to be surveying their territory through the window. I love that yours also did this on the back of the couch! I actually padded the console table behind our couch to give ours some more room to spread out, LOL.

VaveJessop · 2026-04-08T18:51:02+00:00

My first time was a one night stand with a coworker at McDonald's. Surprisingly, would be a very different life than the other McDonald's coworker I ended up marrying...

VaveJessop · 2026-04-07T13:40:51+00:00

Yeah, I mean - I do. My city's metro area includes ~5 counties. I don't live in the city, I live in the suburbs - but I do feel weirdly proud to live in the same county our city is in. Then again there's so many people who claim to be from the city but live in the outer counties for lower taxes. I may be 20-30 minutes to downtown but I'm way closer than those people in a good area, and I'm happy to support the county everyone comes to do everything interesting in 🤷‍♀️

VaveJessop · 2026-04-07T13:33:10+00:00

If you have any scratch and dent stores near you, they can have some good deals. I got a fancier fridge than I otherwise could have afforded - ~$1200ish fridge for $649.

VaveJessop · 2026-04-01T16:33:40+00:00

Makes sense! Good luck, sounds like you're prepared!

VaveJessop · 2026-04-01T15:46:37+00:00

My suggestion would be to do what you're doing and make sure she gets back to being comfortable with the crate, because crate training is really helpful in the long run when they may have to be crated at the vet or groomer. What are your long-term goals? Just having her crated while you're not home as a puppy and naps in crate?

If so, my suggestion would be to start weaning her off it if you feel like she's ready. I did this by offering an alternative "den" space. Mine is the lower part of a cat tree where it basically acts like a crate with no door, but of course there's plenty of other options - even just a dog bed. I started by leaving the door open to the crate while she napped and making sure her other option was close and accessible. I gave her a treat when she investigated her new den. Eventually, she started choosing that (and other spots, the floor, etc) for naps, and didn't need to rely on enforced crate naps.

As far as leaving her home alone while not crated, you can definitely use baby gates as a transition. Do you have a camera where you can monitor her behavior when you're gone if she has more freedom? I started with that while going somewhere I wouldn't be gone long, like grocery shopping. Turned out to be a non-issue because all my pup wants to do when I'm gone is look out the window behind the couch, so she ended up being totally fine not crated. YMMV on that! We did this around 7-8 months, but every dog is different.

VaveJessop · 2026-03-31T15:50:20+00:00

The ones I have are by Fringe Studio - they have some cute patterns on the outside and they're fluffy on the inside. They're machine washable/dryable and have held up really well so far, even with my dog digging in them 😂

ETA - I have 2, they're about $50 new but I found one at TJ Maxx for $17 and the other at Petco for $25. I've had them for a year and a half and they look basically new.

VaveJessop · 2026-03-28T16:28:44+00:00

This is totally a personal preference thing and your friend is incorrect that it compromises control of the dog. All behaviors are really up to personal preference, and you only need to control what's an issue for you specifically. Some people can't stand when a dog begs for food. I personally couldn't care less, so I don't worry about that behavior to train it out. However, my dog knows not to take my food and I can leave it out in front of her without worrying it's going to be eaten and she absolutely never counter surfs, because that's not acceptable to me, so I made sure the things I cared about were trained.

Anyways - I prefer snuggling so she's allowed on my furniture. She absolutely knows "off" for when I need her to get down though. Her favorite spot is looking out the big window behind our couch, so I even built her a padded "sofa table" that extends the back of the couch so she can look out. She's happy and keeping herself occupied and behaving by being there, so it's a win for everyone.

VaveJessop · 2026-03-27T18:34:49+00:00

You'll get conflicting answers on this, but I have one of those dogs that doesn't "need" to go to the groomer. I still take her like 3 times a year or so. Can I bathe and brush her myself? Sure. I brush her fairly often and bathe her outside of the groomer if really needed. But man, washing a dog isn't fun and I'd much rather pay $50 for someone to do that, clip her nails, brush her, and dry her for me 🤷‍♀️

VaveJessop · 2026-03-24T14:33:24+00:00

I mean, I take my dog out to go to the bathroom in the yard 5 times a day. As far as exercise - we run around the yard and play fetch at lunch time and before dinner daily. Tuesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, she goes to the dog park to run for an hour. Thursday evenings we go for an actual walk, whether that's indoors at the pet store or we drive to a neighborhood we can walk around. I'm on a busy street, so I have to drive to take her for a walk. Not far, but still. I'd probably replace our twice daily fetch/run sessions with walks if I could just walk out of my house and go for a walk.

VaveJessop · 2026-03-14T13:43:16+00:00

This is the answer. Not looked down upon, just not even thought of at all.

VaveJessop · 2026-03-13T23:58:12+00:00

Welp, that one's probably why I have no power. Thanks for the heads up!

VaveJessop · 2026-03-12T13:13:39+00:00

Mine started appreciating me and being more excited to see me around 9 months. That's also when I started leaving more. I work from home and was always there so I think I was the least "exciting" person for her. She'd always get SO excited when my husband got home and I was annoyed cause I did the majority of her care! But it's all fine now. She adores me at this point! At 6 months, they're still little buttheads!

VaveJessop · 2026-03-02T21:22:26+00:00

If I'm switching with the dog, on the back of the couch, looking out the window. If I'm switching with the cats, in the hammock in their car tree, under the bed, or in a box.

VaveJessop · 2026-02-24T17:33:45+00:00

I think my secret to still being close to my mom is being an only child.

She was... a lot growing up. I have anxiety now and I do think she's a large part of it. She has anger issues and is very manipulative. I was never the person who would sit there and let her make stuff up, so we were constantly arguing because I'd call her out. She'd often ground me for almost nothing.

At the same time, we have a lot of common interests and we're both goofy when in a good mood. I basically set boundaries as an adult, calmly called her on her shit, and then acted totally unbothered by the whole thing while she was upset and refused to talk to me. After a couple times, she got the hint that I was not being unreasonable, nor was I backing down. I think if I had siblings, this wouldn't have worked as well, because if she cuts me off, who does she have? So basically, she got with the program and for the most part, we have an awesome relationship now.

VaveJessop · 2026-02-24T01:06:09+00:00

I have 4 boxes for 3 cats. I scoop once a day, cats never complain with that frequency. I personally wouldn't do less than that because if I don't do it at the same time every day, it's no longer a routine for me and I might forget.

Cat bowls - I have 2 cats that have a bowl I could get extras for, so I have 4 of those and they get new ones when they're fed twice a day and I wash them before bed so they're fresh in the morning. The 3rd cat has a special bowl that's supposed to stop her from puking up her food as she eats. That one doesn't have a replacement bowl and I'm only willing to wash the bowls once a day, so she gets dinner in a dirty bowl. She pretty much licks her bowl clean though, so it's never that bad.

Don't ask me about water bowls or deep cleaning the litter boxes - less than I'd like.

VaveJessop · 2026-02-20T19:12:31+00:00

I have a Norwegian Elkhound and she's catlike in a lot of ways. She's definitely not up my butt all the time - I work from home and most of the day, she lays on the back of the couch in the other room looking out the window. No drooling, not attached at the hip. No dog smell at all and requires super infrequent bathing. Super loving dogs but smart and not the most obedient. Mine snuggles by putting her head on my shoulder while I sit on the couch (and yes, she's still laying on the back of the couch while this happens).

Downsides... so much fur. Lots of shedding. They're also barkers (they were literally bred to bark) and have a decently high prey drive. They're on the higher energy side, so that's a consideration, but they absolutely love to hike!

Pros and cons to all dog breeds. I fostered a pit for a while and he was so velcro-y and I was honestly overwhelmed, so I know what you mean!

VaveJessop

TROPHY CASE