Where does your basenji sleep?

[curlytails]

It took two months after we adopted her for Bowpi to come sleep in the human bed at night.

All through the summer, she stayed on top of the blankets.

Now, she's taken to burrowing under the covers, right between me and my partner. She adapts quite easily to all human contours. She'll slither up and down the length of the bed as necessary, but unobtrusively – I usually don't notice. Occasionally I'll wake up to feel her warmth against my feet at the bottom of the bed. I get a little worried that she'll suffocate from breathing all that stale air, but she seems to manage. Some mornings I'll wake to find her head sharing my pillow or tucked under my boyfriend's arms like a teddy bear. She's super limp when she's sleeping and never gets cranky if we move her around or shift back and forth. This is in huge contrast to our Shiba, who can't STAND to be on the same bed as us if we disturb his physical space by so much as an inch -- so he prefers sleeping in his own doggy bed at the end of the bed.

I thought the Welsh Terrier we used to dogsit was cuddly, but Bowpi has proven herself to be the QUEEN of sleep-cuddles. It's kind of nice, actually. Is this a Basenji thing? And what happens to those with multiple Basenji? Do they end up taking over the bed, or do they cuddle with each other?

[tlish]

i wonder the same thing about multi-basenji houses! i think you'd need a gigantic bed. suki slept with me since her first night with me - just 12 weeks. i figured i'd be more likely to wake up and let her out if she were right there with me - and she did wake me up just fine.

now she sleeps on top of the covers for awhile, then under the covers by my feet, then moves up to my knees, then, by morning, she's up with her head on my pillow. the other morning i felt something on by shoulder suddenly and it woke me up. i realized suki put a paw on my shoulder and was spooning me. it was toooo cute.

[DebraDownSouth]

Oh lord, have had them nearly push me out of the bed!

But Arwen, 98 percent of time sleeps at the bottom of the bed. She used to wouldn't let you touch her, would move if you did. Now she often sleeps touching.

When Sayblee was alive, her spot was curled with her back against my thighs or behind my knees depending on which side I lay on.

Cara sleeps horizontal, with her butt against me, and often has her head stuck out side of bed (I have pillow to support arm so she can't lay next to me usually. Sometimes for naps she sleeps IN my arms beside me, on her back usually or side.

[lisastewart]

At one time we had 5 basenjis sharing our bed, 2 girls and 3 boys, they tended to layer on top of each other and us. King size bed needed.

[LindaH]

Maxx had a dog bed he slept in. He was never interested in sleeping with us…until, that is, it started to thunder. Then he come up on the bed and get under the covers! He wasn't a good bed partner, though, because he always wanted to sleep crossways in bed and he wiggled around a lot. So I was glad that, for most of the time, he didn't show any interest in sleeping with us.

[Lenora]

Mine sleeps curled up behind my knees and when I turn over she does too. Occasionally she stretches out and then we have a problem with sharp toenails where they shouldn't oughta be. I'm trying to picture Lisa Stewart and FIVE basenjis in a king sized bed. Some B's are pokers and pushers (and growlers!) in the middle of the night when the human invades THEIR space!

[curlytails]

These are cracking me up.

And yes, the very idea of five Basenjis in a bed is impressive! You better hope there's no snarking in bed with that pack!

[Patty]

Fortunately only three of mine will share our bed the others aren't keen otherwise I don't think there'd be much room for the humans!!

[Lysh]

Hope does the same as Bowpi.

Ontop, underneath, between us, sharing pillow, at feet etc

she slept with us from day dot we got her at 8wks.

[tanza]

I don't care how big the bed is… or if you have 1 or 5.... they take up all the room and you are banished to the edge of the bed...gggg

[crystalncody]

Cody sleeps in my bed and under the covers, and he has since the day I brought him home. He was 3.5 years old. When he jumps up on the bed, he will stand by my face and stare down at me with his brow slightly (almost pitifully) wrinkled, waiting for me to hold the blankets up so he can get under them. He also prefers to be completely under the covers. He's a wiggler too.

He used to sleep curled into the bend of my knees, but now he sleeps curled into my chest or stomach on the side of the bed by the wall and window. You know basenjis and their windows! He always starts out curled into a tight ball, but sometimes, halfway through the night I wake up with him completely sprawled out across the bed, and I'm sleeping on the edge. How does a 26 pound dog take up nearly all of a queen size bed? Even better, why do I let him? LOL! I swear, it's like he's secretly laughing at me. He will lay completely stretched out across the bed, nose not quite to the edge of the bed, back legs stretched completely out with his knees locked, and his sharp little toenails digging into my side, stomach, or back, depending on how I'm sleeping at that point.

He usually lets me move him around while he's sleeping, and sometimes he doesn't even wake up when I move him. Sometimes, when I try to retake the bed from him by sliding him over, he'll just get up and find another spot on the bed, but I have to be quick about it, because if it was up to him, he'd sleep in the very middle of the bed. Every once in a while he will get growly when I move him, but I've realized that he only does it when he's making those little whiny noises in his sleep (Do dogs dream?).

Last year, when we were staying with my parents, sometimes I would stay overnight with my grandma (I was one of her primary caregivers before she passed away). On those nights, he would either sleep in my bed while I was gone, or he would sneak into my parents bed with them AND Moe (who is nearly twice Cody's size), which would cause my dad to relinquish his spot on the bed and retreat to the couch. He's not a big fan of Cody's wiggling antics or sharp toenails. Now, the fact that I would come home to him still curled up under the covers on my bed and no one went in there and covered him up proves that he can get under them himself, he's just spoiled now and wants me to hold the blankets up for him so he can circle into the perfect spot. LOL. Little butthead.

The things we do for our dogs!
But now I've gotten to the point that I don't think I can sleep without him.

[MacPack]

Pat is right, doesn't matter how big the bed, you end up clinging to the edge! I used to have 5 basenjis (king sized bed) and now only two, all have always slept with me. I recently downsized to a queen bed and it took a few weeks to feel there was enough room for me and my pack. Eddie turns into a Great Dane when he falls asleep, I think.

[nobarkus]

35 years of either having them sleep on or in my bed.

[lvoss]

All 5 of mine sleep in bed with us. My husband started to complain at dog 3 and so I told him we would teach the new ones to sleep in the crate at night. Guess who started sneaking puppy 4 into bed? Not me. We got a King size bed instead. On the plus side, I can actually sleep the few times my husband is out of town without me because I never have an empty bed.

[Lysh]

@crystalncody:

back legs stretched completely out with his knees locked, and his sharp little toenails digging into my side, stomach, or back, depending on how I'm sleeping at that point.

ah! Hope does this as-well. She'll be in the middle of the bed, between me and my partner, with her back against one of us and then she will stretch completly out and lock her legs and then dig her toenails into whoever is on the otherside hahaha. my partner gets annoyed at that and moves her or i move her over to my side so shes against me with her locked legs headin out the side.

She also does the comes up to us and looks at us until we lift the blanket for her to come under LOL

[curlytails]

Waiting for the blanket portal… how cute.

Last night Bowpi got under the covers and laid down next to me. My boyfriend was reading a book on the other side of the bed. Bowpi stretched out her front leg and put her paw on his arm, as if to pull him closer or get his attention. Then she started to bite the corner of the book, like she was saying "ExCUSE me, it's time to sleep now."

That's probably the most demanding thing she's ever done!

She slept crated when she was with her previous owner. Actually, she was crated most of the day AND night before, which is why I think she was a bit reluctant to sleep with us at first. I know she wasn't allowed on any furniture, and certainly not the bed. Previous owner said she had a doggy bed, but she didn't pass it along because she said she wouldn't use it anyway, preferring the company of other sleeping creatures.

Yes, this definitely seems to be the case.

I don't know if Bowpi will ever get to the point where she can share a bed with Bowdu. He's in a bed that's big enough for them both, but like I said, he does NOT share his sleeping space very well. Heh. That's okay. We'll make room.

[nobarkus]

My last 2 Basenjis always slept under the covers but they did not sleep next to each other. One slept up near the top and one at the bottom. If one touched the other there'd be a fight under the covers.

[tlish]

@Lysh:

ah! Hope does this as-well. She'll be in the middle of the bed, between me and my partner, with her back against one of us and then she will stretch completly out and lock her legs and then dig her toenails into whoever is on the otherside hahaha. my partner gets annoyed at that and moves her or i move her over to my side so shes against me with her locked legs headin out the side.

She also does the comes up to us and looks at us until we lift the blanket for her to come under LOL

suki, too! ridiculous little creatures, but we must bide by their wishes!

[Patty]

Haven't they all got us well trained?!!!

[DebraDownSouth]

LOL if I am near the bed or in it, they ask me to lift the covers. However they can get in most the time without my help. But it does make it easier I guess.