Bedtime Rituals

[Jerseygirl01]

Since I've started letting Rosie sleep with me, she has been doing a very funny pre-sleep ritual. She jumps on the bed while I finish all the mundane last things to do before climbing in. I have to push her out of the way and then hop in and toss the covers over me before she dances on them. As soon as my head is on the pillow she moves up behind my head and lays her head on mine (or on my neck). She tries to get a few kisses in while she does this and it's all done with great enthusiasm. I give her some strong pats and hugs (behind my head) and then she moves down to the bottom of the bed to sleep. It's really quite endearing, a little pushy but not aggressive. It's very similar to how she acts when I'm on hands and knees trying to retrieve toys from under the lounge chair. She crawls under me, kisses me, paws at my hands, and basically gets in the way in the sweetest manner. It''s hard to ask for good behavior when I'm laughing and enjoying how thrilled she is to have Momma down on her level. I'm assuming that this is basic pack behavior.

[Pawla]

Rosie's ritual sounds absolutely adorable! What a character!

[Kembe]

@jerseygirl01
This is exactly why we LOVE our BASENJIS - what you’re describing is so cute! My Kembe also sleeps in our bed and she has a bedtime ritual too! ❤️

[Pippi]

Yes, same with our Pippi, however it's the legs and feet in our case, not so much the head. I think I have the cleanest feet this side of the stump. She licks them until they're sparkling.
🐾

[elbrant]

'doodle' is similar, but likes to "clean" my eyes and behind my ears. I yawn, tell her she's still my puppy and stroke her while we drift off. <3 my girl!

[JHewell]

My Sarge has a strange thing he does before he curls up between us....he has to sniff my wife's breath ….I guess it's some kind of Basenji DNA testing to make sure it's her....