No, this is not The Sun and I haven’t replaced Fran already. But half way through a deep sleep, and I don’t always get those these days so was a tad ticked off initially, something heavy landed alongside me which woke me up.
It was Jules and, after I had collected my thoughts, I wondered what was going on because there had been no mention of storms to come the evening before. He never sleeps on my bed unless, with his super human powers, he has detected a storm many miles away. He is not afraid for himself, I have seen him go outside during the day in a storm without fear, so I assume he is protecting me.
But this was different. After a storm detection he ‘tops and tails’, in other words he lays alongside with his head towards my feet, but this time he was cuddled up close with his head by my chest so that my arm had nowhere to go except resting loosely over his neck.
Although I turned as usual from one side to the other all night, he never left and, not as usual if I am awakened from sleep, I did go back and slept soundly. Strangely comforting, my initial irritation very quickly subsided and he stayed with me until I decided to get up, some time after my normal 8am alarm.
Who knows the mind of a dog? While the newbie, Galys, was finding her feet I took the decision to leave the back door open all night, safe in the knowledge that, if there ever was an intruder, Jules would waste no time with a loud alert. But this, this was different, what had he detected, I’ll never know. But I love it.
I may have a clue but I hope in a way that I am wrong. This evening he has been displaying some strange symptoms although he has settled down to sleep now. There are 2 settees in the room and both of them use them but neither has a favourite but this evening Galys was on the one nearest me and, gentleman that he is, he wouldn’t squeeze in beside her but didn’t want the other one either. He spent alot of time in keeping on coming to me. I even tried to encourage him to stretch out between my legs on me and the footstool but he was nervous and wouldn’t settle.
Finally Galys went elsewhere but he didn’t as I expected climb up immediately, instead he approached it and then turned away, several times. I think he might have had yet another minor stroke, he has had at least 2 already and is on pills for the rest of his life. He is sleeping peacefully now, so fingers crossed.
I feel a little guilty in a way now taking pleasure from what may well have been confusion during the night.
Oh dear! I do hope Jules is better now. I often find my dogs come to me for comfort or security when they feel ‘off’. Sometimes, in the small hours. I just hope that our comforting them does the trick.
He is a little subdued at the moment, but I can’t believe how I mistook his behaviour in the night to be anything other than medical, given his recent history of strokes. As with Fran, the end result is inevitable and the little pills the only prescription, but he is nearly 10 years old, so for a large breed, much to be expected.
Little Galys, at almost 14, still rushes about like a levrier despite her cancer, thankfully without pain, but even she has refused her dinner in the past week or so.
David, if you think it was medical, I’m sure you’re right. At the vet yesterday, Madame and I were talking about dementia (she’d seen a notice saying cats get it).
Doesn’t mean that Jules climbing on your bed wasn’t for comfort, which you gave him.
I think our relationship with our animals is one of mutual (but unequivalent) comfort and affection. I’m sure he gets that as much from your voice as from your caresses.
Thank you, yes, I know you are right, and as I have always specialised in older dogs I am well used to it. Which in a way made it worse when I completely misinterpreted the situation, and instead bathed in the apparent adoration. Knowing the truth would not have affected my response, or made it less appropriate.
As soon as I’ve finished my porridge, Porridge, I’ll clean me teeth, put me leaky boots on and all 3 of us will be out in forest and field in this beautiful sunshine. Living in the moment.
Wonderful sunny walk, everybody full of beans with no signs of ill or fatigue, apart from me of course, they simply ignore that 10% hill in the field while I am heavily puffing my way up it. The only time I wish that Jules was 33 metres ahead pulling hard on his line.
After missing a night he came again last night, but right from the off this time. And just to confound any theories as to whether it is medical or devotion, this time he started off topped and tailed but migrated round later to head up close.
He stayed all night again 'till the alarm went off before disappearing, but there is one aspect of this that I am going to have to change, and today, that is, before tonight.
I have a very large duvet covering my double bed but keep a long side hanging down on the far side. This makes getting in and out on the ‘short’ side much easier.
However, as Jules sleeps on top of course while I am underneath, his 38 kgs effectively anchors all of the long bit and if I allow him during the night to migrate even further than he does towards the centre, not only do I have not much to play with to keep out drafts, but also it feels like I am the toothpaste in the tube, gradually being squeezed out. I have to keep my position, hard up against his bulk, any slackening on my part and it is another couple of cms lost.
I’m laughing at myself while I am typing, I can’t believe I am writing all this rubbish but, nevertheless, within a very short time, I will be in there re-adjusting the situation more to my benefit.
Ha ha, well I did actually, a collection of fact, fiction and poetry, and some of the poems are about dogs.
Try this short taste, prompted by an imaginary event, with a tinge of truth, concerning our lovely Greyhound girl and, equally lovely, Breton Spaniel boy:
The Oldest Trick
The graceful bitch slid into the room and headed for the fireside sleeping dog. She passed, tail in a graceful arc, head turned, gratified by his reaction. He stirred, rose and followed his nose towards the source. Circling, she arrived at the newly vacated warm spot, sank down, tucked her tail firmly between her legs, and lazily closed her eyes.
Well, after one night on the settee, Jules joined me from the off last night and I directed him to the strip of bed which I have reserved for him. This time it was heads rather than tails so we settled down together to listen to The Archers.
It was comparatively chilly in the bedroom, I keep the door closed until the last minute before getting under the duvet to keep flies out, so in order to keep my hand warm I was not able to rest one over his neck.
We had a peaceful night’s sleep but I woke an hour before the alarm, much closer to the edge of the bed than when I started with this giant hot water bottle glowing though the cover. So I turned my back to him and pretended that I was having heat treatment for my spine.
What I can’t understand is, if my duvet alone keeps me warm on the coldest winter night, how come it doesn’t keep me cool alongside a hairy beast? And on that point, if his fur is so leaky how does his body keep warm without a duvet?
Insulation (duvets, dogs hairy coats) work by holding air between fibres or feathers. If they are compressed by the dog then less air for Insulation which means more heat is felt, and dogs generally have a slightly higher body temperature than humans.
I suppose that as he has heated himself up during the night, as I did myself, he then relaxed his fur to cool down, thus passing it on to me. My response was to do the same in a way by opening the side of the duvet a little and lifting my arms completely out of it.
It has become a permanent thing now it appears, unless, and I did think of starting a separate thread, it is because of the continuing apparent chaleur of little Galys(Alice).
He has been refusing to rest on either of the settees and the reason I am sure is that they are both stained with her blood. I will be talking the blankets to the large washing machines this lunchtime in the village.
I am very worried about her, she also hasn’t walked with us for a day, and she used to love running around free. I feel she may be in her last days. The vet gave her injections yesterday and some pills to take for 10 days while saying she may not last that long. He has though urged me to bring her back tomorrow.
I bought a large piece of fresh salmon from the market last Thursday, and she did take half of it from my fingers in 3 large chunks. So my usual 2 fresh fish meals per week ended up as one instead.
Just now I managed to give her her pill sandwiched between 2 largish lumps of cooked ham. Also bought for me, I can see that being diverted as well this week.
Make me out a liar why doncha Jules. I notice he has just jumped onto the settee nearest me.
I am used to this situation and not complaining, I have long specialised in elderly dogs but it never gets any easier.
But half way through a deep sleep, and I don’t always get those these days so was a tad ticked off initially, something heavy landed alongside me which woke me up.
The only time I wish that Jules was 33 metres ahead pulling hard on his line. 
