THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL

Pearl Bailey and I were upstairs in my studio this morning, and as I became fully engaged in my activities, she was sleeping quietly at my feet, which is a heavenly thing! After a few hours, I noticed that Pearl Bailey had slipped away. Hmmm….I thought, ’I wonder where she has gone?’  So I stopped what I was into, got up and went a lookin’. Sure enough I found her sitting in the middle of my once neatly made bed that now looked as if the covers had made their way through a Waring Blender.. Ugh, Pearl Bailey…why?????

Once I shooed her down and re-made the bed properly, I returned to the studio with thoughts in my head.  Curious, I immediately went to GOOGLE and posed my question: WHY DOES MY DOG MESS UP MY BED? Well, the query posted up ‘hits’ like, Why Do Dogs Dig At Their Bed? or Why Do Dogs Get In Your Bed? or even How To Make Your Bed With Your Dog In It! Ha Ha!  Seriously…How to Make Your Bed with Your Dog In it?? I’m NOT looking at that article for sure!

Still plagued by the oddity of it, I searched a little more and finally came up with a ‘hit’ that shed some light on this seemingly pointless behavior of Pearl Bailey’s. I pulled up the post and there in front of my eyes was a pup looking remarkably similar to Pearl Bailey in her youth! Hmm…YOU HAD ME AT HELLO…let me read on!

Well, the article I read spelled out that this behavior is rooted to a primal canine instinct inherent before the canine/humankind partnership began. In the wild, these creatures would seek sleep in a den or sheltered area. Once the spot was selected, they would clear a shallow hole that would help keep their legs warm in the winter by allowing them to curl them under their body, and jeep them cool in the summer as they nestled against the cool earth. So, by Pearl Bailey scrunching up my bedcovers she is really instinctively preparing a comfortable place to lay.   Ah Ha!!!!   She’s plumping the pillows just like I do!

So, there you have it, Pearl Bailey is emulating my behavior only she does it in reverse? What a conundrum!