Oh, how having a dog changes you (I say ‘you’ because I’m fairly sure it’s not just me). For instance, when I first saw these Orvis Lightweight Portable Pet Steps early on in my dog-owning days, I chuckled quite a lot. A staircase to help your dog get into your bed? Come on! For so many reasons this didn’t work with my idea of having a dog. Where should I start? In my home a dog would know its place, downstairs, not on the furniture and never on a bed. He would be obedient – probably whistle-trained. He wouldn’t be a bark-y dog. He would never be dressed in clothing. He wouldn’t pull on the lead, in fact, I’d work so hard at the training that he’d walk by my side, no problem, off the lead.
And then this Miniature Schnauzer settled in and began to extend his influence. As you know, Teddy was never going to be a sofa-dog. Then we allowed him on the sofa – afterall, why have a dog if you can’t have a cuddle? And then Teddy was never going to be on the sofa without sitting on his blanket. Now I often find him curled up neatly next to it. He still doesn’t go upstairs, except when he needs a bath, but if my sons have their way (they want his bed put in between their two rooms) it will only be a matter of time. He has gone from being a non-barking Schnauzer (which, by all accounts, is fairly exceptional) to barking when he’d quite like us to do something, such as fetch a ball trapped under a table, fetch him supper, or play tug of war with his rope toy. This is a recent occurrence and we are trying to ignore it rather than do his bidding, which was how it started in the first place. I was firmly anti-dogs-wearing-clothes. And then I thought how dapper he’d look in a neckerchief (my husband says it’s a slippery slope, soon it will be cable-knit sweaters and Barbour coats, but no – really, no.) And far from being well-trained enough to go without a lead as we go about our daily chores, Teddy still confuses himself with a Husky in his efforts to haul me along. Actually, even if he was super obedient, such is my love for this dog that no way would I test his doggy instincts to that degree – he’s far too keen on chasing pigeons.
So you see, now those steps are actually looking rather sweet. Teddy may never make it to our bed (the idea of dog’s-bum-on-pillow will forever hold me back) but I can understand why they might be just the thing for some little mutt and their mesmerized owner.
