Dogs in Doorways

What is it about dogs and doorways??? I have never had a dog who did not insist on lying in the most inconvenient places possible – narrow hallways, in front of the kitchen sink, beside the bed just as I am trying to make it, and most of all – doorways.

I live in a very tiny house. My three dogs have a total of five dog beds and three crates in this very tiny house – three in the living room, three in my office, one in the bedroom and one in the kitchen. They all get used at one time or another, but it seems there is never more than one dog in a bed or crate at a time. Instead, I am constantly tripping over and stepping over furry bodies that seem to delight in blocking doorways, stretching across hallways, lying in small spaces where I need to get, or following me around with their noses right by my knees.



I have no objections to dogs sleeping on my bed. I have no objections to dogs sleeping on my couch. I certainly have no objections to dogs sleeping in their own beds or crates. But I do object to dogs sleeping in doorways and narrow hallways.



Take this morning for example:

I get out of bed, stiff with arthritis, blurry eyed without my glasses, and groggy with sleep. Step down to the 12” of space between my bed and the wall. Ooooof. Charley has taken possession of that space.

Roll over to other side of bed. Move cat who is sleeping on bed. Climb out and cautiously move around towards door, trying not to bash hip on dresser. Oooooof again. Stumble over Sadie who is stretched out on floor between foot of bed and door. Since my bedroom is all of 7’ x 9’, this means she effectively blocks the entire available space where my feet might reasonably step.

Step over Sadie. Move towards bathroom. Success. Belle is the only dog in my household who consistently sleeps in a bed or crate. Unfortunately, she is also the first one up and the most clingy. By the time I stumble back out of the bathroom, she is standing right by the door – right across the doorway – and just small enough that I don’t notice her. Oooooooof a third time.

Repeat process of climbing over dogs as I stumble back to bedroom for glasses and slippers. The process is complicated by the morning activities of Allie and Belle, who by this time are engaged in a rousing game of tag at speeds that would challenge the Indy 500.

Finally get it together, head to the kitchen for my coffee, let all the dogs out for their pee break, let them back in, wipe 12 muddy paws, and head back to my office. Belle climbs into the large crate by my desk and goes back to sleep while I check my email. The other two crates and five dogbeds remain empty. It doesn’t take long to discover where Sadie and Charley are. As I head back to the bedroom to make the bed and get ready for the day, this is what I find:


I suppose it's a good thing I have a small house with only three inside doorways. Life would become just too easy in a house with fewer dogs than doorways. I'd be stepping over mounds where none existed, just for the practice. I might even be tempted to add more dogs to my menagerie, at a ratio of one dog per doorway. Or - imagine this - I could let ten little piggies into the house to fill up the empty spaces. Now wouldn't that be fun?