Not in the doghouse any more

Relenting and allowing dogs to sleep on sofas and even our own beds is increasingly common. Tessa Waugh indulges in some pooch pillow talk with those who gave in

BRITISH people have always loved dogs, but, historically, their canines occupied a place in the domestic pecking order (pampered lapdogs aside) that was some way below humans. Not anymore. As depicted in Annie Tempest’s brilliant cartoons, having a dog in the house is a slippery slope. One minute, you’re pulling their bed next to the Aga and the next, you’re inviting them under the duvet.

And why not? Dogs provide daily distraction from life’s pressures along with bucketloads of unquestioning devotion. Many of us (and dogs know this) would struggle without them by our side at all times and, when it comes down to it, a few dog hairs on the bed sheets is a small price to pay for your sanity. Broaching the dogs indoors question threw up plenty of stories about dogs monopolising sofas and commandeering beds for sleeping, whelping or both.

There is no doubt at all that dogs today have an air of entitlement undreamt of in the past, not least a tricolour King Charles spaniel, named Bellamy, belonging to nineyear-old Beatrice Busby and her grandmother, Juniper Greener. ‘He goes everywhere,’ sighs Beatrice’s mother, Juliet, ‘but his favourite place is my mother’s pillow. Bellamy shuts the bedroom door behind himself and goes to sleep there most days. He was conceived on the dining-room table on Christmas Day,

‘If I owned a pony, I’d have that in the bedroom, too’