Fraidy Cat Dog

I've mentioned Monty before. And I feel bad that he's been so neglected since the arrival of Nathan. Real bad. I also suspect that Monty is getting arthritis in his back leg. When the weather was nicer I'd take him for walks and by the end of the walk he'd be limping. There doesn't seem to be any pain involved, but the limp is definitely there. Now being a greyhound, Monty is nothing but a bunch of bones. Greyhounds need to be on strict diets as their bodies are not made to handle excess weight (not, apparently like mine is after childbirth - but I digress). When he lies down, holy crap. There's this awful THUD and I just felt like his doggie bed wasn't giving him enough padding. He needed something more plush.

One afternoon Jeff, Nathan and I went to BJ's to stock up on formula. While wandering the massive aisles I saw dog beds. Big, soft, plushie looking dog beds. And for under $30! What a bargain! Jeff suggested we get a dog bed not QUITE as plush, but I pooh poohed that idea. Monty NEEDED a super thick and soft dog bed for his bony butt. So I bought it.

And here's what happened:

That is Monty sleeping NEXT to his bed. On the hard FLOOR. You can't really see the new bed, it's brown and plush and Monty was AFRAID of it. I put treats on it, I SAT on it and had him come to me. Finally I dragged his old bed out and put it ON TOP OF the new bed in the hopes that he would, you know, GET IT that this was an okay place to sleep. No go. He lay NEXT TO THE BED and was completely in the way because our living room is the size of a closet. And not a walk in closet at that!!

Pissed does not begin to describe how I felt about this. Jeff spent an HOUR taking the stuffing out of the bed so it wouldn't be quite as poofy and soft, and now Monty sleeps on it. It's still softer than what he had before, so when he lies down you don't hear that awful THUD of bony butt meeting hard wooden floor... but come ON! What elderly dog do YOU know will refuse to sleep on a new bed?? I swear this dog is afraid of EVERYTHING!!!!