"Clickity-clack, Clickity-clack"

The combination of laminate flooring and Skippy's nails makes for the most irritating sound in our home. It is so loud that guests continually comment on the constant clickity-clacking that rings throughout the house when our tiny Jack Russell wanders about. This is a sound that we've learned to tune out during the day so it's nice when others feel the need to comment on how loud it is, and then ask us if we find it annoying. And occasionally, someone will ask us how we sleep at night.

When we first got Skippy, and for probably another five years after that, she slept on the floor by our bed. Initially, she was in a crate because that's the "proper" thing to do, but after your puppy-mill-rescued Jack Russell is so determined not to sleep in that crate that she somehow claws herself free, you begin to rethink what is actually proper. And so a compromise was struck; Skippy slept on the floor in her bed. I'm sure there are many dog trainers and by-the-book owners shaking their heads at me but the decision was made and I still think it was the right one. Then about three years ago I decided that I needed Skippy to sleep in the same bed with us.

I'll pause for a moment to let everyone scoff and heap judgment on me for violating the sacred boundary between pack and pack leader...

I'll reiterate that this was my decision and it was not based on any desire on Skippy's part to join us, although she certainly did not object to the new arrangement. It came about because I need my sleep and this dog felt the need to get up a couple of times a night and stretch her legs. This was almost a year after we got the new house and the new synthetic wood floors. At the first "clickity-clack, clickity-clack" I'm suddenly awake, sitting up in my bed, then trying to guess what the dog wants. She doesn't want out, she doesn't want up, she's neither hungry nor thirsty—just taking a little stroll about the perimeter. Eventually she'd go back to bed, soundly asleep in a few minutes, while I then lay awake for the next two hours. When you're only getting six to seven hours to begin with, this puts a serious damper on your mood and your ability to function the next day.

After sharing my sleeping space with a Jack Russell for three years, I can certainly understand why these boundaries should not be disrupted. I'm getting my sleep every night, uninterrupted by incessant clickity-clacking, but it has opened the door to other minor issues that I'll get to in the next post. Our arrangement is anything but textbook but I think it really comes down to what you can live with. And what I can live with, is sleep.