It pains me to say that Kobe is in the doghouse. Let me explain. His crime is willful damage to property. Okay, so the property was his own, but still. He’s always been super jealous of Bella, exhibiting the canine equivalent of ‘first child syndrome’ that I’m sure many of you will recognize. My partner jokes that the best way to get Kobe to appear is by calling Bella’s name, and it’s totally true. Kobe could be in the deepest sleep, literally dog tired from his daily exertions, and I only need to mention Bella’s name for him to leap out of his dog dozes and run to my side, shoving Bella the interloper out of the way and letting me know, ‘Hey, I was here first and I am to be consulted on any dog matters before her!’ Sometimes, he’s even jealous while he’s being patted: his whole body quivers if I should dare to call Bella over to share the cuddles. Apparently nothing less than 100% owner attention is acceptable. It’s so cute that I sometimes call Bella on purpose just to feel the jolt of indignation run from the top of his dog head to the tip of his outraged tail. Shame on me! Do any of your four-legged friends do the same?

Greetings, fellow pack members.

Anyway, tonight Kobe really excelled himself in his personal jealousy Olympics. For once, Bella was no threat; she was safely outside sniffing out the local wildlife and providing sustenance for mosquitoes. Like I said in a previous post, Kobe prefers to be inside with me these days and he spends a lot of his time snoozing close to wherever my feet happen to be. No canine sibling competition. Nothing for Kobe to be jealous about, right?

Wrong.

How very dare I chat to my niece on Skype? Such bare-faced, non-Kobe-approved audacity! At once, he was wide awake and my beloved four-legged friend didn’t care for the attention her pixellated form was receiving. When he failed to get a satisfactory response (i.e. my undivided attention) to his presence or a range of squeaky toys placed at my feet or right in my lap, he decided to up the stakes. He went to his expensive dog bed, pulled out the cushion and tore it to shreds right behind the chair I was sitting in. It was like a very efficient Armageddon. I didn’t even hear the fabric rip. Not cool Kobe!

I mean, I get the dog psychology at work, but my hard-earned cash bought (and will have to replace) that dog bed. It’s not like I can dock his pocket money. And as an eleven year old, Kobe is the equivalent of seventy-seven in human years. Having tantrums and destroying stuff is no way for an old man to behave and I tell him so to his grizzled (and very repentant) face. Doghouse for you, sir.

Then I remember dogs are estimated to have an average intelligence of a two-year old child. Like most working breeds, Kobe is among the smartest of canines, but at best he’s on a par with a three year old human. And we all know what two and three-year old kids are famous for, don’t we? That’s right, having tantrums! Okay, Kobe, you’ve done your time. Out of the doghouse and back into my favour where you and Bella well and truly belong.

dog tired mutts will thank you for the best dog bed in which to have those dog dreams.

So now I’m on the search for the best dog bed – whether the raised/elevated dog bed, cooling dog bed, mattress-style snuggly dog bed etc. and the top dog bed brands. I will also be exploring the possibility of an outdoor dog bed, for those stuffy summer nights. After all, there’s no knowing when any of you will be at the mercy of a Kobe-style meltdown. Time in the doghouse is short. But dog tired mutts will thank you for the best dog bed in which to have those dog dreams.