Maggie has got ‘a little’ broody recently, though we were used to it when her season was in the offing and just let nature take its course.
I wonder if bitches go through a ‘menopaws‘ like us women do, as she hasn’t had a proper season for about three years. We never had her spayed as we wanted her to have pups but could never find a nice daddy. Then when we did, a lovely sprocker in 2013 and last year a cockapoo, she was too old.
At bedtime, if I don’t get in pretty quick, there’s not much room for me as Maggie has her three babies around her, gently mouthing or nudging them into position, stretching herself out after turning round and round to get the bedding ‘just so’.
If I’ve managed to nab a slither of mattress, the babies are arranged between me and her, then with a grunt and a flop, usually against my hip, she settles down and is soon asleep.
Last night she was a little restless, but eventually (after an hour or so) the babies were settled, so was she and I could finally snuggle down under the duvet.
Or not.
One of the babies fell off the bed with a thud, and she was instantly awake, sniffing and paddling the bed trying to find it. I put on the light so that she could see where it was and looked at the clock. It was 12.32.
Baby was retrieved from the floor, carried to the food mat in case she wanted a drink (I kid you not, she would have made such a wonderful momma), then returned to bed where the nudging and mouthing began again, including reorganising her other two ‘charges’.
I turned off the light only for the PIR in the corridor to start flashing indicating the battery was low. I got up and turned it off, putting the one in the bedroom in the hall in case Maggie got up again.
I suppose I dozed for a hour, then suddenly Maggie sat bolt upright on full alert. We had managed to deter her from barking at such times on the boat and when we were camping but if something was amiss, she would alarm up like this and make us aware.
Blindly feeling around me, all babies were present and correct. I was grumpy and tired, but managed to get her settled again around 3am.
I slept until just before 6, aware Hubby had an appointment this morning so we didn’t want to be late. I dozed again, finally getting up at 7.45.
Our neighbours have been away celebrating their Golden Wedding Anniversary, and she had mentioned last time I saw her that they would be home in the early hours of Thursday morning. I can only think then that this is what alerted Maggie at the time.
Unlike me, she is now catching up on her shut-eye, two of the three babies snuggled beside her. The third is under the bed where it fell off when I made it this morning.
Photo : April 2018 with 2 of her babies. It was the little guy on the right that fell off.
pensitivity101 
She takes her “babies “ seriously and her role as a mama too!
Always has. It can be quite funny sometimes if we ‘ignore’ her as we tend to get a baby put delicately on our laps.
Aww so sweet! 💙
Sometimes my cat Mollie sleeps on the bed. She stakes out a section either by my hip or foot. It never fails around 3 a.m. she’s up and needs a pet or two and then will settle back down. I’m working on doing it without opening my eyes although it often coincides with my pee run. I remember sleeping through the night soundly when I was a kid. Oh, I long for those days!
Me too. Can’t remember the last time I had an uninterrupted night’s sleep. It’s our fault Maggie sleeps on the bed, but saying that, she usually goes through the night. I guess it’s a security thing for her to be close. Even when MSM had her for the week we took the boat up for brokerage, Maggie slept on the bed with her too (her own dog used to, so it was allowed).
I love the description of Maggie watching over her “babies” – Cody can’t have stuffed animals because she eats them. I don’t think Cody would have been a good mama.
Maggie’s are gummed rather than chewed, so get put in the washing machine when they get too whiffy.
You’re right. Maggie would have made for a truly wonderful mama. I loved how you described her antics. I just feel like reaching across and hugging Maggie.
Done by proxy, thank you. She loves fuss and contact. I’ve never known a dog to be so tactile actually.
This isnt the first time we’ve had an early hour panic at losing a Baby. Both of us had to get on the floor to look as it had rolled under the bed and she couldn’t reach it. Bless her.
This is the first time I’m hearing about it too. Bless her huge heart. ♥️
It’s how she got her name. She was a people magnet and revelled in contact, so we called her Maggie.
Ohh, that’s so sweet. 😍 Here’s to Maggie and her huge, wonderful heart. ♥️
Thank you.
You’re very welcome. ♥️😊
AWWWWW!!! ❤ Thank you for a smile to light the start of my day. What a momma! And, unintentionally, you've explained something for me. Hunydog (who was a momma in her day…part of a puppy mill and she was one of the females they bred), will 'nest'. She pushes the blankets around with her nose and does it again and again til they are just 'so'. No 'babies', although she's funny if someone in the area gets a puppy and she meets it. She'll throughly wash it and tries to herd it…. and she gets broody too. So now I know why at least. Prior to this, I thought she was just being annoying and getting back at me for something …
Maggie does it a lot, even when her season wasn’t hangng around. Glad to have inadvertently explained something. How is Huny’s cough?