I ordered Karl a new dog bed. He has several dog beds…one is an outdoor bed that he uses only in the winter….preferring the grass or sidewalk when it is warm.

He has a dog bed at the foot of my bed. He uses that sometimes – mostly in the winter…preferring the hardwood floor in the closet. And yes, I’ve tried all sorts of things in the closet, thinking that wood is pretty darn hard.

During the day he often sleeps on the hardwood in a corner of the living room behind one of the big leather chairs.

As an older dog, I thought maybe more cushioning might be of interest and I thought my best shot at getting him to use a new bed in the living room would be as it gets cooler.

Enter a large, memory foam bed with bolster.

I plopped it behind my chair and threw a toy on it. The thought here is that if Karl walks on the bed and finds it is not threatening, maybe he’ll lie down on it and LOVE it.

These things don’t always work on the first try.

Bob likes the new bed. I had high hopes that maybe a bit of sibling rivalry would kick in and Karl would want what Bob had. I can’t claim credit for getting Bob to go on the new bed – he decided for himself. Now, if I had WANTED him to get on the bed…

A bit of progress! On the bed, lying down, playing with the toy! Maybe this will work.

Maybe not…