Is it normal to sleep with your dog?

When he was a puppy, he slept in his basket under the kitchen table (with the door shut). The rot set in about two years ago when we let him sleep on the bed. Cut to 6 months ago (when the weather is getting colder) - he now nuzzles under the doona, resting his head on a pillow. He likes to play spoons with the wife.

Is my dog a genius or just normal?

As a proud owner of a two year old terrier cross (terror?), I am compiling a list of words our dog understands. This is my first dog so I never realised how smart they are.We avoided puppy school and hate the idea of yelling at your dog to obey commands.

Langly's vocabulary so far:
dog, cat, maggy (magpie), bird, possum, outside, park, shops, car, train (he loves it when we take him to town on the train), up (onto the couch command), duckie/duck, meat, ready (for a walk), walk, go, move (off the bed), kitchen (go round to the kitchen door), postie, bedtime, mummy, daddy, Maisie (daughter), Rohan (boyfriend), cheese, treat, bone (these last three will send him running from anywhere).

Things that make me smile .....

• our family dog (Langly) lying on his back like a split chicken, waiting for a tummy scratch
• those Google home page animations/designs, they're informative, too
• getting an unexpected birthday greeting when you open up Google (see above)
• those Ikea commercials
• hearing a kookaburra some mornings
• Graham Norton's "Red Chair" segment
• watching Margaret and David disagree over films in The Movie Show
• hearing the local school bell sound at 9 o'clock when I am still reading in bed (I am a retired primary school teacher)
• using 'in-house' phrases and words that only my wife and daughter understand the context of
• turning left (pointy end) rather than right (cattle class), boarding a plane (unfortunately not often enough)
• hearing the pop of a sparkling wine/champagne bottle being opened
• being woken up by a sloppy lick/kiss from the dog in the morning
• reading advertising signs like: "Sweeney Todd Medical Waste Removal"; a retired doctor's B&B called "Bedside Manor" ....or (for HR Model Holden car parts) "HR Parts and Stuff"           
• going to the fridge and discovering a chilled bottle of wine hiding at the back

Dog blog (by my dog) "Bark life"

My owner writes crappy lists so I thought I'd have a go .......

Favourite actors: Terrier Thomas, Danny Bonaduce, Robert Wagger, Kirk Doglas (he was great in Bartacus), MacCollie Culkin. Gene Collie
Favourite actress: Ellen Barkin, Ruff Gordon, Eleanor Barker, Sarah Jessica Barker, Jacqueline Bassett
Favourite films: Dog Day Afternoon, The Howling, Must Love Dogs, The Hound of Baskervilles (the Basil Rathbone version), Dogs in Space, Reservoir Dogs, Straw Dogs, Rambone : First Bloodhound
Best 2012 Oscar film: Zero Dachshund Thirty.
Favourite music: Bow Wow Wow, Bono, Boney M, Pointer Sisters, Joe Cocker
Favourite pop group:  of the 60's (The Fab 4), The Beagles; of the 80's, The Korgis, Jo Boxers
Favourite book: The Dogs of War, The Bone Identity, The Bone Collector
Favourite song: Devo's Whippet
Favourite TV shows: Bones, Inspector Rex
Favourite cars: LandRover, Maybach
Favourite tipple: "Johnnie Walkies"
Favourite celebrities: Michael Barkinson, Joan of Barc
Celebrities I hate: Cat Stevens, Moggy Smith, Raymond Burrs
Celebs I'd like to chase: Katey Seagull, Steven Seagull, Samantha Fox, Deborah Mailman
Celebs I'd like to be if I wasn't a dog: Virginia Woolf, Ernie Dingo
Favourite leisure activity: dogging, walks in the park