Bark Out Loud: Do You Let Sleeping Dogs Lie With You?
Recently I went out of town for a family wedding and, due to circumstances, I had to leave Miles behind. Luckily, some wonderful friends of mine agreed to welcome Miles into their home for the five days I was away. Being the anxious dog-mommy I am (Miles and I are rarely apart), I wrote an entire page of instructions including Miles’ bed time habits, assuming my friends were fine with him sleeping on their bed. When I learned that they weren’t okay allowing Miles to sleep on their bed, I was so embarrassed by my dog-sitting faux-paw! This experience led me to realize that there are two types of people, those that allow their dogs to sleep with them and those that don’t.
Which type are you and what are your reasons?
I can’t imagine why you would have a doggy companion in your life and not have them sleep with you. It’s so natural for my westie to be where ever I am, if I leave a room for more than ten minutes he will come to find out where I have gone to.
Naturally he sleeps on the bottom of my feet every night, sometimes he wiggles around and even tries to push me off the bed occasionally.
What’s the point in having a dog and not allowing it to love you the way it wants to?
You wouldn’t have a partner and go to sleep alone, or would you?
I would love to let our Scarlette sleep with us and we do on special occasions but she’s just too big (87lb mutt) to have comfortably on a queen bed with both my hubby and I. She dreams of the day we have a king and she can sleep with us every night!
Ha I know the feeling. Lulu is 75 lbs and takes up so much space! We used to have a Rottweiler and that’s when we decided it was time to upgrade from Queen to King.
My dog is not allowed on furniture or in the bedrooms, so she’s definitely not allowed in the bed. The only times she’s ever been allowed in my bedroom is when it’s storming (she hates thunder) and even then, when I wake up and the storm is over, she’ll be sleeping at the opposite end of the house. I think she likes her space too.
Not judging you as a dog mom, but I couldn’t IMAGINE not having my dogs on the couch with me as I watch TV late at night in my PJs/
That being said, i HATE IT when I got to someone’s house and get bombarded by a dog or end up with a dog on my lap going nuts when i sit down.
My dogs are couch dogs, but they have manners and sit on their own mini couch when visitors are over.
They also do not sleep in bed with us, and we did dog sit for a friend who’s dog DOES sleep in bed. Its definitely a dog sitting Faux-Paw. We let her dog sleep in the bed with us during his stay because we are nice like that, but suggested that she would probably have an easier time getting a long-term pet sitter if she had her dog sleep in a bed.
My dogs happily sleep in a bed right next to mine (i can reach down and touch them) and they have a heating pad and nice fluffy blankets. Sometimes they get to come on the bed and cuddle before going to their beds, but they ALWAYS sleep in their beds. I actually think they prefer it, i tried to get my beagle into my bed while my husband was gone and he wanted nothing to do with it
always let my dogs sleep with me. I keep them up to date on flea prevention, they are clean and they keep me warm! Also in my neurotic mind if anyone would break into my house and attack me in bed they’d have to fight off the dog also.
hi! i have a galgo (spanish greyhound) and he sleeps on his own matrace beside our bed. first we didn’t want him to sleep in our bed (my boyfriend and me) because he’s not exactly small. but now we’re really happy that he has accepted the situation so well because when you look at his matrace, you would be a little disgusted to have to sleep on it: though we clean the sheets regularly they are full of hair, parts of his meal and other things he drags on his matrace. i don’t think he botheres at all that he is not with us in our bed and i think every dog can learn that and be ok with it, as long as you stick with it and don’t keep changing the rules.
My dog is alone enough when we’re at work. I figure if he’s allowed in the bed he’ll be closer to us 7-8 more hours every day.
+1. Great point.
I was reprimanded by a dog trainer for letting my dog sleep with me because my dog would not see me as the alpha. Duh, I have a dachshund, of course I am not the alpha. I am the warm being with thumbs that feeds him, opens doors and lifts him into bed so he can dive under the covers.
If he could talk, he would probably argue that I am in fact sleeping in his bed, rather than the other way around.
HAHA! I love this. If Miles could talk, he would definitely say we were the ones sleeping in his bed.
Haha! I literally was going to post the exact thing you just did. I have a mini doxie named Ziggy, he really doesnt have many rules and I cater to his beck and call. I think I heard him say I was taking up too much space last night. Wouldn’t have it any other way, he’s the love of my life.
lol!!
I have two English Cocker Spaniels and both of them sometimes sleeps with me in my bed, to be more especific they spend the whole night from one bed to another (my mother’s and mine) and trying to push me away from my pillow!!
I’ve heard of the alpha thing before, but I feel like if you establish your dominance in other ways, the bed isn’t going to make the dog think he’s the boss. I allow him in bed, but I don’t allow him on the couch. And I do things like making sure he moves if I need to walk past him.
My dog, Hams, is only 5 and half pounds, is soft like acrylic, has a dad who is a total snuggle monster, and HATES to sleep in mah bed. The first night I brought him home, i thought, for sure this little guy is going to miss his mom, he’ll want to snuggle, this will be great! We’ll be bunk buddies! He had other plans. He jumped off onto the floor, laid himself out, fell right to sleep and he never came back. I’m thinking maybe when he gets a little older? HE’S SIX! Whatever. Boo, Hams. BOO.
That is TOO funny!
Totally, my dog sleeps with me. I regret the few years that he did not. Bonus: will not let me sleep through walk time, so even if I turn off my alarm, he makes sure I get out of bed and consequently am not late for work.
We have four dogs. The two old men (long haired Chihuahua and Chi/Jack Russell mix) sleep in the kitchen due to snoring and potty accidents. The 50 lb lab/border collie sleeps in a variety of places, but is too big to share our double bed with the two of us. The 1 yr old baby (another long-haired Chi) sleeps under the covers between us.
I have two large dogs — a lab/hound mix and a pitbull mix — and they both sleep in a queen-sized bed with me and my husband and our 10lb cat. Just typing that out makes me feel like a crazy person, but going to bed at night with my snuggly family is one of the best parts of my day.
It has led to some trouble with dog-sitters, though. We’ve been very upfront with potential sitters about the sleeping situation, with mixed results. One guy brought his girlfriend over, and she was so annoyed about having so much dog in the bed that she refused to spend the weekend at our house, prompting the scheduled sitter to bail on us. We’ve had people flat-out refuse to stay with the dogs, and we’ve had people call us after the first night to remark that it was way more dog than they had been expecting. What part of “it’s like sleeping with a fuzzy fourth-grader” was confusing?
Gus sleeps with us every night. We both love falling asleep with him snuggling with us!
During the summer months, he normally uses his dogger steps and continues his night of sleep under the bed…I guess it’s cooler down there?
My dog, Gus Gus, sleeps in my bed. He only weighs 9.5 pounds. I worried about it at first, but he does occasionally sleep on the floor. I figure as long as he will sleep on the floor when I need him to, everything is ok. He usually sleeps at my feet but sometimes snuggles. I tried to get him his own bed at one point, but he tore it to pieces. Now, I feel kinda funny and lonely when he sleeps on the floor.
Jersey sleeps with us, sometimes under the covers. She is actually quite the bed hog
Beans is like that, too. Under the covers, between my feet and occasionally butt in my face.
Our dogs have always slept with us! Recently our lab has decided she prefers the chair in the living room, and I miss her! Our husky sleeps on my feet all night, though, and it’s fabulous. I have to say, though, that our dogs do know that they are only allowed on the furniture with an invitation from us- so if we ever need a night without puppies, that’s no problem.
I sleep with my parent’s at night and push my daddy’s feet further and further off the bed throughout the nite… my new baby puppy sister Mitzvah still has to sleep in her crate though, haahaha!
Stone, the NYC dog
http://www.metropaws.com/blog
I have a 45lb bull terrier that sleeps with me and my boyfriend every night. He does have his own bed right next to ours that he does lay in when told. Eventually somehow he makes it back on be bed tho.
We rescued an Italian Greyhound 2 years ago and had a hard and fast rule: No dogs in the bed. We were wrong. He’s a burrower- that’s what his breed does. And much to our chagrin, we love it, we’re a big snuggly family.
We have 2 pet sitters that don’t mind that he sleeps with them (he’s so clean and small, after all) and another one who has never had him attempt to get in their bed, he preferred to stay on their couch. Who knows, crazy dog.
Our jack russell puppy started out sleeping in his own bed beside my husband’s nightstand. Gradually he started sneaking into our bed while we were sleeping. We figured it was warmer with us, and gave in and he now sleeps between our feet. He knows he can’t get into bed before we do, and he’s a nice foot warmer
I’m my huskey’s master, not my huskey’s daddy. Even if I was, my kids don’t sleep in my bed; my wife does. I’m not normally one to tell people how to live but I believe the trainer is right not just for the dominance reason but because a dog should be treated like a dog to live a happier and healthier life. You don’t feed your dog pizza and you don’t eat kibbles.
We have 4 small dogs and they all sleep in or on the bed with my husband and I….it does make for tight quarters. Still can’t figure out how an 7lb chichuahua takes up a 1/3 of the bed…oh…I know it’s because she sleeps sideways with all four legs straight out! Sometimes have to turn her around to give us more room…they all have their spots…we tried to do the crate/dog pen thing with our last rescue…a very nice comfy large soft sided crate for her on my husbands side…and the 2nd she whined, my husband had her up on the bed in 3 seconds flat…what can I say…we’re suckers! LOL
I have to turn my dogs around all the time! I think they lie sideways on purpose just to mess with me.
We love our 8 year old huge golden retriever but can no way imagine her sleeping with any of us. She sheds everywhere despite daily grooming and practically covers the floor with her hair so we have to vacuum everyday. I wouldn’t want that much dog hair in my bed. Also she has very oily skin and we don’t give her a bath too often(it’s bad for dogs plus it’s very difficult) so she does have a certain odour and unless freshly bathed leaves an oily residue on the skin; that’s okay but again not something I want in my bed. Also even right after her bath she finds a way to roll on the ground outside, sweep the dust with her long haired tail and get mud in the depths of her paws. She’s a happy and active dog acting out her nature, isn’t every dog a bit messy like this? I’m curious if owners who prefer to sleep with their dogs don’t have any of these problems or are just okay with them?
I forgot to add, she snores like an 80 year old man
Her snoring suppresses the sound of the TV.
HA!
Both of our dog-kids sleep with us. Lilly (the uber fluffy Bichon) snuggles until my fiance falls asleep, then she goes to the end of the bed. Winston (the half squirrel half teacup Yorkie) sleeps on my hair. Can’t get closer than that (well without breathing on him… his pet-peeve.) Cheers!
My dog (Maltese x Shih Tzu) is an inside dog. My parents have translated that to needy and dependent. So naturally they are at his beck and call. Which means I don’t need to actually answer the question directly. He loves sleeping on the bed, but he can’t even reach most of the time unless he’s amped up on energy. Same goes for the couch.
I have three dogs and all of them sleep with us. We have a king size bed but they always pile on me. My husband gets the entire bed, I get a little sliver. I don’t mind one bit! I love having my pups with me.