Do you let your dog sleep in the bed with you?

Question

I have a puppy and I don't mind him sleeping in the bed with me. He sleeps at the foot, does not get in the way, does not pee/poop in the bed, and is clean. However, my b/f can not stand a "dog" being in the bed. But I think of my dog as my baby, so if he wants to sleep with me, I want him to be near me.
Do you let your dog sleep in the bed? Does your partner mind?

Answer 1

When I got my dog I let him sleep in bed with me at first. However, he's mastiff and my bed didn't tolerate me + a 200 lb dog. Bowser broke the bed and since then I've made him sleep in his own doggy bed.

Letting your dog sleep in your bed can definitely cause or contribute to behavioral problems. While your dog might behave okay in bed as a puppy, he might become aggressive with your boyfriend in the future when he tries to sleep on "his" (the dog's) bed. He may also become aggressive with you if you try to make him move. If you've going to continue to let him sleep on the bed, I believe some ground rules are essential. Your dog needs to realize that being on the bed is a privilege - it is not his bed and it is not his right to be on the bed. First teach him the "off" command so you can always make him get off of the bed in a non-confrontational manner. When I taught this to my dog I started by throwing a treat on the floor and saying "off" as Bowser got off the bed to get the treat. When he was used to that I said "off" first and then when he got off of the bed I gave him a treat. Now I say "off" and he gets off without incident - I do still give him a treat from time to time to reinforce the behavior. Secondly, only let him on the bed after you've said it's okay (for my dogs I just say, "Okay, up!" and pat the bed, couch, or whatever I'm inviting them to). When he jumps on the bed without your invitation, use the "off" command you've taught him. After he gets off you can say "okay, up!" and invite him. Dogs usually figure out pretty quickly that they're going to be told to get off unless you have invited them.
I believe that using those simple techniques rule out a lot of the behavioral problems associated with letting your dog sleep on the bed. When the dog knows that the bed is yours and he can only be on it on your terms he is much less likely to start growling at your boyfriend when he tries to come to bed.

It's also important to take into account your boyfriend's feelings on the matter. Does he object because your dog is smelly or misbehaves or simply because the dog is a dog? I would just work on the above commands and so the dog wouldn't always be on the bed when you and your boyfriend are (your b/f may be less bothered this way). He may also be concerned about the dog's presence when you two are being intimate - the "off" command comes in really handy in this situation, too.

Make sure to get your dog his own bed as well because dogs should always have a place of their own to sleep. It may be helpful to put a dog bed at the end of your bed (but on the floor) to help him get used to it.

Answer 2

My puppy sleeps in my bed every night and it works out perfectly fine. My boyfriend didn't like the idea at first but now he doesn't even notice that he is there. His only problem at first was that the puppy would get crushed or get in the way. The puppy is so used to sleeping with us (usually in between us) that he knows when to move and has never been "crushed".
So, I don't think there are any problems with a dog sleeping in the bed. As long as they are clean and know not to use it as a bathroom then it is fine. Give your boyfriend some time BUT if he really doesn't like it then you may have to reconsider. You wouldn't want to put a strain on the relationship over where the dog sleeps. So if it is really a problem then provide your dog a bed or pillow on the floor right next to you. This way your baby is still near you but your boyfriend has his space.
Good luck
-Brit

Answer 3

I have a 110 lbs yellow Lab who sleeps in bed with me since he was 7 weeks old. I would have it no other way, and he has no behavior problems and is extremely well trained. He knows that the bed in my room and the basement sofa are the only pieces of furniture he is allowed on. He never gets on the guest beds, nor the sofa in the TV room or any of the 5 pieces of furniture in the living room. Through training his knows where he can and can not go and there are no problems. My moms Pit Bull is the same way. Since he was a puppy he was allowed in the bed but not on any other furniture. It all comes down to training, and your preferences. I have owned many dogs from Akitas to Rottweilers, GSDs, to Cattle dogs and all had the same rules and NOT one had behavior problems. not one ever had an accident in the bed or house, and that is over 25 years of dogs and about 40 different dogs. The only dogs I never allowed in the bed were foster dogs only because I did not know what their new owners preferred.

Answer 4

With our first dogs, we both let them sleep on the bed, as we used to hold them when they were puppies to make sure we knew when they had to go out. Well, we shared the bed with 75 and 85 lb dogs for almost 13 years, along with 2 babies for a few months each. When we decided to get a new pup after the 2 passed away, we let the new pup stay in our room, not in our bed. (She's about 65 lb now, and never allowed in the bed, but sleeps next to the bed, sometimes on his side, sometimes on mine, and sometimes under the window).

Answer 5

We used to let our dogs sleep in the bed with us. My husband never minded, in fact he insisted on having our new puppy sleep with us the first night we got her. We have two dogs. One is a 4 yo deaf JRT and the other is 2yo pointer/lab mix. The Jack Russell Terrier slept with us for a long time because she is deaf and has some special issues but we recently decided to stop them sleeping in bed with us because we are thinking of having kids someday soon and it's not the best idea to have the dogs in the bed with you and the baby. We let them cuddle with us when we first get into bed and read or watch tv but when are ready to go to bed we tell them it's time for bed and take them to their 'beds' with a treat. At first we thought this was going to be an issue for the dogs but they never minded. Your bf needs to realize that the dog is yours and it's your decsion to make. If he doesn't like it he needs to get over it. If the dog sleeps at the foot of the bed and isn't in the way then there shouldn' be any problem., right?

Answer 6

My dog is 3 1/2 yrs old. and she has slept with us since she was a couple months old. My husband had some problems with this because she would sleep between us with her head on my pillow under the covers. we came to an agreement she either sleeps at the foot of the bed or beside me not between us anymore.

Answer 7

One of my eskies does sleep on the bed with me. I used to have all 3 sleep on the bed, but since my toy eskie decided he thought it was ok to try and mark the bed, he is no longer allowed. My standard never slept on the bed all night, he would just stay long enough to get petted and then go into the living room. My spouse is fine with the dog sleeping on the bed!

Answer 8

I have a super cool bed next to ours for my Miss Stella. My husband didn't even want to allow her in the bedroom so we compromised. However, I do think the best thing for your dog is a bed. Think about it...he has a space to himself, he can sleep and be more comfortable, and dogs like children can become too attached to their owner, creating separation anxiety.

Answer 9

I do, I let my Doberman sleep with me in my bed it was cute until he grow now I tend to hold 10% of my bed and he tends to sleep the other 90%(queen size bed by the way). But I see him as one of my kids if I had kids.

Answer 10

you will never be able to break the dogs habbit of sleeping in your bed. You might have problems with the dog eventually sleeping between the two of you. My weiner dog does. You have to be strict and dicipline him now