This has been a lively, and slightly humorous, debate for the past decade. In the end, only you and your dog can decide where he sleeps. Likely, this will be after much negotiation.

In essence, there are three options: your bed, a dog bed and a crate. Your dog should not sleep outside, there is too much that could happen to him. Teenagers could steal him. He could be taken for dog fighting or medical experiments. Or he could dig a hole in the fence and go looking for you. None of these are happy options. Dogs need to sleep inside.

Many trainers agree that dogs should not sleep in your bed. Many owners agree that they like dogs in their bed. Veterinarians normally do not care.

When a dog sleeps in your bed, this can lead to dominance issues. However, if you do not have any other dominance problems, this is not much of an issue. If he has fleas, he will bring them to share with you. You will find his hair in the oddest places. He will bring dirt to your bed. If you have a spouse, it may get crowded with three people in the bed. Even a Chihuahua takes as much room as a person.

Sleeping with a dog in the bed is similar to sharing a bed with a sibling. The dog will arrange the covers to his liking. He may kick all night. He may get up in the middle of the night and walk over you. Or he may be the perfect companion. Sometimes he is all of the above.

If you live alone, it can be really nice having a dog sleeping beside you. It is very peaceful. Unlike some human companions, most dogs welcome you to cuddle up while they are sleeping. If you are very stressed, this can help you sleep better.

Some dogs prefer to sleep in there own bed. Normally, this is so that they can be more comfortable. This bed can be your dirty clothes pile, an old blanket, your Persian rug or the couch. If you want something to be off limits at bedtime, shut the door.

Some dogs are well-trained enough to not disobey you in the middle of the night, but most are not that well-behaved. It will be easier on both of you to remove temptation. Alternatively, you can shut your dog in his room at bedtime. Then he is free to sleep anywhere in that room.

The third option, and the one preferred by most dog trainers, is to crate your dog at night. This is both the easiest and the hardest option. If your dog is a puppy, you will definitely want to do this. Otherwise, you will find accidents in the morning. Or worse, not find them!

For adult dogs, crating them allows you to not worry that they are getting into mischief while you sleep. On the other hand, when they are crated they can not serve as watch dogs. So if you like that illusion of safety, you might not want this option.

If you do crate your dog, make certain that you take him out first thing in the morning and the last thing before bed. It is cruel to make your dog sleep in his own mess.

Perhaps of all the decisions that you make about your dog, this is the most personal. So think about it, then do what feels right. You won’t be wrong.


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Author: National Missing Pets Register

I definently think that you should let the dog roam around in the house and let him/her choose where to sleep. They will usually create a kind of territory and you will know soon enough.

I know lots of people that let their dog sleep on the bed.

I know someone who lets his dog sleeps with him in his bed. And the only problem there is when he got married and his wife didn't want the whole idea of the dog sharing the bed with them. And the dog obviously was already comfortable with that arrangement and did not want anything change, so they had to give up their dog to their nephews. Good thing everything turned out well.

My husband and I have 3 extra bed partners at night. We have two female chihuahuas and 1 tabby cat all of which sleep with us! I personally could not allow myself to make them sleep anywhere else. Making them sleep in a crate seems inhumane to me. They chose where they want to sleep. Yes it is alil crowded but hey at least we know where they are sleeping and not getting into anything they aren't allowed into.

We used to have a golden retriever, a lovely dog but a bit too big to share the bed with! She chose where to sleep downstairs but did not like using the stairs so we never had the problem of her wanting to share the bed.

My dog wouldnt dream of getting on the bed, i think dogs need to understand boundries and should realise their beds are their beds.

My childhood dog, Lady, was not allowed to sleep on the beds. But she loved to sleep in my Nana's old rocking chair. Every night Nana would put a towel over the chair so Lady could sleep there comfortably and hairlessly. She knew not to sleep on the other furniture, and I don't think she even wanted to -- I don't remember a lot of scoldings about it. She probably liked feeling close to our sweet Nana.

Our dogs, simply due to their sheer size, sleep at the foot of our bed, in their own bed. They are free to go in and lay down whenever they choose - and sometimes they will fall asleep in the living room and not actually sleep in 'their' bed - although they are usually there when I wake up in the morning

My dog prefer to sleep downstairs in his own cozy world. Before we have tried to let him sleep in our bed with us, but it seems uncomfortable for him. Now he sleeps peacefully when alone.