Dogs and the Bed – Should Your Dog Be Allowed on the Bed?

You and your dog live alone together and on cold nights what could be better than a fluffy warm ball curled up next to you?  Many dog owners allow their pets to sleep on the bed with them but others won’t allow this.  Is it a good idea to let pets on the bed or could there be some unwanted consequences?

If you take a look on the Internet or speak to several different veterinarians or animal behaviorists, you will get several different answers to the question of whether or not dogs should sleep on the bed.  Let’s take a look at the two main arguments below:

Dogs off the bed

If you look, you will find probably a small majority of animal professionals believe that dogs should not be allowed on the bed.  The main point these people make is that a dog on the bed is a dog in charge.  The problem seems to be that once an owner allows the pet to sleep on the bed, that bed automatically gains the “alpha” title in the family.  Dogs that are allowed on the bed at night will begin to exhibit more difficult behavioral issues such as stealing or destroying things.

For this reason, dogs should be relegated to some lower position. Some argue that a dog should be able to sleep on the floor near the bed without it going to his head and others believe that a dog should be given a place to sleep in a different room.

Some argue that a dog needs its own space to sleep

Dogs on the bed

The other roughly half of animal professionals chiming in on the bed believe that whether or not a dog is allowed on the bed, the dog’s behavior or understanding of pack hierarchy will not change.  A dog owner, they argue, must be seen as in charge at all times.  If you are the boss in all other aspects of the dog’s life, the dog will not suddenly be the boss as soon as he is allowed to curl up next to you.

Dogs are looking to be warm, comfortable, and cozy, just like their humans are, seems to be the last point.

It is of course up to the individual dog owner whether or not to let the pup on the bed, and no is arguing that an owner should definitely have the dog sleep on the bed.  Most behaviorists will tell you that if your dog is allowed on the bed, it should at the minimum know a command for getting off the bed.