|
Sleeping With Your Dogs
|
|
Sleeping with Dogs
Why do Dogs try to Sleep on their Owners Beds?
The puppy Prayer
Sleeping Dogs
The Foot Rule
Sleeping with the dogs
Many behaviourists and doggy
minded people believe that letting your dogs sleep on the bed with you
can cause dominance problems. I have never had any such problems
with my dogs and they have always been on the bed with me. They
understand that if I ask them to get off for any reason they get off.
No if's or buts they have to remove themselves. They do not
jump up on the bed unless requested to do so, they have to wait
patiently until I am ready for them. None of them sleep above my
head at the pillow end and having anything up to seven dogs in the
bedroom at any one time we have all learnt to sleep peaceably together.
They each have their favourite slots on the bed and no-one
encroaches on the others space.
Never underestimate the comfort a troubled dog receives from sleeping
next to its human, nor the bonding effect. The most difficult dog
has been transformed when I have finally allowed her to sleep on the
bed with me. It also works the other way round to. When I was at
home
for six months due to an injury to my hand it was a pleasure to have
the
dogs with me on the bed. I am sure that it helped tremendously
with
my recuperation.
When I look after peoples pets when they are on holiday or out for the
weekend, the new dogs settle in better if allowed to snuggle up to me
for reassurance on their first few nights in a different home.
They are all intelligent animals, they realise that each home has
a different set of rules, in their own home they might not be allowed
on the bed or the furniture but they soon cotton on that in my house if
they abide by the rules they can sleep on the bed or on the
sofa, providing they get off when requested to do so.
The Greek Historian Arrian, writing around 100AD, extolled the benefits
of greyhound and human sleeping together, remarking that the hounds
liked nothing better than a warm soft bed. (it certainly is a proven
thing
in my household).
If you are anything like me and have a secret dog-on-the-bed habit, you
can stop feeling guilty now because a lot of us do it. I would
never recommend it as space is always limited but I don't apologise for
it either and it certainly has it's drawbacks, such as mud, hair and
sometimes the smell, but in my book it's worth it.
back to
top
********************
Why
Do
Dogs Try To Sleep On Their Owners' Beds?
Author Unknown
Lots of
owners suffer from their pets demanding to be allowed to sleep on the
bed. Smaller breeds sometimes win this battle but if a large dog
succeeds it may end up as the subject of a custody battle in the
divorce court. Why are they so keen to be so close to their
owners?
The answer lies in the fact that they never develop past the puppy
stage. As adults they look upon us human owners as
pseudo-parents, it is natural for them to want to curl up next to their
"mother's" body. In this context, "mother" is not necessarily the
woman. If the dog is more
closely attached to the man of the house, it is he who will become the
surrogate
mother and will be the desired object for contact-sleeping. In
either
case it has been known to be one of the contributory factors in the
divorce
courts. " he/she thinks more of the dog than me"!!!
Even with strict training, and the dog is kept off the bed, it will
still want to sleep as close to the "pack" as possible. This is
normal, even in the wild after they have left the nest, young wolves
prefer to sleep in close proximity to one another. Only a beaten
pack-outcast would be found sleeping away from the group. It
follows that a dog that is
shut right away from its human owners at night must feel like an
outcast from its adopted pack. When there are multiple dogs in a
household this presents no problem as they have one another for
company, but when there is a solitary dog living with a family, it will
find it hard to understand why it is being shunned at bedtime and kept
forcibly away from its human companions.
In the end most families come to a compromise and let the dog
sleep
as close to the bedroom as possible without being a nuisance.
back to top
**************************
The Puppy Prayer
Now I lay me down to sleep,
The king-size bed is soft and deep.
I sleep right in the center groove
My human being can hardly move!
I've trapped her legs, she's tucked in tight
And here is where I pass the night
No one disturbs me or dares intrude
Till morning comes and I want food!;
I sneak up slowly to begin
My nibbles on my human's chin.
She wakes up quickly,
I have sharp teeth -
I'm a puppy, don't you see?
For the morning's here
And it's time to play
I always seem to get my way.
So thank you Lord for giving me
This human person that I see.
The one who hugs and holds me tight
And shares her bed with me at night!
Sleeping Dogs
author unknown
Whoever
said "LET
SLEEPING DOGS LIE" didn't sleep with dogs. The first thing you discover
when
you bring a dog onto your bed is the striking difference in weight
between an alert, awake dog and a dog at rest.
Rule Number One: The deeper the sleep, the heavier the dog. Most
people who sleep with dogs develop spinal deformities rather than rent
the heavy equipment necessary to move their snoring canines to a more
appropriate part of the bed. Cunning canines steal precious space in
tiny increments until they have achieved the centre position on the bed
- with all covers carefully tucked under them for safekeeping. The
stretch and roll method
is very effective in gaining territory. Less subtle tactics are
sometimes
preferred. A jealous dog can worm his way between a sleeping couple
and,
with the proper spring action from all four legs, shove a sleeping
human to the floor.
Rule Number Two: Dogs possess superhuman strength while on
a bed. As you cling to the edge of the bed, wishing you had covers;
your
sweet pup begins to snore at a volume you would not have thought
possible.
Once that quiets down, the dog dreams begin. Yipping, growling,
running,
kicking. Your bed becomes a battlefield and playground of canine
fantasy.
It starts out with a bit of "sleep running", lots of eye movement and
then,
suddenly, a shrieking howl blasted through the night like a banshee
wail.
The horror of this wake-up call haunts you for years. It's particularly
devastating when your pup insists on sleeping curled around your head
like
a demented Daniel Boone cap.
Rule Number Three: The deeper the sleep, the louder the dog.
The night creeps on and you fall asleep in the 3 inches of bed not
claimed by a dog. The dog dreams quiet slightly and the heap of dog
flesh sleeps - breathing heavily and passing wind. Then, too soon, it's
dawn and the
heap stirs. Each dog has a distinctive and unpleasant method of waking
the
pack. One may position itself centimetres from a face and stare until
you
wake. The clever dog obtains excellent results by simply sneezing on
your
face, or they could romp all over your sleeping bodies - or the
ever-loving
insertion of a tongue in an unsuspecting ear.
Rule Number Four: When the dog wakes - you wake. So, why do we
put up with this? There's no sane reason. Perhaps it's just that we're
a pack and a pack heaps together at night - safe, contented, heavy and
loud.
back to top
**************************
The Foot Rule
There is a formula for figuring out how bed space is allocated.
It is called the "Foot Rule".
You start by determining the total number of feet (as in those at the
end of the legs, not the kind made up by inches). Then you divide
that total by the number of feet belonging to the person(s) or dog(s)
in question. This is how it works:
You and husband share your bed with 1 dog.
You and your husband total 4 feet and the dog also has 4 feet.
That is a total of 8 feet.
The dog has 4 out of 8 feet or 50%, therefore, the dog gets 50% of
the bed.
You could work this in reverse as well. You have 2 out of 8 feet
or 25% and so does your husband, so each of you gets 25% and the dog
gets 50%.
Now I have 5 dogs. At 4 feet per dog, that is 20 feet. Add to that
my 2 feet and we have a total of 22 feet in the bed. I have 2
out
of 22 feet which is 1/11th or 9.1% of the bed.
The dogs, since they share a total of 20 of 22 feet, get 10/11ths or
90.9% of the bed.
Simple isn't it?!
Once I figured out my percent of the bed space, the next step was to
work out the exact area that I am entitled to.
My bed is a California King which is approximately 6 ft x 7 ft.
Here is the math:
6 ft x 7 ft = 42 square feet
42 square feet = 6048 square inches
9.1% of 6048 = 550 square inches
550 square inches = 45.8 total inches
45.8 inches = 3.8 total feet
In order to determine the exact size of my bed space, I needed to know
the percentage of length to width - this comes out to 54% long to 46%
wide.
When I apply these percentages to my spot:
550 square inches x 54% = 297 square inches
50 square inches x 46% = 253 square inches
297 square inches = 24.7 inches
253 square inches = 21.1 inches
24.7 inches = 2.1 feet
21.1 inches = 1.8 feet
Now that the math is all done, the figures show that the dimensions of
my part of the bed are 2.1 feet by 1.8 feet or in other words: I
GET THE PILLOW!!!
back to top
The above information is simply
informational. It's intent is not to replace the advice of a
veterinarian nor to assist
you in making a diagnosis of your pet. Please consult with your own
veterinarian for confirmation of any diagnosis. Your pets life may
depend on it.
