|
Sleeping
With Your Dogs
|
|
Sleeping with Dogs
Why do Dogs try to Sleep on their Owners Beds?
The puppy Prayer
Sleeping Dogs
Sleeping on the Bed
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
CANINE BEHAVIOR SERIES
Sleeping
on the Bed
Dog trainers and behavior
specialists usually recommend that dogs should not sleep on beds in most
households. Yet more often than not, people take it as a given that the dog
will sleep on the bed, and in many cases it's fine. How do you know which
is best for your family and your dog?
Puppy Time
A puppy who is not yet housetrained and whose adult temperament is not
yet apparent is best not allowed to sleep on beds. It's also best to keep
pups off sofas and other furniture. This is the time in a baby dog's life
to learn to rest calmly in a crate, and to use soft dog bedding on the
floor for quiet times hanging around the house with the family supervising.
Besides the housetraining and temperament issues, baby dogs are best
protected from the joint stress of jumping on and off furniture. Small
dogs will need this protection lifelong, so if you elect to allow your
small dog on the furniture later, you'll need to provide steps or a ramp.
If you were to allow your puppy to sleep on furniture, you'd be setting
the puppy up for a rough adjustment later if the temperament turns out to
be unsuited for sharing seats and beds with people. The dog won't miss what
the puppy didn't grow up with, and training a pup to stay off furniture
is simple.
The family may very well decide that no matter what the temperament,
it's just really nice to have the dog use dog furniture and keep the hair
off the human sofa. This is also life insurance for the dog, because a dog
who stays off furniture has a better chance of finding a new home in a time
of need. It's also easier for someone to dogsit for you if the dog doesn't
spread hair on sofas and beds.
Children in the Home
If you have young children living or visiting in your home, it's safest
for dogs to stay off beds and sofas. These perches put a dog's teeth right
in a child's face when the child comes running up to the furniture. A startled
dog can bite in self defense, even if the dog doesn't have a temperament
issue.
Where temperament is a problem, the dog may bite even if not startled.
When a child and a dog come into conflict and the child gets hurt, the
dog often winds up rehomed or put to sleep, even when parents can't foresee
they would ever make such a choice. It's for the dog's own protection as
much as the child's to prevent all preventable bites.
With older kids it's sometimes a comfort to the child to have the dog
sleep on the bed. Parents need to decide whether or not to take this risk,
depending on the ages of other children in the home as well as the temperament
of the dog. The emotional benefits of having the dog sleep on the child's
bed may outweigh other considerations, especially where the dog temperament
is sound and the child gentle.
Prerequisites for Sleeping on Human Beds
Before a dog is allowed to share your bed, the dog's adult temperament
needs to be apparent, and clearly not an aggressive temperament. You also
need to be able to tell that this dog doesn't defensively leap and snap
when unexpectedly awakened.
The dog needs to be fully housetrained. In the case of a dog used to
sleeping on the bed who develops problems such as illness or occasional
hormonal incontinence, you might want to teach the dog to sleep on a waterproof
pad or in diapers. You might elect to do this rather than kicking a dog
off the bed when bed-sleeping has come to be normal and comforting for dog
and people. Thinking about this possibility may also help you decide whether
you want to start your dog in the bed-sleeping habit in the first place.
A dog allowed to sleep on a bed needs to reliably get "off the bed" on
command. This requires that the dog be physically able to get off the bed,
with the aid of a ramp if necessary. You do not want to have to put hands
on the dog to enforce this command if the dog gets upset for some reason.
The dog needs to respond to your voice alone. Practice until it's an easy
give-and-take between people and dog. Married folk will also use this training
to have the dog get off the bed when people want to be intimate.
If you have multiple dogs, you may face the difficult decision of whether
to banish them all from the bed or to let some sleep on the bed and others
not. You don't want dogs fighting on your bed, but letting one sleep on
the bed and others not sleep there can cause conflict among the dogs, too.
This is yet another reason some households do better with dogs off the bed.
If your situation has gotten complicated, enlist the aid of a behavior specialist
to help you sort it out.
Other Arrangements
The best sleeping arrangement for pups is usually a crate in your bedroom
at night. During the day you may leave the crate in the bedroom when you're
gone to work and want the dog to associate crate time with quiet sleeping.
Dogs sleep many hours a day, so this works well for most.
The bedroom with the door shut can also be a good place for the dog when
certain people come to the house. This association of the bedroom with
calm sleep comes in handy when you have workers or guests with whom it's
better your dog not mix.
When changing a dog from sleeping on the people bed to sleeping in a
dog bed, you may elect to start with the dog bed in a crate. An alternative
is to carefully arrange a tie-down so the dog can settle comfortably in
the dog bed but cannot leave it and get up on your bed.
Preferably the crate or tie-down will be temporary, long enough to establish
the new habit. Then the dog will be accustomed to the dog bed, and you
can continue to reinforce it as a desirable place with treats and praise.
To teach your dog to use a dog bed in family room areas rather than getting
up on the sofa, you can simply return the dog to the bed each time the
dog tries to get on human furniture, and reinforce the dog bed as a great
place to be with treats, toys and praise. Crating or tie-down in these
areas is not needed since you're awake.
To keep the dog from getting up on the bed or other furniture when you're
not in the room, either close off the room or block off the furniture.
Baby gates, exercise pens, and other types of barriers can work for this.
Shock devices are available, but undesirable effects on a dog's temperament
or behavior can result from shock. Similarly, various booby trap methods
that are sometimes recommended should be used only with great caution to
avoid traumatizing or injuring a dog. It's always best to avoid causing
pain or fear in dog management.
Reasons for Having Dogs on Furniture
Now we come to the good stuff. In spite of warnings, cautions and genuine
problems with dogs sleeping on beds and sofas, people love having dogs
to snuggle with. Cuddling a dog can ease pain, both emotional and physical.
Studies have brought out some interesting ideas about dogs sleeping next
to humans. One study indicated that brain waves of the human and the dog
synchronize when they sleep on the same bed. This could be a boon for a
human who has difficulty sleeping when paired with a talented canine sleeper.
Sleeping tends to be a common canine talent!
Another study indicated that people who sleep with dogs on the bed have
more sleep disturbances. Well, the more living beings on a bed, the more
stuff is apt to happen, so that makes sense. If anyone is having a bad night,
everyone sharing the bed will have disturbed sleep. You have to decide whether
for you the bad outweighs the good.
Who is to say how many people's lives have actually been lengthened by
dogs sleeping on beds with them? We know statistically that having a dog
in the home provides people with benefits, but there is no way to prove
exactly how each benefit happens. Banishing all dogs off human beds is probably
not a good idea. Besides that, most surveys seem to indicate that you couldn't
get the people to cooperate, anyway!
If you are going to have your dog sleep on the bed with you, heed the
cautions given here. And sweet dreams to you.
Date
Published: 3/13/2004 12:43:00 PM
Copyright 2004 - 2007 by Kathy Diamond Davis. Used with
permission. All rights reserved.
Kathy Diamond Davis
is the author of the book Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others.
Should the training articles available here or elsewhere not be effective,
contact your veterinarian. Veterinarians not specializing in behavior can
eliminate medical causes of behavior problems. If no medical cause is found,
your veterinarian can refer you to a colleague who specializes in behavior
or a local behaviorist.
This work was originally published by Veterinary Information
Network, Inc. (VIN) and is republished with VIN's permission.
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.
