We have officially transitioned our Doberman to a Raw Food Diet. We will be getting creative with his menu options for maximum nutritional benefits. His breakfast this morning was Sirloin Steak with quinoa, spinach, puréed peas & half a mashed up banana & mixed in with a raw egg.
Should You Let Your Dog Sleep With You?
Sure! You are possibly over the moon about your new puppy and happy that you finally have her home for the first time. If only she felt the same way as you do, your puppy obviously will realize that coming home with you is one of the best things she could ever experience.
Contrary to this exciting feeling of a new dog at home, you must have heard severally from people that your pet should have her own space maybe around the floor, a crate, or better still a bed. Sometimes, maybe a gated area or playpen that is split into a potty pad compartment and a sleeping area will serve the dog better, instead of having a dog with the possibility of relieving herself on your bed, which may turn out a bad habit.
Also, the polyphasic nature of sleeping by dogs coupled with the fact that they are light-sleepers (since they are always alert for sound) has been shown to reduce the quality of sleep people who sleep with dogs tend to get.
Whatever the case may be, sleeping with your dog (particularly one that is well-behaved) is likely to comfort you, delight your dog, and this enhances the bond between you and your dog. Also, co-sleeping with your dog has a lot of benefits even though modern culture seems to pay more attention to the negative perspective of co-sleeping with dogs instead of the benefits.
There are mental and physical benefits such as increasing the amount of time you have to spend with your dog, increasing the sense of companionship and comfort your dog provides you.
Besides the general benefits that come with co-sleeping, several surveys have shown that the majority of dog owners have at least two to three reasons why they prefer their dogs to sleep with them on the bed. Some reasons gathered include:
Benefits to Dog Owners
• Dogs are Warm: As a matter of fact, dogs have a body temperature about 3-6 degrees higher than human, and so, it just may feel good to sleep close to a dog on a cold night since they can be an efficient means of getting the bed warm. Such practices like this brought the term “three dog night” in Canadian Maritime Provinces where nights were usually very cold, and it was a standard practice to keep dogs around you on your bed to keep you warm.
• Dogs Help Us to Relax: Others claim that when they have a dog lie beside them, the rhythmic breathing of the dog can help to lull them to sleep easily. Also, a dog around their bed helps to increase the flow of oxytocin, also known as cuddle chemical – a hormone that is associated with affection, happiness, relaxation, trust, and psychological stability.
• A Feeling of Safety: Some on the other hand claim that sleeping with a dog beside them helps them to feel safe and gives them a sense of protection irrespective of the size of their dog, especially when they lie in a dark room alone. “With your light-sleeping canine right by your side, she will alert you of anything out of the ordinary around your home, so you have little or nothing to worry throughout the night.”
Benefits to Dogs
• It Makes Dogs Happy: Some have this to say that they notice some feeling of happiness from their dogs ever since they allowed their dogs to join them on the bed.
• They Want to Stretch Out: Most dog beds are designed to suit circle or curled sleepers. But where your dog doesn’t like the doughnut form of her bed as she lies down for the evening rest, she definitely will seek an alternative. Such alternatives may be the owner’s mattress which offers somewhat like a rectangular real estate for a long, large-breed limbs dogs to fully stretch out.
• They Enjoy the Thread Count: While most dog’s bed covers are designed and made for ease of cleaning and not for luxury, many dogs somehow manage to recognize good quality linens especially when they lie on one. So, finding one on your bed is the easiest way to tell themselves that they know that the Egyptian cotton is where their butt belongs.
Bottom Line: Letting Your Dog a on the Bed is Your Choice!
Research studies have concluded that even though the society may not currently buy the idea or regard co-sleeping with your dog in the best light, due to some of the many benefits, you may gain as an individual, there is no need for unnecessary concern and alarm.
If it is your choice to allow your dog on your bed with you, case closed! That’s your choice, as simple as that, and no one should have you to defend this choice and decision.
But where your dog is already accustomed to sleeping on your bed with you, and you abruptly evict her, it is most likely that she would wish to speak up so that you can understand the feeling. But in most cases, a slight behavioral modification will be required to convince her that bedtime arrangements and allocation have other alternatives that should be accepted at any point in time.
Where Paws Are Accepted 