Reasons Why Your Dog Should Not Sleep In Your Bed

According to a recent article, there are some risks associated with allowing your dog to sleep with you.  Most American households have pets and in more than half of those homes cats and dogs are allowed to sleep on the bed, but researchers have found that there was a chance of disease being passed to humans, especially to children and to people with a compromised immune system.  In addition, allowing your dog to sleep on your bed may blur boundary lines, encouraging your dog to try to become the boss in your home.

Reasons Why Your Dog Should Not Sleep In Your Bed

Risk of Disease

In a 2010-11 study, researchers found that there was some risk of disease being passed from animals to humans when dogs shared their owners’ beds.  Fifty-three percent of American dog owners consider their dog to be a member of the family and, of that number, 56 percent said they allow their dog to sleep on their bed.  Most of those dogs are small dogs but 41 percent are medium-sized dogs and one-third are large dogs. 

Along with disease, sharing your bed with a dog can mean that you may have fleas, ticks, and other parasites in your bed.  Although you can use flea prevention for your dog, your dog can have worms, too.

Even your dog’s food can be a source of disease.  Dog food has been recalled in the last few years because of salmonella, E.Coli, and other contaminants.

Children and people with compromised immune systems need to be especially careful about sharing their bed with pets.

Dogs also get dirty.  You may bathe or take a shower every day, but your dog doesn’t.  By the time he digs in the yard, rolls in something dead, and plays in the dirt, your dog is likely to be pretty dirty by the end of the day. Then he gets on the bed at night.  Dogs are not always very clean.

Who’s the Boss?

Allowing your dog to sleep on the bed can also lead to some confusion for your dog about his role in the household.  Among wolves and dogs the best, most comfortable sleeping spot is reserved for the alpha member of the pack.  That should be you.  When you allow your dog to sleep on the bed, he may gain an exaggerated idea about his importance in the household. He may think that he is as important as you are, for instance, or he may think that he is the alpha in the home.  This can lead to problems such as your dog trying to be dominant or taking over your position in the home.  Your dog could start growling at you and showing other signs that he is trying to make you subordinate to him.  You may have to start trying to re-assert yourself as the alpha leader in the home, starting by kicking your dog off the bed and providing him with a safe, comfortable bed of his own!  To learn more, check out our blog post titled “How To Be Viewed As The Alpha”.