Should You Let Your Dog Sleep in Your Bed? 3 Pros & Cons of Co-Sleeping With a Dog

Stumble into any community or group of pup parents (online or in person) and you’ll likely hear the debate about whether you should let your dog sleep in your bed! Some of us LOVE having our dogs sleep in the bed. Some of us HATE the idea of our pup potentially disturbing our sleep. While we won’t come to a complete resolution, because it’s a personal decision, my hope in this article is to clearly explain 3 pros and cons of letting your pup sleep in your bed. After that, it’s your life (and your bed). 😀 Oh, and of course, we’ll cover what the research and data have to say about this co-sleeping dilemma! Here’s what this article will break down: -3 pros of letting your dog sleep in your bed -3 cons or drawbacks of letting dogs sleep in the bed -Tips for safe co-sleeping with your dog if you decide to do so Before we dive into all the pros, cons, and data about having your dog sleep in your bed, let’s look at some fun survey results we got back from our Instagram! Of course, this is self-reported and our followers on Instagram surely skew toward the ‘dog lovers’ type of pet parents. We asked, “Do you let your dog sleep in your bed?” and got 312 votes.  30% of people said their dogs sleep in their beds. We also asked, “Does your dog sleep in your room?” and got 310 votes. 76% said their dogs sleep in their bedroom. I truly found these statistics interesting, I thought more of our Instagram followers would let their dog sleep in their bed. Beyond “I just like having my dog in my bed”, there are some strong arguments for having your pup sleep in bed with you. Some of these arguments have data to back them up. Here are 3 main reasons you may want your dog to sleep in your bed: -Comfort, relaxation, and strengthening your bond -Warmth -Protection and security I personally love sleep. I recognize it as something that can play a huge role in how I feel, think, and act on a daily basis (research does as well). The thought of “bad” sleep scares me. Here are some of the main drawbacks of co-sleeping with your dog: -Noise & movement can negatively impact sleep -Disrupting intimacy -Diseases, cleanliness and potty accidents If you decide you want your dog to sleep in the bed with you, there are some tips to follow! These will not only help keep your dog safe but also keep you and your bed protected! Here are 7 tips for safe co-sleeping with your dog: -Potty & crate training first -Wash your sheets and pillowcases frequently -Invest in a waterproof mattress cover -Practice proper dog hygiene -Teach your dog boundaries, an invitation should be required -Provide a dog bed or crate near your bed -If you have a really small dog, consider not co-sleeping There is no perfect answer to whether you should let your dog sleep in your bed. Some studies show almost no change in sleep quality between co-sleeping vs not. Other studies show an increase in night wakings when co-sleeping with a dog. Overall, we need more data and research to understand the effects of sleeping with dogs in our beds! There is a swath of data for human co-sleeping, but not so much for dogs.  With the large increase in the number of households with dogs, we should look to improve our understanding of the human-dog co-sleeping arrangement.