Where does your dog sleep at night.

Canotila

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Treating dogs like people is usually only a problem if you have human expectations of them.

I see plenty of dogs mistreated by well meaning folks who insist the dog "knows" it has done something wrong. Dogs don't know that. They are innocently selfish amoral beings. They are incredibly unique and special in how they relate to us, but they don't understand that our stuff has value. They don't understand that chewing up the couch made you angry unless you catch them in the act. They only understand that shredding the garbage is yummy and fun, and "oh gee when my human comes home they are very angry when there's trash all over the floor." The two events are not connected in the dog's mind.

It just makes me extremely sad when people assume their dog has the ability to generalize behavior like a human, and then punish the poor thing for something it doesn't even understand (rubbing their face in their own poo, shouting when there's garbage on the floor, things of that nature). That "guilty" look is not guilty. It's an appeasement gesture they use with each other and us. It means "don't hurt me!"

It's our responsibility to recognize their abilities and limits, and have realistic expectations of them. To set them up to be successful and safe. If that means getting a covered garbage can or crating them with a boatload of toys and chewies while you're not home, that's what it takes. Every dog is different.

Most dogs are fine sleeping on your bed as long as they aren't getting possessive and guardy with it. It's fine to let them sleep on the floor or in a crate too. They're adaptable, and just as happy doing one or the other. My dog hates the bed because it's too hot. He'd rather lay on tile. Plus we've got nasty red clay in our yard and if I let them in bed it'd get disgusting very fast. If we ever move somewhere with sandy soil that may change.

Sorry for the long ramble. It's just something that really bothers me every time I hear people say "dogs are people". They are very precious in the animal world and deserve all the respect and love we can give them. But they aren't human and it's cruel to put human expectations on them.
 
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Satori1977

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I totally agree with Canotilla. I love dogs. Had them all my life, and have worked with them for half my life (about 15 years). Nothing I hate more than an animal being mistreated, neglected, or abused. But dogs need order and structure too. You can't let them do whatever they want, or live your lives around them. They need to be trained. Need to know their place, so that they can be great dogs. Trust me, they will be happier for it as well.

Not saying you can't let your dog sleep in your bed. But if you are unhappy with the situation and feel like you have no choice, that is wrong.

I for one won't let my dogs on the bed. The bed is my sanctuary with my husband. The place where we spend most of our alone time (we don't see each other much). Minus the kids during special circumstances, no one intrudes on our space.

My 14 year old shepherd has never been a furniture dog anyway, so it isn't a problem. We have tried getting his own beds because he is old now, but he won't have it. He sleeps by the front door, always has. I think it is because he wants to know who is coming and going. Always been very observant and protective.

We also have a 2 year old mix, another big dog. She has always wanted to get up on the furniture. We have two couches, and she can sit on the crappy one. She still tries to get up on our bed and our daughters, and does sometimes when we aren't looking. But she knows she can't sleep there. She will stay in our room until we fall asleep, by the bed. But when the lights go out, she goes to sleep on her couch.

We had a cat who slept on the bed. That was only because I got him when I was single, and I would let him. I sleep on my belly, and he would always find his way between my legs, so I couldn't roll over, lol. I miss him. :(
 

Rowan

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I currently have two dogs and they sleep in my bed. They're part of my pack and they know their place within my pack. I'm the pack leader, alpha bitch, supreme leader, The One--whatever you want to call it. :)

My dogs and I have a good relationship. In the words of Cesar Millan, I have stable dogs! But then I exercise them a lot (running, walking, training), etc.

I'm not big on crating older dogs. I fully support crating as part of housebreaking. There's a lot of conflicting information on the web regarding the crate as a 'den', and I'm not going to go into it here. (But when is a dog "locked" in his den? Most people shut the dog in the crate and IMHO, this can result in a nervous dog--especially if he/she is forced into the crate, etc.) James makes a good point--there are tons of "open dens" in the average house. If a dog needs to escape for some solitude, they'll find an appropriate 'den'.

This is just my opinion, mind you. ;)

ETA: I just read CANOTILA's post and also agree!!!
 
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rainsmom

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We have three big dogs -- two male curly coated retrievers and one Newfoundland. All three sleep with me and my husband. I can't imagine sleeping without them. We're a family, and I miss them terribly if I'm away. I can't imagine having them sleep somewhere else at home.

This made for a very crowded bed, because my husband and I aren't exactly small people. So this weekend we finally did something I've wanted to do for years: We added an extra (twin) bed between our king-sized bed and the wall on my side. That gives us 50% more bed space.

Now I just have to train the dogs to use it. :) The first night Pax, who is used to sleeping against the footboard on our bed fell off the not-foot-boarded end of the new bed, so he moved back to my feet. Doh! Last night the puppy (6 mos old curly) *tried* to sleep on the new bed, but decided it was better between mom and dad.

It's a work in progress.

Each puppy, by the way, is different. Our Newfs and Great Pyrs have preferred to be crated as puppies, moving onto the bed only when they were big enough to get on and off (and take themselves out!) at will. They tend to get up and down throughout all but the coldest nights -- and, in fact, choose to sleep part fo the night outside when it isn't raining. The curlies, on the other hand, want the warmth of our bed and prefer to start there and sleep there all night every night.
 

LaurieD

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Our 9 yro German Shepherd mix firmly believes 9 pm is bedtime. Everynight, at exactly 9 pm, she emerges from where ever she has curled up and stands in the entrance to hall and stares at me. If I follow her down the hall and go to bed, she curls up on the small area rug on the floor at the foot of the bed (when it's warm out, she stretches out against the wall on my side of the bed). Sometime during the night she'll move onto our smaller dog's bed across the room. Regardless of where she sleeps in my room, she'll refuse to leave the room until I get up in the morning - regardless if the kids or my hubs is up and tries to let her outside.

On the other hand, if I don't follow her down the hall, she sighs this great big sigh and flops down on the dog bed by my desk.

My smaller dog (13 yro Coccker mix) starts off in the bedroom, on her small bed, then rotates to various sleeping spots throughout the house - under my hub's desk, his recliner, her bigger bed in the living room... These are just the spots we've found her in... When she was a puppy she insisted on sleeping with us but outgrew it almost 10 years ago.

Our late Golden was the only one who consistently wanted in bed with us. He'd start off on the floor, but as soon as we settled down, he'd slip onto the bed and lay on my feet. Whenever it thundered, he'd leap onto the bed and crawl up to the pillows, put his head on my shoulder/chest, and cry until the thunder stopped.
 

flyfishnevada

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Our yellow lab sleeps in a crate in our dining room. It has a bed inside so she is not on the hard plastic, though she will move it and use it as more of a pillow. We stopped trying to put it back where we think it belongs because she just puts it where she wants it.

She will go the crate when tired at night and even though we lock it to prevent her from wandering if we sleep in, the few times we have left it unlocked she's never left. We find her in there every morning just patiently waiting for us to let you out to do her business. During the day and evenings she has a bed in the living room near the pellet stove and on top of a air-conditioning vent. When the weather is pleasant, she loves to lay on our deck or in the grass.

She has learned to like the crate. At first it was to keep her safe, as well as out possessions when she was young. Now it's just a habit for her. I'm sure she would be fine on her bed, but at night she goes to the crate and we see no reason to break the habit.
 

Adobedragon

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SOME dogs. Not all dogs. Dogs are individuals. Mine hated the crate. He literally destroyed a metal one, bent the wires with his teeth until he broke loose.


My dog, a retired racing greyhound, goes ape-sh*t in a crate. I think it's specifically because he spent the first year and a half of his life cooped up in a crate. "Never again," he says.

He sleeps by the side of the bed, like all his predecessor greyhounds. We've only crated one greyhound--because he insisted on peeing on the couch when we left the house. But even that hound slept by the bed at night.

My little, tiny terrier, however, always slept on the bed, sometime under the covers. When my husband and I needed...ahem...space, she would just get moved to the very foot of the bed. But she was very small and well behaved. I still miss her warm little self at night.
 

joyce

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Nothing is quite as warm and cozy as sleeping as part of a dog pack! :D Florida has been freezing lately and those warm, furry bodies have been quite nice. My female lab snores as bad as my husband though. The only difference is that she howls while sleeping and he doesn't.
 

sassandgroove

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Well I am going to get a couch cover this weekend. At first we didn't let the dog on the couch, but we've been letting her up to lay down next to one of us. Apparently she thinks that means she is always allowed on the couch. We've opened the door to it so I am just going to get a washable cover. :)

Still can't get her to stay in our room at night but she'll come in to snuggle for a few minutes.
 

joyce

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Yes, once you let the fur babies on the couch there's no going back. The dogs have their couch and the humans have theirs. I had a cloth covered couch and my friend hated her leather couch so she gave it to me. What a difference! I just have to wipe the dog slime off and it's clean again. It cracks me up though. Hubby prefers the least expensive cloth couch and the dogs are lounging on a couch that's probably over a 1000 dollars. The look in their eyes seems to say they think they deserve it. :)
 

sassandgroove

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That's why I thought if I got a cover I could just throw it in the washer. I was just talking to my boss and she said she uses a king size fitted sheet for her couch.
 

Nightmelody

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My little Morkie (Maltese x Yorkie) Baxter sleeps at the foot of my bed but if he gets cold he wakes me up so he can snuggle under the covers.
 

PrincessofPersia

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My dog slept on the floor next to my bed, every night, even if I wasn't home. She really belonged to my mother, but she was bonded to me. I'm kind of glad she died before I moved out, because she would have been severely depressed after I left. I went on a trip for two weeks, and she didn't leave my room the whole time except when my mother dragged her outside to go to the bathroom.
 

MurderOfCrows

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My doberman puppy - now almost six months old - sleeps in a crate in our dining room. He's crate while we're at work, and while asleep, but the rest of the time he's out and about with us though he's mostly limited to the dining room (baby gate and all).
 

Guardian

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My dog sleeps in bed with me, or with my mother, or passes out somewhere in the living room.
 

NewKidOldKid

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My little Morkie (Maltese x Yorkie) Baxter sleeps at the foot of my bed but if he gets cold he wakes me up so he can snuggle under the covers.

Just wanted to say that my dog's name is also Baxter :) I have three dogs. The cocker spaniel (Baxter) and my teddy-bear dog (77lbs of hugable cuteness) sleep on the bed with me. Dog #3 is a recent rescue. She's about a year old but up until I got her, she lived on the streets. She doesn't really get the concept of "sleeping in bed with mom is cute." So she sleeps in the living room, usually on the sofa.
 

GeorgeK

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Our dogs sleep in the pasture, but not at night. They sleep during the day when the coyotes are not as active. They seem to take turns. Unfortunately our oldest dog Nina died a few weeks ago. We found her in the North woods where she liked to nap. She came up to the fence to be petted when my daughter left for school that morning and we found her that evening when she didn't show up for evening meal. For a working Pyrenees she was old, but only 11. I miss her.
 

Quentin Nokov

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Our dogs used to sleep in the barn years ago before it collapsed, then they were moved into the entrance way, and now they've made it into the house. Lol. Many times I'll find Dawson sleeping on the couch, have to scoot him off, show him his bed, and put whatever junk I can on the cushions so he won't get on it again.
 

dreamcatcher

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sassandgroove, your puppy is adorable!

My Jack Russell still sleeps on my bed because he has since he was a puppy and can't grow out of it; my beagle sleeps on her bed in the living room/kitchen.
 

Dix

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Our two sleep in the bedroom with us but on their own doggie beds. We have an AmStaff and a Dalmatian, friendly, playful, and well behaved. Both were adults when they came to live with us and have enriched our lives. They are aging now and we are comforted knowing they are nearby during the night, sleeping and content.
 

Dix

So, is that a no?
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Since we're talking about our dogs, I'd like to share this:

He is my friend, my partner, my defender, my dog.
I am his life, his love, his leader.
He will be faithful and true to the last beat of his heart.
I owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.
-Author unknown
 

Adam

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During the day, our pooches have dog-beds in the lounge, but can go wherever they please. At night the beds are put in the kitchen and the doors are closed.
 

Bookewyrme

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My german-shepherd Holly changes her mind a lot. Occasionally she sleeps in her crate in the bedroom (she's fully crate-trained even though she's only 8 months old). Most of the time she sleeps in the bed with me (hubby works nights) or on the cooler floor beside the bed. Sometimes she wanders out to sleep on the couch or the day-bed. Mostly she's unwilling to be in another room from me when she's sleeping though. Which is good since my in-laws' shepherd taught her to get in the trash while they were on vacation and starting yesterday, she's confined to the bedroom with me at night!

I do have to take a small exception to the assertion that dogs can't generalize. If they couldn't, they wouldn't be trainable at all (whereas they quite certainly are). Example. We started house-breaking Holly as soon as we could and were quite firm with her. She is now totally housebroken in our house, and only occasionally has an accident if we don't let her out soon enough (and it's always by the door, because she knows she's supposed to do it outside). My SIL, who lives in an attached house to ours, often puppy-sits for us and vice-versa. She never disciplined Holly at all for having accidents in the house, and Holly still does so at 8 months old in her house. Now here comes the fun part: A month ago, SIL switched houses with us. It took Holly about 2 days to understand the switch fully...and she still never poos in our house (which used to be SIL's) and still occasionally goes in SIL's house (which used to be ours). So, she knows that it is not ok in our house, wherever that house may be, and it is ok in SIL's house, wherever that may be. I call that generalization, personally.