OK for doggie to sleep in your bed?

Hi everybody,

I just wanted to run this past you. Stella is 7 months old now, and being half Pap, she's quite the little jumper - in fact she's taken to jumping on our bed and cuddling down for the night. Well, she's so darned cute and cuddly that we just tend to let her stay, but maybe this isn't such a great idea - giving her the notion that she's in the upper ranks of the "pack" and all that.

Friends of ours have been taking their Boston Terrier to obedience classes and the instructor tsk-tsked them for allowing Frida to sleep on the bed, so they've been trying to discourage that. But I figure, they're dealing with a 20 pound (and somewhat flatulent :| ) snoring dog, whereas our pooch probably won't go much past 8 pounds, and she doesn't "poot" or snore.

Anyway, I'm thinking it's okay to cut the toy breeds a little slack in this department, given their size and the fact that they're bred strictly for companionship. What are your thoughts / experiences?

 

Here's my two cents on the issue:

It really depends on your dog. If your dog respects you, and doesn't think that he/she is the boss, and knows where his/her place is in the "pack," then I don't see a problem letting them sleep with you. However, if he/she starts to act up, thinking they have the right to run the house, it's right back down to the floor! :m14:

Yes, some dogs when given the opportunity to sleep up on the bed with their human(s) get this idea that they are now the boss and take over. In those cases, it's important that they not have the privilege of sleeping on the bed, for it only adds to their ego trip! [-X

I always had Mickey & Tigger sleeping on the bed with me, then it got to be a little too crowded as they grew (granted they're not that big, but still), so I bought them both a really plushy bed and put it near my bed and they slept on the floor. They only protested my new idea for about 5 minutes, then snuggled into their beds and had no problem with it from then on. Then, one weekend Mickey & Tigger ate something (I don't really know what it was), and got a little sick (nothing serious), so I let them sleep on my bed that night (probably wasn't a wise decision since they "tossed their cookie's" :0024: on it a couple of times during the course of the night, several sheet changes had to be made), and after that night I decided that they could sleep on the bed if they wanted to. I still have their beds on the floor so they can sleep down there if they so desire, and sometimes one, or both, of them will, but usually they are up on the bed with me! :roll:

What I am trying to say is if Stella doesn't have any behavioral problems, and doesn't develop any, let the cutie up on the bed with ya'! :wink:

 

Sebastain and Jasmine both sleep in my bed they have a nice bed next to mine but they choose to sleep with me and i dont mind i also have 4 cats that sleep in my bed and once in a while my son comes in (good thing i'm a single mom) i dont mind any of them sleeping with me

 

I agree with Mybaby. My girl has had issue in the past, but is fine now. She sleeps with us. all 11 lbs of her.

 

oh gosh.... Bailey has been sleeping in our bed, ever since he was able to jump up that high. It wasn't worth the hassle to me (I LOVE MY SLEEP!! hehe)... and he does fine. He doesn't try to rule the roost or anything... he knows where his place is. In fact, I really try to make him sleep up closer to my pillow and "snuggle" with me... but that doesn't last. He moves down to the foot of the bed pretty quickly... (it used to hurt my feelings! LOL... now who is ruling who? LOL)

 

Noggin Loves the bed

Both Noggin and I live together. Noggin knows who pays the bills. Some day, when he gets a job and decides to chip in, then he too can control certain things. For now, I have to do all the earning and bill paying so, well,, you understand.... I DO STILL consider that Noggin and I live together, that means one thing here - YES, of course - he too sleeps in the bed. He wouldn't have it any other way, nor would I. Certain nights, he has been bad, and thus has been banashed to the couch for the night with visible disgust. None-the-less, Noggin sleeps just like you and I. He likes to be under the covers with his head on a pillow next to me. Sometimes we get a bit too close!!! :kiss_her: oh my gosh!!!! lol

Rene - I had a big laugh reading your post here, describing a dog,,, then 4 cats and your son!!!!,,, sounds absolutely wonderful. Isn't sharing sleeping wonderful?!! lol

Noggin and Todd

Noggin would agree, and me too

 

:m11: Loved your responses and have decided Stella's nightly slumber party is a go -- she really has no behavior issues, so why not.

MyBaby -- LOL about the barfing emoticom!

Rene -- wow, and I thought we had a crowded bed with two adult humans, one puppy and one (sometimes two) cats! :m27:

 

Did you say your pup is part Papillon :?:

I did not see that jumping was a characteristic of this breed. I read that they have to be careful of jumping down from high objects. Something with the fine structure of their bones. I have two Paps and both are not big jumpers. My friend has a rat terrior now that is a jumper.

On to the sleeping in the bed thing, well both boys sleep w/us. It gets a little crowded at times but one is 11 lbs and the other is 4.5 so we manage. Actually, I had an accident once w/both of them (not at the same time) they seen that mommy wasn't too happy so they must have realized. Rosco my little guy is spoiled, we started making him sleep in his bed w/his brother in the kitchen in the morning when my hubby goes to work, he would hear me and make this screaching noise almost like a scream. We decided we couldn't take it and they sleep w/us.

As for them being the boss I don't think they think they think they run stuff in our house. I am sure when we are not home though. :wink:

 

I agree with Mybaby. For dogs that have behavior issues already...its probably not such a good idea. Natalie sleeps in my bed even under the blanket. :wink:

 

My poms do not sleep in my bed, because they sleep ON ME! No joke like 80% of the time they sleep on my legs or my back or chest. The other times she sleep cuddled next to me. I dont know what they do when I work nights poor babies. As it is not safe to sleep with daddy, one can get injured that way! Jasmine the tiny little husky (65lbs!) gets in the bed a few times a night, she rarely sleeps in the bed but that is probly cause she is a bed hog and why share when she can have a whole couch to herself. She can get pretty mean in bed although she does like to lay at the end of it and watch soap net some nights, she hates comercials and if I am feeling particularly mean I will change the channel but she just barks at me and give me a hatefull look! The poor puppy still sleeps in her crate since she thinks whenever moms eyes are closed or back turned its time to eat something she is not supposed too.

My poor hubby though thinks I am a little nuts since he was brought up that dogs stay outside and so not only do I have them in the house but in the bed. He pretends to protest but I have caught him snuggling with them in bed or letting them have his pillow many times!

 

hey pap mom -

yes, paps do have very fine little bones and you don't want them falling, but they love to jump up. in fact, i do believe they're known to be exceptional agility dogs. when stella was younger and we were using a baby gate to keep her confined to one room, we came home one day and found she'd actually cleared the thing, so we had to buy another gate and stack it on top of the first one! it's like her skinny little back legs are spring-loaded! :lol:

 

I can't believe your pup jumps like that, my Max can jump up pretty high but does not jump a lot. My lil guy doesn't jump at all, me an my hubby laugh, he is 9 months and 4.5 lbs and has selective jumping. He barks when he can't get down but occasionally he will jump himself. Oh he doesn't jump though, he leaps he looks like a lil froggy when he jumps. I did not know though that paps were good for agility. I know they are noted to be one of the most intelligent of the toy breeds. I will have to see what my Max can do huh :wink:

I can't remember did you say what Bella was mixed with. As soon as I seen her I thought she kind a looked like my boys too. But she is bigger right? I just love the breed, they are not common at all in my area, what about yours? :wink:

 

hi pap mom,

stella's daddy is a pb pap, and her mom is a pom / shih tsu cross. i really should post some more recent pics -- she looks a lot more like a pap these days. every time we take her out for walks, someone iinevitably asks me if she's a pap. there are a lot of little dogs in our neighbourhood (very urban, lots of condos and apartment bldgs), but i haven't come across a pap yet -- so yeah, they're pretty rare here too. i just love the little monkey to bits! btw, your little guys are adorable.

 

Molly & Emma have been sleeping in our bed for a couple of weeks now... they love it and I must confess that we love it also! The others gave great advice on the issue!

:mrgreen: