Sharing Your Bed With Your Dog

Posted on - 22nd April 2021

Throughout National Pet Month, we have been talking about sharing your bed with your dog. Here's what we know.

In honour of April being national pet month, we are discussing some of the pros and cons of sharing your bed with mans best friend, your dog. While they are certainly part of the family, is it a good idea to let them share your bed? Or should they be sleeping on their own more often than not?

Pros

There are of course a number of pros to allowing your much-loved pooch to share your bed with you. Here are just a few of our teams' reasons why they do it:

• Security - Our dogs ears are far more sensitive than ours, meaning that should anything be happening around your house, they will hear it first and alert you to it.
• Comfort - For many people the thought of sleeping alone is a feeling of being cold. Whereas if you are sharing your bed with a furry companion, you certainly won't be feeling alone, giving you that level of comfort.
• Relaxing - Many people consider time with their dogs to be relaxing and calming, and where do we need that more than anywhere? In bed.
• Bonding - Whether you have your dog from a pup, or you have a rescue, allowing them to share your bed can help them to create a bond. (please remember to also set boundaries early on!)
• Heat Sharing - In the colder winter months, it can help both you and your pup to keep warm throughout the cold night (just think about reducing that heating bill too!)

Cons

While we would love to leave you with just a list of pros, there are also a number of cons that you need to consider.

• Increased Cleaning - Our dogs love nothing more than getting dirty outdoors, and many of them don't have regular baths. This will mean that you are going to need to wash your sheets more often.
• Allergies - Allergies can sometimes be more sensitive while you are sleeping, due to being so relaxed. This might mean you are sneezing or itching a little more when you wake up.
• Aggression or Anxiety - Dogs with aggression (protective aggression) or separation anxiety can be made worse when they share your bed, so it might be worth avoiding if this is your pup.
• Sleep Interruption - This can also apply to our human companions! Sharing your bed means that someone else will be moving around and potentially waking you more often.
• Disgruntled Partner - Having your pup share your bed might be a great idea, but also consider your partner's thoughts on it, and remember to set boundaries for personal time.

Pros And Cons

As with all sleeping arrangements, there will always be your pros and cons. Meaning it inevitably comes down to personal preference and choice. There will always be those who say that sleeping with your dog is dirty, sleeping with a baby gives them separation anxiety and sharing a bed with a partner leaves you with less REM sleep. But finding the right sleeping arrangements that work for you, will always be healthier than listening to the critics.

New Mattresses

An important thing to consider when your beloved pooch shares your bed is the increased pressure that your mattress is under. Not only from increased weight and use, but the added bacteria and cells that are now left being by not only humans but also animals. This means that you might want to consider changing your mattress more often than the 8 years that is usually recommended. Consider the size of your dog too, larger breeds, such as Rottweilers, will impact the life of your mattress more than a Chihuahua.

For information on any of the mattresses that we offer here at Dial-A-Mattress please contact a member of our friendly team today who will be happy to assist you. You can also head over to our Knowledge hub for answers to our Frequently Asked Questions.