Why dogs love to sleep with their owner: explanations from experienced breeders. The relationship of a dog to its owner Why do dogs sleep with their owners
Some of our readers immediately understood what we were talking about! Their pets will never go to bed without doing some serious prep work under the covers. From the outside, everything seems cute and funny - the dog, like a person, is looking for the right pose in order to fall into the arms of Morpheus as soon as possible. So he covers himself with a blanket. Now do you recognize yourself and your pet? Then read on!
Possible reasons. No one will argue: we are all quite vulnerable during sleep, we lose our vigilance. All sorts of risks increase. Over the period of evolution, dogs have learned to worry about a safe overnight stay, looking for a secluded and protected bed. This behavior pattern has become instinctive over millennia of evolution. Domestic dogs also sacredly preserve the heritage of their wild ancestors. It is unlikely that they are in dire danger at night... but under the master’s blanket it is somehow safer. What could be better than a restful and healthy sleep!
Many owners do not mind when their four-legged pets sleep on their bed. In this case, you can notice that such “bed” dogs have a whole ritual of going to bed. This is nothing more than a manifestation of the “pack” instinct. The dog settles down and digs at the blanket with his paws. This means that he places the responsibility on the owner ("leader") for the safe sleep of both.
However, not all dogs like to sleep with their owners! And yet sometimes they seem to be replaced. But in what cases? Take a closer look! Is there thunder outside, or are there suspicious loud noises or fireworks? Dogs, forgetting about everything, get closer to their owners. They also crawl under the blanket.
Do all dogs get under blankets? According to the reviews of the owners and observations of specialists, not all. Breeds that have a tendency to dig and burrow are especially prone to this behavior. Let's mention all terriers without exception, as well as dachshunds. They just enjoy “tearing” the blankets!
However, any dog can distinguish itself. It doesn't have to be a terrier or a dachshund! Each animal has its own “sleeping” ritual, as we noted above. Dogs sometimes spin around their axis, scratch with their claws, trying to dig a hole on their favorite sofa - and much more. As you understand, pets do this instinctively, worrying about safe sleep. They didn’t want to annoy the owners one bit by damaging the furniture. By the way, about the dug-out pits - “beds”. Among other things, they perform an important role. In summer, a hole dug in the ground is pleasantly cold. Well, in winter it becomes warmer in the bed.
Is it dangerous for dogs to be under a blanket? In general, no. Most adult dogs have well-developed thermoregulation. If it becomes too hot or stuffy, the animal will always find its bearings and go out into the fresh air. Of course, you can take additional precautions: knowing your pet’s “weakness,” it is better to use a “breathable” blanket.
Dogs of brachycephalic breeds - pugs, bulldogs, etc. - will require increased vigilance from their owners. These breeds are prone to overheating and various respiratory problems, so it is better to keep an eye on them. The dog began to breathe unusually, there is shortness of breath, drooling, lethargy, rapid pulse - you need to immediately take off the blanket from him and take all possible measures to help. Dry your pet's fur, paws and ears with a damp towel. In severe cases, seek veterinary attention immediately.
Original: Why Does My Dog Burrow Under The Covers?Source: cuteness.com.Photo: pixabay.com
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Today we will share with you the story of Bill Barol, the owner of two Labradors, who is convinced that taking pets into your bed at night is not only possible, but also necessary.
One night in 1998, my wife and I fell asleep and forgot to put our puppy Majo (our first dog) on his bed, so he fell asleep quietly between us on the bed.
When we woke up the next morning and found that there were no catastrophic consequences, a wonderful thought came into our heads: “Mmm. The dog is sleeping on the bed. She settled down comfortably next to people. Not bad. Perhaps in some ways this is even good.”
No one knows exactly how many people let their pets sleep in the same bed with them. But two studies presented last year at the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies confirmed what any animal lover like me can tell you: "There are so many of us, and we walk around like zombies."
During the first study, 298 people were interviewed. About half of them took pets (more often dogs than cats) to sleep in their bed. A third of respondents reported that their pets wake them up once a night (at least). 63% of respondents who shared a bed with their pet more than four nights a week said they noticed a sharp decline in sleep quality. Another study found that 10% of pet owners experience irritation when their pets disturb their sleep. I am, of course, not an expert, but this figure (10%) seems insignificant to me.
I recently had my annual physical and my doctor asked me if I was sleeping well. I told him it wasn't very good. I had suspicions that my dogs played a certain role in this. “Do you and your wife allow your dog to sleep in the same bed with you?” - asked the doctor. “Yes,” I replied. “What breed is your dog?” - the doctor continued the question. I replied that they were Labradors. And as soon as I said it, I immediately realized how funny it sounded.
The doctor blinked for about 40 seconds, and then said incredulously: “Labradors? LABRADORS? That’s right, in the plural?” “Yes,” I answered in a quiet and meek voice, dreaming of falling through the ground.
Yes, I now have two Labradors. One - his name is Scout - is 11 years old and weighs 27 kilograms. The second pet, named Roxy, is four years old and weighs 25 kilograms.
Roxy and Scout are not too big for Labradors, but they have an eternal desire for a good night's sleep, and they are not at all averse to taking up more than half of our bed.
The dogs love to lie right in the middle of our huge bed, while my wife Jennifer and I often have to huddle on the edges.
I know it's not good for me. Experts at Harvard Medical School say that it has an extremely negative effect on our mood, ability to make decisions, cognitive abilities, ability to absorb and remember information, and also increases the risk of getting into an accident or getting injured.
Chronic lack of sleep can lead to a range of serious health problems, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and even premature death.
And yet, night after night, my wife and I, two adults who train our dogs and treat them quite strictly, persistently call them to order, cannot stoop to driving the dogs out of bed and waking up grumpy in the morning and feel cruel.
I decided to talk about this topic with my friends and acquaintances. One of my friends has a 38 kg coonhound who loves to sleep in the same bed with him. As the dog's owner notes, this makes him uncomfortable. He is trying to train his pet to sleep in a different place, but so far without success. My second friend says that recently, when her two-year-old Great Dane jumped on the bed at two in the morning, she tried to come to terms with it for about an hour, and then went to sleep on the sofa.
I believe (without a hint of disrespect to our smaller brothers) that dogs are great manipulators. Or perhaps they, like people, want simple comfort. And it’s clear why they prefer a bed to a floor and even a luxurious and expensive dog bed.
Don't discount the comfort and joy you feel curled up next to a dozing dog or cat. In addition, it is warmer with pets; their body temperature is several degrees higher than ours.
Psychologist Stanley Coren refers to the thoughts of anthropologists who believe that the desire of a person and/or pet to share one bed for two may not just be a whim on the part of you or your pet - the roots of such behavior are much deeper.
And, to be honest, it’s already difficult for me to give up the basic comfort that I experience when I hear Roxy’s muffled snoring or Scout’s quiet snoring, to which I peacefully fall asleep. I associate these sounds with the end of the day, home and safety. Often around three o'clock in the morning I feel that the dogs have taken up too much space. Instinctively, I can try to push them off, but I do it so weakly that the dogs don’t even wake up, and I, as usual, move to the edge of the bed. Night after night.
Do you allow your pets to sleep in the same bed with you?
Be able to recognize essential elements Umwelt animal - means, in essence, to become a specialist in ticks, dogs, people and so on. This is how we can close the gap between what we think we know about dogs and what they really are.
We can try to learn umwelt another animal, to incarnate into an animal (keeping in mind the limitations imposed by our sensory system). It's an amazing thing to spend a day being as tall as a dog. Sniffing (even with our less-than-perfect noses) the objects we encounter throughout the day fundamentally changes the way we think about familiar things.
Now pay attention to the sounds in the room where you are - sounds that you are used to and that you do not usually listen to. So, with some effort, I hear the noise of a fan in the corner, the hum of a truck in the distance, the inaudible voices of people climbing the stairs; a wooden chair creaks under someone; my heart is beating; I swallow; The page rustles as it turns. If my hearing had been sharper, I might have heard the scratching of a pen on paper at the opposite end of the room, the sound of a flower growing and the insects talking under my feet. Perhaps other animals hear these sounds clearly.
The meaning of things
Different animals see objects around them differently. A dog who looks around the room does not at all consider himself surrounded by a person’s things - all these are objects of his world. Our ideas about what this or that object is intended for may or may not coincide with a dog’s. The meaning of things is determined by what we do with them (von Uexküll called this “functional tone”). A dog may be indifferent to chairs, but if you teach him to jump on them, the chair becomes something to sit on. Subsequently, the dog may independently discover that there are other things intended for sitting: a couch, a pile of pillows, or, for example, a person’s lap.
So, we begin to understand in what ways the ideas about the world of dogs and humans are similar and in what ways they are different. For dogs, many objects in the surrounding world are associated with food - much more than for people. Moreover, they distinguish "functional tones" that do not exist for us - for example, things on which you can lie in style. If we are not children and are not inclined to such games, then the number of such objects tends to zero for us. And on the contrary, a huge number of things that have a strictly defined meaning for us (forks, knives, hammers, push pins, fans, watches, etc.) have no (or almost no) meaning for dogs.
So, there is no hammer for a dog. It means nothing to her, at least until it is associated with another, meaningful object (for example, the owner uses it; the cute dog who lives down the street urinated on it; it has a wooden handle that can be chewed on).
When umwelts dogs and humans collide, then, as a rule, people do not understand what their pets are doing. For example, a person quite seriously states that his dog knows that he has nothing to do on the bed. A person can even buy a special dog bed and order the dog to go lie down there. Usually the dog obeys. The person feels satisfied. Still, another step towards mutual understanding has been taken.
But is it? Many times, returning home, I found a crumpled, still warm bed and realized that either my dog had just been lying there, joyfully greeting me on the threshold, or some unknown invisible alien. We easily formulate: a bed is intended for a person, a dog bed is for a dog. A human bed is a place to rest and may contain expensive linens and a variety of pillows. It wouldn’t even occur to us to sit on a dog bed that cost us (comparatively) little and is strewn with chewed up toys.
What about the dog? She doesn't see much difference between her bed and ours, but ours is much more attractive. After all, a bed smells like a person, and a dog bed smells like something that the master happened to have at hand. The bed is where we spend some time; Sometimes there are crumbs scattered and clothes lying around. Of course, the dog will prefer our bed to his bed! She doesn't know why we perceive this place differently. Of course, a dog can remember that a human bed is something special if he is regularly scolded for lying on it. But then he will understand not the difference between his bed and our bed, but rather the difference between the places where he can and cannot lie unhindered.
In the dog world, a bed does not have a "functional tone." Dogs sleep where they can, and not where we would like them to. For relaxation, they choose places where they can lie down comfortably, where it is not hot or cold, there are relatives and it is safe. Almost any flat surface in the house meets these requirements. Design a corner to suit your dog's tastes, and your pet will likely find it just as desirable as a bed.
Dog "kisses"
For Pumpernickel, kissing is a way of establishing contact; so to speak, a hand extended to me.
Pumpernickel licks my face when I get home and lean over to caress her. She licks my hand to wake me up when I start to doze off in the chair. She carefully licks my sweaty feet after running. Sitting next to me, Pumpernickel presses my hand with his front paw, unclenches his fist with his nose and licks my palm. I am delighted.
I often hear that dog owners acknowledge their pets' love with the "kisses" their dogs give them upon returning home, be it slobbery "kisses" on the face or thoughtful "polishing" of a hand with the tongue.
I consider Pumpernickel kisses to be a sign of affection. “Affection” and “love” are not recent inventions of our society, which considers dogs to be little people who should be dressed up in bad weather, pampered with trips to the resort and dressed up for Halloween. Charles Darwin, who lived long before the establishment of the “dog nursery” (who, I am sure, did not dress his puppy in a goblin or witch costume), wrote about dog “kisses” without doubting their significance. Dogs, according to Darwin, demonstrate their affection in an amazing way, namely by licking the hands or face of the owner. Was Darwin right? Dog "kisses" to me seem to be a sign of love, but what does the dog himself think about it?
I have bad news for you. Observations of wolves, coyotes, and foxes have shown: puppies lick the face of their mother returning from hunting and demand that she regurgitate half-digested food. Licking around the mouth apparently stimulates the mother to do this. How disappointed Pumpernickel must be that I never shared the rabbit I ate with her!
However, dogs enjoy licking our faces. Their taste buds recognize salty and sweet, bitter and sour, and even taste umami(something between mushrooms and seaweed), perceived in monosodium glutamate. Dogs sense sweet tastes a little differently than we do (for us, salt enhances the sensation of sweetness).
Dogs have a particularly large number of “sweet” receptors, although, for example, sucrose and fructose have a stronger effect on them than glucose. Omnivorous dogs must have evolved this ability to distinguish between mature and immature plants and fruits. It is curious that even pure salt does not stimulate the so-called “salt” receptors on the tongue and palate of dogs in the same way as it does in humans. But you don’t have to puzzle over Pumpernickel’s behavior for long to understand that her “kisses” are often connected to the fact that I recently devoured a fair amount of food in front of her eyes.
Now for the good news: over time, pragmatic licking (what we call dog “kisses”) has evolved into a greeting ritual. In other words, it serves not only as a way to beg for food, but also to say hello. Dogs, as well as wolves, lick each other’s faces to congratulate each other on their return and to determine by smell where their relatives went and why. Mothers not only wash their puppies by licking them, but when they return after a short separation, they give them a few quick “kisses.” A young or timid dog may lick the face of a large, intimidating dog to appease him. Familiar dogs can decorously exchange “kisses” while walking on a leash.
The “kiss” also serves as a way to make sure (through smell) that the dog rushing towards you is really familiar. And since greeting "kisses" are often accompanied by wagging tails, open mouths and general excitement, it's not too much of a stretch to say that licking is a way of expressing delight at being back home.
Discussion
I’ll add: Umwelt in German means “world around us, environment”.
22.07.2017 10:33:41, Natalia NeznakomkinaAnd what does this have to do with pets? Cats and dogs lick their owners' faces, not because wild animals do that. Where is the connection here at all?) Animals eat from bowls and the owner’s face has nothing to do with it. And they lick the face solely because of their great affection for a person.
For example, my dog constantly licks my face - when we meet, when I wake up, but obviously not expecting to get a piece of meat from my mouth)) But because of love. Let's say she doesn't lick my husband's face, although he ate a huge steak for dinner, she can lick it, but rarely.
I don’t know whether a dog’s kisses mean love or affection, but here’s an interesting fact - my shelter dog doesn’t know how to kiss. Apparently she didn’t learn it in childhood - she didn’t have a person to kiss or lick. I don’t know if she licked other dogs at the shelter, but she doesn’t even try to me. Conclusion - dogs kiss a person because they understand that it will be pleasant for him and they learn this in childhood.
The so-called dog kisses mean the same thing as human kisses - a manifestation of love)
Dogs, of course, are man’s best friends; they will never betray you and will be with you until the last minute of their life! I really love dogs, especially small ones for some reason.
By the way, I started training my dog, so to speak, so that he knew his place and didn’t come to sleep on my bed. To be honest, I don't really like it. A dachshund dog, although not big, should still sleep, at least in a chair, but not in white underwear!
This is how it turns out. Ah, I thought a little differently. But, in principle, I wasn’t upset that I didn’t quite clearly understand such kisses from my beloved dog.
plus a lot. Not an article, but a mockery :)
03/24/2013 21:12:19, yayyyyWordy and obscure to those who previously knew little about dogs. The same thing is explained much better in Signals of Reconciliation. "Signals" is a short, clear and understandable guide to understanding dog behavior. And this article is water from which you need to fish out crumbs of information.
Comment on the article "How a dog sees the world - and what do dog kisses mean"
How a dog sees the world - and what dog kisses mean. type of survey. dogs. and write who has what breed of dog. just one word (breed name). Yorkie and a selected mixed breed of the poodle terrier type 08/23/2017 16:27:01, I.P. Shiba Inu.
How a dog sees the world - and what dog kisses mean. When the umwelts of a dog and a person collide, then, as a rule, people do not understand that a person can even buy a special dog bed and order the dog to go lie down there.
How a dog sees the world - and what dog kisses mean. It's an amazing thing to spend a day being as tall as a dog. Section: Psychology of the game. The child is a dog. Maybe she just needs a living friend? not necessarily a dog (it’s more problematic), but a hamster, pig, etc.
If you pay attention to the entire thread on my question, you will see that this is a common problem in most small breeds and experienced owners solve it by introducing tripe into the puppy’s diet, which is what I am planning. How a dog sees the world - and what do dog kisses mean.
How a dog sees the world - and what dog kisses mean. Dogs sleep where they can, and not where we would like them to. For relaxation, they choose places where they can lie down comfortably, where it is not hot or cold, there are relatives and Dog “kisses” seem to me to be a manifestation...
I adopted a dog from a shelter. Dogs. Pets. All these years I didn’t want a dog at all. And here on New Year’s Eve, probably, having watched enough videos about animals from If this behavior occurs, the dog should be euthanized immediately! With such tendencies, dogs often suddenly...
The dog is almost seventeen. Veterinary medicine. Pets. Keeping pets - food, care, treatment of dogs, cats, birds. The dog is almost seventeen years old. Cataract in one eye. She has been suffering from chronic heart failure for more than a year - we take pills...
Behavior correction. Dogs. Pets. How a dog sees the world - and what dog kisses mean. The world through the eyes of animals (Guillaume Duprat). It seems to me that this book will be of interest to everyone, and “You are forever responsible for those you have tamed” (Based on the work of Antoine de...
hears that I have come. The behavior of the dog is doubly surprising... It will hardly console you, but my dogs met me only in puppyhood. Then we realized that I should definitely drink some coffee, and only then there would be a walk.
In general, dogs often growl at each other, this does not mean that they will rush and bite. Usually they advise letting it be sorted out. But I understand, it's scary. Moreover, I didn’t see exactly how it growls. What do the owners of an adult dog say, is he even capable of biting someone?
Section: Guardianship (how guardianship applies to the dogs at home). The attitude of guardianship towards dogs in the house. What to do? For advice. This summer, my mother died suddenly (I don’t understand how she didn’t die of grief) and I took the dogs into my apartment.
Read up on the behavior of dogs, and the signals of reconciliation (there is an excellent book on this subject, called signals of reconciliation). To better understand your dog's behavior. I don’t see any of the crime you described. Except for some looseness of the dog.
The dog does not understand what you want from it. Because it is very important to forbid something to the dog and immediately show it a way out of the situation, i.e. if you bark For dogs obsessed with toys, the method of incompatible behavior helps a lot - for example, going out with a toy in their teeth.
How a dog sees the world - and what dog kisses mean. Was Darwin right? And the dogs - how they bark loudly and wag their tail funny! Pug vs Jack Russell. What interests me about pugs is this: do they really have as much hair as everyone writes?
Those. The dog may already understand who is who in your family, but it feels strong and therefore behaves this way. The fight can take various forms: from simple insubordination and ignoring the owner. But I can definitely say that this behavior is not typical.
Sometimes a person does not understand how serious his dog is and what needs to be done with it. I am not going to give you advice about your dog or discuss its behavior either. You see, if your dog has never been killed/maimed by an older...
About dogs. That is why in Europe all the dogs are not only without muzzles, but they all have a massive head, a very short and upturned muzzle, with thick (winged) lips. How a dog sees the world - and what dog kisses mean.
How a dog sees the world - and what dog kisses mean. Their taste buds recognize salty and sweet, bitter and sour, and even the taste of umami (something that cats and dogs also lick each other as a sign of respect. Our Mekong sneeze sometimes licks her, well, he does her...
Section: Dogs (how long to show your dog your displeasure). Does a dog have the right to express dissatisfaction? You can express your dissatisfaction with his behavior, but be sure to show him that you understand what is happening to him.
How a dog sees the world - and what dog kisses mean. Why is the dog lying on the bed and licking your face? One person fixes the dog on the floor, the other puts drops in the ears. Or sit the dog sideways between your legs, squeeze your legs and quickly put some drops in your ears.
Social surveys have shown that more than 65% of dog owners sleep in the same bed with their pets. Some of them note that the four-legged friend prefers to lie at his feet, and some talk about the dog’s head on the owner’s pillow. Each of these phenomena has its own explanation, essentially going back to the roots of the origin of these animals.
Dog sleep
A healthy adult dog requires about 15-17 hours of sleep daily. Puppies and older pets can sleep up to 20 hours. There is no need to doubt the correctness of these figures, because dogs do not sleep for the entire period at once, but alternate it with being awake. Like us, they have two stages of sleep: fast and slow sleep. In the first case, the pet will settle down on a flat surface, lie down on its side or back and stretch out its paws, which may sometimes twitch. For deep sleep, the animal prefers to curl up into a ball. At this time, breathing will be calm and even, and the muscles will be relaxed. The slow-wave sleep phase occurs faster if the dog is on a soft surface and preferably on a hill. Moreover, furry friends will need some kind of support. This is why pets so often love armchairs and sofas - they are comfortable there.
Genetic habits
Dog owners report strange behavior during sleep. The animal wakes up, begins to mark time, lay down, get up again, or completely change the surface. The fact is that genetics plays a role. The dog, being descended from the wolf, tramples down the grass or snow in preparation for sleep. In bed, such a gesture may be accompanied by a digging movement, and as a result forms something like a large hole. Curled up on a flat surface, the animal is forced to constantly keep its muscles tense, and lying in such a hole, it is finally possible to relax and maintain the pose.
Nature's cues tell our pets to lie in a ball shape to stay warm. This is no longer relevant for domestic dogs, but those dogs who still sleep in the open air cannot do without this position. The call of the ancestors dictates that furry household members should always be on alert. Almost all dogs sleeping soundly wake up literally within a split second if something disturbs them. During sleep, the animal’s sense of smell and hearing are actively working, so when the slightest irritant appears, the pet returns to wakefulness.
Sleeping in the master's bed
From year to year, dog breeders and animal psychologists cannot come to a definite answer to the question: “Can a dog sleep with its owner in the bed?” Looking for pros and cons, we can confidently say that both lists will be great.
Let's start by assessing the situation if the puppy plays the main role in it. Babies always ask to go to bed because they still remember the warmth of their mother, to whom they snuggled just recently. Puppies really need this, so it’s better to take the little one into your bed or lie down with him on the floor for a while so that the dog can feel himself in the familiar environment of physical contact with his breadwinner and protector. As time passes, the older dog will become more independent and will no longer need human warmth.
The nature of the four-legged friend pushes him to share a dream with his owner. In the natural environment, a wolf pack sleeps in one large group, where everyone cuddles up to his relative. Only exiled animals spend the night alone. Every dog perceives the family in which it lives as its own pack. The pet worries if it is removed from its brethren for the night.
Our pets have several basic poses, where they press their backs, butts against their owner, or go to sleep at their feet. This speaks of complete trust in the leader, that is, the owner of the dog, and a sense of security. A dog sleeping at our feet demonstrates its devotion and literally watches our sleep. With this gesture, the pet shows that it respects its leader. By the way, if you are trying to put the dog on your pillow, you may simply lose your leading position. When allowing co-sleeping, do not let the dog throw you off the pedestal of the leader.
The effect of a dog in bed on human health
People who fall asleep with their four-legged friend are divided in their opinions. Some approach this moment with disgust and a stereotype that says that everyone should have their own place. However, the animal is allowed to sleep on the bed at night. But the thoughts of other dog owners are in complete denial of possible harm. By the way, psychologists have long proven that a child hugging a dog in his sleep falls asleep easier and faster. A human child, just like a puppy, will feel warm, cozy and completely safe. In addition, sleeping together is beneficial for lonely people, since the warmth of a living being removes the feeling of loneliness.
Whether you want to sleep with your pet or are not ready is up to you to decide.
A new study answers this hotly debated question.
The dog is the most popular pet in our country, but each owner has different ideas about allowing a dog into his personal space. Is it possible to let a dog in the kitchen or on the sofa? A recent study has touched on one of the most hotly debated topics among dog owners: the practice of sleeping with your pet in bed. The results may come as a surprise to everyone.
Researchers studied 40 healthy adult dogs and their owners for five months, none of which had sleep disorders. All dogs in the study were over six months old.
Each human and dog's sleep quality was recorded using activity tracking devices (accelerometers) over seven nights. It was found that people whose dogs slept in the same bedroom as them at night tended to have better sleep.
APPA (American Pet Products Association) recently published a study that shows that at least 50% of dog owners allow their pet to sleep with them.
It goes without saying that this is apparently common practice. But is it good or bad if you actually let your cute pet cuddle with you throughout the night?
As it turns out, there are strong arguments supporting both sides of the debate.
A dog is a man's best friend, so why not let him sleep next to you if he is clean and well-groomed. While there are strong points supporting the general virtues of allowing your canine partner to get under the covers with you, there are also some reasonable arguments for you to refrain from this practice.
We've taken the liberty of exploring both the pros and cons, and we'll let you decide if it's worth it for you. Let's get a look.
Benefits of Sleeping with a Dog
Relaxation and fighting insomnia
There are reportedly a significant number of people who find a dog's rhythmic breathing helps them fall asleep faster. This is especially true for people who struggle with sleep disorders such as insomnia.
The presence of your pet will promote a feeling of security, stress relief and peace of mind. People who sleep with their pets can enjoy a restful night of good sleep.
Heat
We all love to cuddle, so snuggling up to a dog on a cold winter night is a dream because their body temperature is 3-6 degrees warmer than ours. To put it another way, dogs are highly effective non-electric blankets that will make you feel warm and comfortable. They work like a portable radiator that you can put in your bed. Of course, this can be seen as a disadvantage in the summer, but who doesn't love a little warmth on cold nights?
A remedy to combat depression
If there's one thing our four-legged friends offer without any doubt, it's unconditional love. For someone struggling with the terrible symptoms of depression, this connection may seem essential.
There is undoubtedly one of the things that people who struggle with depression need the most. And this is a constant presence of support, love and affection. This is exactly what our dogs offer in abundance.
Feeling safe
Whether you own a tiny Chihuahua or a larger Labrador, the truth is that the added presence of someone watching you provides a comforting feeling that makes you feel safe.
Their heightened hearing and tendency to bark at strangers or unknown creatures are all factors that will make you feel safe. Moreover, the very presence of a dog in the house is something that brings additional comfort and a sense of security. Because you know that you are not alone.
Why shouldn't you sleep with your dog?
Potential sleep problems
When sleeping with your dog, you should think about your four-legged friend's nighttime movements. These animals have completely different sleep cycles than humans. They are known to wake up every few hours, and even if they don't get out of bed, they can disrupt your sleep.
This is definitely something that can lead to fatigue and insufficient sleep if it happens every night. Finding the perfect balance is difficult, and some people simply don't think it's worth the overall effort it takes.
Allergies and asthma
You may not be allergic to your canine counterpart, but keep in mind that every dog carries allergens. It's not their fault - it's just nature's way. Every time your canine friend goes outside to pee or you take him for his daily walk, he will be widely exposed to a number of different allergens, including dust, pollen and so on.
Allergens collect on fur and paws, and no matter how well you clean them afterwards, you're unlikely to get rid of them all. They may also worsen some existing allergic reactions.
Less personal time
If your dog is used to sleeping with you, it's quite difficult to find some alone time with your partner, isn't it? If you're looking to enjoy a nice night between the two of you and you close the door, prepare for some howling, scratching and barking - your dog needs his sleeping spot and you're currently in denial.
This is something that can be overlooked the first few times, but it definitely becomes annoying if it happens every night when you want to be alone with your partner.
As you can see, this is primarily a matter of personal preference and health status. If you have no problem allowing your dog to sleep on your bed with you, there may be some benefits to doing so.
On the other hand, if you know that you have certain health conditions and you don't want to aggravate them, it would be better not to go down this route. Always discuss this issue with your partner as it is something that can affect your life.
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