Canine Co-Sleeping: Is it for You?

A lot of us think of ourselves as pet parents. And one of the biggest question on the minds of a lot of parents is co-sleeping. There are a lot of opinions on this — it’s no surprise. What do you think? Should you share a bed with your dog, or should you both enjoy the luxury of your own sleeping space?

Why Share a Bed With Your Dog?

According to Modern Dog Magazine (link), 60 percent of dog owners in a recent survey co-sleep with their dogs. These owners report that sleeping with their dogs keeps them warm, helps them to relax, and helps them to sleep better. Who doesn’t like to cuddle up to their pup? And the dogs like it, too. On top of that, people reported that sleeping with their dogs — no matter what size that dog was — made them feel safer at night.

That’s a whole pack of good reasons, right there.

Why You Might Not Want To

If your dog spends a lot of time outdoors, they can bring the outdoors in with them. That includes dirt and possibly even parasites. Even if you’re vigilant about flea control, few of us bathe our dogs daily, and even fewer of us fancy the idea of hair and dirt in the bed.

Surprisingly, though, the main concern of medical professionals is something completely different. According to a recent study in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings (link), co-sleeping with your pup can disturb your sleep, even more than co-sleeping with another adult.

On the other hand, the study found that people slept slightly better than average if their dog slept in the same room, but not on the bed.

So, Canine Co-Sleeping, Yay or Nay?

Like so many parenting choices, it ultimately comes down to you. If you like cuddling up to your pup, and find it relaxes you and helps you to sleep better, then best wishes to you and your dog!

On the other hand, if you’re having trouble sleeping anyway, you might consider giving your dog their own bed next to yours.

Either way, hope they don’t snore.

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