It’s natural – your dog wants to be as close to their favorite human as possible, and you enjoy snuggling up with your furry best friend. But the dog sleeping in bed with you – is it really a good idea? Some people will tell you no, without knowing all the facts. Ultimately, deciding to let your dog(s) sleep in bed with you is a personal decision, one that should work for everyone involved. To help you decide what to do, we’ll explore the benefits and disadvantages of sleeping with dogs, below. For more information, you can also check out our post about where your dog should sleep.
A Brief History of (Co-)Sleeping with Dogs
Sleeping with dogs together in bed, also known as co-sleeping, may already come naturally to you. And it’s no surprise – dogs and humans have been sleeping together for centuries, across cultures. It’s an ancient practice.
Domesticated dogs shared sleeping quarters with their early humans guardians – in turn, protecting and alerting them of predators or hostile enemies. Sleeping with dogs also made sense in those days, before central heating, when a dog sleeping next to you could provide significant warmth. In this way, the human-dog bond has long helped humans (and dogs) survive through difficult times, including cold weather conditions.
Some anthropologists even speculate, that the urge to sleep close to one another (in dogs and humans alike) might actually be stored in our DNA. Just imagine a toddler cuddling and dozing off with their four-legged friend – it happens almost automatically. So if you want to curl up with your canine, you’re not alone.
