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Is it bad to allow your GSD to sleep in your bed with you?

153K views 263 replies 204 participants last post by  Gaia 
#1 ·
First post, dont hold back :p

My 5 month old GSD has his own bed, and uses it most nights, however some nights I need to go to sleep and he just isn't getting bored or comfy, If I let him in my bed with me he goes right to sleep. Now Im aware this might not be the best thing down the road. But if i continue to do this, is it really going to haunt me in the future?
 
#114 ·
Banjo was my pillow for close to 11 years. I slept deeply then, nothing besides my hideously loud alarm clock woke me up. Now he's gone and I sleep very lightly. The fridge kicking on woke me the other night. My Mal is a footwarmer, and I trust her guarding instincts but my subconscious does not seem to.
 
#115 ·
Kolby will come up on the bed when called if I am there, but will only stay there for about 10 minutes before he curls up on the floor next to me. I'm pretty sure after I leave in the morning though he curls up with the GF in bed until she gets up!
 
#119 ·
When I was single and still raising ****, Ranger would sleep with me and wake me up for work. He did most of the thinking at that point in my life and would sleep with me when there was thunder, fireworks or just really cold in the winter.

He was super pissed off when I got married and he lost his spot on the bed and moved to a mat on the floor.

It all depends what you do with your dog and what your household consists of. If you want a guard dog for your children and home, and open crate in the main room seems to be ideal for protection and pack structure. My puppy will not be allowed on furniture. Too many people on it already!

If you are single and having a good old time, a GSD makes one **** of a bed warmer in a snow cave or a tent and can be more trustworthy and cuddly than a girlfriend.

Ranger really had to bite his tongue when I was drunk around him! :)
 
#121 ·
He alternates. He chooses where he wants to sleep. Usually it's at the foot of my bed facing the door. When I had my break in he slept in the living room for a week next to the front door. When I was sick/sad he'd sleep right next to me. He's great about reading about my temperament.


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#127 · (Edited)
I have never allowed a puppy/dog to sleep in bed with me. That was my #1 rule. They needed to be crated at night until they could be trusted to sleep outside their crate but they were not allowed to sleep with me.........................................

Having said that. My Dalmatian puppy has been sleeping in my bed with me since I brought him home 1 week ago. :eek:

He screamed like a banshee the first night I brought him home and I felt so bad for him that I thought "just this one night, he misses his siblings and he can sleep with me for JUST tonight." Well he's been sleeping with me ever since! He cuddles and stays glued to my side. If I go to move him over (because somehow I am on the edge of a queen sized bed every night and only he and I are on it :confused:) he immediately moves back to me before I get a chance to scoot over! :laugh: Anyways he hasn't pottied in the bed and he sleeps the whole night through without a peep. :wub:

This is my first one that absolutely hates the crate.

I wanted to add that my GSD will come onto my bed and cuddle with me for a little bit but he stays on top of the blankets and he usually jumps down within 5 minutes. He doesn't like being on the bed, he loves sleeping in his bed which is right next to my bed.
 
#128 ·
I love when these older threads get bumped - fun reading!

Eva has slept with us since the first night we brought her home at six weeks (we put shower curtain under sheets, over mattress, but never an accident). She is a complete and total cuddle bug! No problems telling her to get off, that was an early command as soon as she was big enough to do so by herself.

It is total preference and I admit the sheets are no longer changed just once a week. :D

She's usually curled up behind my legs, with her head at my feet. Holy heck is she warm!

Her favorite positions involve touching both the hubby and me when sleeping.

I admit, we love it! :p
 
#130 ·
I allow my GSD to sleep with me. She usually lets me use her as a pillow, or sleeps at my feet. She knows to get off when I say off(unless she is completely sleeping, she tries to ignore you. Kind of like I do for school xD!).
The problem is; the dog hair, and they are massive bed hogs LOL!
 
#132 ·
Tyson will come up for a quick snuggle then jump off and sleep infront of the front door, Dexter will come up for a snuggle then go sleep on the couch, and shiloh would sleep on the bed under the covers with her head on a pillow all night. I fell snowboarding really really hard and broke my tail bone last winter, i spent a week laying on my side in bed and all shiloh wanted to do was sleep in bed with me. Shiloh is a snuggle muffin though, i find boys tend to go "thanks for the tummy rubs, but see ya " girls are much more like "i pretend im alseep here and they wont bother to move me"
 
#134 ·
I've been trying to train my pup to not get on the bed.. but my boyfriend is way too lenient and my pup thinks he can get away with hopping up on the bed until I tell him 'no'.. then he hops off.. then he'll try to get back on.. or he'll get on.. and I'm constantly telling him no every time my boyfriend is here. He never tries to get on the bed if I"m home alone and my boyfriend is at work, but once my BF gets home and gets on the bed, the pup tries relentlessly to get on the bed without me no-ing him off. It's tiring. Lol. My BF needs to stop letting the dog do what he wants. >_> I feel like I'm training my BF and the dog.
 
#140 ·
haha sounds like my situation. I set rules but my fiancé does what he wants anyway, though he has learned the hard way - he used to slip food off his plate and give it to the pup. I kept telling him he's gonna regret it. Now that our pup is 6 months old and bigger he certainly does regret it. She will not hassle me at all for food during meals, but she won't leave him alone. Sits right next to his chair nudging him when we're at the dining table, and putting her paws up and getting in his face when we eat on the couch. My cat does the same as he was always slipping him food too. I get to eat my meals in peace though :D

As for the bed thing, he also brings her up on the bed but he's good about doing it only occasionally once she's settled on her own bed in our room, and not doing it when she's asking to come up. I don't let her up at all. My fiancé also has a staffy who lives with his mum (he's aggressive to cats so can't live with us) and when we go stay there he lets the staffy up and the bed stinks so bad after just a couple of nights. I also don't need an extra body taking up precious bed covers when I'm cold lol
 
#135 ·
All of my GSD's sleep in bed with me and not once have I had a problem with commands. There is a debate whether your dog should sleep in bed with you. Some articles say it's a sign of dominance while others say it's just a sign of affection and love. It depends on the situation. If your dog is growling and snapping at you when you get on the bed with them then it probably is a dominant thing, but when they only snuggle up to you or just lay there, I don't see as any harm.
 
#136 ·
I had some issues with some attitude from my male when he was young. We worked on who owned the bed and he grumbles but will get off when told. At this point he gets into bed when I do, finds a spot right next to me, likes to spend 5 maybe 10 minutes on the bed, then he's off on his own to the floor. Given this is such a pattern and there is no conflicts, I assume he just wants to be close for those few minutes and I am OK with that.
 
#137 ·
Newlie's trainer told me that he had no problem with any dog sleeping on a bed as long as you permit it and they will get off if you tell them to get off. Newlie usually starts out on the bed with me, jumps down when he gets hot and comes back up for some cuddling in the morning. Works fine for us
 
#138 ·
My girls sleep with us on occasion. Most of the time they prefer their own beds in our bedroom. I've had all my dogs in years past sleep with me and never had any issue. That includes my big boy Rottie who was Pre-hubby and slept with me every night. Well, he was in the bed with me or in my bathtub. Nothing funnier than a snoring Rottie in the bathtub! That dog could shake the tile off the wall!! Funniest thing ever was one Saturday morning my mother called early and heard him over the phone. She quietly asked, did you have company last night? She thought it was my boy friend! LOL My little girl labbie who I lost this past winter to old age slept behind my knees in a little puppy ball every night till old age wouldn't let her jump up or down any longer. She was a little snuggle muffin if there ever was one.
 
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