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

[mmaier941]

First post, dont hold back

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?

[Gharrissc]

No I don't think it's bad at all.It's a personal preference. All of our dogs have plenty of comfortable spots to sleep and so I don't let them sleep in bed with my husband and I,but they are usually in the bedroom on one of the dog beds or in some other part of the house.For the ones who aren't trustworthy unsupervised,they sleep in crates. Before we go to bed,they can jump up on the bed and hang out if they want to. As long as the dog(s) isn't claiming the bed,I see nothing wrong with them sleeping in the bed with people.

[Midnight12]

My last gsd liked to sleep with me when she was a puppy and we both slepted better, and when she got older she quit, like the bed was not big enough for both of us.

[dazedtrucker]

I have read that it messes with pack structure (I think on Leerburg), and you should never let them, they will not respect you as pack leader. I personally don't completely agree, unless you have a very dominate dog. Mine have never wanted to sleep in bed with me, except as tiny pups... I guess I kick too much or something
Axel will jump up and get affection for a few minutes, then he gets down and sleeps right beside on the floor.

[wildwolf60]

We've always let ours sleep in the bed with us, never had any problems with it. Other than sometimes not having leg room, LOL. Of course, we'd always established that we were leader, and if we wanted them to get off the bed, command given and they would get off, no questions.
I don't think it would interfere with the pack structure unless you already had a problem in that area in the first place, as one poster mentioned, a very dominant dog.
Personal preference, I guess. Most of our GSD's would sleep on the bed for a while, then they'd jump off after a few and go to their own bed. Jaeger on the other hand, is a big cuddle bear, and has to sleep with some part of him touching us all night. Rarely does he get off the bed unless we ask him to.
Course, hubby and I kind of like having them with us anyway.

[doggiedad]

our dog has a dog bed in our bedroom and livingroom.
most nights he starts out sleeping with us. when it's
time to go to bed i say "it's sleepy". our dog will walk
down the hallway and either lay on his bed untill we get
in bed.or sit beside our bed and wait for us to get
in bed then he'll jump in. we don't have a problem with our
dog being on the bed or the sofa. if i want our dog off the
bed or sofa we can say "off the bed", "get down" we can point
to the floor, etc. you want to be able to controll the situation.
you want to be able to call him to the bed and off the bed.

[jocoyn]

To each his own. I shower every day but my dog does not so I don't want his dirt and hair in my bed, but I know enough people who do who don't have discipline problems with their dogs.

[Gilly1331]

We let our guys sleep where they want. Our GSD/BMastiff mix sleeps in the spare guest bedroom on that bed, our male GSD sleeps on the floor in our bedroom on one of the two dog beds or the hallway, or youngest female GSD sleeps on the bed at our feet...and right now the 10wk old puppy sleeps also on the bed with us or he jumps down like our other male and goes to one of the dog beds.... It's the only way I can get him 1 to stay quiet at night and 2 with me being preg when I feel him move at night it wakes me up to let him out generally on my same bathroom night schedule for myself. If I wasn't preg and using e bathroom so often at night we may have tried crate training him at night but letting him out every two hrs just to scream for an hr every time seemed not worth it and let him stay with us and we haven't had any accidents.
To each their own.

[llombardo]

All of mine are free to sleep wherever they choose. The golden is always on the bed with me, the older dog starts out on the bed then moves to one of the dog beds and the GSD moves around all night. The only time the GSD will sleep on the bed all night long is if she is completely exhausted....she is in the same exact spot I last seen her in..usually right next to me, hugging me on the bed

[blackshep]

I was told they should not come up on the bed or couch for the first year, until it's firmly established that you are the pack leader. My pup likes her crate anyway, and it's beside my bed.

One time I tried to let her on the bed with me for a nap, but she kept trying to wiggle up to my face and lick me and she's always trying to get a hold of my ears, so I had to put her back in her crate. LOL