You know what’s coming…

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But first – lunch!

 

This meal was a twist on my Creamy Dreamy Roasted Chickpeas.  I didn’t have any chickpeas on hand, so I subbed in pinto beans.  I also used orange juice instead of lemon juice.

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The changes were nice.  The beans still had that sweet but citrusy flavor, which really complements the goat cheese.  Creamy and dreamy, I’m telling you!  I served up the beans with millet and steamed collard greens.

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Alright – onto the fun stuff!

 

Dogs in the Bed Debate

 

Last night, the Husband and I were in bed, chatting about random stuff.  We have the strangest conversations in the dark.  Somehow, the topic of the dogs sleeping in our bed came up.  The Husband remarked that he loved that the dogs sleep with us (well, James technically sleeps on top on him) because it makes it feel like a “pack.”

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I also love that the dogs sleep in our bed.  As a child, my family dogs always slept with me in bed.  I am an only child and my parents divorced when I was 7, so I think cuddling with a pup made me feel less lonely and scared. 

 

When we got Maggie five years ago, we never intended to let her sleep in the bed.  But the first night, she cried and cried in a panic, so we let her under the covers.  And she’s been there ever since.  When we got James six months later, it was natural that he’d come into bed, too.

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Anyway, last night, we were discussing whether the dogs would continue to sleep in our bed when we have children.  I said that I hope James moves out of our bed and into the nursery because he tends to get up and down through the night and disturbs the Husband (James wouldn’t be in the crib or anything so I assume he wouldn’t wake up our future children).

 

Plus, he’d be a good protector!  You know, if a terrible beast entered the nursery.  Like a squirrel…

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I hope Maggie stays in bed with us forever.  She’s not very good at many things (being quiet, doing tricks, not geeking out when we leave her), but she is an excellent sleeper, rests at the bottom of the bed, and keeps my feet warm.

 

Of course, there are MANY reasons to keep dogs (and cats) out of the bed:

 

  • They track in dirt, bugs, and germs.
  • Their hair and dandruff can cause respiratory issues.
  • They can disturb your sleep patterns.
  • They can ruin your sex life.  Because who wants to make love with the family dog giving you the stink eye?  

 

But… I don’t care!  All of the reasons to kick the dogs out of bed are overshadowed by how nice it is to squeeze and cuddle them throughout the night.  They keep us warm, make me feel safe, and remind me that we are, in fact, one big, happy pack. 

 

Do you allow your pets to sleep in bed with you?  Have you ever kicked a pet out of your bed permanently?  And, if you want to get TMI, how do you do the horizontal polka with your dog in bed?

{ 316 comments }

 

  • Emily G. August 24, 2011, 2:22 pm

    My dog most definitely sleeps with me! He’s only 5 pounds so it isn’t anything major. I sleep on my stomach so he lays along my side and keeps me warm. There are times when he gets down and will whine until you pick him up – but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

    True story & TMI alert – If I lock my dog out of the bedroom he whines until you let him in (sooo annnoooyyying!) so I always leave the door open. Well, the boy and I were having “us time” and when things were just beginning to get hot and heavy, I feel my dog licking my thigh. Total mood killer but I couldn’t contain my laughter!

    • caitlinhtp August 24, 2011, 2:40 pm

      ROFL!!!!

    • Meagan August 24, 2011, 2:45 pm

      I seriously almost spit out my drink at work from laughing so hard…I love this blog, so much.

    • Angela @ Eat Spin Run Repeat August 24, 2011, 3:25 pm

      OMG that’s hilarious!!!!!!! I’m at work and cannot stop laughing!

    • laura August 24, 2011, 3:40 pm

      HAHAHAHA! love it

    • Jessi @ Quirky Cookery August 24, 2011, 5:20 pm

      Lmao! Yeah, pretty sure that’d kill the mood a bit, hehe.

    • Kristin @wounded Fawn August 25, 2011, 12:24 pm

      Last night my cat licked my nipple. If that wasn’t mood killer enough, The BF asked if I liked it? hahahah! That’s life with pets!

  • Lisa (I'm an Okie) August 24, 2011, 2:22 pm

    I LOVE having dogs in the bed with me. They make it SO cozy. however, they wouldn’t be allowed to get into bed until AFTER the love making was over.

    however, if the dog is on the bed and sees me doing it–so be it. I have no issues with that.

  • Krista August 24, 2011, 2:22 pm

    I’ve never had a pet & this is probbaly why I think this way, but the idea of a dog in bed with me kind of grosses me out. But I’m sure all the cuddles make up for the grossness!

  • shelby August 24, 2011, 2:25 pm

    We have a 125 lb. bullmastiff that is not allowed in the bed with us because he’s slobbery and just too big for our bed. I wish he could sleep with us though because he’s a big, giant baby who loves to be cuddled (as much as you can cuddle such a beast)!

    • kazinmich April 14, 2013, 12:25 am

      I have two bullmastiffs, both over 140 lbs and they sleep in our king bed with us. I also have a twin bed at the foot of ours for when it gets too crowded. I love the cuddles and snores, and without food in the bedroom they don’t slobber.

  • Karen @ Run Shop Travel August 24, 2011, 2:25 pm

    I’m a cat owner and pretty much let them go wherever they want! I love it when I wake up in the morning and the two of them are on the bed next to me! They aren’t always there – sometimes they’re in the other room or on the couch but it doesn’t bother me at all having them on the bed.

  • Katherine @ Left Coast Contessa August 24, 2011, 2:25 pm

    I have a cat and yes, I let her in bed with me. She pretty much rules the roost. That being said, some nights she likes to lay on her back in the middle of the bed and I end up kicking her off. Normally she goes pretty willingly and doesn’t put up a fight. I actually was living with my ex when we adopted her and it made for a VERY full bed.

    Also, the pics of the dogs in this post MADE my day. Adorable. I can see why you’d want them to stay!

  • Liz August 24, 2011, 2:26 pm

    We let our dog sleep with us because she cried too! I also love it, but I think with our next dog (10 years + down the line) we won’t let him or her sleep with us.
    When it comes to “private time” we kick her out of the bed, and for some reason she is fine with that! But right after jumps back up.

  • Leah @ L4L August 24, 2011, 2:26 pm

    Our dog sleeps with us sometimes, whether we like it or not! She’s 80 lbs of love so she makes quite a dent on our queen size bed. When we are home, she waits for permission to get on the bed, usually. But when we aren’t around, she’ll just go up as she pleases. She’s not a cuddler, she takes up a ton of space but we love her. If she gets too hot, she’ll jump down. Sometimes I kick her down when she’s really bugging me.

  • Danielle (Shrinking and Studying) August 24, 2011, 2:26 pm

    We don’t have dogs yet, but when I go home I love to cuddle up with our family’s dogs! If Mark comes home with me though we usually just shut the door and keep the dogs out since there isn’t a lot of room.

    We do have a cat and she used to not be allowed to sleep with us because she’d jump on our heads, scratch the bed and make all sorts of commotion during the night. She recently started behaving though and now she sleeps on her own pillow by our heads in the corner. I’m totally okay with it as long as she stays there and doesn’t wake us up.

    I seriously don’t think I could get down in front of a goldfish, much less a cat or dog, so we usually just close the door and let them in after we do our thang. 😉

  • Ash @ Good Taste Healthy Me August 24, 2011, 2:27 pm

    My fiance is vehemently against any pet in our bedroom ,let alone our bed. I wouldn’t want a dog in my bed but a cat would be ok….but I know he would have a conniption!

  • Laine August 24, 2011, 2:28 pm

    My boyfriend had (the boyfriend is past tense, not the dog) a dog that slept in his bed. I didn’t mind him there unless we were getting busy then I kicked the dog out. He also had a cat that I didn’t like which always seemed to want to sleep on my head.
    I think little dogs are ok in beds, I had a husky mix who never got on my bed unless it thundered, then she would stand on my bed and pant and shake.

  • Lydia (@InhabitTheBeauty) August 24, 2011, 2:28 pm

    The idea of pets in bed totally grossed me out until we got our first “shared” pet. Our Great Dane was the first real pet I’d ever had. It was fun and cute to have him sleeping in bed with us when he was a puppy. We were idiots to think it would be pleasant once he was a year old.

    Also, no lie, TMI he was tall enough out of the bed standing on the floor to not only watch but sneak in a quick lick on a leg. After that, it was crate time during hanky panky time.

  • Lindsay August 24, 2011, 2:28 pm

    My mom was really strict growing up about a lot of things, including rules for the dogs and they were never allowed on the furniture, including the bed. When I adopted my pup, Lottie, the first night was SO hard – I wanted to let her in the bed so badly, but I thought about long term and realized that for me, I didn’t want to always have to sleep with her and that I didn’t want her on all the furniture b/c of stains, shedding and what if people who don’t like dogs or are allergic come over to visit – they need a safe place. So, I didn’t let her up and I have stuck with it mostly since then…I have been known in very bad storms or when very drunk to let her jump right up and snuggle with me, but otherwise, she sleeps happily on her dog bed on the floor right next to my bed 🙂

    • Mel August 24, 2011, 4:05 pm

      I’m with you. Our family dog wasn’t allowed on the furniture when I was a kid, so my current dog isn’t either. That doesn’t stop me from inviting him on “special occasions” like during thunderstorms or if I had a hard day.

    • Kate August 24, 2011, 4:43 pm

      Our family followed the same rules about pets, so you can imagine how much it irked me that when my husband and I first started dating, he had 2 dogs already, and allowed both of them to sleep with him. When I moved in, the Siberian Husky was ejected from the bed (I didn’t eject him, he did it himself), but the beagle-spaniel stayed. The beagle-spaniel is very much in love with my husband and frequently tried to plant herself between us in bed, or bark/growl at me during “quality time together”. It was unnerving then, to say the least. I took a stance on it at one point in time, but my husband absolutely wouldn’t budge, and I decided then that the issue wasn’t worth suffering our relationship over. After 7 years of putting up with it, I still absolutely hate it — especially since she now has developed colo-rectal polyps (fancy way of saying her butt bleeds after pooping) and occasionally her ass bleeds in bed. This has now gotten so disgusting to the husband too that perhaps he wishes she weren’t in bed with us?? He’d never admit it though!

      We do have 2 kids (one is a newborn) and they both slept with us as newborns for the first few weeks. It made for a crowded bed to say the least, but the beagle-spaniel never has bothered them. I will say too that when my husband is gone, the dog *knows* she is not allowed in bed with me, and does not even try to get up there! Also, we got a dog that was “mine” about 6 years ago, and because I already knew how I felt about dogs in the bed, on those first nights when she was crying, I stayed firm on not letting her in bed. Instead, I got her a blanket and a stuffed animal for her to snuggle with, and I slept very close to the edge of the bed those nights and comforted her by petting her whenever she was crying. It worked 🙂

      • Vikki August 24, 2011, 9:29 pm

        Another good thing to do with a dog to make them less lonely is to get them something that makes noise. My childhood dog Pepper was a cocker spaniel that we got as a puppy. The first few nights my poor mother was getting up at 3 am to pet the crying dog. She didn’t enjoy it so she got an old fashioned alarm clock that ticked and a soft warm blanket. Pepper didn’t cry anymore. We figured that he was missing his mom and his litter and was used to hearing their heartbeats.

  • Kate August 24, 2011, 2:29 pm

    My dog is only 7 pounds but I keep him off my bed – not off anyone else’s bed though. And if we go on vacation, he gets in bed with me. It started when he was a puppy because I toss and turn so he got up and got in his crate where he could sleep without being disturbed. The little diva. Now I put him in there at night because he has a nasty habit of chewing on computer cords and I’m afraid he’ll electrocute himself.

  • Amy August 24, 2011, 2:29 pm

    Hahahaha…same story. When I got my first dog I intended for him to sleep in a crate but he cried all.night.long. After a couple of nights he was in the bed and he’s been there ever since. When I got another about 2 years later, apparently he’d been sleeping in a crate for a while but then when he was the only one not in the bed, he cried and cried so he ended up in the bed as well. Now, 6 years and one husband later, we’re all crammed in the queen bed!

  • Emily August 24, 2011, 2:30 pm

    I couldn’t have a dog in bed. Not unless I changed the sheets every day!

    My dog used to sleep on the floor in my room.

  • Michelle August 24, 2011, 2:30 pm

    I love having our pup in bed with us, but I’m too light a sleeper for her to stay there all night. She snuggles with us while we read, and then she goes to her bed (just outside our bedroom door)for the remainder of the night. And because she doesn’t feel like our bed is “her” bed, it doesnt bother her if we kick her out and shut the door for some private time. 🙂

  • Sarah for Real August 24, 2011, 2:30 pm

    Yes! Our 17 pound Jack Russell Terrier sleeps with us in bed, under the covers. I love feeling her warm fuzzy little body against my feet.

    My husband does call her a “cock blocker” occasionally… Can I say that here?! We just pick her up and put her on the floor, where she does technically have her own dog bed. She senses when things are over and waits for permission to hop right back up for cuddle time! Wow. TMI.

    The key I think is being the pack leader. Whether we are on the bed or on the couch, she always has to wait for permission to hop up and snuggle.

    What’s sort of weird is that when I have kids, I will not allow them to sleep with us (except once in a blue moon, bad nightmare situation like how I was raised). But I’m fine with the dog!

    • Carly (Swim, Run, Om) August 24, 2011, 2:39 pm

      Haha, that totally made me LOL at my desk.

    • Tiffany August 24, 2011, 3:58 pm

      My boyfriend calls my dog a cock blocker all the time : ) He has a lab and I have a spoiled brat maltese mix who is my baby. We usually kick them out of the room and shut the door when it is time for the hibbity dibity -but let them in right after. That is to funny about the kids, I am with you and don’t want our kids sleeping with us when we have them, but the dogs are always going to be allowed on the bed.

    • Morgan August 24, 2011, 3:59 pm

      When I have kids, they will not sleep in the bed either. But the dog, hell yes!

    • Stephanie C August 24, 2011, 7:33 pm

      I have a JRT also and these dogs LOVE sleeping in bed with you! They love burrowing. Our dog used to sleep with us a lot, but since moving to our new place, she moves around too much.. It’s been a struggle but she finally mostly sleeps in her own bed.. occasionally she’ll sneak up. During our “private time” we kick her off the bed and she usually goes under until we tell her it’s okay. The permission thing is so key, though.. I’m learning that now and am trying to teach her.. but she’s 6!

      • Stephanie C August 24, 2011, 7:35 pm

        Oh! Also.. during the winter time, I generally let her sleep by my feet because she keeps me warm. And like a commenter below.. if my husband is away on business or out working late, I’ll let her up with me.. but she’s usually focused on barking at every noise to protect me 😉

    • mm August 25, 2011, 3:44 am

      Same here! We have 2 JRTs (17 and 18lbs respectively) and they both sleep with us most of the time. My husband pretends he hates it, but usually he’s the one telling them it’s time for bed and encouraging them to jump up in the bed! Sometimes if it’s really important that we get a solid night’s sleep or when we want to have “alone time”, we’ll put them in their crates at night, which they don’t mind. We just say “go in YOUR bed” and they run downstairs to their crates and hop right in. 🙂

      • Jessy January 6, 2013, 11:25 pm

        I am having the hardest time with “alone time” with my husband with my two yorkies 🙁 my 1 1/2 year old girl scratches at any closed door until someone opens it and my 7 month boy puppy jumps up on my bed the whole time we are trying to……you know…. I am going to get crates and put them in there when we want to be alone….yorkies will run the house if you let them……uuuuuuggggghhhhhhhhh…so frustrated 🙁

  • Lauren August 24, 2011, 2:31 pm

    My dog isn’t even allowed upstairs in our house! He sheds like crazy and pees when he’s scared. Not so good for a bed buddy. But really, the thought never crossed my mind. The bed is for me and my husband. I don’t like to share. 😉

    He is a good cuddler though, so we get our fix of snuggles on the couch during the day.

  • CJ @ http://healthy-happy-whole.com August 24, 2011, 2:32 pm

    Our dogs sleep with us! My husband works night shift sometimes meaning he is gone from 6 pm to 8 am and I feel so much safer with the dogs near me. My 3 dogs weigh a total of 30 pounds combined but their barks are enough to scare someone away! Not to mention they are so cute and cuddly, and dont take up too much space so for me, they are a welcome addition to my bed 🙂

  • June August 24, 2011, 2:32 pm

    I loooove having my cat in my bed! He is still a kitten and he wakes up really early but he’ll outgrow that. But sometimes I wake up in the mid of the night and smile when I see him all laid up there next to me.

    My Harley (RIP) cat slept everywhere i did. couch, floor, bed. He had to be right near me and I love that. Mommas and their babies.

  • Tracy @ Tracy's Treats August 24, 2011, 2:33 pm

    I’m all for dogs sleeping in the bed! I love that they keep it warm and like to cuddle!

  • Ashley August 24, 2011, 2:33 pm

    I don’t necessarily love having our two dogs in bed with us, but I’m too much of a softy to kick them out! One of our dogs is pretty restless and gets up often to move around, but they are small dogs so it’s alright.

    What’s a little bit annoying is that we have 2 cats who want to sleep in the bed with us too! Four animals! It’s getting a little crazy over here. LOL!

  • Kelley August 24, 2011, 2:33 pm

    My boyfriend’s dog used to HATE when we made sexy time…. like would get nervous, upset, probably confused. It was awkward. We stopped letting the dog in the room until after.

  • Katie @ cooklaughmove August 24, 2011, 2:33 pm

    We have 2 large Maine Coon cats (13 lbs and 19.5 lbs) and they do not sleep with us at night. We tried it for almost a year, but it was too much! We got too hot, they’d climb all over us, wake us up, etc.

    But on weekend mornings, we open the door and let them hang out in bed with us! And it is SO fun at those times, not annoying like it is when I’m trying to sleep!

  • June August 24, 2011, 2:33 pm

    oh and when I had Harley, he didnt bother anyone during the HH. Maybe when he was younger, jump on the bed or soemthing, but you just kick him off and he’d go away. :O)

  • stina August 24, 2011, 2:33 pm

    When we (my ex and I) first got the dog, I had no intention of letting him in bed with us or on any of the furniture. I didn’t grow up with animals (since my mom is horribly allergic) so I thought it was gross. Unfortunately my ex didn’t agree and went ahead and let the dog on the furniture and in bed when I wasn’t around. After we broke up, I enjoyed having the dog in bed to cuddle.

    Luckily, my dog isn’t the kind that will whine and whine if he’s not in bed with me. I always kick him out of the room (and close the door) when it’s time to get busy or if he’s being particularly disruptive to me gettnig a goodnight sleep, and he just goes and sleeps elsewhere in the house. We actually didn’t allow the dog in bed at my (current) boyfriend’s house until very recently, and the dog was totally okay with that. He would just sleep in his bed on the floor.

    The cat on the other hand, is absolutely not allowed in the bedroom because she insists upon playing dance on your head at 3am.

  • Erin August 24, 2011, 2:34 pm

    Our first two dogs were allowed on the bed although neither of them stayed up there for very long. Both my husband and I are too restless of sleepers and the dogs preferred their beds on the floor. Our third dog was not allowed on the bed. I got tired of fur everywhere (especially sticking to my chapstick I put on before bed) when I laid down. When we get a fourth dog I’ll probably stick to the “not on the bed” rule.

  • Katie @ cooklaughmove August 24, 2011, 2:34 pm

    I forgot to add that when we are “getting busy” our cats are outside the door meowing and trying to pull it open. I guess they get worried that something is wrong!

  • Lynna August 24, 2011, 2:34 pm

    We take you one further…we sleep with dog AND cats! And wouldn’t change it for the world.

  • Stephanie @cookinfanatic August 24, 2011, 2:37 pm

    Oh my 55lb pound black lab shares the king bed with me and I wouldn’t have it any other way! My ex used to not let her sleep with us and I hateddddddddd it :/ She has her own blankie that she sleeps on though so that she doesn’t shed on the bed covers.

  • Coco August 24, 2011, 2:37 pm

    I grew up with a very large black lab who had skin allergies and dandruff…so, I think it really depends on the dog! lol

  • Holly @ The Runny Egg August 24, 2011, 2:37 pm

    We don’t have pets — Jason is allergic, so the answer is NO we cannot and would not have dogs or cats sleep in our bed! When I was a kid we had dogs and cats but they never slept in the beds — they had their beds in the living room!

  • Carly (Swim, Run, Om) August 24, 2011, 2:37 pm

    Bowser sleeps wherever he wants! He pretty much owns the apartment. Sometimes he prefers to sleep on the couch or in his dog bed, but usually he is right under the covers. He prefers to be completely stretched out, hiney-to-hiney with me, but he generates so much heat that we compromise by me touching him with either my hand or foot, depending on where he’s positioned himself.

    Erm, when I do have gentlemen callers, he usually hangs out in the living room. It’s never really been a problem of him watching or sitting on the bed … he does NOT like other people, so once he gets over the growling and barking, he leaves visitors completely alone.

  • Rae August 24, 2011, 2:37 pm

    Our cat sleeps between us like a kid…my hubs likes to joke that he has all “his girls” in bed with him!! and if we want to polka, she gets the idea really quickly, gives us the stink eye, and takes off 😛

  • Leah August 24, 2011, 2:38 pm

    My husband does not want dogs in the bed. His only household rule!

    Caitlin, I have a question for you since you appear open to any topic. Any tips on how to beat constipation? I’ve been bloated and constipated for 3 days straight and its an uncomfortable experience.

    • caitlinhtp August 24, 2011, 2:39 pm

      Ugh, that sounds terrible! If I were you, I would get you to an acupuncturist stat. The Husband can make people poop within 30 minutes of leaving the clinic. Fun fact!

      • loreejo August 24, 2011, 3:53 pm

        my goodness, is there no end to that man’s talents? LOL

        • Caitlin August 24, 2011, 3:57 pm

          bawhahah. he is a man of many tricks.

          he made a baby poop in 10 minutes once. it was pretty cool! he just did some sort of weird massage on her belly and TADA! She pooped.

      • Dawn August 24, 2011, 4:03 pm

        Does he do that through massage or acupuncture?

        • Caitlin August 24, 2011, 4:09 pm

          All of the above, as well as cupping on the stomach. And possibly herbs.

      • Leah August 25, 2011, 10:25 am

        I don’t have health insurance. Paying a chiropractor would be impossible when I can barely pay my phone bill. So I guess I need to marry one ? 🙂

    • Ellen August 24, 2011, 2:56 pm

      go to WF and buy some magnesium citrate. if it’s bad, take double the dose and drink a lot of water. i guarantee you’ll get relief in 12 hours!

      • Leah August 25, 2011, 10:27 am

        Is that tablet form? I have natural calm but doesn’t seem to do anything.

        • Ellen August 25, 2011, 10:59 am

          the liquid form will work the fastest. i take magnesium glycinate capsules everyday and it just prevents me from getting constipated in the first place, but the liquid magnesium citrate works really fast, especially if it’s on an empty stomach.

        • Ellen August 25, 2011, 11:01 am

          also, it’s just a mineral supplement, so don’t worry about taking a bunch of drugs. this is more effective and less harmful than any over the counter laxative.

        • Ellen August 25, 2011, 11:07 am

          the kind i get from WF looks like this: http://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Calcium-Magnesium-Citrate-Blueberry-16/dp/B00028P0ZK/ref=sr_1_33?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1314284638&sr=1-33

          i would say that if this is a regular issue for you and the above DOESN’T work, you have some undiagnosed food intolerances and insufficient good bacteria in your gut. you should be going 1-2 times a day, everyday! yes, i know from experience. you’ll be glad once you get it figured out!

      • Leah August 25, 2011, 1:41 pm

        Thanks Ellen.

        I’ll try that. I have been told that I DO have a flood of bad bacteria in my gut and not enough good. But I don’t want to be dietary-obsessive to figure it out. Obsessing and me will not go well. If you have ideas on how you dietary did it or otherwise (I hope the Mag-Cal works) then you can email me maybe. Maybe Caitlin will see my email address and pass it along to you (?) . Thanks.

    • Toosie August 24, 2011, 4:05 pm

      I would add to that, lock the bathroom door and just relax in the best position: squatting down between your heels. I personally take our garbage bin, turn it upside down, and get my feet in it so I can still be hovering on the toilet seat but leaning forward onto my heels. Does that make sense? I bring something to read which will help me relax the sphincters and the generally freaked out area.
      I have been known, in really bad episodes, to squat in the bathtub over a plastic bag. I suffer from terrible constipation AND ulcerative proctitis, so I have given up all niceties… When I need to get it out, it is going out… Oh yeah. TMI ALERT everyone…

      • Leah August 25, 2011, 10:29 am

        I can sit there for hours and nothing. Its awful. It . just. does. not . come. And when it does days and days later, its obvious that its been sitting in my colon for a long time. Any suggestions on how you manage? Things you take, dietary , anything?

    • Becky August 24, 2011, 4:49 pm

      Coffee. Always coffee. It’s a little miracle. 🙂

      • Leah August 25, 2011, 10:31 am

        I’ve heard mixed things on coffee and I’ve never drank it. First thing in the morning? I just have mixed opinion on whether that would help or not.

        • Becky August 25, 2011, 10:34 am

          If you’ve never been a coffee drinker, than I think that it might really work. It’s worth a try, right? Try having an espresso or a latte in the morning with breakfast.

      • Leah August 25, 2011, 1:43 pm

        I don’t have a coffee machine. Starbucks or something? How does one drink coffee? First time? What do you put in it? Do you drink first thing and wait to eliminate bowels before eating breakfast?
        So many seem to swear they are better off without coffee. I’ve always thought it wouldn’t be a good thing. Thanks for the tips in the meantime.

        • Becky August 25, 2011, 1:57 pm

          Coffee isn’t bad, especially in moderation. I would suggest a coffee with milk or a latte or something like that because it might taste horrible to you if you just drink it black. In terms of its laxative effect, I don’t think it matters if you have it with breakfast, before breakfast, or after breakfast!

        • Jolene (www.everydayfoodie.ca) August 25, 2011, 8:53 pm

          Leah – try coconut oil/butter. I put about a tsp in with my oatmeal as it is cooking, or into a smoothie or something, and it does the trick every time. Coconut is known for getting things moving 🙂

  • Lindsay August 24, 2011, 2:38 pm

    My childhood dog slept in my bed up until the day I went away to college, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way! She kept my feet warm under the covers, and she was a Jack Russell so size wasn’t an issue. I miss having a dog in my bed 🙂

    With that being said, I haven’t owned a dog (yet!) since I moved out of my parents house 10+ years ago. But, I’d probably just shut the door while doing the polka, and then let him or her back in when we were done.

    Dogs in bed= one of life’s simple pleasures!

  • Leah @ Why Deprive? August 24, 2011, 2:39 pm

    I LOVED when my dog slept in my bed. For the first two years I had her she slept with me every night. Now she refuses, and sleeps in her own bed on the floor. I dont know why, it just happened one night and I guess she liked it. Sometimes I try and get her to come up and sleep with me, but she sneaks away when she thinks Im not looking. Its kind of funny.

  • Jen August 24, 2011, 2:39 pm

    I’d freak out if my dog wasn’t in my bed. I’m already a psycho and wake up in the middle of the night and panic that he’s not breathing. Since he’s right next to me, it’s easy for me to find out he’s still alive. If he didn’t sleep with me, I’d have to traipse around in the dark to find him which would not be fun.

    I will always sleep with my dogs. Nati’s legs are bad so he can’t jump in the bed anymore, but we’ve made him steps!

  • Katherine August 24, 2011, 2:39 pm

    My pup is allowed on the bed (on top of the covers only) to nap with me, or by herself throughout the day, but not allowed to sleep with me through the night…she is a total bed hog! and she is more likely to want to get up at ridiculous hours (like 3am) if she is not in her crate.

  • Sara @ OurDogBuffy August 24, 2011, 2:39 pm

    Our two large dogs (Standard Poodle and Labradoodle) sleep with us most of the time. Usually one starts out in bed with us–Our Poodle (Jasper) likes to be between us and the Labradoodle (Buffy–she is the Buffy of Our Dog Buffy) sleeps on top of me most night. Anyway, it is kind of annoying to have a large dog on top of you at night or on your feet. Sometimes I wake up and my feet are asleep or I’m burning up from having a big dog on top of me. Buffy’s hair will fly around and get on my face. (She is a Labradoodle but she sheds. They’re not all shed free, folks.) Their bodies keep the covers down and if you try to pull the covers, they don’t budge. When I get up for work (I leave first) both dogs usually sleep in my spot with my husband. They’re really good company. Their dog beds are on my side of the bed but they don’t sleep in them very often (obviously). I would like to get in the habit of them not sleeping with us. Sometimes Buffy gets upset because Jasper is in our bed and barks and chases him and then they play fight. Then we have to kick them both down and into their own beds. (Buffy has some jealousy issues. She doesn’t believe I should pay anyone but her attention. She’s only jealous of my attention give to others–mainly Jasper.) So anyway … to sum up my ramblings … I enjoy them snuggling with us sometimes, but it really disrupts my sleep too. Plus our queen-sized bed doesn’t really hold my 6’4″ husband and me very well with two 55-60 pound dogs in it too. They are good cuddle buddies, but they can be annoying too. Buffy was our first pet and we got her as a puppy. We let her sleep in our bed because 1) she was too cute to kick down 2) it was easier to keep an eye on her that way 3) She was quiet! On the horizontal polka. They have disrupted that on many occasions. It’s not cool feeling a dog’s wet nose on your feet or having them jump up at the corner of the bed during that time.

  • Jess August 24, 2011, 2:40 pm

    We’ve got a 40lb vizsla and a 30lb boston/beagle and they both sleep in our king size bed with us! It started out because they both cried so bad at night when we first got each of them that I just couldn’t get a good nights sleep. Recently we’ve been thinking about trying to transition them off the bed onto dog beds because the vizsla has really really long legs and is a kicker. Plus he gets up really early and just walks around the bed and jumps on and off it until we get up with him. Also, they both have to sleep touching me, so I rarely get a good nights sleep with two dogs laying basically on me lol.

  • Courtney Leigh August 24, 2011, 2:41 pm

    The cats are allowed to sleep with us and I imagine if (when) we have dogs it’d be the same. We were really thinking we needed a king size bed because it’s amazing how much room three cats can take up. Especially Nero, who likes to stretch out perpendicular to the bed, his little paws pressing into my spine in the middle of the night. I like having them there except during the above mentioned bed hogging. Or the time Kira clawed my man’s leg open. Or when Gypsy stills my pillow. Or bites my head in the middle of the night. Have I mentioned my cats have issues?

    As for tangoing – they mostly skedaddle during that time. Once Kira tried to attack a lizard through the window during mommy/daddy time, hitting the window over and over again and then pulling curtains down on top of herself.

  • Ashley O. @ The Vegetable Life August 24, 2011, 2:42 pm

    Haha this post cracked me up. We don’t havea dog (yet) but we have cats and we love them sleeping with us but some people find it gross because of the germ/hair issue. As long as we change our sheets frequently I see no problem with it!

    I loved your comment “They can ruin your sex life. Because who wants to make love with the family dog giving you the stink eye?”..This is soo totally true and my cats have made it awkward for us by literally staring at us with the evil eye as if we were interrupting them or something!

  • gabriella @ embracement August 24, 2011, 2:42 pm

    My dog sleeps with my parents sometimes, they try to keep him off the bed but he just really likes being with them. Especially if its bad weather, he gets scared and I think it’s cute. I WISH you had posted this yesterday!! I’ve been wavering back and forth on your duvet cover and another and I wasn’t sure on the color of that one compared to the website pic so I didn’t get it. Now I reallllly want it again

  • Allie August 24, 2011, 2:42 pm

    Our dogs used to sleep with us. We have two dogs, both are corgi/some other type breed dogs. Boca would sleep under the blankets and by my feet, which I love during the winter time. However, when we added JD into the mix, it became chaos throughout the night. Both dogs would be up and down all night long. So they now sleep in their crate.

    However, my husband travels a lot for weeks at a time. Whenever he is gone, my dogs get spoiled and sleep with me every night!

  • Tricia August 24, 2011, 2:43 pm

    OMG were you a fly on the wall in my house this week? We have had a puppy for not even a month and we keep alternating between him sleeping in his crate and sleeping in our bed. The bed is too high for him to jump in and out of, so he just rearranges himself all night long. I’m not working right now, so I don’t really care but it keeps my husband up all night. It looks like our pup is headed back to the crate, but I have no idea what he’ll do once he’s bigger. My hope is that he’ll sleep on our floor but he’s a cuddler so far so I don’t know if that’ll work.

  • Victoria (District Chocoholic) August 24, 2011, 2:43 pm

    If I ever find a dog in my bed in the morning I will seriously lose it.

    Because I have no dog, so somebody would have some serious explaining to do.

  • Wendy August 24, 2011, 2:43 pm

    I used love to have my cat sleep in bed with me, but he’s gotten so angry and spiteful lately that I kicked him completely out of the house. That’s what he gets for pooping on the floor right next to me while I’m fixing his food. And canned food at that, after I paid lots of $$ to have two of his teeth removed. Hmph.

    I do enjoy having an animal in my bed to cuddle with though, esp. since my husband is only home a few days a month.

    • Vikki August 24, 2011, 9:38 pm

      I once woke up to a cat peeing on me. Animals are no longer allowed to sleep with me. I probably woke my neighbors two apartments over with my screams.

  • Samantha @ Bikini Birthday August 24, 2011, 2:43 pm

    I was against my puppy sleeping with us from the get go. On day one we put her in her crate to sleep. She cried and cried and cried but we just dealt with it… it only took one night of crying before she got used to sleeping in there. Now she doesn’t even hesitate to sleep in the crate.

    If we let her sleep with us she would wake us up all the time– Barking or crying when she hears a noise or a thunder storm or whatever. She’s actually completely quiet and I think she feels safer iin the crate.

  • Samantha Angela @ Bikini Birthday August 24, 2011, 2:44 pm

    I was against my puppy sleeping with us from the get go. On day one we put her in her crate to sleep. She cried and cried and cried but we just dealt with it… it only took one night of crying before she got used to sleeping in there. Now she doesn’t even hesitate to sleep in the crate.

    If we let her sleep with us she would wake us up all the time– Barking or crying when she hears a noise or a thunder storm or whatever. She’s actually completely quiet and I think she feels safer in the crate.

  • Baking N Books August 24, 2011, 2:44 pm

    I know I’ll get a lot of haters for this – but I totally don’t think they should be allowed…but I’m not a big dog person! And I’m also slightly OCD 😉 I just feel like I would have to change the sheets constantly. I am clean when I get in the bed – but the animals probably aren’t depending on where they’ve been. Plus dog hairs up in my nose aren’t really cool…;)

  • Annette @ EnjoyYourHealthyLife August 24, 2011, 2:45 pm

    I am sorry, but I don’t ever want animals to sleep in our bed with us! But I am not much of a pet person anyways. I think it is totally gross! But animals are cute, for sure! Just NOT in my bed! Hah.

    I love your lunch idea. Beans are SO great because they’re filling and tasty 🙂

  • Katie @ Peace Love and Oats August 24, 2011, 2:45 pm

    I have to say that I’m very anti-pets in the bed, for all the reasons listed above. I grew up in a house with outdoor dogs (golden retriever and then a chocolate lab). our dogs had their kennels in the basement and could go outside into the backyard through a doggie door whenever they wanted. In other words, they didn’t even sleep in the house unless it was really cold!

  • faith @ for the health of it August 24, 2011, 2:45 pm

    I love that my dog sleeps with me, especially since I’m in a long distance relationship and I miss my cuddles! When he is in town, though, we have to kick the puppy out of the bedroom. I’ll never forget trying to finnagle sexytime with my ex though – we both had dogs and had to keep one in the room with us so they didn’t get into trouble – naturally it kept hopping up on the bed! It was super strange, and I kept thinking “no thanks buddy, we don’t need any help…”

  • Gretchen @ Honey, I Shrunk the Gretchen! August 24, 2011, 2:45 pm

    1. The title of this post is just too cute.

    2. I would kick my boyfriend out of bed before I’d kick my dogs out (although recently Harry has taken to sleeping on the floor out of choice… perhaps he had one too many run-ins with a stray leg or foot… oops.)

    3. Dirt and dandruff be damned! My pups are better than any stuffed animal (I might feel differently if I had life-size dogs though instead of my fluffy little buddies.)

  • lara August 24, 2011, 2:46 pm

    I love love love my dogs but they will never sleep in my bed (unless maybe I live alone but hopefully that won’t happen!). No TV in the bedroom and nothing in the bed but my and my bf. Also, no dog ever smells good…

  • Tiffany August 24, 2011, 2:46 pm

    Hi Caitlin! I love your blog and have followed for a while, but this is my first time commenting.

    I would love for our dog to sleep in our bed, but he weighs 140lbs so there is literally no room! Sometimes I joke with my husband that I would be happy for him to sleep on the couch and the dog to take his place, but I don’t think he finds it amusing! Our dog does sleep in our room but we have a strict “kick out the dog and close the door” rule when it comes to our quality alone time!

  • Sarah August 24, 2011, 2:47 pm

    I hate when my boyfriend lets his dog sleep in bed with us. She’s a 120 pound bloodhound, and she always curls up at the bottom of the bed on top of my feet, which totally ruins a night of rest. My boyfriend is also a big guy at 6’5″, so with him, the dog, and me it feels like there are 4 people in the bed.
    I must admit, though, that I let the dog climb in bed with me when he’s out of town. I need someone to cuddle.

  • Shaya (Eye Girl Eats) August 24, 2011, 2:47 pm

    Our family dog is a pug, and I lived having her sleep in my bed– she kept me warm, made a comforting snoring sound, and I loved the cuddles. HOWEVER, she would emit such noxious fumes that I seriously had to stop cosleeping with her, haha. Also, she’s kind of a bed hog– leans up against you, and when you adjust positions she will follow and lean against you again til you’re nearly pushed out of the bed 🙂

    I’m not against it for people whose dogs behave better!

  • Liz August 24, 2011, 2:47 pm

    Our pomeranian is allowed in bed with us, but once he passes away, no more dogs in bed. Our two 90 lb labs aren’t even allowed upstairs. They sleep in the living room or at the bottom of the stairs. We wouldn’t have room for us if they did. We call them the downstairs dogs!

  • Amber, Blonde & Balanced August 24, 2011, 2:47 pm

    Hahaha, I am loving the comments.

    I am a dog lover, but my husband and I will never let them sleep in our bed. (We currently live in an apartment, but can’t wait to buy a big dog when we finally get a house!) I’m a horrible sleeper and it takes a miracle for me to fall asleep, so that’s one reason. Another is I’m a germaphobe. I don’t mind cuddling up with doggies on the floor or whatever, but there is just something about the bed! Finally, we plan to get a huge dog, so I think that it might be impossible to fit us all in one bed. 🙂 Although, reading some of the comments above, it does seem like some people have big dogs sleep with them!

    Interesting topic!

  • Kathryn @ Flopoodle August 24, 2011, 2:48 pm

    We tried to let the Flopoo (our collective 2 cats) sleep in our room when they were kittens, but one of them peed on us one night so that was the end of that. We recently started trying again but they either go crazy in the middle of the night, or the boy starts grooming my BF’s beard and keeps everyone awake. Bottom line, if you can pull it off, by all means have the pets in the room/bed with you!

  • Lee August 24, 2011, 2:48 pm

    My 60 lb dog sleeps in between us in the bed. However, we do kick him out at certain times!

  • Chloe (In Fine Feather) August 24, 2011, 2:48 pm

    I understand why people let doggies (especially small ones in their bed) because they can be good snugglers and also make their owners feel more safe. However, I would never let my dog sleep in my bed. First, because I plan on getting a bigger dog when I do, and second because I think it’s better for the pup. In some cases sleeping with the owner can lead to separation anxiety if the dog has to go to the doggie hotel (boarding) or someone else is staying with them/they are in a foreign environment.

    I also don’t think I would actually sleep – I’m such a light sleeper that my AC wakes me up so a dog definitely would!

  • Claire @ Live and Love to Eat August 24, 2011, 2:49 pm

    My family’s dog did when I was little… our current dog was very well trained though and likes to sleep in her “bed” (crate) at night.

  • Ashley August 24, 2011, 2:50 pm

    I have 2 jack russel’s and I let them sleep with me. I’ve gotten so use to having them in the bed that when they aren’t I don’t sleep good. Plus I live by myself and keeping them in the room with me, makes me feel protected.
    Your dogs are adorable!

  • Erin @ The Grass Skirt August 24, 2011, 2:51 pm

    I love that pic of you on the bike. By the way, my mom was looking at my HLS pictures and specifically called you out by saying, “That girl is so pretty!”

    Anyway, we let our dog sleep in the bed with us. During “busy time” she usually stays on the bed (because it is high and she cannot jump off), but she usually stays as far away from us as possible. In fact, I’m pretty sure that we traumatize the poor thing.

  • Kim@ Wonderings of a Twenty Something August 24, 2011, 2:53 pm

    We originally let our Maggie in our bed when she came up to visit around 5:30. She has a temperature regulating problem so she liked to cuddle when she started to wake up. We didn’t allow her under the blankets but she would snuggle into us on top of the blankets and nest in. Once the Husband’s parents stayed with us for a week, Maggie was in bed with us every night because they let her do it while they visited. It hasn’t changed. She even turns up the covers when the comforter is put up so she can lay down. She knows the rules!

  • Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table August 24, 2011, 2:53 pm

    I don’t think dogs belong in bed. FOr all of the reasons you listed, plus the fact that they are hot, take up too much space, and smell bad. I’ve broken up with people over it… but having grown up with even allowing animals in the house I am REALLY sensitive to it.

  • Melissa August 24, 2011, 2:55 pm

    We have a 100lb ridgeback/shepherd that sleeps in the bed with us occasionally. He usually leaves once we’ve both fallen asleep, but in a full size bed it gets pretty cramped! And if we’re planning on getting it on, the door gets shut behind us when we go into the bedroom rather than leaving it open so he can come and go as he pleases. If it happens randomly in the middle of the night though and the door is open, our dog gets concerned that we’re hurting each other and wants to know what’s going on haha!

  • Colleen August 24, 2011, 2:56 pm

    Our previous dogs (a lab and a beagle mix) would sleep with us, but our current dog (shepard mix) doesn’t – her choice not ours. Our cat sleeps with us only when she is cold. Once we had kids the dogs would either sleep with us or sleep in the hallway between the bedrooms or on the floor beside our bed – makes for an interesting first step.

  • Cynthia (It All Changes) August 24, 2011, 2:56 pm

    I have two dogs…both about 11 pounds and a king sized bed. Oh and a husband 🙂 We all sleep in the same bed because they are rescues and howled the first three nights after we brought them home (adopted together). We felt bad and let them in the room but didn’t want them in the bed. After an hour of picking them off the bed to put them on the floor they were just allowed to stay in bed so we could sleep. Peanut has a blanket at the end of the bed she sleeps on and Leo is pasted to Hunni’s side.

    They “know” and jump down during us time or ignore us completely staring at the door like “really people, again?”

  • Averie @ Love Veggies and Yoga August 24, 2011, 2:57 pm

    No dogs in bed. Everyone BUT me got sleep. My hubs, my dog, I finally was like ummm…why am i on 2 square inches of the edge of the bed and the dog is in the comfy middle part…snoring. Right along w/ my hubs. I made some changes 🙂

  • Ash August 24, 2011, 2:58 pm

    No dogs (or kids) in bed! We have 4 kids and 1 dog. Kids in their beds, dog in her crate at night. Otherwise we would never get any sleep!

  • Chelsea August 24, 2011, 2:58 pm

    I love love my dogs sleeping with me. Except for right now. My dogs pregnant and she keeps seeping this dischargy looking stuff onto my bed. It’s so freaking gross. For now they stay in the cage at night to avoid getting white stains all over my black sheets.

    As for when we do the deed me and the boy just tell the dogs to get out than open the door when we’re done. They don’t whine much while waiting, but they do just lay outside the door. It’s hilarious because once we open the door Rusty (the male) jumps on the bed and starts rolling around like he knows what just went down.

  • Laura August 24, 2011, 2:58 pm

    Leland definitely sleeps we me and the Hubs. At first I wanted to keep him in his own bed on floor next to us, but the Hubs invited him up and the rest is history. I can’t relax without having him there with us. And he’s an excellent spooner.

  • sandy August 24, 2011, 2:59 pm

    Do want you want you and the husband. I used to sleep with my dog, until the very day I went to the hospital to deliver my first baby. I will always love him of course, but things change when you have kids, as they should. Pet dander and babies lungs are a bad recipe. After we had children the dog was no longer to be on any furniture. It has worked well.

  • Allison @ Happy Tales August 24, 2011, 3:00 pm

    Happy is the biggest wiggle worm on the planet — even in her sleep. I’m a light sleeper, so it can make some nights super super long. We usually let her sleep w/ us though… but if she gets down to go potty, Ryan usually takes her out since he knows how hard it is for me to get back to sleep. But there is nothing in the world that make me happier than seeing that little pup all lethargic and relaxed in bed with us… love having us all together piled up in bed!

    PS. those pics really make me miss your pups. Soooo cute!

  • Margaret August 24, 2011, 3:02 pm

    These stories & comments are hysterical!

    I married into a cat, which I’m totally fine with b/c I’m a big cat person (I’m also a dog person but the Hubs is not). She sleeps right by my head and does what we call “Kitty Scarf” where she lays her tail right on my neck. I love it!

    On the downside, she really only jumps up on my side of the bed. I have also gotten into the horrible habit of getting out of bed to pick her up (I’m not coordinated enough to do the one arm pick-up). Her scratching the bed to let me know I’m there wakes me up and the fastest way to get her to stop is to just pick her up. SO, the Hubs and I will switch sides of the bed after a night when it’s been “rough” and I’ve picked her up 6-7 times. It’s not as bad as it sounds b/c I fall back to sleep very quickly. The way I see it, it’s good practice for when I have to do that for a baby. Oh dear.

  • Shelley@MileHighHealthy August 24, 2011, 3:03 pm

    Our cat always slept right on my pillow! Even though he was HUGE and took up the whole thing I never kicked him off, he was just too sweet. He passed away a week and a half ago and even though I actually get to use my own pillow now, I would do anything to have him back and taking up space again….

    • Kris August 24, 2011, 10:21 pm

      I’m so sorry for your loss!

    • CaitlinHTP August 24, 2011, 10:29 pm

      Aww 🙁 me too!

      • Reenie August 24, 2011, 11:17 pm

        Ahhh I’m so sorry Shelley. =(

        I have 2 cats ~ and they both sleep with me 🙂

      • Shelley@MileHighHealthy August 25, 2011, 12:21 pm

        Awe, thank y’all! He was a sweetheart and will be missed. Because our house felt so empty, my husband and I just adopted two kittens. I’m sure they will be disrupting my sleep in no time 😉

  • Steph @ Running in the Kitchen August 24, 2011, 3:06 pm

    Oh yeah he does – all 50 pounds of him. We both sleep on the edge of the bed so Rooney can stretch out! I don’t mind it because he cuddles up next to me, but the downside is that he sticks his paws in my boyfriend’s back for leverage. We’ve debated getting a co-sleeper (it’s for babies) so Rooney can have his own place to sleep at the same height as us. Is that weird? Maybe, but we’d do anything for our ball of fur!

  • HEather August 24, 2011, 3:06 pm

    I have 2 giant dogs, both 100 lb’s each…and yes, they both sleep in the bed w/us. We had to switch from a queen to a king to fit us all. The good thing is they are poodle mixes, a labradoodle and a goldendoodle, so they don’t shed much at all.
    As for the TMI issue, distract them w/doggie ice cream, then shut the door. Works everytime.

  • Laura August 24, 2011, 3:07 pm

    I CANNOT HANDLE the cuteness that is James and Maggie lounging in your bed. Clearly it is THEIR bed, and they are nice enough to let you and the husband sleep there too. My 70 pound Golden Retriever sleeps with us on top of the covers, though. She usually gets hot in the middle of the night and gets down to sleep on the cool kitchen floor. But it’s so nice to cuddle up with her while we’re dozing off and watching the news! Cute post, Caitlin.

  • Amber from Girl with the Red Hair August 24, 2011, 3:07 pm

    Love this post! We just got a puppy and initially we were going to have her in bed with us (our cat sleeps in our bed – at our feet but occasionally wrapped around our heads on the pillow too) and we wanted our dog too as well.

    Well, one night of that idea and it was gone. She moved and wiggled SO MUCH. I’ve never had such a bad night of sleep. So now we are crate training her and she sleeps in her crate (cat still sleeps with us). I’m hoping once she’s fully house trained she will sleep on a dog bed at the end of our bed or occasionally in our bed at our feet. My fiance says his vision of a perfect life is waking up on a Saturday morning with his dog sleeping at his feet. HA!

  • Nikki T August 24, 2011, 3:08 pm

    Before we got Bella (our chocolate lab…75 lbs!) we 1) said we’d NEVER have a pet! After we got her we said 1)no dogs on the couch and 2) definately NO dogs ON THE BED!
    2 years later…Bella most definatley goes on the couch…and she also sleeps with us every night and we love it!
    It is kinda gross…so much dog hair on the duvet cover, but I agree that nothing beats a snuggly tired pup on the bed. At least she doesn’t sleep under the covers….!
    As for the TMI bit…we used to lock her out, but as someone mentioned above, she just waits at the door anyway…so we just ignore her! CRAZY dog owners!!!

  • Amanda @ Cucina Amanda August 24, 2011, 3:09 pm

    I will probably never let a dog sleep in bed with us. I feel like it gives them the idea that they can be on the furniture everywhere in the house! Plus, my sister-in-laws dog sleeps under the covers and it drives me absolutely crazy when he thinks he can hog my bed!

  • Sara August 24, 2011, 3:11 pm

    Call me mean and selfish but as much as I love my dogs snuggling with me they are not allowed on the bed for bed time. First Jack is 60lbs and likes to sprawl on my legs and Daisy is a 25lb growing puppy who likes to be in your face meaning I’d feel trapped down. Second because of the TMI stuff and because just having my boyfriend with me is enough sharing LOL! Maybe it’s because I’m an only child and my family dog always slept in my parents’ room – never mine?? But while I do love some separation from the dogs I sometimes wish they were with me when I hear scary noises to know they are out of their crates ready to attack if there is an intruder…

  • Stacy @ Stacy Eats August 24, 2011, 3:12 pm

    We were just having this same conversation two nights ago! Our big, almost 90 lb lab/bloodhound mix was laying his sad puppy face on the bed and giving us the look of, let me in, the other night. Seeing as we only have a full size bed and he would pretty much take up the entire thing, him getting in bed is not even a question in our house. He has two couches to himself instead 🙂

  • Kat August 24, 2011, 3:13 pm

    My dog slept with me for her entire life, up until she passed away last year. She was a Great Pyrenees mix and while she started as a tiny fluffy puppy, she grew and grew until she weighed more than I do! Sometimes I’d have to give her the boot if she was restless and rolled on top of me (suffocation was a real concern!) and I always shut her out if I was getting down and dirty with someone, just because I worried that she’d think they were hurting me and try to defend me! Now I just have guinea pigs and while they are good cuddlers, I wouldn’t trust them to share a bed with me. Too much poop and they might chew up the pillowcases!

  • Jen @ Jen is Green August 24, 2011, 3:13 pm

    having never had a dog i can’t comment on the dogs in bed issue, but i do have a cat. i tried leaving my door open for him to come lay on the bed at night, but he ends up using my bed as a scratching post at 3am and then clawing my feet through the blanket, so needless to say i lock him out of my room at night. i feel bad but i like my sleep too much!

  • Laura @ Running Dame August 24, 2011, 3:13 pm

    Our sweet Olivia sleeps in bed with us, for better or worse. I keep telling my husband that once we have kids, she’s going to be kicked out. He feels bad leaving her downstairs all night since we are both gone all day at work.

    The weird thing: she sleeps UNDER the covers ALL night. She’s a pug and so she has breathing issues to begin with, but she nuzzles at our shoulders to lift up the covers and goes straight to the bottom of the bed. I have no clue how she gets any oxygen at night!

  • Leanne (Bride to Mrs,) August 24, 2011, 3:15 pm

    When I lived at home with my parents, our family dog (who was really more my dog then anyone else’s) would always sleep with me in the bed… during the winter she would even go under the covers and use the pillow <– no lie.

    I remember it bothering my husband (he was my bf at the time) beacause as much as he loved her… the 3 of us in a queen bed didn't leave much room.

    Now that we moved out (& only have two cats as of now), if we eventually get a dog — from the beginnning we won't allow him/her on the bed. I think it's good to have boundries. Dogs are definietly "pack" animals but if you don't show them that you are the leader of the pack, they will run the show!

  • Kelly August 24, 2011, 3:15 pm

    LOVE this topic. It is one that gets discussed more and more every day in our house. Personally: I love having Olive sleep with us in general, but she does take up more space than a 20lb dog should, and yes it does make the bed quite hairy and even a bit smelly. I’m starting to think about when we have kids, and if she will still sleep in the bed…..really I actually think its more a question of when I’m pregnant what will she do. After having the baby, I would imagine that she will come back and sleep with us, but being pregnant AND having her rolly polly pug self in the bed may not be the most comfortable situation.

    I think that me wanting to have Olive sleep in bed with us forever, has a lot to do with the fact that I always wanted a dog growing up, and never had one. Sleeping in bed with me is just something that I imagined that they normally do and how it should be. The husband, on the other hand, had dogs growing up who slept in his bed….and now he would prefer Olive not sleep on the bed with us.

    She definitely does make it harder to sleep sometimes….and have “us time” sometimes….but it is SO much better (to me) than having her whine or wake up barking in the middle of the night and then decide she is going to be up and wants my attention, which leads to me being awake and getting less sleep in the long run.

    When she sleeps in the bed, she will pretty much always lay in bed with us until we decide to get up.

    Clearly Olive knows how to make the situation work for her. 😉

  • erica August 24, 2011, 3:17 pm

    our dog sleeps in the bed with us. he’s only 4.5 pounds. we never intended for him to sleep in the bed (mainly because of the tracking in dirt/bugs/germs issue, and the fact that he’s so small we thought we may roll over and smash him—i have accidentally kicked him off the bed once)

    but after months of trying to get him to sleep in his own room, and months of barking, we caved…and now we can’t even believe we tried to make him sleep anywhere else.

  • Rachel August 24, 2011, 3:18 pm

    One of the main reasons we got a dog in the first place was to have him to snuggle with us at night. I love sleeping in bed with my dog even if he is a total space hog and ALWAYS has to sleep on my side and where my legs would comfortably go. I either have to bend one leg way up so I am in a laying down “tree pose” or have to have my legs spread out wide while the dog sleeps in a donut shape in between them. Oh well. I still love it. And I plan to let him sleep there as long as he wants to. However, if/when we have a baby, I suspect he’d sleep in the babies room to protect it at night.

    Speaking of the horizontal polka, our dog definitely has changed our lives in that department. He does two things #1: he’ll try to “help” by kissing, licking, snuggling while we are doing it and #2 if we’ve had a rather vigorous “session” he’ll look at my fiance with an angry face and we have to explain to him that daddy didn’t hurt mommy. We promise.

  • Penny August 24, 2011, 3:18 pm

    My dog always sleeps with me. Under the covers, against my legs. She’s so soft and warm and I love her. I actually can’t sleep without her.
    About James……in a few years, you’ll start to notice that he will not be up and down as much. As dogs get older, they sleep more solidly at night. I don’t think he would cause any problems for you. Also, it would be really hard on him to suddenly make him switch from something he’s always done.
    My dogs have always slept in my bed…even when our kids and babies were in bed with us. Dogs are very smart, and they knnow to be careful around the baby if you teach them.
    The first picture of Maggie made me die. I’m dead now. 🙂 She’s adorable.

  • 'Dee August 24, 2011, 3:18 pm

    So many comments making me chuckle!

    Our pup is 60 pounds and there’s just no way I can sleep if she’s laying all over me, so she sleeps on the floor next to my side of the bed.

    And there is no way in heck I’m answering the “get busy” part of this question! LOL.

    PS, for those of you who let your dogs sleep in the bed now, but plan to not let them after you have kids, I really recommend you start training them not to do so sooner than later. When you bring home a new baby, those poor pups’ lives will already be in chaos. Then they’ll suddenly be banned from the “pack’s bed” on top of it? Can be a sad but real opportunity for a beloved pet to develop bad behavior.

  • Nikki August 24, 2011, 3:19 pm

    I absolutely LOVE having dogs (2), but have always maintained the ‘no dogs allowed on the furniture’ rule. I have softened my stance a little bit with the couch because my dopey chocolate lab apparently needs something cushy under his bum (high maintenance!) He started lying on my bed while I was at work, which I do not like, so I figured the couch is the lesser of two evils. Plus he is a total snuggle buddy too and keeps me warm.

    I don’t think I will ever cave with the bed though. I love my dogs, but something about having them lay anywhere near my pillow just grosses me out.

    Dog #1 still doesn’t go on any furniture. He is 10 and still lives by the “old” rules. Good doggy!

  • Kathy August 24, 2011, 3:19 pm

    My kitty sleeps with me. My little dog would like to, but he is a cuddle sleeper and I like to stretch out and move. Plus, hubby snores, so he sleeps in his own room (once you’re married a long time you & Maggie will have your own bed..lol) and the dog usually goes to his room to sleep. The dog has stretched out, on occasion, while we “polka” & he doesn’t seem to mind at all. He figures it’s as good a time as any to take a nap!! I personally don’t mind. I like my animals and will always have them in my bed. Your babies are totaly adorable!!

  • leeann August 24, 2011, 3:21 pm

    We have a 60 pound dog who ends up in our bed. He starts on his own, but if he gets cold he will crawl up to our heads until one of us lifts the covers for him to crawl under.

    As for #2…he awkwardly lays at the foot of the bed silently judging us for cutting off his manhood.

  • Theodora August 24, 2011, 3:21 pm

    As it’s just me in my bed, Bailey definitely sleeps with me. (Despite how gross I realize that letting a dog who walks the NYC streets in bed is. I try not to think about that.) I love waking up in the morning to his fluffy little face.

    When it’s, um, not just me…he sort of glares and then slinks under the bed

  • Alison August 24, 2011, 3:23 pm

    My dog is allowed on my bed, but absolutely NOT on my couch. People tell me all the time that its cruel that I let her on one piece of furniture and not the other, but she has it all figured out and is just thankful that she gets a nice comfy pillowtop mattress every night.

  • Dana P. August 24, 2011, 3:25 pm

    We never intended our cats (3 of them) to sleep in bed with us. In fact, we weren’t going to let them in our bedroom! Not a nmonth after getting the first two our A/C unit broke–in August. It was around 91 degrees in our apartment and the complex put a window unit in our bedroom until they could get the A/C fixed. Our cats were just kittens then so we put them in our bedroom so they wouldn’t roast. It was all downhill from there. They all climb into bed with us everynight, sometimes before we’re even ready for bed. One cat, Stella, likes to burrow under the covers and it’s nice to have a soft, warm kitty right beside you. The only inconvenience is we can’t keep our blinds down because they will play with them all night. During sexy times we’ve let them stay in the room but sometimes they get a little too nosy and we just kick them out.

  • Crystal August 24, 2011, 3:26 pm

    All three of my cats sleep with my husband and me. They take up most of the bed actually. When we want to get it on, we just start and usually the movement bothers them and they jump off with pissed off looks on their faces.

    Your dogs are so cute I just want to squeeze them!

  • My Blonde Moments August 24, 2011, 3:26 pm

    My cat sleeps in bed with me and my boyfriend (and right next to me when bf isn’t there) and I love it!! However, it does make “personal time” with the bf interesting. Many times, we’ve finished the deed and realized the cat was sitting right there staring at us the entire time! Kind of freaky

    • Sarah August 24, 2011, 3:51 pm

      Haha! We’ve had the same experience. And the look in their eyes … they must be seriously confused. Ella will have this look on her face like she’s trying to figure out what the heck is happening to us!

  • crystal August 24, 2011, 3:26 pm

    The dog and baby are both in bed with us. The dog sleeps at the bottom on top of the covers and the baby (well 11 months) sleeps at the top under the sheet. Sex happens anywhere, but our bed.

  • Debbie August 24, 2011, 3:27 pm

    I have, um, six dogs, and four of them sleep on my bed. I love it. Three of them just crash and don’t move for the whole night. The other usually gets up after I turn off the lights, then wants to climb back in about 2 am. That is more annoying than just having them sleep with us, but, she makes up for it by being the best cuddler.

  • Amanda @ the beauty notebooks August 24, 2011, 3:28 pm

    When I was little, I was always scared to go to sleep. My parents suggested putting all of my dolls on my bed to “comfort me”, but when that didn’t work, they let our Vizsla, Jackie, sleep with me. (Fun fact: My dad’s name is John Kennedy, and of course her name was Jackie Kennedy, hehe.) And that helped a whole lot. She was a fat, lazy Vizsla and totally up to cuddling. She also liked to steal the covers ALL THE TIME and eventually started licking herself constantly, so for the last few years of her life she did not sleep with me. The Vizsla we have now, Buddy, isn’t allowed to sleep in my parents’ bed, but since I’ve been home from college this summer and my parents go to work in the morning before I do, my mom let him into my room and he would snuggle next to me. Just don’t tell my dad 😉

  • Mellissa August 24, 2011, 3:29 pm

    My dog sleeps with me and the boyfriend when he is over, his dog will come in for a bit but is super cranky so he wears out his welcome quickly. I love sleeping with Clifford, he is only 13 pounds and is a great cuddler.

  • Anne @strawberryjampackedlife August 24, 2011, 3:30 pm

    I grew up with doxie’s, so they were allowed to sleep with us. My husband grew up with an outdoor dog. He refuses to let our 50 lb german shepherd /corgi in the bed. I understand that, even though it’s a king size bed, it could get crowded. Plus he’s very picky about dirt. I don’t care if she’s with us.

    She did get a special treat a few weeks ago. She was freaking out about a thunderstorm, and after half an hour of trying to get her to calm down, the husband let her in the bed. She was only snuggling in between us for a few minutes (which I loved) before she recovered, and went back to her usual spots on the floor.

  • RunEatRepeat August 24, 2011, 3:32 pm

    No dogs in the bed! When I first took my dog to puppy training the instructor said the dogs should NOT be in our beds. They are not equals and should not be led to believe they are. We are the pack leaders and little things like sleeping arrangements teach them that too.

    Also, I don’t know if it’s a cultural thing, but I’m Mexican and raised in a place where dogs were pets not friends. Dogs were not allowed on any furniture in my or my friends’ house. Ben is a different ethnicity and we joke about this all the time because we were both raised with pets, but treated them very differently.

  • Christy August 24, 2011, 3:33 pm

    I have six dogs and six cats. Five dogs sleep in my mom’s bed. No joke. Then I have like two cats sleep with me.
    And we have doxie’s. We learned that they like to sleep in the bed underneath all the covers.

    I love having my animals sleep with me. Hhah. It’s nice.

  • jen@foodfamilyfitness August 24, 2011, 3:34 pm

    We don’t have pets, so I’ve never had this issue, but the husband and I had some deep *discussions* about letting kids sleep in our bed with us. We compromised that while they were breastfeeding they could sleep in our bed, but after that they went to their own beds!

  • Mandy August 24, 2011, 3:35 pm

    “My” first pet was an inside cat. I was probably 8 or 9 years old when we got home. I’d always wanted a cat and our neighbor had a co-worker who had a litter she was trying to place in temporary homes. We took one and never gave him back. He was my baby. Slept with me every night. A few years ago he was diagnosed with a stomach cancer and he grew progressively worse. It devastated me when we had to have him put down. He was 15 and I’d spent most of my life with him next to me in bed. We have a small dog now and she sleeps with me when I first go to bed. When my parents go to bed she goes with them for the night. It took me a while to get use to not having an animal with me. I love having a “bed partner”. Our pup is super snuggly and precious.

  • AshinMT August 24, 2011, 3:35 pm

    I have a 90lb Chesapeake. He sleeps with us, but often in the summer sleeps in his own bed because he (as well as we) are HOT. In the winter however, its every night. I wouldnt trade it- espeically when my boyfriend works in the field- im less lonely.
    I do think however that it would be really really hard to break my dog (and most of them in general) of this habit once it has already been “ok” for any period of adult dog-hood time. I also think i would feel guilty kicking them out, like “PSYCH” we changed our mind. Maybe im too much of a softy, but i feel like my dog might take it personally 🙂

    • laura August 24, 2011, 3:38 pm

      I feel the same way! I think my dog would be crushed if we changed our minds now.

  • Kristina @ spabettie August 24, 2011, 3:35 pm

    haaa, I love when you post topics like this, and you KNOW I love that first photo of Maggie! 🙂

    Basil does sleep with us, down at the foot of the bed and he HAS to be touching me – my feet. He gets in and falls asleep almost immediately, and barely moves all night. Sleeping only, though – everything else, he’s Off The Bed! 🙂

  • Vicky S. August 24, 2011, 3:36 pm

    We have an 80lbs weimeraner and a 55lbs pit mix… both are allowed in bed… just not under the covers. The pit is normally the only one that ends up on the bed. The weimeraner prefers the couch.

  • Laura August 24, 2011, 3:36 pm

    Heck Yes! all dogs are welcome in our bed, even when we dog sit for our friends and family. My boyfriend and I have let our 90lb lab sleep in bed with us for the last six years. We began to let her when she was officially potty trained and we love it. Sometimes we have to shift her body, which can be difficult because she is sooo heavy, however, none of us lose sleep over it. I have, however, been woken up by the cats jiggling the door and crying to get in. We usually keep the cats out because they are on a different sleep pattern and all they want to do is climb on the dressers and knock stuff off shelves. However, if they would sleep when we did, we wouldn’t mind the furry addition.

  • Ché @ Knight at the Restaurant August 24, 2011, 3:37 pm

    Psht. I close to the door to my room so that my cat has NO CHOICE but to sleep in the bed with me. I always love snuggling with him, but during the cold winters, nothing beats morning cuddling with the warm, fuzzy beast curled up next to me under the covers.

  • Sarah August 24, 2011, 3:39 pm

    I love these debates!

    Growing up, our (I mean, my) cats always slept in bed with me. It never even occured to me that this could be weird! And I still think it’s okay – in fact, it’s one of life’s great pleasures if you ask me! Since I got her 8 years ago, my cat, Ella, and I have had a routine: she’ll lay on top of me when we first get in bed (while I read or my bf and I talk), and we cuddle – she purrs like a maniac and will happy-drool; then when it’s time to hit the lights, she gets under the covers and cuddles right up. She’s the best snuggler! She usually stays there all night, which can make it tough to get out of bed in the mornings.

    And she has my bf wrapped around her little tail, too. He came on the scene about 9 months after I got her, and they weren’t too keen on each other at first (well, Ella was a little bitchy about the attention he was getting), but over the years they’ve developed the cutest relationship!

    As far as when my bf and I have “our time” … eh, whatever, it can be a little weird to catch her staring at us – okay, a lot weird – but she’s a cat so I just look the other way! 😉

    • Sarah August 24, 2011, 3:43 pm

      Edited to add: I don’t actually let her ON THE BED when my bf and I are getting busy! She just might be around. Started thinking I sounded really kinky …

      • Jennifer August 24, 2011, 3:47 pm

        Oh my gosh. I seriously just laughed out loud at that.

    • Amber from Girl with the Red Hair August 24, 2011, 3:56 pm

      Cats are SO creepy/funny when they stare. Once when me and my fiance were starting to get busy we caught our cat perched on the edge of the bed STARING us down. I almost died laughing. It ruined the moment, but I still (over a year later) CRACK up when I think about it or tell the story – i.e. right now. Ha!

  • tmart August 24, 2011, 3:43 pm

    Wow, I honestly cannot believe how many people have dogs in their beds! I don’t have a dog but I honestly think that is just about the grossest thing ever. Think about it- dogs walk around outside on the streets, in their poop, sniff each other’s butts and then you let them go on your pillows and sheets? I guess I’m no person to judge but the unsanitary-ness of that seems crazy! I feel like the sheets would smell and it would be a total turn off to me. I like the fresh clean feeling of bedsheets and lots of room to move around! The thought of a dog’s naked hindcorners where I put my head/body..ewwwwww ewwwww ewwwww!!!!

  • Carly D. @ CarlyBananas August 24, 2011, 3:43 pm

    My dog definitely sleeps on the bed under the covers with me. The BF isn’t the biggest fan of this arrangement so I taught Fin to only sleep on my left side (BF sleeps on the right). If we decided to have some grown up time Fin goes to his crate with some treats so he forgets he just got booted from bed 😉

  • Jennifer August 24, 2011, 3:44 pm

    I am single…sometimes I wish I got a male dog so I could say that the boyfriend and I are in bed…aka my pup…but I did not get a male dog. I have my wonderful Callie. She occasionally wakes up in the middle of the night to go outside, it is rare. She is not a cuddler, she sleeps at the end of the bed. Always has since the day I rescued her. But I cannot sleep without her in the bed.
    When the time comes and I get married, the husband and I can discuss the pup moving out of the bed. Until then the pup stays put. I feel very protected by her and I know if she wakes up in the middle of the night and barks I will as well.

  • Joanne August 24, 2011, 3:44 pm

    You’re lucky your pups are small. We have a German Shepherd and he will hop on the bed any opportunity he gets ONLY when I’m alone in the room. If my husband is around, Shane avoids the bed. In fact, if Shane is on the bed and he hears Ted coming up the stairs, he immediately leaps off, goes to my side and lays down like he’s little mister innocent.
    Dogs are funny and they are so much the part of the family, I wouldn’t think of banning my pooch from the bed.

  • Julia August 24, 2011, 3:47 pm

    Our little dog is crate trained, so when he has to sleep in his little apartment he does. HOWEVER, we absolutely love him and it is impossible not to want him in bed with us. Sometimes he takes up the entire bed, but he is so freakin’ adorable we can’t stand sleeping without him.

  • Krista August 24, 2011, 3:48 pm

    If it were up to me, my 3 cats would be in bed with us every night. Unfortunately, hubby doesn’t agree so down they go. On the night’s he’s out late playing hockey I usually “forget” to put them in the rec room and they’ll catch a few snuggles with me. 🙂

  • Stepfanie August 24, 2011, 3:48 pm

    I love this blog post!
    My cats started sleeping with me regularly when I moved out of my ex’s house. They didn’t like sleeping with him. After months of the cats and me snuggling in bed every night, along comes Sam.
    Sam does not exactly like cats in the bed–and my bigger cat knows this. He has taken to jumping on Sam’s pillow in the morning and standing on his bladder to wake him up.
    Still, the cats stay in the bed.
    And, it should be noted, the cats are angels with me. When he travels, they don’t disturb me in the morning and stay in the same place all night.
    As for the TMI: the cats have climbed/jumped up at awkward moments and they promptly get pushed (gently) off the bed. They took the hint and stay far away.

  • Dukebdc August 24, 2011, 3:50 pm

    Our dog (lab mix) sheds like crazy, so it’s nice having once place (the bed) that is relatively fur-free. Luckily our dog has never shown any inclination to jump on the bed, and so we don’t invite him up, either. We sleep in a full size bed, and the dog weighs 80 pounds, so there simply isn’t room. It’s easier to not have him in the habit of it now than to kick him out later. Besides, he snores!

  • pam c August 24, 2011, 3:51 pm

    Our dog is a german shorthair…who follows my husband everywhere..My husband cant leave the room without him following..He sleeps with us for awhile, then jumps down and sleeps on floor, then gets back up on the bed..at least 2x a nite…When we want to do the dirty..He goes outside, then scratches for a few minutes, then is quiet…If he has been outside for awhile, and we are getting busy..I think he can sense it, cause then he starts scratching to come in..One day we were in the shower together and when we got out, he had taken my brand new boot and chewed it up..It was under clothing so he couldnt get to it but he found it..he has chewed up my sunglasses also.. He loves me, but that is his dad…lol

  • Rachel August 24, 2011, 3:51 pm

    I did the same thing as you when I first got my dog. He was not going to sleep in bed with me, but after an hour of whining I caved, and he has been there ever since. I love cuddling with him, especially when he keeps my feet warm! In regards to sex, I cannot shut him out of the room or he (and my cat) try desperately to break in, even when they weren’t in the room to begin with! However, I can give him and my cat this look and they will leave me alone, whatever the reason.

    These past few days my dog has actually started sleeping under my bed. I guess its his natural burrowing instinct, but its still too warm to sleep under the covers.

  • Maryea {Happy Healthy Mama} August 24, 2011, 3:52 pm

    My dog slept with me growing up so I have no issues with it. We don’t have any pets now so I don’t know what we’d do if we did.

    After reading your post, I’d be willing to bet you are going to have a “family bed” after you have kids!! If you can’t kick the dog out, you’ll never be able to kick the kids out. 🙂

  • Amanda (modernation) August 24, 2011, 3:53 pm

    Our cat sleeps in bed with us (right between my legs), but the dog sleeps on his dog bed next to ours. With the dog it is just a space issue. If we had or get a King sized bed, he will most likely sleep on it with us. If Aaron is out of town, though, the dog sleeps in bed with me. I also grew up with family dogs sleeping in bed with me and think as long as there is room for them and they aren’t giving you any trouble, go for it!

  • Diana August 24, 2011, 3:54 pm

    I have a cat that I don’t let in my bedroom at all. I just don’t want his hair all over my clothes, plus he jumps up and down so much during the night it wakes me up!

    An old boyfriend had a pitbull that was allowed in the bedroom but not on the bed. The first time we had the sexy time at his house though the dog freaked out and whined and whined and started barking! It was a little embarassing! We weren’t doing anything THAT crazy. I guess he was just being protective of his Dad. After that though, he was crated up whenever ‘the mood’ struck.

  • Laura @ My Reason to Tri August 24, 2011, 3:55 pm

    i am totally encased by animals at night. one cat sleeps on my head (literally!), one cat sleeps on my left side, and then the 95lb german shepherd sleeps on my right side between my husband and i. talk about interrupting your sex life haha!

  • Julianne August 24, 2011, 3:58 pm

    I love having my small dog sleep in bed with me, but two things recently have made me reconsider: waking up with dog vomit on my foot at 3 a.m. lastweek and finding a little thing of dried poop in the bed this a.m. But, the pluses outweigh the minuses.

  • Amy August 24, 2011, 3:58 pm

    We have two big ole cats (14 & 18 lbs.), and they sleep with us every night. They generally go bother my husband first, who is a champion “sleep petter,” and then they stretch out at the bottom of my side of the bed. It’s kind of a pain, because then I can’t extend my legs, but they’re too cute for me to make a fuss. The only real complaint I have is when one of them jumps from the floor directly onto my stomach. Eighteen pounds of cat thumping all the breath out of your belly is a jarring way to wake up!

  • Jes August 24, 2011, 3:58 pm

    We have a cat… I must be his favorite of me and my boyfriend because every time he gets in bed, he lays on my pillow with me… Eventually I will wake up and not be on my pillow anymore because there is an orange furball in the middle of it. I try to kick him out, but it does not work. … The worst thing though, is when he gets really happy and purring a lot, he drools, normally on the pillow. I just flip it over and deal though. He is worth it! =)

  • Amanda August 24, 2011, 3:59 pm

    If the BF and I are sleeping at the same time (crazy nursing schedules) the doggies sleep on the floor or in the crates, or downstairs if its the daytime. If we are on opposite schedules they sleep with us in the bed because we are alone! When we are off the boxer sleeps on her dog bed on the floor and the mutt sleeps in her crate most of the night, then wakes up and scratches to come out and gets in bed with us…then no one sleeps well for the rest of the night until the 4 year old comes in and gets everyone up!
    As far as “the other times” in bed, we have to plan that because of my bladder issues, so they just stay out in the living room and we close the door. sometimes the mutt will scratch on the door which is annoying!

  • Heather August 24, 2011, 4:03 pm

    we used to let them sleep with us but it was disrupting my sleep so badly when we moved we kicked them out. Sassy does fine except for taking up room, which was annoying in a queen bed so we got a king…but bella…oh bella, if you roll over or touch her she growls and snaps at you when she is half asleep, and it scares the crap put of me…we are talking 35 times a night, so yeah, they had to go.

  • Theresa @ActiveEggplant August 24, 2011, 4:07 pm

    We used to let Dottie in the bed with us every night – until we realized how awful we sleep when she’s there. For being 1 foot long & only a few inches high that betch takes up some serious space! Seriously, she likes to lay in between me & my husband but PERPENDICULAR to us…and she kicks us and groans if we move too much or touch her. (She outgrew the cuddling phase when she was about a year old.)

    Now she only comes up on special occasions…which means when she looks at us with even more pathetic puppy dog eyes than usual. Otherwise she’s all cuddled up in her bed + fleece blanket right next to our bed. And luckily, our bed is too high for her to jump up to, so we are in control!

  • Evan Thomas August 24, 2011, 4:21 pm

    Growing up I wanted our dog to sleep in bed but my parents hated the idea and made him sleep in a crate. He was allowed to be in bed and lay down there for a few hours, but not overnight. Sometimes I’d put the dog in the crate and the crate on the bed.

  • Abby August 24, 2011, 4:25 pm

    Before my cat passed away, she slept with me every night of almost her entire life. She pretty much hated everyone except for me (she tolerated my husband), so she loved cuddling. She got to the point in her later years that she wanted to sleep on a pillow. So yeah, our cat had her own pillow beside mine. Ridiculous.

  • Jessica August 24, 2011, 4:29 pm

    Our dog slept in our bed (or at least our room – sometimes she didn’t want to sleep with us, lol) until we had our baby girl. We moved her out of our room because she’s very nosey and we didn’t want her trying to jump into the bassinet or jumping on and off the bed waking us up when we were already up every 2-3 hours.

    Once our daughter outgrows her co-sleeper (goes up to 35 pounds) I think she’ll move into our bed, for a while at least. Before we had a baby I thought she would go straight to her nursery, but now that she’s here, I can’t imagine sending her to a room all by herself!

  • Natasha August 24, 2011, 4:31 pm

    Love this post! I hate admitting to people who ask us where the dogs sleep, because so many times I get the disgusted reaction. Two of my dogs sleep in their beds on the floor, as they choose to, and my big black lab sleeps with us! I LOVE it, and wouldn’t change it for the world. I have a top sheet on the bed that I take off and throw in the wash which is where most of the hair is. I roller brush the rest. She is so warm and comforting and I, like you, don’t care about all the reasons why she shouldn’t. For the TMI she stays at the bottom of the bed when we are having “us” time unless we know before going to bed…then we leave them downstairs until we are done 🙂

  • Julie @SavvyEats August 24, 2011, 4:31 pm

    Nope, no pup allowed in the bed. Mostly because Dan is allergic to most dogs, and while he hasn’t had a reaction to the dog yet, having the dog on his pillow, etc probably wouldn’t be good for him.

    We tried just letting the dog sleep on the floor for a few weeks this summer, until we found out that he was pooping on the office floor in the morning instead of barking to be let out. He is sleeping in the kennel from now on!

  • Emily August 24, 2011, 4:32 pm

    Our pup sleeps in the bed with us on the weekend, so she doesn’t expect to get to all the time. She sleeps mostly at the foot of the bed on top of the covers. She knows the command off means get out of the bed, so that comes in handy in dancing situations. 😉

  • Jessica @ FitChickWannaBe.com August 24, 2011, 4:32 pm

    We have two dogs, and they used to sleep with us. Then one day I got fed up with all the dog hair and declared they were sleeping in their own bed from now on. We trained them to do that and they have been sleeping in their own little dog bed (under their own covers lol) for about 2 years now. HOWEVER…recently for some reason I have felt increasingly bad about not letting them sleep with us (especially after reading A Dog’s Purpose), and we have been letting them back up now. I just feel bad for my husband because they gravitate to him in bed (because he doesn’t move at all). I toss and turn a lot so they never want to sleep next to me. lol

  • dc August 24, 2011, 4:34 pm

    My boyfriend and I have a 6month maltese puppy. Since we both work, Benjy sleeps during the day and plays at night. We keep him in the bedroom to keep him from getting his paws into everything and I fall asleep to the sounds of Benjy playing with his chew toys and stuffed animals. He made a mistake one day and gave him a brand new shoe he didnt like to play with and all night long, all you would hear was the sound of a clunking shoe since he would drag it around the floor by the shoelaces. That was end of that toy!

  • Katie (Sweet Tater) August 24, 2011, 4:38 pm

    i am 100% pro animals in bed.

  • Jennifer August 24, 2011, 4:39 pm

    I can’t imagine not having my dog in bed with me. It’s a huge comfort, and he is a love bug to the 100th degree. Growing up our pets always slept with me. The only downside is my 10 lb Bichon manages to somehow take up a huge space of my queen size bed, leaving me towards the edge!

    During Sexy Time he usually just hangs out on the floor until afterwards, which is still kind of weird or I just pretend he’s not there LOL.

  • czabrina August 24, 2011, 4:40 pm

    My black lab passed away about a month ago, but he was the best dog ever! We let him sleep in the middle with us, even though he smelled like stinky feet. He would stay there for a while and after he had enough cuddles would go down to the end of the bed to sleep. I miss that stinky old dog.

  • Marissa C August 24, 2011, 4:43 pm

    NOPE! I let the family dog sleep at the foot of the bed in high school, but after watching my parent’s sheltie recently for a few days…NEVER. He was so bad…he would revenge pee/poop whenever we closed the door on him. Even if it was just 30 seconds so I could pee! I had to throw away our dining room rug 🙁

    Even without that experience, I never liked the possibility of animal grime in my bed. Watch a dog poop/pee and pay close attention to how much of it ends up on their fur…and eventually into your bed. Eck.

    I will let our children sleep with us, though.

  • Sophie @ threetimesf August 24, 2011, 4:45 pm

    I don’t sleep with my dog in my bed, only because we tried it once when she was a pup an she just rolled around licking my face – I couldn’t cope with that every night because I couldn’t sleep!
    My friend used to have 2 black labs though, and when I stayed over I used to leave the door open and they’d come in and sleep at the foot of my bed in the middle of the night – that was cute!
    I don’t see a problem with it aslong as it’s practical! 🙂

  • Kara August 24, 2011, 4:48 pm

    My dog isn’t allowed on the bed (she sleeps in her crate next to the bed), but our baby isn’t allowed in bed either. I guess I’m just a meanie. 🙂

  • Moni'sMeals August 24, 2011, 4:48 pm

    YES! Dogs in the bed ALL THE WAY! Haha, I say that but then sometimes I am like “get off the bed!” We actually let them as puppies and do not let them anymore when we go to bed.

    OH MY! CONGRATS on the awesome photo shoot! You look great! As a fitness model, It is harder than it seems huh?! No one knows how you actually have to do the sport/movement to get the shot. 🙂

  • Hanna August 24, 2011, 4:49 pm

    My husband never had a dog before we got our sweet girl Sonoma. Now she’s the queen of the pack and always sleeps in bed with us even though she disrupts my husbands sleep by moaning and licking his face in the morning! We love our dog too much I always say.. Btw- I love your dog posts!!

  • Lori August 24, 2011, 4:50 pm

    We most definitely let both of our dogs sleep in the bed with us, despite their habits of not staying in the same place all night. Seeing them snuggled into the comforter in the morning melts my heart every time.

    When we need “alone time”, we inform the dogs that its time for grownup time and direct them to the living room couches. Our beagle mix usually gives us her sad hound eyes, but we tell her she’s SOL and we’ll see her in a little bit.

  • Rachel Wilkerson August 24, 2011, 4:51 pm

    I’m surprised by all the people who ended up with pups in their beds because they cried the first few nights! I feel like dog training 101 tells you to let puppies cry or they’ll never stop crying to get what they want. Our puppies sleep in their crates all night, every night, and we don’t let them out when they cry, so they don’t really cry for the most part! Our dogs, like a lot of puppies, are too small to be in bed anyway — the risk that we would roll on them or that they’d fall out and break their leg is actually quite high! I feel like people worry a lot about hurting their dogs’ feelings by making them sleep alone or letting them cry, but giving in is actually what leads to a lot of behavioral problems in dogs, so we’ve been strict about this stuff.

    ANYWAY! To answer your question (although it’s probably obvious at this point) our pups also go in their crates when we bang.

    • Rachel Wilkerson August 24, 2011, 5:10 pm

      PS Everyone else opened up with their TMI but you never said what you and your husband do about having sex with two dogs around! What do you do??

      • Caitlin August 24, 2011, 5:15 pm

        Throw a blanket over Maggie’s head 🙂

        Maybe I’m just weak but I feel like it’s SOOOOO much easier to set up good habits with puppies that haven’t been ‘ruined’ by previous owners’ bad habits. I’m sure I could’ve stood up to Maggie but she was such a train wreck when we got her (her prior home was abusive). I’ve had so much trainers actually tell me that she’s not trainable as a result. Seriously! I would love someone who could help me get rid of her anxiety issues, but no one has been able to. I’ve tried so many trainers, methods, and read so many books. All fruitless.

        • Rachel Wilkerson August 24, 2011, 5:35 pm

          A blanket?! LOL. Does she mind!?

          Ah, I didn’t know she was a rescue! It’s definitely harder to train a dog that comes with bad habits or one that came from an abusive household! Even with these puppies, it’s still tough to ignore OUR instincts and do what the dogs really need. But I’m a Cesar Millan fan all the way…the puppies aren’t perfect by any means, but I’ve found that sticking to his methods to the letter has worked wonders! it’s exhausting though…we kinda had to make our puppies our second jobs to really be consistent with it. Maybe getting on the Dog Whisperer should be your next endeavor? 🙂

          In any case, good luck! And keep us posted, I’d definitely like to hear more about your dog training endeavors!

        • Ellie August 24, 2011, 6:43 pm

          I guess I’m spoiled because my family dog (adopted from a shelter at age 1.5) did not have any behavioral problems but my impression is that there is nothing implicitly wrong with “indulging” or soothing a crying dog, in the absence of any serious and unusual behavioral problems. I am pretty critical of Cesar Millan and like many people I feel that a lot of his methods are essentially based on inducing submissive behavior through psychological stress on the dog, and are informed by a pre-conceived ideology rather than a studied awareness of different ways that dogs react to stimuli and learn. Obviously there’s a big difference between ignoring a crying dog who wants to do something that it’s not allowed to do for a short time until it stops crying, and the kind of harsh treatment that Millan sometimes uses. I don’t think that tough love is always best though.

  • Anna @ Anna's Adventures in Health August 24, 2011, 4:54 pm

    I love when my dog Chloe snuggles up to me in bed 🙂 Unfortunately, we both take up too much space for a double bed so she ends up sleeping in her own bed! I DO try to keep her out of my sheets and away from my pillow..that helps right?!

  • Juli D. August 24, 2011, 4:56 pm

    No dogs in the bed here. One of our big guys can’t get into the bed unassisted (and he has no desire to be in our bed at night) and when we got the other one there were some dominance issues (we needed to establish that we were the alpha) so he wasn’t allowed in either. I have no desire to have them in the bed, for many of the negatives you listed. I do believe that dogs in the bed often make people feel better, even though it may not be better for the dog psychologically (not true for all dogs, more the case for dogs with anxiety or dominance issues). I’m glad your family has figured out something that works for you!

  • Kate August 24, 2011, 4:57 pm

    Our dog used to get to sleep in bed with us once in a blue moon. I’m now 7 months pregnant and once I started to get bigger and need extra pillows to keep me on my side, the dog got booted for good. He sleeps in a crate at the foot of our bed (he’s almost 3 now, so we leave it open for him now that he doesn’t get up and pace the room during the night–he’s a border collie and during his crazier puppy years he would do that all. the. time.)

  • Julie (A Case of the Runs) August 24, 2011, 4:59 pm

    I’ve always wondered about this! I have a dog who is crated at night and a cat that sleeps right outside my door. Sometimes, I think it would be cool to have the cat in the bed (the dog is much too dirty), but it (well, both of them, really) sheds a LOT.

    • Julie (A Case of the Runs) August 24, 2011, 4:59 pm

      I should also mention that the picture of Maggie is so cute and only slightly suggestive. =D

  • Madison August 24, 2011, 4:59 pm

    I truly love this post. My dog sleeps in the bed with me for the same reason. He was crying so much the first night I brought him home that it broke my heart. He’s been in the bed ever since. He’s such a tiny guy (Yorkie), I can’t imagine not letting him sleep in the bed. Plus I think he relies on me to keep him warm since he generates very little heat on his own.

  • Stephanie August 24, 2011, 5:02 pm

    Chase weighs 120 pounds. If we let him sleep on the bed, one of us would have to sleep on the couch! Ha! Once in a while I let him up on the bed when J is away and I’m cold or sad. But he usually gets off the bed himself and goes to his bed in the corner in the middle of the night. Dogs are creatures of habit!

  • Jen August 24, 2011, 5:05 pm

    LMAO! Your hubby is funny as! A pack of pets on the bed, how cute! I’ve tried the old kick them off the bed but feel bad staright away and have to go and get them and put them back ;p

  • Brie @ Brie Fit August 24, 2011, 5:14 pm

    Our rule is that the dog has to start the night in his dog bed. Usually, he’ll jump up (okay, or paw at my husband until he picks him up) about halfway through the night. It’s kind of the best of both worlds–we get husband and wife cuddle and sexytime before we fall asleep, but then we get doggie cuddles in the morning.

    I would mind him being on the bed less if he didn’t insist on sleeping between us with his head on the pillow. But he does.

    We also have two cats and I know very well that we’ll never get them to stay off the bed, so we just kind of go with it.

    Our solution is that we plan to upgrade from a queen to a king when we have a baby. Ha.

  • audrey August 24, 2011, 5:17 pm

    Having just split up with my husband, my cat has decided that my bed is his to share with me now!! He used to sleep the whole night on the spare bed, or on the sofa, occasionally coming through to the bedroom, but now, I wake up throughout the night to find him asleep (or cleaning himself) beside me on the bed. I love it! We’re a little pair now, and I like having the company through the night. Not so much when he walks over my face to wake me up though!

  • Liz August 24, 2011, 5:20 pm

    I am really surprised at how many pro-dog-sleeping-in-your-bed people there are out there. I had no idea! I am DEFINITELY anti. I love my dog, but I’m a terrible sleeper and I WOULD NOT sleep well with her adjusting herself all night long. I just can’t imagine her in bed with me (and she’s only 12 lbs). Honestly, I barely tolerate my husband in my bed (I love him, I swear). Besides the sleeping issue, the dirtiness issue is a close second. I just think the bed is my safe (clean) no-doggie haven. Plus, couches are for cuddling!

  • Danielle August 24, 2011, 5:20 pm

    I let my dog in my bed, but it’s only because she doesn’t shed (at all)! If she did shed, I’m sure I would feel differently just because now I’m spoiled…my dog’s lack of shedding has actually made me sort of skeeve dog hair whenever I am exposed to it now 😉 Terrible I know, but don’t worry…I still love all other pups 😀

    I like having her in the bed with me sometimes (she’s the best spooning partner ever) but since she’s a big dog, she often takes up practically the whole bed which annoys me. Not cool! Gotta love them though!

  • Jessi @ Quirky Cookery August 24, 2011, 5:23 pm

    I don’t have any awesome stories like the others in the comments here, but I just wanted to say that the first picture up there is awesome and made me giggle, hehe.

  • Carly August 24, 2011, 5:26 pm

    Both of my dogs sleep in my bed too! I love them in there (great cuddlers!) until they get one of us up in the middle of the night. As for the horizontal polka…. we keep kongs full of peanut butter in the freezer to distract them when we need out alone time 😉

  • Kate (What Kate is Cooking) August 24, 2011, 5:46 pm

    I’ve never had a cat or dog, so I’ve never dealt with this, but I probably would let them sleep in my bed- they would be good to cuddle!

  • D August 24, 2011, 5:49 pm

    I understand dog love. We have a dalmation that we absolutely adore and she is so wonderful with our two children… My two year old daughter bosses her around (i.e. ‘sit’ ‘move’ ‘come’ ‘catch’) and my dog does it and she is so gentle with her. But I have to draw the line at letting my dog into bedrooms. She licks herself ‘down there’, she sniffs other dogs bottoms etc on walks, she eats her own vomit, plus Dalmations shed ridiculously and the little hairs are impossible to get out completely, even with lots of washes and vacuums. Then there is the mud and dust and the rest…. gross!

    I think once you have your own children, things change a little. I still adore my dog and I am so proud of what a great girl she is, but I love my children more.

  • Jolene August 24, 2011, 5:55 pm

    The first pic is hysterical! We do not allow dogs in the bed but the cats can on occasion. Why not our dog? Well, she is 60+lbs! She’s a greyhound/german shepherd mix…our bed is not big enough for all 3 of us…plus the occasional cat. But I think its cute when the little dogs do as long as the humans remain the pack leaders!

  • janetha August 24, 2011, 6:07 pm

    Umm–our dogs allow US to sleep in our bed with THEM. Yeah, it’s like that.

    • Marie August 24, 2011, 8:55 pm

      awesome comment! i hear ya!

  • Carly August 24, 2011, 6:12 pm

    What a timely question! We recently adopted a second dog, which quickly resulted in us upgrading from a queen to a king size bed in order to accommodate the whole family 😉

  • AmandaonMaui August 24, 2011, 6:18 pm

    Was seeing a pic of your creamy dreamy roasted chickpeas last night the catalyst to making a take on them today? I like your take on them because I have a TON of dried pinto beans sitting around waiting to be made into something miraculous. 🙂

    -@gfreemaui

  • Ashley @ Thefitacademic August 24, 2011, 6:24 pm

    I’m very “pro” letting dogs sleep in beds! We have a giant (70 lb) dog so sometimes it can get crowded, but I wouldn’t have it any other way! At the same time, though, I don’t know what we’d do if we had multiple dogs or it got to the point where they literally can’t fit on the bed with us (if we got a second large dog, there would be no room!) I guess it just hasn’t been that much of an issue thus far.

  • Ashley @ MyFoodNFitnessDiaries August 24, 2011, 6:26 pm

    Great topic! I’ve heard many people debate back and forth about this issue. (My husband and I included!) My husband allowed our two labs to sleep with him in bed before we were married, but I was the “bad guy” and told him they’d have to sleep in their own bed when we’re married. They explore and play outside all the time and shed like crazy, so the thought of all their “dirtiness” in our nice, clean bed isn’t too appealing to me. My hubby also has bad allergies, so I told him it might help without all of the pollen and hair in our bed. I totally understand the reasons for wanting them to sleep in your bed, but they’re now happily in their own little comfy bed right next to our’s. 🙂

  • Kelly August 24, 2011, 6:33 pm

    No. I make my dogs leave the room before we have sex. It just seems like I have doing the dirty in front of my kids. Heh.

    Random…but I think we have the same bedspread. 🙂

  • Kristin @ STUFT Mama August 24, 2011, 6:34 pm

    Ha ha! Love this! Too funny that I jst woke up from short nap with my cat nuzzled up in my crotch. 🙂 My husband HATES letting the cats in the bed so when he’s not home they sneak up on the bed (and apparently in my crotch). Talk about TMI. 🙂

  • Marie August 24, 2011, 6:43 pm

    We have a great dane, Moose, who is 130lbs. When my hubby is home (he is out of town during the week working) Moose will try to sleep with us in our queen size bed, but usually there just isn’t enough room. However, when I have the house to myself Moose loves to sleep with me! In fact this morning I woke up to his face right next to mine, and we were laying side by side. That is the best way to wake up! It immediately makes me smile 🙂 and I proceed to pet and talk to him in a silly voice for like 15minutes!
    As far as doing the hanky panky….we live in a 400 square foot house, so there isn’t a lot of places that Moose can go when we get it on… So he usually just sits and watches! It used to ruin the mood, but after 7 years of it we just laugh it off and think of him as perverted ahahahahahaha. It’s kinda an inside joke between the husband and I, lol.

  • Jen August 24, 2011, 6:45 pm

    My dog was afraid of the stairs so she never slept with me unless I was sick on the living room couch. She was a very comforting presence then and I loved having my couch buddy. Not so sure if I would have wanted her in my bed at other times, though.

  • mi-an d. August 24, 2011, 6:54 pm

    You crack me up Caitlin. Love that your blogs allows for TMI! i don’t have any pets, just not a pet person here. but if i did have any, they would not sleep in my bed. i like to cuddle with my guy. 🙂

  • megan August 24, 2011, 7:00 pm

    i used to always think dogs wouldnt be allowed in my bed because my old pup from when i was a kid wasnt allowed on our furniture. i got my own puppy when i was 21 and it was just so much easier to have him in my bed. i crate trained him and he was great, but he woke up way earlier than me (obviously.. i was naive!) and sometimes i could let him out quickly then bring him into bed with me and convince him to sleep for another hour or so. alas, i had to send him to doggy behavioral school because he was a jerk and bit people 🙁

  • Meagan N. August 24, 2011, 7:01 pm

    I don’t have dogs (or any pets), but I did grow up with lots of black labs and golden retrievers (over the years, never more than two at a time, though) and my parents currently have two shi tzus. They’re adorable dogs.

    For some reason, in my freakish mind, sleeping with the grosses me out. It’s my bed, and I like it ultra clean. But it’s weird ’cause I don’t necessarily think animals are dirty, or that homes with animals are dirty. Quite the opposite really. But when it comes to MY house, I feel like it would be dirty if I had animals. But I let my kids roll all over my mom’s house and her dogs snuggle my kids the whole time we visit. Her house isn’t dirty. And I know lots of clean animal lovers. It’s hard to explain. It doesn’t gross me out if someone else does it, but I could never let them in my bed.

  • Kristyn August 24, 2011, 7:06 pm

    Great debate! We have a 100 pound Akita, Koby, and she is the biggest musher baby ever. She has always been allowed in the bed, and still is. It’s a queen and let me tell you, it’s quite the squeeze because when she’s up there, she thinks she owns it. But she’s getting old and her hips sometimes don’t allow her to come up because our bed is so high….so she’s the one not letting herself come up as much anymore. And to get TMI: there’s no possible way to have a horizontal polka with her butt on the bed. Plus, she would want to be in on smooch action. She’s an attention whore. Aren’t they all and we love them for it. =)

  • Danielle August 24, 2011, 7:07 pm

    Am I the ONLY one that finds this absolutely disgusting!?!?!?!?

    I love dogs, and I love my own, but man. This is gross. It’s one thing to snuggle with your dog for a bit while you watch tv or something, but to let them sleep IN THE BED all night? Do you wash your sheets every night? And more importantly, do you wash your dogs’ paws every time they come inside? Imagine all the sh*t that gets on James’ paws after your daily walks…and then he scratches his ears…then licks his ass…and then snuggles in your bed all night. Then, assuming you are normal and don’t wash your sheets every night, all that stuff is just festering in your bed all night and contaminating everything.

    Sorry, can’t get on board with this!

    • Tiffany September 4, 2011, 12:03 pm

      No, I am TOTALLY with you. The idea totally grosses me out.

  • Marie August 24, 2011, 7:16 pm

    I am totally for animals in beds! We have two cats and both tend to sleep with us, although the kitten has taken over sleeping at my feet, which makes me feel so terrible for our older cat! The kitten’s a bit of a bully. My boyfriend hates the cats sleeping on the bed because he gets so hot when he sleeps, and he hates when they get in the way of his legs/feet. They just know to sleep on my side, so I get all the kitty snuggles.

  • Beth @ 990 Square August 24, 2011, 7:23 pm

    No pets in bed…EVER. I’m highly allergic, so it’s a really bad idea. And before we kicked them out because of allergies, yes we let our cats sleep with us, and yes, I hated doing it while they were in the room.

    Another reason for no dogs in bed…when my mom was pregnant with my little sister, the family yorkie was getting up there in years. Well one night 8 months into the pregnancy the dog had a little accident. And my mom woke up thinking her water broke. Imagine her embarrassment when she talked to her doctor in the middle of the night…so the dog was out after that.

  • Tara August 24, 2011, 7:25 pm

    We just got a puppy 3 months ago and recently let him sleep in our bed. We (well, mostly me) debated and while I definitely get nervous about germs, he’s just so much happier sleeping with us. I’m also out of the house all day, so it’s nice to be able to spend that time with him… even if I’m sleeping 🙂

  • Kristin @ eat healthy. be happy. live well. August 24, 2011, 7:25 pm

    I absolutely refuse to let our dog sleep in our bed! He is a great dane and just six months old now. I told my honey there was no way I would ever let him in our bed (or on our couch!) because he would one day be bigger than the both of us! I can barely sleep with my honey touching me, let alone a giant animal too!

    Although he is quite big already (well over 70 lbs), he is actually very sneaky! He is not allowed upstairs (where our bedroom is). One day after doing some “cuddling” my honey walked into the hallway to find our pup there chewing on some of my underwear…how he made it all the way up the steps without us noticing is beyond us!!!

  • Alexia (Dimple Snatcher) August 24, 2011, 7:31 pm

    Absolutely not! Beds are either for love making or sleeping. Animals would distract from either. Plus, because I was raised in Jamaica where dogs stayed outside (all the time) it’s so strange to me. When I have a dog of I’ll keep him/her indoors (straying from my upbringing) but never in my bed.

  • Susan August 24, 2011, 7:43 pm

    We used to let our Jack Russell sleep under the covers at our feet. However, she started thinking she was the pack leader and snapping at our kids. Down to the dog bed on the floor she went- and we had to start being stricter with her about going in and out of doors and up and down the stairs AFTER us, rather than letting her race ahead.

  • Devonshire August 24, 2011, 7:52 pm

    my dog sleeps in the bed! we intended to crate train her at night as a puppy and i don’t really remember why we gave that up. But i don’t think i could sleep in my bed without her. She’s warm and likes to cuddle!

  • maria @ Chasing the Now August 24, 2011, 7:54 pm

    When The Husband and I get dogs in the next year or so, they will NOT be sleeping in our bed. I can’t stand all the dog hairs on my covers. We will be buying dog beds for the bedroom and those will be theirs.

  • Jacalyn August 24, 2011, 7:55 pm

    Our two labs use to sleep in our bed. I kicked them out when I got pregnant because I didn’t want them to jump in the bed when we had our baby. I didn’t want to wait until the baby was born because I was worried they would be jealous. They had 8 months of getting use to the floor (doggy beds) before the baby came. Every once in a while I catch them in the bed sleeping while we are out, but they know to get down when the family walks through the door.

  • Brooke @ Tales of a Bride-To-Be August 24, 2011, 8:06 pm

    I always let my Bonnie (also a fat little dachshund) sleep in my bed. She always nuzzled up to my feet and would roll with me and I’d hear a grunt every now and then, she made me feel safe. When I moved away with my fiance we left her with my dad and whenever they visit you better believe Bonnie is right up in our bed. My other dog who is a border collie never liked sleeping in the bed after 10 minutes, she would take up the whole bed and toss and turn and finally get up and sleep on the floor. But when we get dogs they will probably sleep with us.

  • alli August 24, 2011, 8:15 pm

    i love your debates 🙂
    we have a little shih tzu. he only sleeps in bed with us if there’s a storm or if we feel like it.

    once our baby was born- he slept with us for about 5 months. i know that’s not for everyone, but it worked great for us. hubby loved being able to spend that close time with baby, and it made it much easier for me while nursing him at night. plus, it felt natural. SO if you read up on that and decide you want to do that, i would think you might have to kick the pups out of the bed sooner than later. just a thought 🙂

  • Amy August 24, 2011, 8:21 pm

    Our dog was our baby. Then we had a baby, and she became a dog. Plus, google dog mites. OMFG.

  • Mel August 24, 2011, 8:21 pm

    My hubby and i have two large dogs and they love to sleep in the bed but then I have no room!! When my hubby is out of town, they sleep with me, but other than that they sleep on the floor of our bedroom in their own beds. However, in the am they jump up in bed and snuggle with us for a few mins. When we get frisky, we make them leave and shut the door, but the minute we open the door they both run in and sniff around. My lab picks up my panties in her mouth and won’t drop them! haha . So gross. We call them our investigators and are going to utilize them when we have a teenager someday. haha. Dogs are the best

  • Lauren August 24, 2011, 8:28 pm

    Our dog used to sleep in the bed with us, but recently he decided to stop. He now sleeps in the guest room. Haha, guess he outgrew sleeping in mom and dad’s bed.

  • Katie August 24, 2011, 8:29 pm

    I have had pets sleep on my bed my whole life, and will never give it up! It’s such a nice way to bond. My sex life has definitely been affected, though. My cat thinks his lot in life is to keep me celibate by getting up in our grill whilst “busy”. One time in college, when I was house-sitting an akita, the dog overheard us (TMI?), thought my boyfriend was hurting me, and starting growling very menacingly!

  • Michelle@ Crazy*Running*Legs August 24, 2011, 8:42 pm

    That first picture is hysterical.

    I don’t have pets, but I have kids and while they don’t sleep in my bed – you have to do whatever works for you! Sometimes I wish they DID sleep with us – I mean how cute is that?? But, no dice, they prefer their own space!

  • chelsey @ clean eating chelsey August 24, 2011, 8:45 pm

    Gaaahhh such a great debate. I will never ever EVVERRRR let a dog sleep in the same bed as me. I am a very light sleeper, and that is just something that will annoy me in the middle o fthe night. I am so glad we have never let Charlie up on the bed because if we let him do it once, he thinks he can do it all the time (hence the reason why he is cuddling on the couch with me right now – he’s too big for that at 60 pounds!!).

  • Jules August 24, 2011, 9:17 pm

    peanut butter in a kong. that is all. 😉

  • MelanieF August 24, 2011, 9:26 pm

    When I was living at home with my parents, we had 2 big dogs that were not allowed to sleep in bed with us, but were allowed to sleep on the couch. We have a cat now, and he sleeps with us all the time. When we will get a dog, I doubt he will be allowed to sleep in the bed with us or on furniture, as my boyfriend made that pretty clear when we started going out 7 years ago. And since we much prefer big dogs, that will definately be a no no.

  • BroccoliHut August 24, 2011, 9:30 pm

    Margot and I have a little compromise worked out. She sleeps through the night in her bed on the floor of my bedroom, successfully pees and poops in the (early! like 5AM) morning–she gets to have an hour of cuddle time in the bed with me 🙂

  • Laura @ Backstage Balance August 24, 2011, 9:36 pm

    This post and these comments are hilarious!
    I especially can relate to your point about why dogs shouldn’t be allowed in bed: “They can ruin your sex life. Because who wants to make love with the family dog giving you the stink eye?”
    This has seriously happened to us! We have two Australian Shepherds, aka the naughtiest dogs in the world. We call our older dog “Buzz Kill” because any time we get down to business, she will bust through the door or scratch at it to try and get in, because she thinks my man is attacking me! It’s hilarious but she’s seriously sabotaged many a romantic encounter.

  • DadHTP August 24, 2011, 9:38 pm

    dogs in bed are gross.

    • Marissa C August 24, 2011, 10:53 pm

      bwahaha!

  • Kelly August 24, 2011, 9:51 pm

    I am for dogs in bed! Although I have to admit we dogsat for my boyfriend’s sister the other night and her adorable pug slept beside us on the floor because she was so stinky!!

    Where is your bedpsread from? I love it!

    • CaitlinHTP August 24, 2011, 9:53 pm

      🙂 West Elm

  • Emily @ Comfortable Home Life August 24, 2011, 10:16 pm

    I HATED when my ex would let the dog sleep in the bed. I wasn’t a big fan of his dog and she pretty much just annoyed me all night. Also, I was mildly allergic so it didn’t make for nice sleep.

  • Krista @ Can't Survive on Yarn Alone August 24, 2011, 10:47 pm

    We let our dogs sleep with us as more of a treat than a routine. It works too if the weather is stormy since Cosmo is terrified of storms and will cry all night to be near us. However Molly and Cosmo are about 55 and 75lbs respectively. They will take over the bed – lost foot space with Cosmo and Molly just tries to lie in the middle of the bed either on me or spreads out to push us out of bed. Safe to say this isn’t a nightly occurrance.

  • eatingRD August 24, 2011, 11:12 pm

    hehe how adorable! Usually Buster would sleep in his comfy bed next to us because he would shed a lot! Oh so cute though 🙂 We sure miss our Buster

  • Mahesha August 24, 2011, 11:15 pm

    I love dogs! But it can be a little dangerous to have them on bed, especially when they are sick. Someone we know just died from catching a dog germ. She caught a fever around the same time her dog did. The dog died and two days later she passed away too.

  • Reenie August 24, 2011, 11:17 pm

    Forgot to add….the pics of the pups are sooo cute.

  • Megan August 24, 2011, 11:21 pm

    Reluctantly our lab/shepherd mix used to sleep in our bed. (I’m allergic, yeah…. Hubby got her before we got married and so I was the “new” girl in bed, lol). Then we started having babies and they got to be in our bed and the dog was out. Either way, dogs or babies, neither disturb our sex life. Ha!

  • Lara August 25, 2011, 12:19 am

    I swore when we got Lulu that she wouldn’t sleep with us…we had her totally crate trained UNTIL my husband went on a business trip and I let her up on the bed. It was all over that. Now, both pups sleep with us and I wouldn’t have it any other way 🙂 I do wonder what we’ll do when we have a baby, but I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get there!

  • Rebecca August 25, 2011, 12:51 am

    When we had a dog, he was in his cage in the living room at night. He whined, but we ignored him because he needed to realize that we’re not always home. We loved on him when we were home/awake, but he needed to be able to be home alone in the crate for several hours during the day while we were at school/work.
    When I house-sat this past winter, some nights both the dog and the cat (who didn’t like me much!) would hop in the bed with me. It was weird for me because I’m not used to it, but it did make me feel a little safer. Although the cat wanted to be let out throughout the night, and I preferred keeping the door closed all night, so sometimes I’d kind of lock her out…
    I guess it kind of depends on the size/breed of the dog, for me. The dog I watched while house-sitting was around Maggie’s size, so it wasn’t a huge deal to have him curl up next to me. But if I end up with a Husky or something big like that down the road… I dunno. Might depend on my future spouse, too, haha. 🙂
    Personally, I think I’d kick the pets out of the room for certain things. Heh.
    I also tend to move a lot at night, so I think that might play a part in whether I let a pet in the bed with me, too…

  • Khushboo August 25, 2011, 12:53 am

    Ok this might sound ridic but to be fair, I don’t have a dog! Here goes- what about when you and K are doing your ‘business’…tell me the dogs are out of the rooom?

    • Caitlin August 25, 2011, 6:49 am

      Throw a blankie over their heads!

  • Gina @ Running to the Kitchen August 25, 2011, 1:37 am

    We have a 55 lb. weimaraner and there’s no way in heck she’d ever be allowed to sleep with us! I’ll be honest, (and I’m not trying to offend those that do) but, I just don’t understand how people can sleep with their pets!? My dog rolls in shit, eats shit, tracks in mud, steps in god knows what outside, etc. there’s no way that’s coming in my bed with me! I’m also a germ freak though so that kind of explains a lot of it.
    As far as the TMI part, this actually just happened to my husband and I the other day. I came home from a week away, we were “in bed” and the dog just trots in the room and sits next to the bed STARING at us the entire time. It was awkward and I almost felt embarrassed until I realized it was a DOG, not a human. Still awkward though.

  • Lindsay Loves Veggies August 25, 2011, 1:39 am

    Our dog sleeps in bed with us. Usually under the covers around our feet, or in the warm corners, like the backs of our knees or at our hips if we’re laying on our sides. We tried doing the kennel at night thing, but we just felt too bad for him! Plus, he only weighs 5 lbs, it’s not like he takes up much room.

  • suki August 25, 2011, 2:20 am

    i can’t do it. not on the couch, not on the bed.

  • Juani August 25, 2011, 5:47 am

    I love cats (dogs too,but I prefer cats).My boyfriend and I have 4 cats,and even though we both don’t mind them sleeping with us on our bed (in fact,I try to encourage the cats to sleep on our bed) not one of the 4 sleeps on our bed :/ 2 of them sleep on the bed during the day when we’re not there,but as soon as we get in bed,they go sleep in the living room.Each cat has their own spot in the living room where they prefer to sleep.

  • Jessica August 25, 2011, 9:32 am

    We just got a 10 week old long haired mini dachshund and for now he is crated at night. He’s not potty trained yet so its best so he doesn’t pee all over our bed at night. When he does get trained though he will probably end up in bed with us because he is so adorable and i love cuddling with him 🙂

  • Heather August 25, 2011, 9:54 am

    I LOVE having my little dog sleep with me! I started out with the intention of crating her at night – that lasted roughly a month. Then I couldn’t take it anymore and let her in. She sleeps like a human and is the best little spoon ever! I honestly don’t know what I’d do if a future boyfriend wasn’t up for sleeping with her. And I’m pretty sure I need to get her permission before having children, ha!

  • Angie @ Musings of a Violet Monkey August 25, 2011, 10:02 am

    Oooh, good debate. When we first got Lilly (18 mos ago) as a pup, we crate-trained her. She is an Aussie, and is VERY energetic – and thus not able to be trusted in the house alone. So, she crates when we aren’t home, and at night. I would not ever want her in the bed (or even ON, for that matter) with us for any number of reason… dirt, hair (she sheds a LOT), and space, namely. Also, I know if we allow it once, it will never stop. So, she sleeps downstairs, but I use a baby monitor (yep, that’s right) so I can hear if she needs us. We both like white noise and fans while we sleep, so it worries me that I wouldn’t hear her if something was wrong. This way, I do. However, I’ve recently moved over to the “I want her to sleep in our room, un-crated, but NOT in bed with us” camp. But we haven’t made that plunge. Yet. Probably soon though.

    ~

  • Rob Runs to Remember August 25, 2011, 10:04 am

    Our dogs sleep in bed with us. Both dogs, both Great Danes. It’s over 200 pounds of dog in the bed with two giant people but I won’t have it any other way. We’re their pack and I love nothing more than snuggling with my dogs and husband, our female Dane likes to cuddle under the covers with me. We do kick them out when we’re getting busy, they’re just too big and too nosy (unless they’re dead asleep, it’s almost impossible to wake a sleeping Dane even with some bed shakin’!).

    • Katie August 25, 2011, 12:52 pm

      Wow thats crazy! 😉 Hope you have a king-size bed!

  • Rachel August 25, 2011, 10:07 am

    I can’t imagine not having my two boys (cats) sleep with me. I love it, hair and all. It’s very hard to sleep without them now. I hope they live forever.

  • Laura August 25, 2011, 10:59 am

    My dog sleeps in my bed. He slept in a crate for the first couple weeks, but he started barking one night and I feared he’d wake up everyone, so he’s been sleeping in my bed since.

    My sleep isn’t as sound since he moves around constantly, and he’s always pushing against me, so sometimes I wake up a little sore, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

  • sara @ the foodie diaries August 25, 2011, 11:48 am

    I’m such a sucker. when my pup stares at me with their eyes I can’t help but let them into bed! My dogs have always slept with us in our beds, I can’t iamgine trying to put them into a crate. They’d be traumatized! 🙂

  • Whitney August 25, 2011, 12:16 pm

    Before I met my now fiance, the idea of having a dog in bed grossed me out. Then after stare downs from our boston terriers eyes I was like eh…. I guess so… now, theres not a night he’s not under the covers! Sometimes though it gets way too hot!

  • JavaChick August 25, 2011, 12:32 pm

    We have two cats. They are probably as big as your dogs. Biggest cats I’ve ever had. They sleep where they want. That includes in the bed and, often, on top of me.

    In all honesty, I love it. They are warm and cuddly and they purr. What’s not to like? Fortunately I’m a really sound sleeper. 🙂

  • Brigid of Vegging out in T-Town August 25, 2011, 12:37 pm

    I’ve never dictated whether or not my pets slept in bed with me. Usually they chose to, and that was fine. My ex would have none of it, but my current love is fine with it. Truthfully, though, my current dog has NEVER had any interest in sleeping with humans or other dogs. She’s a loner. She’s also very fuzzy and gets overheated. Occasionally the boy will try to get her to sleep on our bed, but she jumps down in 10 seconds. She much prefers piles of our dirty clothes.

  • Amber K August 25, 2011, 12:40 pm

    I don’t currently have any pets, but I wouldn’t let them sleep in the bed with me. Because, to be honest, half the time my husband doesn’t even sleep in the same bed as me. I am the world’s lightest sleeper and any slight movement or noise wakes me up. Plus, when I was growing up my dad didn’t allow our dogs into the house. They were outside animals only, so I’m really not used to actually having an animal be inside! (in the winter they were allowed into our utility room though not the actual house)

  • Katie August 25, 2011, 12:50 pm

    I got a puppy in June. I crate-trained him and he slept in his crate in our bedroom for about 3-4 weeks. Then he somehow 😉 got into the bed and has been there ever since. I honestly HATE it. I sleep terribly and totally affecting the sex life (I actually had wondered if that happened to other people!). I am getting determined to start the crate again next week. People say you can’t go back but he will still sleep in there if he is really tired so I am going to try!

  • annie August 25, 2011, 12:57 pm

    i LOVE sleeping with my dogs!! They both sleep between my legs and keep me warm. I don’t know what it’s going to be like when I get married though LOL

  • Ryan M. August 25, 2011, 1:06 pm

    Three little crazy dachshunds sleep in my bed and I wouldn’t have it any other way!! Let’s just say the spontaneous polka is quite as spontaneous anymore…its called a baby gate and chewies!! It’s a trick!

  • Rhonda August 25, 2011, 1:40 pm

    We started crate training when we got our puppy in April. She whined a bit the first night or two, but we got up with her a few times for potty breaks and that seemed to be fine. The trick was to exercise her enough before bed so that she’d be too tired to whine 😉 Anyway, it realllly worked out, as the crate is now her safe space. She has no problem going in there when we leave or when we go to bed. She still wakes up realllly early on weekends, so now she’s allowed to come cuddle with us in bed until we’re ready to get up!

  • Megan @ go places August 25, 2011, 5:28 pm

    When I first adopted my dog Jasper, a 60lb black lab mix, nine months ago, he slept in the living room in his crate or a chair, but not by his choice! He wasn’t very good at not hogging my (twin sized!) bed. Within the last couple months, though, I started letting him in my bed once in awhile and it just stuck. I think we are both happier. It’s good quality time together when I’m busy during the days, and he’s a much better sleeper now. He keeps me warm and makes me feel safe, physically and emotionally. The two of us in one tiny bed is a tight squeeze (he either lies stretched out next to me or curled up in the crook behind my knees), but I wouldn’t have it any other way for now. I look forward to puppy snuggles every night…but not the 7am “feed me!” kisses 😉

  • Joanna August 25, 2011, 5:36 pm

    Haha, when i read the part about your husband saying it was like a pack, it reminded me of the scene in The Hangover when they’re on the roof and the brides brother is telling them that they are his wolfpack.

    We don’t have a dog but when we get one there will definitely be a no-dogs-in-bed rule. I already feel like there isn’t enough room in our bed sometimes cause my husband will spread out and take up a lot of room. I’m pretty sure my husband would disagree with me and want to let the dog in but since I’m not a dog person that will have to be our compromise.

  • Kate August 25, 2011, 7:42 pm

    Wow, how interesting to know that so many people deal with the same thing. I have a 5 lb dog. When we got her 3 years ago we intended for her to sleep in her crate but, like so many other people’s experiences, she cried and we let her in the bed. We’ve tried to move her back to the crate several times but we end up feeling so bad about her crying that she gets to come back in. Its not a big deal most of the time. She’s cuddly and warm and loves to burrow at the bottom of the bed. Although, sometimes she does try to get underneath me which makes me not very restful sleep.

  • Lauren M August 26, 2011, 2:14 am

    Hi Caitlin, we have a 35kg golden retriever who sheds a lot so he doesn’t sleep in our bed, but I thought you might be interested to know about the research to do with pets and children’s allergies.

    My husband and I have an 11 month old baby (and #2 on the way) and found out that having babies in a household with dogs and cats reduces the chances of them having allergies later in life. My baby plays on the floor with our dog all the time, he gets licked and sometimes eats the dog’s fur (!). But I don’t mind one bit, it’s all helping him develop a strong healthy immune system.

    Here is the article (from Australia, where I live)

    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/lack-of-allergies-more-than-a-pet-theory/story-e6frg6nf-1226074509423

  • Amanda August 26, 2011, 7:59 pm

    We let Reddick sleep in our bed (more like he lets us sleep in his bed, but that’s the hazard of having a big dog). We get a lot of crap from everyone from my mom to our dog-loving friends about letting our dog in bed with us. My fiance travels a lot, so I like having the extra company in bed. He often sleeps in bed when we’re not even in it with him. I say, we – dogs and humans – only live once, who really gives a crap where the pups sleep?!

  • Shelly @ EpicOrganic.net August 26, 2011, 10:00 pm

    3 cats sleep in my bed every night. It’s going to be a tough decision when it comes to adding another human back into the mix!!

  • Dominique August 28, 2011, 1:37 pm

    Wow, these comments are awesome. I have four cats to which I am technically allergic so I’ll let them on my bed during the daytime but never under the covers. I’ve let them sleep in my room (on my bed but not under the covers) occasionally but they get up waaay too early for my liking and having a cat lick my face isn’t my idea of a good start. Funny, but not at 5am. When the BF and I finally get a dog, I’ll probably do the same thing with the cats. We’re planning on getting some big dogs though so I’m sure they would take up way too much space during actual sleep time.

  • Brooklyn @ Veggie Table August 29, 2011, 1:49 pm

    My husband and I have a Pomeranian named Salvador (the husband loves having his “best friend” be a prissy a** dog, ha rightttt.) Anywho, I beg Sal every single night to sleep with us but he refuses. He jumps off the bed and starts slamming himself into the crate until we lock him in there for night. I want bugs, germs, and hair balls in my bed, dang it!

  • Alexis September 4, 2011, 4:37 am

    Ahhh so upset I missed this post! Going to comment now, many days later, simply bc it’s so relevant to us now. My husband has a very large mutt (90 lbs) who always slept with him before we got together, I have a doberman who is my BABY and always has slept with me. In getting together, his dog chose to move to the floor because he couldn’t stand the crowded bed, but the doberman is defiant and he stayed put, right in between us with his head on the pillow! It was awful, we never got a full nights sleep, and every single night spent together was a debate over whether we wanted to just not sleep, or put the dobie in his kennel. I’d throw a tantrum that it’s mean to make him sleep anywhere else, and so we’d all share the bed and only the dobe would sleep. When we married this past spring we finally splurged and got a king size bed so that we can all sleep together! Well funny enough, right after buying the bed, we got a gorgeous pottery barn duvet as a wedding gift. I’m so in love with it, and I’ve seen how much having an 80 lb dog (who runs on trails with me, rolls around in the yard, wrestles with the other dog, goes to the dog park several days a week, etc) sleeping in your bed destroys comforters, I then decided I didn’t want him on it! After 3 years of him sleeping in bed with me every single night, it was surprisingly VERY easy to get him out! We got him a really nice dog bed, added a comforter to it (that I “swaddle” him in every night, he’s a giant baby and gets cold easily, despite the fact that we live in Hawaii!), and told him “NO” only a handful of times that he tried to get up, and now he’s totally converted! I wish I hadn’t been so stubborn about not kicking him out of the bed all those years ago… we missed out on a lot of good sleep!:) And my husband now gives me the biggest guilt trip about how he misses cuddling the dobe and wishes I’d let him back up!!

  • Jackie October 6, 2011, 10:06 am

    My boyfriends dog sleeps in bed with us, she drives me nuts because she is up and down all night long, shes a small dog, but makes a heck of a racket, walks over you, and so forth…for me I find it hard to sleep with her, if she layed still for most of the night and didnt make it romper room no problem, and then she does this licking thing and licks all hours of the night ughhhhhhhhhhhhh TIREDDDDDDDD

  • ashley February 9, 2012, 10:56 am

    Do not put your dog in the nursery!
    It is fine for a dog to sleep with you or on his own, whatever.
    But absolutely NEVER leave a dog alone with a baby!
    Even if it seems like they do fine around your baby that could change at any moment. The baby could make a funny sound or cry and wake him from a bad dream anything could trigger a dog to attack a baby, not to mention that dogs often get jealous of babies.
    It is okay to have dogs around your baby if you are watching them closely but leaving them alone could leave you with a very ugly situation.
    On the same topic especially keep your dogs away from babies in baby swings, because that seems to trigger aggression for some unknown reason. Dogs are just extremely unpredictable around children. That doesn’t mean that is isn’t safe to have them both together just that it isn’t safe to leave them alone.

  • Joan August 13, 2013, 2:19 pm

    Interesting post and comments.

    My BF has a 13-pound mixed-breed dog, and I have 2 cats. Each of us has allowed our pets to sleep in the bed with us for years. Now that we’re about to move in together, this is causing a problem. The dog (whom I love dearly) won’t let me get any sleep, licking my hand, etc. all night long. We have tried to put the dog out and shut the door, but he just scratches the door all night. Needless to say, I get almost no sleep when I stay over. My cats will be going out of the bedroom as well, and no doubt they will be crying at the door. (Then again, with the change of venue plus a dog maybe not.) My BF is a real softie and gives in to the dog, which I have advised against.

    Any singles reading this: You may want to reconsider if you are thinking of letting your pets share your bed.

  • Diamond November 29, 2014, 11:20 am

    My dog can sleep with me when he takes a bath it is shirt off like the whole package bath brush and a kill rub down lol

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