Sleeping in bed..is it really that bad?

I have two working dogs and one in training.  Ben hates the bed, though every now and then he'll jump up and play with Dad (they have wrestling games).  Cord is firmly ensconced in the bed.  Dogs don't get any more submissive than Cord - he's a great primer for anyone wanting to see the full range of Rugaas' Calming Signals in action.  Rocky, the pup in training is only sixteen weeks old now and jumping up and down is bad for his joints.  He sleeps in the crate to prepare him for fall asthma season when we will move most of the dogs back out to the kennel. 

I did, however, let him sleep with us the first couple of weeks he was here (he was ten weeks old when I brought him home).  I did that with my last pup, with Rocky, and will probably do it the next time, too.  I think it helped with bonding with both me and my husband.  Then we gradually phased in the crate and I didn't have any of the issues with seperation from the litter, or accepting the crate, that I have in the past.

Whether on the bed or in the crate - my number one message for the pup was, my choice.  If you are up, you stay up until I say so.  If you are down, you stay down likewise.  I do the same for Zhi, the Chinese crested who of course sleeps between our pillows.

ORIGINAL: chewbecca

Let me just say, Ella doesn't sleep in our bed because WE don't JUST sleep in our bed.[]

 
Rebecca!  LMAO[sm=rotfl.gif]!!!!

ORIGINAL: chewbecca

Let me just say, Ella doesn't sleep in our bed because WE don't JUST sleep in our bed.[]

 
Indeed! That's what the "off" and "go home" commands are for!!! [] 
 
Though yeah, it's a little less romantic when every time one of us makes a move, it has to be preceded by "Off! Go home!"

Yeah that does dampen the mood a little. And so does 2 sets of whimpers and crys coming from the other side of a closed door. Better to wait for them to nap!
My friend says we sound like we have real kids the way we talk about the dogs.
 
Rachael, Spike and Cj

Though yeah, it's a little less romantic when every time one of us makes a move, it has to be preceded by "Off! Go home!"

The only thing more dampening than that is cold puppy nose in inappropriate places. I can promise this typically results in gales of ridiculous giggles, and a mood gone bye-bye.

LOL That is worse!

We don't let our dogs in bed or on the couch, because those are the "safe spots" for our cat, Kristy. She takes up more than her fair share of our king sized bed, so even if she got along with the dogs, we wouldn't have any extra room.
 
If there is any "funny business", though, Kristy hops down immediately. She wants no part of that! []

Max hopped up on our bed the first night we had him here, so I just figured that wherever he'd been living before, he was used to sleeping on someone's bed. I just have to keep a few treats handy in the bedside table, because every now and then I have to bribe him off my ankles so I can roll over. [] Other than that, here haven't been any problems.

Joyce

I love the dogs in bed. Sammy is quite the little heater, so its nice in the winter. They have no problem getting down when told. 3 dogs, a cat, me and BF all in a queen size bed becomes pretty tight though.

Great replies everyone.  As some of you knowm, I am a first time dog owner and I am just trying to do everything I can to make my Dog as well behaved as possible.

Lsst night he got up into the bed, jumped off about midnight and went in his crate...then about 4 am i found him snuggled up between me and my wife.  it was hilarous!

Anyway, I'm going to continue to let him in the bed, but we always make sure he knows it id our bed and every once in a awhile make him get off and go in his crate, which he has NO problem with.  he really likes his crate, hence, last nights episode of just going to his crate by himself

Go figure....

Edie-what breed of dogs do you own?

At the present time i have bull mastiffs. From past experience with different breeds i never had any problems with them either.If they're in my spot i just get in and shove them over,no drama's []

I think it all depends on the dog.  We usually have a snuggle period before we say "crate" and she gets right up and runs into her crate.  She gets a special treat for going in her crate - mini Cheddar cheese rice cakes. 
 
It could have been a combination of things, but when we moved recently, we had a whole week off.  We let her sleep with us all week, and her behavior during the day was horrendous - just a general pain in the butt.  She seems to have adjusted her attitude since she's been sleeping in her crate.  Our pup is a lab/terrier mix, so she does challenge dominance sometimes.

I can't move at night because Madi lies on my legs and baby is on my stomach.  Nothing is better then snuggling with the kids!

Russell likes to sleep in bed with us... when we had a full size he would usually jump down and sleep on the floor or in his crate, but since we got a queen he sleeps with us. Often wedged between my legs, his favorite spot. [sm=crazy.gif] 
 
Here's a story of a bed-sleeping dog gone wrong, though - just for kicks. At my old corporate job I used to dogsit for my boss when he went out of town. He had two rescued llasas. For the most part they were well behaved and easy to care for, but one of them had the most terrible habit - really it was the owners' bad habit. The dogs slept on their (big, platform) bed with them but the little one couldn't get on or off unassisted - this is where I slept when I stayed there. In the middle of the night the little dog would wake up and want a drink. I had to keep a glass of water by the bed for this purpose. I had to hold it to his face as he had his fill. If I tried to ignore him and fall back asleep he would bark all night! [:@]

If they're in my spot i just get in and shove them over,no drama's

 
Same here. I get into bed and he moves from wher my feet are going to be. Sometimes, I may have to tell him. And he may eventually get off the bed, during the night.
 
I think it's a dog by dog case.