sleep with me, or in his kennel

Our last dog slept with a human every night - sometimes on my son's bed, sometimes on my daughter's bed, sometimes on my other son's bed, etc. They loved having that warm little guy snuggled in with him, and the dog was in his glory. When he died, there were a lot of tears at night because he was missed so much.

When we got our new dog, Sadie, they couldn't wait for the day she was reliably housetrained and could sleep on their beds - But - Sadie is much bigger, and physically takes up too much room on the bed - and - she really isn't comfortable up on a bed (much to my relief). She prefers to lie on the floor beside the bed. So that is what she does.

Everyone has to find their own comfort zone - including the dog. When I was a kid we had a black lab who slept outside in his dog house! Seems unheard of now, but that was the way it was (Mom's rule).

I love my dogs sleeping with me. There's always someone to cuddle with and you're never cold! If your dog is going to sleep in bed with you, I think its important for them to wait until you invite them into bed. It is your bed, and you don't want them taking over! My two wait until we both get into bed, and then they are invited to come up. They also know that when we say 'off' they have to get off the bed. They have dog beds in our bedroom, and they usually end up sleeping in their own beds. We have a queen size bed, and the two of us AND two dogs is a lot! The dogs usually get tired of not having enough room so they jump off. You can always teach them they have to sleep in their own bed, instead of with you. I really enjoy having them with me, and I like knowing that they are safe.

Bridget, Summer, and Duke