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Dog owners letting their dogs sleep in the bed with them is a popular trend. The trend is glorified in the media. Does your dog sleep in the bed with you on a regular basis? If so, you probably can’t imagine crawling in the bed without them there. But, the reality is, you may be risking your health by allowing your dog to sleep in the bed with you.

Don’t feel alone if you do allow your pooch to snuggle up to you at night. The Mayo Clinic completed a survey of dog owners in 2015. This survey consisted of 150 people who were patients at their Center for Sleep Medicine. Almost 74 (49%) of the participants owned pets. In fact, about 56% of these pet owners do allow their pets to snuggle up to them.

It’s no doubt that pet owners like getting close to their pets. In fact, the Mayo Clinic survey reported that 41% of these pet owners reported that their pet didn’t interrupt their sleep. Many actually reported their dog comforts them in the bed. The reality is, you may not think they are interrupting your sleep. This may be exactly what they are doing though.

I think a lot of us can testify to the following statement. Some habits are just harder to quit than others! So, hearing your dog sleeping in your bed may be causing you health problems may not be comforting. Especially if you and your dog have made a habit out of it. Unfortunately, this habit may end up being one of those bad habits.

The Risks of Letting Your Dog Sleep in Your Bed With You

The last thing we want to hear is our super close bond with our dog may be dangerous to our health. Another sad reality is, it may not just be harmful to our health. This habit may also end up harmful to our relationship with others. Allowing your dog to sleep in the bed with you may even end up being harmful to the relationship you and your dog have.

Restless Nights and Tough Mornings

Like I said above, sleeping with your dog does become a habit. So, any movement or noises they make we may not be aware of right away. Especially if you are the type of person who can sleep through a tornado. But, take a minute to think about how you feel when you wake up after sleeping next to your pooch. There’s a few questions you should ask yourself.

Questions to Ask Yourself After Waking Up Next to Your Dog

• Did you get enough sleep? If so, did you wake up feeling refreshed and ready for the day?

Yes: If you answered yes to this question, you’re doing better than most people I personally know. That is including myself.

No: Your sleep may have been interrupted during the night. There may have also been a possibility you weren’t comfortable. Sometimes it can be tough to get really comfortable with a pooch who likes to sleep close to you. A lot of the time we don’t even realize we’re tossing and turning all night.

• When you woke up, how did your body feel? Did it feel achy or hard to get moving without a grunt or two?

Yes: You may just be like me. Getting old. Then again, if your dog is a bed hog, you may have been kicked a time or two unknowingly. It’s true, though. Dogs are definitely known for being quite the bed hog.

No: You are a superhero. Well, maybe not. Maybe you’re just awesome.

In Summary: If you wake up feeling a mess, it may unfortunately be thanks to your beloved best friend. Lack of sleep can have quite the toll on you, too. You may wake up feeling cranky. Some mornings you may feel like you got hit by a bus. It’s hard to function when you aren’t feeling up to par.

Allergies Galore

There’s one friend your dog may bring to bed with you two that isn’t welcomed. That little friend is thing we like to call allergens. Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re not allergic to your dog. Plus, if you are, you take enough medicine to combat that. The gazillion filters you have placed in your home cover that, too.

The thing is, you don’t have to be allergic to your dog. Think of it like this. What all does your dog come in contact with throughout the day? Especially if your dog enjoys time outside. Unless you’re bathing your dog before every bedtime, he or she is bringing those allergies to bed with you.

Anyone with allergies knows how awful they can make you feel. From the stuffy nose to the cough. Sometimes allergies can flare up really bad. Allergies can leave you feeling like an elephant was sleeping on your chest all night. So, of course, you’re probably not allergic to your sweet pooch. But, you could be allergic to what they are bringing in the bed with them.

Relationships Could Be at Risk

I’m not exactly sure, of course, what your personal sleeping arrangements are. You may have a huge bed that only you and your dog share each night. This may be something you don’t plan on changing in the near future. Maybe you’ve decided this scenario may never change. Then again, you could be in my situation.

I’m married with two awesome children. The kids don’t tend to want to get in the bed with us. But, of course my husband and I share a bed. Now, prior to him coming along, I was guilty of letting my 65 pound Golden Retriever hog the bed with me. But, our situation grew and he got older. With time my dog began showing all the great things that come with getting old.

My dog began growing senile. Eventually he went blind. So, anything and everything that moved became a threat. This was dangerous for us and for him. Plus, now he had pretty bad gas. That alone was enough to interrupt our sleep for a while. Especially when it was an all night event.

Well, as you can imagine, it didn’t take long for these behaviors to cause things to go sour. Things didn’t just go sour for my husband and I. They also began going sour for my furry best friend and I. Due to the lack of sleep, we were all a bit more cranky. In general, disagreements were at an all time high.

As a result, we decided it was time to transition him out of our bed. You can only imagine that this didn’t go well. That’s when the relationship I had with my dog began to go sour. I felt as if he just wouldn’t listen to me. But, I let him sleep in the bed for us for so long. He didn’t know why I had changed my mind now. It was a battle we had to fight.

Letting Your Dog Sleep in The Bed With You is A Hard Habit to Break

How do you have your bed set up? Do you keep it simple or have 35 pillows? Whatever your situation is, your dog is obviously going to love it. This is especially true if your dog doesn’t have a bed of their own. Laying on a hard floor, even if it has carpet, isn’t always the most comfortable situation. Plus, there’s no body support this way either.

I mean, put yourself in their shoes. Well, I guess I should say “paws”. Would you want to go from the bed you sleep in every night to the floor? I can only imagine how much I would grunt in the morning getting off the floor. Also, you’re having to leave the person you cuddle up next to every night. It’s pretty much like they are being literally put in the “dog house”.

As a result, it’s going to be hard to stop them from wanting to be in the bed with you. This may even cause more tension between you and your pooch. A situation like this may even lead to your pup developing some undesirable behaviors. Behaviors such as excessive whining and even being destructive (tearing down blinds, chewing on doors, etc).

This is why it isn’t recommended to ever start this habit. It is possible to break the habit. Breaking it will take a lot of time and patience on you and your dog’s end. Thankfully there is another option that will put you and your dog at ease.

Your Dog Will Say “Goodbye” to Your Bed and “Hello” to His Bed

You don’t have to strip your dog from comfortable sleeping just because you kicked them out of your bed. If you haven’t started doing this, but are contemplating the idea -- KEEP READING! Because, with the right bed your dog is going to just fine in their own bed.

It’s important to give your dog another option if you don’t want them in the bed with you. An option that is so comfortable, they’ll forget how comfortable your bed once was. In my opinion, there’s only one type of dog bed that can fulfill this requirement. That’s a memory foam dog bed.

We haven’t looked back since beginning our journey with memory foam. It started on our own bed. Then gradually moved to our top choice for our dog beds. We’ve actually made a pact with each other that from now on memory foam is the only bed we’ll buy. That goes for us and for our dogs.

There’s so many great benefits to memory foam dog beds. Of course, if you’re familiar at all with memory foam, you know it shapes to the individual’s body. The same goes for your dog. If they have a memory foam dog bed, it will also shape to their shape. This is a great way to support their joints and muscles.

Memory foam dog beds also are pretty durable. This will make saving money in the long run easier. You won’t have to replace your dog’s bed as often. Which is a sigh of relief for most dog owners. As a dog owner, we all know how expensive it can be to care for our pups.

As you may already know, the pet industry is a booming industry. That’s why it’s no surprise that there are so many choices for memory foam dog beds out there. With all of these options, you’ll be sure to find something that meets what you’re looking for. Plus, it’s easy to find a dog bed that will also match the decor of your home. This is why I absolutely love the Ultimate Dog Bed from PetFusion.

See, we live in an older home. Actually, as embarrassing as it is, we’ve been doing renovations on it for quite some time now. But, with each renovation we attempt to modernize our home. We like the modern, clean look. The grays, blacks, and whites. The modern, neutral feel is something we enjoy. That’s exactly what the Ultimate Dog Bed offers.

This memory foam dog bed comes in a beautiful slate gray (Brown and Sandstone). The color is gorgeous. Plus, the base is made of 4” solid memory foam. That thickness is top notch. The Ultimate Dog Bed also includes a removable cover that is water resistant. As well as a non-skid bottom. The non-skid bottom is really handy when you have a huge dog that likes to plop down like an elephant on their bed.

After it’s all said and done, you may be kicking yourself out of your bed. That’s just how amazing the memory foam options for dog beds are. I’m not saying, if your dog sleeps in your bed on a regular basis, they will take to their new bed right away. It may take some time. It’s probably going to take a lot of patience. But, I promise you, it is possible!

RECLAIM YOUR BED: The Ultimate Dog Bed with a solid Memory Foam base (available in 4 sizes to accommodate all dog breeds):   ***USE PROMO CODE:  PETFUSION11   at checkout for 10% OFF  ***