Having a Dog in your Bed

I just received an email from one of our Dog Loving friends, and I'm so grateful to them for taking sometime to visit and read our posts which they appreciate. And I thank them also, for sharing a very informative article that our dog owners would like to know.

Our friends from dogfencediy.com came up with this original piece on "having a dog in your bed." It was written for us by their staff Veterinarian, Dr. Susan Wright.

This is a very interesting post, in fact, I know a lot of people who share the bed with their dogs. So, I guessed they have to think about of sharing their bed with their dogs again after reading this.

Here is the actual article.

Is having a dog in your bed a good idea? That's a bit like asking if babies should sleep with their parents. Some will say it's fantastic for all concerned, yet others will say that it's not okay under any circumstances.

Very young children should not be allowed to sleep with their dog. They may inadvertently kick or nudge their sleeping dog, and knock him out of bed. If he lands awkwardly, he may be injured. Older children with a medium sized, calm natured dog often love having something warm to cuddle, and love having their dog with them at night.

Most people would agree that it's not a good idea to have young puppies on the bed. They're not usually toilet trained and you may end up cleaning up more than just dog hair. Wait until your dog is fully toilet trained if you'd like to have him snuggle up with you in bed.

Consider the hygiene aspects of sharing your bed with your dog. If he has fleas, they'll breed in your bed linen and you'll wake up with itchy flea bites. Older dogs may have incontinence issues and you'll have to take steps to keep your bed clean and dry.

How big is your dog? Depending on the size of your bed, a giant breed won't leave much space for you. A toy breed may become lost in the blankets, or you may roll on him during your sleep. If you do, he may wake with a start and bite you before he knows what he's doing.

Are you a light sleeper? Dogs fidget, snore and snort in their sleep and may disturb you several times during the night. Conversely, if you find it hard to go to sleep, you may find that your dog may help you settle into sleep.

One big issue that many behaviorists have is whether or not having your dog on your bed makes him more dominant. There is a school of thought that allowing a dog to sleep where you (the pack leader) sleep elevates him to the same status as you.

This may be the case if your dog already feels he's dominant. However, if you have already put time and effort into your relationship with your dog and he respects you as his leader, having him sleep on your bed shouldn't be a problem.

If your dog does think he's the boss, he should sleep elsewhere. In fact, if he does think he's in charge, you need to work with a trainer to show him where he fits in, in all areas of your lives together.

Clean, well behaved dogs who know their place in your household are a pleasure to own. There's no reason why such a dog can't enjoy a good night's sleep on your bed.

Website: www.dogfencediy.com

A Dog Loving City in Ruins-Typhoon "Ondoy"

Marikina is just one of the ill fated places that “Ondoy “destroyed. It used to be one of the cleanest and progressive cities I’ve seen. I’ve known and admired the place for its passion and love for dogs. Marikina is a very dog loving community, an ambassador of animal welfare particularly dogs. An active participant and event host for Dog Shows, Exhibitions, and other pet relevant programs, and now, a dead city that would perhaps take years to recover and rebuild what it has lost.

It’s hard to imagine that the so clean & lovely city of Marikina that I visited a week before is now submerged in muddy flood, cars were piled up like matchboxes washed away from the garage and into the streets, elegant homes destroyed and ended like eerie caves, and what was even worse was seeing bodies already floating around, including the body of a 3-month old baby stuck in a car windshield!

“It is too devastating, shocking and horrifying!” These are the words you’ll hear from the people who is now in severe desperation and trauma caused by the tragedy that Typhoon “Ondoy” left them. Too many families are now suffering from hunger, sickness, and emotional distress. It’s a tragic fate. Billions worth of property were lost, but what’s most painful was the lost of a loved one. So now we pray that after this great tragedy, people will continue to move on with high hopes and in time return to their normal happy lives.