Is It Healthy To Sleep With Your Dog In Your Bed? Let’s Find Out…

Every dog lover will agree that sleeping with a dog in bed feels exhilarating.

The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) reports that a surprising “56% of dog owners sleep with their dog next to them; 50% of dogs sleep on the bed. Among dogs that sleep with their owners, 62% are small dogs, 41% are medium-sized, and 32% are large.”

Although sleeping next to your four-legged pet could be comforting, there are advantages and disadvantages. Surely, the joy comes with some inconvenience, which is disturbing sleep.

Let’s explore more on whether it is healthy to sleep with your dog in bed…

Disadvantages

As per Healthline, Sleeping with a dog can disrupt sleep and the best solution to this disadvantage is to get its bed.  

It can also aggravate allergies and asthma because pets carry dust and pollutants with them.

Dogs go places lick and bite anything that looks appealing to them. Sometimes they may come into contact with germs which could passed on to humans.

Advantages

The Healthline platform reveals that “when compared with cats and other people, dogs in bed were perceived to be less disruptive to sleep. If you wake up refreshed and aren’t fatigued during the day, your dog is probably a good sleeping buddy.”

Despite all the little challenges that come, for a section of people, sleeping with dogs provides security and comfort rather than sleeping next to a person.

A report published by NCBI on ‘Psychosocial and Psychophysiological Effects of Human-Animal Interactions: The Possible Role of Oxytocinstates’, also highlights that human and animal interaction can lower cortisol levels.

According to experts, people with mental health must be considered to get the main source of support from pets.

So, do you still want to sleep next to your best friend? Well! The decision lies with you. But remember to take every precaution to not get infected with germs and viruses which pets can pass on to humans.

Precaution

Considering sleeping with them? Follow this precaution:

• Train your four-legged pets to wait for permission to get on the bed
• Be consistent with the rules. Teach his limits
• Consistent checkups and vaccinations
• Deworming is important
• Use flea and tick sprays or other essentials
• Wash your hands after cleaning up your pet
• Change your sheets and bedding regularly