When most people get a new puppy they put them in crates at night, lined with comfortable bedding and a few toys. The idea is that puppies don’t dirty their bed and – hopefully – will wait until you let them outside in the morning. It’s also a matter of safety: when they’re inside a crate they can’t easily hurt themselves and they certainly won’t get lost! You can even join a bigger pen onto an open crate, so your pup to has more space for roaming.
A Growing Dog
As your puppy grows and once they are house-trained, you will need to get them their own dog bed to sleep on, adding some puppy pads at various points around the room, such as at the doorway to the garden or yard.
But what a dog likes most of all is to be able to sleep on its owner’s bed. He or she will just love to snuggle up with you, or lie on your feet for warmth. Don’t try this when they’re a pup as you might have a few ‘accidents’ on your bed!
The time to allow it is when they’re fully house trained. They’ll probably snore loudly, stretch out to grab much of the space – especially if they’re a large breed – and try to push you or your partner out to get more bed for themselves. However some people love the company and warmth and say that they even sleep better with their dog gently snoring away beside them.
There are downsides, too. In the mornings dogs like to rise with the dawn chorus and they’re bound to want you to wake too – which means they’ll give you a very wet kiss or tap you with their paw until you respond. As far as they’re concerned, waking up time is playtime!
Then there’s the question of hygiene. Do you really want to be licked all over your face by a tongue that’s been who knows where? What if your dog has a tick or fleas? Even adding a dog blanket or another type of cover won’t work, as it’s bound to get scrunched up or pushed off the bed during the night.
All in all, it’s a fun idea, but in practical terms the cons outweigh the pros and it would be best for your furry friend to have his or her own dog bed.