Many people choose to sleep with their dogs. The desire to have them close, the adoration they feel for them and the mutual affection that exists prevents them from refusing to rest with their little furry ones. It is a detail that serves to further strengthen the relationship between pets and their owners, but there are also some doubts about whether this practice is really positive.
On colder nights you also want to sleep with a dog because of the heat it brings. Even so, you must take into account all the benefits and disadvantages of resting with a dog, to decide if it is convenient to continue sleeping like this. To find out if it is bad to sleep with the dog, the benefits and disadvantages, in we recommend that you continue reading this article.
Is it bad or good to sleep with the dog?
Do you usually sleep with your dog? It is not bad if a number of conditions are met. If your little furry is healthy, free of parasites and completely clean, it does not pose any risk. In any case, the daily walks on the street cause you to accumulate some dirt and even catch some kind of disease.
To sleep with your dog, you must prevent him from getting sick and, therefore, it is bad for him to sleep with you in bed. So, you should visit the veterinarian at least twice a year (every 6 months) complying with the marked vaccination schedule and deworming it both internally and externally periodically.
In addition, it is important to bathe your dog monthly and brush his hair to eliminate or prevent possible parasites. In we also recommend that you clean your legs every time you return home from the walks. We tell you how to do it in our post How to take care of my dog’s paws.
What are the benefits of sleeping with your dog?
Sharing hours of sleep with your dog will bring you a series of health benefits such as the following.
Helps reduce blood pressure
According to an article published by the Journal of Behavioral Medicine (1), it can be stated that there is a cause-effect relationship with sleeping in bed next to a dog and a reduction in blood pressure. This aspect is essential to rest and fall asleep.
Feeling of security
Another benefit of sleeping next to your furry friend is experiencing a sense of protection. By having it nearby, you will notice how you fall asleep with a stronger sense of security. In addition, it is very positive for those people especially sensitive to any type of noise, since having the company of your dog will give them greater confidence.
Reduces your anxiety and increases your happiness
Being in contact with or close to their relatives, dogs feel happy. Therefore, they secrete serotonin, that is, the one known as the hormone of happiness. Sleeping with them helps them feel more secure and happy, so sharing a bed is a good way to provide them with well-being.
Strengthens the affective bond
What are the benefits of sleeping with a dog? Another reason is that, just as resting with another person reinforces the emotional bond with them since it is an intimate act, with dogs the same thing happens: sleeping next to your little furry is important to strengthen and strengthen your relationship.
Reduce stress
Another issue that solves whether it is bad to sleep with the dog is the reduction of cortisol, the stress hormone in humans. Sleeping with your pet helps reduce the levels of this hormone in the body, thus favoring a better rest and a few hours of quality sleep.
Why it’s bad to sleep with a dog
Despite the great benefits mentioned in the previous section about sleeping with a dog, there are also negative aspects to consider. Letting the dog go up to bed is counterproductive if we talk about aspects such as hygiene, the danger of contracting infections and the difference in sleep cycles are the main ones.
Hygiene
It is bad to sleep with pets even if you comply with the basic rules of hygiene at home. Domestic animals are transmitters of infections despite being vaccinated and in good health. Bacteria, parasites and viruses that they usually carry naturally are a risk to your body.
Infections
What if dogs sleep in bed? Sharing a bed with a dog, his licks and kisses increase the risk of transmission of infections such as ringworm, hookworm, staph infections due to drug resistance, allergic and respiratory problems.
Different dream cycles
Some people may suffer from sleep disturbances from sleeping with their dog. The animal’s sleep cycles are different from those of humans, so it may take longer to fall asleep. Another reason why it is bad to sleep with a dog is that you are also more likely to wake up at night by snoring from the pet.
If you want to know more about the sleep cycle of dogs, we recommend you read this post about how much a dog sleeps a day.
How to sleep with the dog in bed
To take advantage of all the benefits of sleeping with your dog in bed and counteract the harmful aspects, in OneHowTo we give you the following tips:
- Don’t let him climb into bed right after a walk. Clean each of its legs so that dirt from the street does not settle on the sheets.
- Check your little furry one daily to check that he does not have parasites.
- Brush your hair frequently to prevent it from leaving dead hair in bed.
- Take all possible precautions to sleep with puppies that tend to wet the bed.
- Always place your dog in bed to avoid crushing him with any involuntary movement while you sleep.
If you want to read similar articles to Is it bad to sleep with the dog? we recommend that you enter our category of Pets.