If you own a Golden Retriever (or several), then chances are you treat your dog as a full-fledged member of the family. He’s one of your closest companions, and you may even take him everywhere with you throughout the day. Still, should you let your golden retriever sleep in bed with you at night?
Despite the debate among dog owners surrounding this question, the answer is YES. You can let your golden retriever sleep in bed with you. Generally, doing so offers you loads of benefits, including building a better relationship with your Golden and making both of you feel safer when sleeping.
Having said that, you must know all the facts to understand both sides of this debate. Then, you can make a well-informed decision for yourself and your Golden Retriever. This article will help you with that by answering a few common questions surrounding the discussion.
By the end of it, you’ll know the pros, the cons, and everything else there is to know about letting your Golden Retriever sleep in bed with you.
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Do Golden Retrievers Want To Sleep With Their Owners?
Before we go on about whether or not we should let our Golden Retrievers sleep with us, it would be a good idea to figure out if they want to sleep in our beds, to begin with. Well, the answer to that is almost always a resounding YES! Dogs of all breeds would love nothing more than to share the same bed with their owners.
But why is that?
Your Golden Retriever has several reasons why they want to share your bed. Firstly, it comes from a place of warmth and love. They just want to be as close to you as possible, even at night when both of you are sleeping. If the temperatures are low, then they’ll also want to help keep you warm through the night. A dog is a pack animal, and it’s natural for packs of animals to huddle and sleep together at night.
Above all, always remember that your dog sees you as the leader of their ‘pack’. Because of that, they stay close to you in the hopes of protecting you and vice versa.
What Are The Benefits Of Letting My Golden Retriever Sleep In My Bed?
Now that you know your Golden Retriever would love to share your bed with you at night, let’s talk about some of the benefits you will both enjoy by sleeping together.
As mentioned earlier, there’s the added feeling of security and warmth that comes with letting your Golden sleep next to you at night. Letting them rest beside you at night will help you bond with your Golden and improve your relationship with him or her in the long run.
On the other hand, science also tells us that doing so is also good for your overall physical and emotional health. For example, keeping your dog nearby while you sleep can lower your stress levels, potentially reducing the risk of hypertension and high blood pressure.
On top of that, cuddling with your furry best friend also helps your body produce hormones like oxytocin (commonly known as the ‘cuddle hormone’). That can lead to improved sleep quality and lower stress, which can then snowball to more significant improvements in your mental and emotional health!
Is It A Bad Idea To Let My Golden Retriever Sleep In My Bed?
Letting your Golden Retriever sleep in your bed isn’t inherently wrong. Still, there are some situations where that may not be such a good idea. Typically, these situations include allergies, cleanliness, a reduction in your sleep quality, and if you’re sharing the bed with your spouse or partner.
Allergies
Firstly, let’s talk about allergies. No matter how much we love our pets, the fact is that some of us don’t respond very well to their dander or smells. So, if you or your partner are prone to allergic reactions because of this, keeping your Golden in your bed is not the best idea.
Cleanliness of Your Dog
If you want to have your Golden Retriever sleep in bed with you, you’ll want to consider their cleanliness. If your dog is a digger, mud puddle diver or enjoys rolling in dead things on a regular basis, you may want to reconsider the sleeping arrangements.
Although it’s a good idea to bathe your golden retriever on a regular basis, if your dog is one that tends to get filthy on a daily basis, a bed or a blanket on the floor might be a better choice for you as a pet owner.
Sleep Problems
Besides, having an extra four-legged occupant in the bed may also interrupt your sleep in the night. Light sleepers, for example, need to sleep by themselves to ensure a good night’s rest. Having your Golden Retriever there with you may compromise your sleep, leaving you feeling tired or irritable throughout the day.
Let’s face it, dogs can be bed hogs, and a Golden Retriever is a large breed dog. If your Golden’s favorite sleeping position takes up too much of the bed, and it affects your sleeping patterns, then it might be best to have your dog’s sleeping area be somewhere else.
Considering Your Partner or Spouse
Last but not least, you’ll have to take your partner into consideration if you’re sharing a bed with your spouse. You may sleep perfectly well with your Golden next to you, but your spouse may not have the same experience. That could put a strain on your relationship, which, left unchecked, could lead to a lot of friction.
Should I Let My Golden Retriever Puppy Sleep With Me?
Within the ‘Should I let my Golden sleep in my bed?’ debate, there is another sub-discussion going on. What about Golden Retriever puppies? Is it a good idea to let them sleep in your bed as well?
The answer is no, it’s probably not the best idea to let Golden Retriever puppies sleep in your bed with you.
Here’s why.
When you first welcome a Golden Retriever puppy into your home, the puppy needs to adjust to its surroundings. Unfortunately, that means the puppy will need some time before it can sleep comfortably at night in its new home.
Also, the sleep patterns of a young pup may still be developing, and they may not slumber through the night, causing you to be awakened several times each evening.
Besides that, you’ll also need to potty-train the puppy first so that it doesn’t have ‘accidents’ in your bed!
For both those reasons, letting your Golden Retriever puppy spend its early life in a sleeping place like a crate is the best way to do things. You can always let your new dog sleep in your bed when it’s matured and no longer a puppy.
On the plus side, you could place that crate inside your room so the puppy will sleep near you, just not on your bed. But remember: it’ll take some time before a puppies sleeping habits will match your own, so you’ll probably lose some sleep like all parents (and by that we mean ‘dog parents’) do.
What About a Senior Golden Retriever Sleeping in My Bed ?
While having an adult dog sleep in your bed is no problem, issues may develop with an old golden retriever. While a Golden will generally just jump up onto the bed, senior dogs may reach a point where this is not physically possible anymore.
There are two approaches you can take to alleviate this problem. The first would be to provide steps or a ramp to make it possible for your furry friend to get into bed. The Pet Gear Easy Steps (Amazon) are extra wide steps you can place next to your bed to make things easier.
Discover how to train your Golden Retriever by playing games: 21 games to play with your Golden that will make them smarter and better behaved!
The other option is to set up a different sleeping arrangement altogether. Getting a dog bed that’s comfortable for your older Golden may be the best solution. An orthopedic dog bed like this one (Amazon) placed next to your bed will allow your dog’s sleep to be comfortable while still having the feeling of togetherness and preventing any separation anxiety.
Also, adding a blanket to your older dogs bed may be a good idea as well. A blanket will help them keep warm and add to their level of comfort.
The Best Places For Golden Retrievers To Sleep
At this point, it’s clear that for most people it’s okay to let their Golden Retrievers sleep with them in bed unless there are circumstances which make that a bad idea. Still, you might be wondering what the other best places are for Golden Retrievers to get their rest at night?
Besides your bed, plenty of Golden owners also train their dogs to sleep on the floor next to bed instead. In many ways, that offers you and the dog the best of both worlds. They get to stay nearby in their own sleeping space, while you get to enjoy the full comfort of your cozy bed without having to share.
Beyond that, another great place for your dog to sleep is in a crate. As mentioned earlier, a crate makes the dog feel safe, and it helps you potty-train them.
With a crate, you still have a choice to make, though. You can put the crate in your room where the dog can be near you, or you can place it in a separate room. That will depend entirely on which options provide you with more comfort.
With all of that said, many owners of Golden Retrievers have one more option that they say gives their dogs the best sleep. They let them sleep wherever they want. That’s right! Some Golden owners let their dogs sleep wherever they want throughout the house, so the dog gets to choose where to lay their head at night.
Which one is the best of the best? Well, try all of those different approaches and see which one makes you and your Golden the happiest. What works for other people may not work for you, so a little bit of trial and error will go a very long way.
Other Golden Retriever Articles You’ll Enjoy!
- How Long Should a Golden Retriever Be Walked? (Explained!)
- Why Golden Retrievers’ Faces Turn White (And at What Age)
- Do Golden Retrievers Have a Favorite Person? (Explained)
- Golden Retrievers With Blue Eyes (Are They True Goldens?)