Content
- Why does my dog want to sleep with me?
- 1. It's a social animal
- 2. He wants to protect you
- 3. He feels more secure
- 4. It seeks its warmth
- 5. He likes your bed
- 6. You are showing your love
- Is it bad to sleep with the dog?
Does your dog always sleep beside you? In the same room? Or sleep between your legs? Anyway, the reasons that explain this behavior are related to the type of relationship you established with him and the bond you created. That way, a dog will always sleep with the person or people he likes the most, and if you're one of them, you should feel really lucky!
In PeritoAnimal, we will talk about the feeling of attachment and explain why does your dog sleep with you. Keep reading because you'll love the reasons!
Why does my dog want to sleep with me?
There are many reasons why your dog sleep on your side, in your room or on your pillow. However, they are all related to the attachment that dogs can feel by their tutors. Yes, this relationship that we consider unique to human beings also occurs with animals, especially with those who have gone through a process of domestication, such as dogs and cats. Studies such as the one conducted by Topál, J., Miklósi, Á., Csányi, V. and Dóka, A.[1], in which the famous Ainsworth Test for children was carried out with more than 50 dogs and their owners, demonstrate that most dogs, when seeing themselves without their reference figure, exhibit behaviors typical of the attachment that a child may feel for their parents .
Now that you know that your dog sleeps with you primarily because he feels attached to you, let's take a closer look at what drives that habit or behavior.
1. It's a social animal
The first thing you need to understand to understand why your dog sleeps with you is that it's a social pack animal that in the wild, I would sleep in groups. Since the dog is not a solitary animal, this "curious" habit is in its nature. In fact, if you live with more than one dog and their relationship is good, you've certainly noticed that they never sleep alone. Most of them sleep with their humans or sleep together in the same bed or in the same room.
2. He wants to protect you
As we said in the previous section, the dog is a pack animal, which takes care of its companions, cares and communicates with them through their own language. Thus, in addition to all other reasons, sleeping together fulfills an important function: protect each other.
Sleep is one of the times when we are most exposed and, therefore, we are more vulnerable. For this reason, many dogs prefer to sleep near or beside their humans in order to protect them in case something happens. It's a natural behavior of the species. If you suspect your dog likes to sleep with you because of this, but you don't want him to stay in the same bed, place his bed next to yours.
3. He feels more secure
If your dog always sleeps with you, it means you gives you security and confidence. He is comfortable with you and sees you as a role model to follow, whom he can trust. So it's not surprising that, in addition to sharing the moment of sleep with you, your dog follows you everywhere.
4. It seeks its warmth
Dogs like to feel warm, for this reason, many prefer to sleep with their humans and go under the sheet to the warmest place in bed. And if the your dog always sleeps leaning on you or on top of you, that could also be the reason! Similarly, if your dog sleeps between her legs, it may be precisely because he seeks this heat.
We also see this search for heat during the day, when they lie down in areas of the house where the sun's rays penetrate. This behavior, of course, has more reasons than mentioned.
5. He likes your bed
Have you checked the comfort of his bed? if you are not comfortableIt is normal to find a more comfortable place to sleep, as the bed, the couch or pillow. That way, if your dog sleeps on the pillow, it's time to check out his own mattress!
In these cases, the most appropriate is buy a comfortable bed, put it next to yours and leave a blanket to ensure that the dog has the necessary heat. Also, if you'd like him to stop sleeping in yours, you can check out the article on how to teach a dog to sleep in his bed or watch this video:
6. You are showing your love
In short, if your dog sleeps with you, that means he loves you. He likes to feel your warmth, he feels safe with you, he wants to protect you and convey all his love to you. Sleeping together is one of the greatest expressions of love and it also helps to strengthen the bond. Even if your bed is the most uncomfortable in the world, if the dog doesn't like his humans or they don't give him security, he won't sleep with them.
However, even if the reasons why your dog sleeps with you or in your room are charming, is it really a good thing? We explain below.
Is it bad to sleep with the dog?
Sleeping in the same bed is a habit that can be positive for both of you, as long as a few issues are considered. For example, it's very important maintain correct animal hygiene, especially after the tours. If you do not, all the dirt that is in their paws move to your bed and you. With the coat, it is important to take the same care, which is why you should brush it daily to control the shedding and therefore prevent your sheets from becoming littered with dead hair.
On the other hand, you should never let go of the preventive medicine, given that there are parasites that dogs can transmit to humans, such as fleas and ticks. This way, you will have to deworm the animal according to the veterinarian's instructions to avoid the presence of the parasites.
In addition to hygiene, you should consider whether sleeping together really provides restadequate for the animal and for you, because, depending on the conditions and dimensions of the bed, may not be the most recommended. So, if that's your case, you can always put the pet's bed next to yours so that your dog sleeps in the same room, feels safe and secure.
Now if the dog suffer from separation anxiety or hypertension, sleeping with him is not good because it reinforces this behavior that is not positive for him. In these cases, it is necessary to turn to a canine educator or ethologist to address the basic problem, as stopping sleeping together is not the only solution.
Learn more in the article "Is it bad to sleep with my dog?"
If you want to read more articles similar to 6 reasons why your dog sleeps with you, we recommend that you enter our Curiosities section of the animal world.