Many pet owners allow their pets to sleep in bed with them at night. Come on, you know it’s hard to turn down that begging face!
Is sleeping with your pets a good thing? A bad thing? Is it healthy? If you missed the recent article on this topic from our RV Pet Vet, Karel Carnohan, DVM, read it here. In it, she explains the benefits and risks of sleeping with a pet.
If you let more than one pet sleep with you, please leave a comment after you vote and tell us how many. We’re curious!
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When she was living, yes every night. She was part of the family.
At present we have three dachshunds. And yes, they all sleep with us. Each has an assigned spot. They settle in and snuggle up. All is well here!
We travel with 4 cats and at least 2-3 of them sleep with us in motorhome and in home.
I have had a dog as far back as I can remember and I am 77 now. Even while in Vietnam in 1968, I captured a pup from an enemy jungle base camp. He couldn’t go with me on patrol but the cooks in base camp kept him for me.
To me I see little difference between an animal and a human. Pets rarly argue with you or give you bad advice.
We have 2 cats that sleep with us – when our dog Athena was alive, she’d sleep with us too. Made for a cozy night. 😉
At the start of a trip, both cats try and sleep with us, after being forced to move all night as we toss & turn, one gives up and leaves. That leaves one that spends most of the night with us, but is gone from the bed when I get up in the morning. I wish the door to the bedroom was low enough to keep them from crawling under so we could sleep in peace. Cats do not sleep with us at home.
Two. One beagle and one raggle. Best alarm clocks and warning system. Truly part of the family.
Traveling with 4 rescue cats, there is no way to keep them out of where they want to nap.
So, there is a general rotation in the cat’s mind of who to sleep with and when.
My dog is my 4 legged kid,of course he sleeps in our bed.
I have three keeshonds all three sleep with me. Keeps me extra toasty in the winter time! Very often in the summer time they will choose to sleep on the floor under the bed for coolness.
I read the vet’s article and chuckled a little reading that one should have a large enough bed to accommodate. With a German Shepherd that thinks stretching out ACROSS the bed is the proper sleep position, I’m wondering what size they make larger than a king??? 🙂
For the first 14 years of his life our dog almost always slept in his bed, not ours. However, as the end of his life draws near, his separation anxiety grows, as does our willingness to indulge him. Consequently, we let him sleep in our bed almost nightly these days. His successor will have to sleep on her/his own, in his own bed, for the first decade, or more, of her/his life.
It’s hard enough keeping my share of the covers with my human in my bed. To add 60 or 70 pounds of dog … But if we let one up the other would want to join … If have to go sleep on the couch or dinette. So, they don’t know what they’re missing. But they do sleep on the couch. Together or in turns.We did let the cats (had a few, one at a time) because they don’t take up much space or hog the covers.
We vacation with 3 Dalmatians and they 14, 10, 9 and our bed is way to high for them to jump into, Roxy will go up on the back bathroom step up and jump at an angle to get on the bed sometimes. We travel with 2 large dog beds and they all rotate between the couch, recliners or dog beds. We now use an 8 foot ramp and a 8 foot leash for them and bypass the automatic steps to load and unload. Actually I think this is better for their backs.
The very idea of a pet in my bed grosses me out. I don’t even let them in my house. I like my dog and cats, but they are pets, not children.
You shouldn’t have a pet. Do you tie them to a tree. Doesn’t sound like your pets
Ever heard of being a landowner? Many of us are. Some have large acreage. Some with large, fenced in areas. We don’t all live in apartments, condos and HOA subdivisions. Nothing wrong with treating dogs like dogs, and yes, they are still pets.
I guess they don’t travel with you either? Ours are called “ fur kids” and they are definitely part or our life and travels. I feel very sorry for your animals and hope you don’t get any more in the future. It’s against the law in most states to leave them outside without shelter.
Pets are living beings and should be part of the family. You do not deserve a pet. Please find them loving homes and stick to a pet rock. You have no empathy.
Remember that GOD created them and us. GOD definitely wants us to take good care of all his creation. You mistreat your pet and you have made GOD ALMIGHTY very unhappy with your attitude towards his creation
Our two fur kids are happy to sleep in their in own beds unless there’s thunder. Then our little 10 lb Pom mix will yelp to come up and get under the covers. Thank goodness our 60 lb shepherd mix doesn’t have a similar need.
Yes, but only at home. We have two 13-year-old cats, and don’t take them on the road. It isn’t their idea of fun.
Hi, Debbie,
I’m just curious what you do with your cats while you travel. Are your travels just a day or two or do you go for longer periods?
I’m asking because I have a dog (sleeps with my roommate) and three cats (one 16 yo cat sleeps with me the other 16yo sleeps in my recliner in the living room and the baby 4 yo sleeps on the rug in front of the sliding glass door). The dog is easy, she goes! As you said traveling is NOT a cat thing but, what do I do with the cats?
Thanks, Debbie! Great traveling to you!
Lindalee
My 2 kitties actually love to go rving! Learned this when one needed RX during a planned trip. I have a very small toyota RV and already traveled with my 2 big dogs but amazingly easy adding cats. I’m currently installing a cabinet that will hold their litter and food secure from dogs. They seem to really enjoy new views and smells. They are also not escape artists and if anything avoid door. Crazy!
And kitties often sleep with me in overhead but dogs stay below. Before kitties joined party I had sitters check in on them at home
I have three Corgis and a ramp for them to get on the bed in the RV. I love it when we are all sandwiched in together…very cozy!
That’s where the expression a ” 3 dog night” originated from. It meant that it was so cold you needed 3 dogs in bed with you to keep warm.
I have had 5 poodles over 55 years and only had a bed issue with one. She loved her kennel in house and went in on her own at 9 pm sharp every night for 14 years. Unfortunately” grandma” babysat once and felt sorry for her. That was all she wrote…once she got a taste of bed there was no going back. She lived to 17 so 3 years were a power struggle ❤️❤️❤️🐩🐩🐩
Our Cocker spaniel likes the middle half of the bed, leaving 1/4 each for me and the DW. At home in the King size bed it isn’t too bad, but the Queen bed is a little tight.
Imo, people who have dogs that are left outdoors all the time, dogs that are referred to as “just a dog” and/or don’t obedience train and work with their dogs daily, shouldn’t be allowed the privilege to own one. Let alone the love and loyalty dogs have for their people. My dog is everything to me. If my dog doesn’t like you I probably won’t either and if he doesn’t there is a darn good reason. I trust him more than most people. Absolutely, he sleeps on/in the bed. Under the covers and usually has his head on a pillow. He weighs 70 lbs. A Pitbull terrier. He approves this message.
Couldn’t agree more. Hate to see dogs treated like farm animals.
Two right now…used to be four…hoping to one day have three again. Love having them cuddle at night.
I have ( 4)bulldogs and ( 2) Boston Terrier’s and (1) South African Boreboel which is a mastiff . 5 of them are very large dogs except the 2 Boston’s. All my bulldogs and Boreboel love their kennels at night. Their kennels are 16 sq feet in size each. The two Boston’s Miss Pickles and Gizmo sleep with me in a queen size bed and I have a custom ramp made for them to get on and off the bed. Lol, they are bed hogs and are very spoiled as are all of them. Yes they sleep inside and have heat and AC . We have a large home and my offgrid place definitely has alot of space.. They also have a breezeway barn for outside when they are outside to protect them from the elements..
This has nothing to do with an RV. That’s a brick and mortar and the “other” is off grid with plenty of space. And a breezeway bard? Answer the question that was asked.
Hi, Dexter. I think Denise did answer the question. Nowhere in the description or the question itself did we specify sleeping in an RV. She told us which ones sleep with her and then expanded her answer to explain where the rest of them sleep. I thought it was interesting to hear about them. Have a good night. 🙂 –Diane
I have just 1 furbaby now, a 10 YO daschound. Even though she has her own bed for day naps, the foot of the bed under the blanket is for her night time sleepy sleeps. Wouldn’t have it any other way.
Never at home – but in our RV, we can’t keep the cats off the bed once we doze off.
Our oldest daughter used to have a gray tabby that slept curled up on her face. When she left that cat came to sleep on our bed.
Three small dogs
Three pugs and they’re not that small.
Our Hershey is almost 11 years old (a 16 lb Shih Tzu) and in our bed is where he sleeps and I would not trade that time for anything
All of our dogs have always slept with us at home or in the RV.
We full time with a Siamese cat who sheds all the time. My husband doesn’t like cat hair in our bed so no, the cat isn’t allowed in the bedroom. He doesn’t even try to get in the bedroom any more but at night, we still close the bedroom door just in case.
Our two Rat Terriers sleep with us. One under the blankets and one on top, depending on how cold she gets!
At home ….
Our Siamese cat : During winter, almost always. In summer she’s a free agent, she decides. She doesn’t go on the road with us.
Our Heinz 57 Mutt : He’s more then content to sleep in his crate, which is always open. In the RV, he used to sleep on the bed and was thrilled. That was when he was less then a year old and took up about 1/3 the bed (if he was lengthwise). Now that he’s 72 lbs? Doubtful if he would be allowed on the bed. There would be no room for barely anyone else. He liked to sleep across the narrow or the long side of the bed. He’s pretty flexible when it comes to where he sleeps. As long as there is a mattress under him, he’s comfortable.