How to Let Your Puppy in Your Bed

Letting your puppy sleep in your bed with you is a great way to bond with your new pet. She won't miss her mother and her litter nearly as much if she's got you to snuggle up to in the dark. You can even minimize accidents in the first weeks of house training because if she has to "go" in the middle of the night, you'll know--and can get up to take her out.

The best way to start a lifelong pattern of happy co-slumbering is to establish rules and make accommodations for your dog from the very first night.

Things You'll Need

  • Plastic blined mattress pad
  • Special blanket
  • Shallow basket (optional)
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Instructions

    • 1

      Be prepared. Puppies are not housebroken, and if yours wakes up in the middle of the night and has to "go'"--and you don't get up--there will be an accident. To keep puppy pee from soaking into your expensive mattress, purchase two rubber or plastic lined mattress pads. You can put on the second one when the first one is in the wash.

    • 2

      Give the puppy his own blanket. With a little gentle training and reinforcement from you, a spare blanket or small fleece throw on top of a bedspread can become "his" part of the bed, leaving you the rest. You can also take the blanket off the bed and place it with the puppy in his crate if you have to crate him while you're away. The blanket will smell like a happy sleeping place and be comforting to your puppy.

    • 3

      Consider getting a shallow basket for your puppy. If your puppy is teeny tiny and won't
      grow up to be very big, consider placing a small shallow basket--with the special blanket inside--on the bed. That way you don't have to worry about rolling over on top of your little dog in the middle of the night.

    • 4

      Make rules and keep them. Ultimately, the bed is still yours. If your growing dog shows *any* signs of aggression or territorialism about the bed (barking, snapping or growling at you when you're on there together), the co-slumbering privilege must stop immediately. Safely remove the dog from the bed at once, and banish him to his crate or other room in the house.