Should My Dog Sleep in a Crate?

As a pet parent, you may wonder where the best place for your canine companion to sleep is. Should they sleep in their crate, your bed, or their own dog bed? Each has its benefits, so let’s dive into each of them.

Sleeping in a Crate 

Crate training is necessary for when your canine is a puppy—sleeping in a crate at night teaches puppies how to control their bladder and bowels since they don’t like to relieve themselves in the same space that they sleep. Kennels are also excellent for the times that no one can be home to supervise your new puppy. Leave a few chew toys in there, and you’re all good to go. Furthermore, if you’re planning on having a lot of guests at your house, a crate is a great place to keep your pup so that they don’t get too overwhelmed by all the commotion. Some people like to keep their kennels in their bedroom, especially if you have a pooch who gets lonely or anxious easily. However, keeping Fido’s crate in another area of the house is also perfectly fine.

From the start, teaching a puppy that a crate is their safe place will also help them find comfort and solitude in it during their adulthood. When your furry friend grows into a fully grown pooch, they might not sleep in their crate every single night, especially since you won’t need to lock it up anymore. But, they will most likely use it often, as they’ll see it as their personal safe space.

Since your canine companion will associate their crate with safety, it will be great for when you have to take them to their veterinarian or the groomers. Plus, when traveling on a plane or long distance in a car or RV, a crate will be necessary to keep Fido safe. When staying in a hotel room or somewhere new, the kennel will again hopefully provide them with a sense of comfort and safety.  

Sharing Your Bed

Some believe that when a dog sleeps in a bed with their owner, it’s their way of asserting their dominance and claiming the title of pack leader. However, our canine companions are not that devious and actually just enjoy being close to you and using your body heat to keep themselves warm. However, there are a few downsides to letting Fido sleep in your bed with you that should not be overlooked:

• If you’re a light sleeper, then your furry friend could be preventing you from getting a good night’s rest. This is because canines don’t usually sleep all the way through the night. They kick, shift, readjust, get off and back on the bed, and sometimes if it’s too warm, they pant. 
• If you have a younger pup that likes to roam the house in the middle of the night to amuse themselves, then they should be crated. 
• Dogs who aren’t house trained should also be crated and should definitely not be allowed to sleep in your bed as you could wake up to an awful accident in the middle of the night. 

However, if you have a well-trained dog and you sleep just fine with them on your bed, they should be fine. To make sure that Fido doesn’t annoy you by taking up too much space or restricting your movement in your sleep, you should teach them where their specific spot in the bed is.

Their Own Doggy Bed 

A happy medium between having Fido sleep in a crate and sleep on your bed is giving them their very own doggy bed. You could even get your four-legged friend multiple dog beds, with maybe one in your room and one in your living room so your pup can nap with you while you watch TV and rest by your bed at night. The great thing about dog beds, too, is that they come in various shapes, sizes, and colors. There are dog beds that are made with sewn cushions, raised, plush, rounded, flat, and even ones that look like actual house furniture so that they can blend in with the rest of your decor. 

Where your dog sleeps will, in the end, be up to your preference (besides puppies, though, which was mentioned earlier). But, the choice will be a bit up to Fido as well. You can’t force your pup to want to sleep in a dog bed or on your bed with you. They might prefer the confinement of their crate. At the end of the day, as long as both you and your pup are sleeping well – wherever they sleep is fine.