If you are wondering whether or not you should let your Golden Retriever sleep with you, this post will help you decide.
So, can my Golden Retriever sleep with me? Research has shown it is not problematic provided that the dog is healthy and without behavioral issues. However, if it does have some behavioral issues such as aggression, resource guarding or separation anxiety then it might make them more pronounced.
When deciding on whether or not you should let your Golden Retriever sleep with you there are a number of things to consider.
Reasons that letting your Golden Retriever sleep with you might not be a good idea
Below, I will show you some reasons why you letting your Golden Retriever sleep with you could be a problem.
It might contribute to separation anxiety
Something to consider is that if your Golden Retriever has separation anxiety it could make it worse. The reason for this is that, if it spends even more time around you, it will get even more used to being around you and it could cause it to become more anxious when you are not around. If it does seem to have some separation anxiety, it might help to take measures to reduce it before letting it sleep with you.
It might make it harder for you to sleep
Another thing to consider is that it might make it more difficult for you to fall asleep. This is because it might be moving around or even bothering you. Although, you could just get it to go back to sleeping on its own if you find that you can’t fall asleep as easily after letting it sleep with you for a few nights.
It can aggravate your own allergies and transmit diseases
It is possible that letting your Golden Retriever sleep with you will aggravate allergies and there is a risk of transmitted diseases. However, this is a very rare occurrence (source) but it is something to be aware of.
It might increase resource guarding
Another thing to consider is that it might start trying to protect its spot on the bed. This would be more likely if it currently has issues with resource guarding such as if it protects its food or if it tries to protect its spot on the sofa. It would be important to take measures to deal with its resource guarding before letting it sleep with you.
It might be difficult to get it to stop if you change your mind
Another reason why you might not want to do it is that it might be difficult to get it to stop. This is because your Golden Retriever will get used to sleeping around you and suddenly stopping it from doing so could be met with some resistance.
With that being said, the resistance should only last for a few nights so it shouldn’t be too hard to get it to stop.
Reasons why it is not such a bad idea
Below are some reasons why letting your Golden Retriever sleep with you would be ok.
It improves feelings of companionship
A reason why letting it sleep with you might not be such a bad idea could that it will improve feelings of companionship between you and your Golden Retriever. Also, Golden Retrievers were bred to work alongside their owners and they are usually a lot more comfortable when they can be around their owner as and when they please.
It might make you feel safer
Another reason why it might be a good idea is that it might make you feel safer. This could help you to fall asleep more easily after the initial nights where it might be trying to find its best spot.
Research has concluded that it’s not so bad to let it sleep with you
In the past, people would say that people shouldn’t let their dog sleep with them for reasons such as it causing the dog to feel like the owner is no longer its leader.
However, recent research has concluded that the pros can outweigh the cons when letting your Golden Retriever sleep with you. It also found that there is not a significant issue with doing it if your relationship with your Golden Retriever is a healthy one.
Things to consider
Below are some additional things to consider when deciding whether or not to let your Golden Retriever sleep with you.
Whether or not it has behavioral issues
It would help to consider whether or not it has behavioral issues since allowing your Golden Retriever to sleep with you might contribute to them.
If it currently has issues with things such as aggression, resource guarding or separation anxiety, it would be important to take measures to correct them before allowing it to sleep with you.
How old it is
It would also help to consider the age of your Golden Retriever. If it is still a puppy, it might cause it to be more likely to get separation anxiety when it is older since it will be around you all the time if it sleeps with you.
If you do notice that your Golden Retriever starts getting anxious when you leave, it would be very important to immediately start working on getting rid of the anxiety so that it does not become a more significant issue.
You could get it to sleep on the floor beside the bed instead
Another option would be to have it sleep on the floor instead of on your bed. Doing this will allow you to get the benefits of it sleeping with you such as making you feel safer while reducing the risk of things such as making it harder to fall asleep or resource guarding.