If you want to know whether or not you should let your husky sleep with you this post will show you why it is normally ok but with some caveats.
So, can my husky sleep with me? Research has shown it is not problematic provided that the husky 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 husky sleep with you there are a number of things to consider.
Reasons that letting your husky sleep with you might not be a good idea
Below, I will show you some reasons why you letting your husky sleep with you could be a problem.
It might contribute to separation anxiety
If your husky has separation anxiety it might be the case that letting it sleep with you will get it used to being around you all the time which could make its separation anxiety worst.
In this case, before letting it sleep with you, it would help to take measures to reduce its separation anxiety.
To do reduce its separation anxiety you could do as follows:
- Make it seem like you are about to leave by doing something such as picking up your keys
- Reward your husky for not being anxious and repeat these two steps a few times
- Make more moves towards actually leaving such as by picking up the keys and putting your hand on the door handle
- Reward your husky for not being anxious and repeat the process a few times
- Actually open the door and go outside for a few moments then come back and reward your husky
- Repeat the above, each time staying outside for slightly longer
It might make it harder for you to sleep
Another reason why it might not be such a good idea could be that it might make it harder for you to sleep. This is because your husky might be moving about, making noises or trying to get attention from you.
With that being said, if it makes you feel more secure it might actually help you to fall asleep more easily. You could also try letting it sleep with you for a few nights and get it to stop if it does not work out so well.
It can aggravate your own allergies and transmit diseases
It is possible that letting your husky 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
If your husky has resource guarding habits letting your husky sleep with you might not be a good idea. The reason for this is that it might start trying to guard its spot on the bed. This would be more likely to happen if your husky does things such as try to stop you from sitting in a certain spot.
If it does have resource guarding habits it would be necessary to take measures to stop them before letting it sleep with you.
It might be difficult to get it to stop if you change your mind
One more possible issue with letting it sleep with you could be that it will be hard to get it to stop if you change your mind. This is because your husky 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 that it is not such a bad idea
Below are some reasons why letting your husky sleep with you would actually be beneficial to you and your husky.
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 husky. Also, Siberian huskies 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
Letting your husky sleep with you could help to make you feel safer at night. 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
People, in the past, 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 husky sleep with you. It also found that there is not a significant issue with doing it if your relationship with your husky is a healthy one.
Things to consider
Below are some more things to consider when deciding on whether or not you should let your husky sleep with you.
Whether or not it has behavioral issues
If your husky has behavioral issues such as separation anxiety, aggression or resource guarding letting it sleep with you might make them worse. Instead, it would help to take measures to deal with the behavioral issues before letting it sleep with you.
How old it is
Another thing to consider is the age of your husky.
If it’s still a puppy it might pee in the bed and it could contribute to it getting separation anxiety later on. If you do notice that it 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
There are some reasons why letting it sleep on your bed might not be a good idea since it might make it harder for you to fall asleep and it might start trying to protect its spot on the bed. However, another option for you would be to let it sleep on the floor next to the bed instead.