When Sherman first came to live with us, Scott & I actually encouraged him to sleep in our bed. He wanted to sleep on the floor but we made a big deal about getting him to jump in bed with us & snuggle at night. He realized how much more comfy the bed was than the floor and decided that was a fine place to sleep. And that's how it was for 4 years.
Once Penny was out of her crate at night, she also started sleeping with us. It was often very uncomfortable for the humans but we made accommodations for the the two of them b/c we were STUPID!
When we decided to add Lola to the pack, we realized that 3 dogs in the bed was just unacceptable. And we finally came to our senses and determined that no dogs in the bed at night was preferable. Getting 2 dogs that were used to sleeping in the big bed to sleep on the floor in their beds was not going to be an easy task. So, Scott put eye hooks into the baseboards and we stared tethering them to their beds at night. You can imagine how well that was received the first few nights! Penny kept trying to jump on the bed and was immediately flung onto the floor (fortunately she's the smart one and after a 1/2 dozen tries, she gave up & slept in her bed). Sherman, being the gigantic baby that he is, whined & cried off & on for at least a week.
We've finally settled into a nice routine where they all snuggle in bed with me until Scott goes to sleep and then everyone gets in their respective dog beds without fuss. Lola still sleeps in her crate b/c she loves it. Sherman & Penny are no longer tethered and Penny will sometimes sneak into our bed in the middle of the night. She's amazingly cat-like and I never feel her come up nor do I notice her in the bed till morning. Mr. "Bull in a China Shop" is not so graceful and it feels like someone dropped a ton of bricks on the bed if he decides to come up. But he gets back in bed when I tell him.
"I sleep in my big bolster bed with my blankie".
"I either sleep in my bed on in the pile of clothes Dad leaves on the floor next to his side of the bed."
"I have to sleep in JAIL!"
"But I would prefer to sleep with my best friend Penny!"
So where do YOU sleep at night????
