$$ New Study Reveals That Letting Pets Sleep On The Bed Has Health Consequences
Many people can't imagine getting their six to eight hours without their four-legged angel. While you might feel guilty kicking your beloved pet out of your bed, you might want to set a few boundaries. Being close to your fur baby may be pleasant, but recent medical findings show that your health could take a major hit.
1. Parasites Galore
You've surely seen your doggo sniff poop (whether it be his or that of another dog) and groom his feet during the day. Well, these normal canine activities could lead to your pet to ingest hookworm or roundworm larvae. Yuck. Do you really want your worm-infested pet snuggling up in your 600-thread-count 100% Egyptian cotton sheets? Think about it...
Lurking Lavae
Let's say your pooch does have a parasite. Said parasite's eggs are likely lurking in the tufts of his fur, and can get nestled into your expensive sheets and your skin while you take a snooze with your rescue pup. Nope! That's way too many critters for one bed.
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2. Sleep Quality
Considering dogs are always on alert and cats are nocturnal (which means they love 3:00 AM playtime), it shouldn't be surprising that they sporadically wake you up at the wee hours of the night. According to a 2020 study done on a small group of women, sleeping with a dog in the bed increases human movement, which can disrupt natural sleep patterns.
Snores and Slobbers
Some dogs snore and slobber (AKA the St. Bernard), plus they get hot when they sleep, which are all factors that can leave you feeling groggy and tired in the morning, even if you think you got a full eight hours. Prioritize your sleep, people!
3. Allergies Anyone?
Maybe you get the sniffles here and there, especially after mowing the lawn. Or perhaps excess dust leaves you feeling itchy and sneezy. Well, your big ol' Great Dane, Charlie, has been running through and rolling around in all of that and more! Even if your allergies are mild, inviting your triggers into bed with you isn't exactly the best idea.
Hypoallergenic or Not
"They stick in his fur or on his paws, follow him to your bed, and cause your allergies to go haywire. Stuffy noses and sneezing does not make for a good night's sleep," said PetGuide editor Amy Tokic. If you suffer from pet-related allergies and are looking to adopt a dog, Amy recommends a maltese, schnauzer, or poodle, as they're all hypoallergenic. But honestly, your dirty, pollen-coated pooch, no matter what breed, shouldn't be sleeping in your room at all!
4. Behavioral Factors
Aside from the unsettling health risks, letting your pooches sleep in your bed, or your child's bed for that matter, still isn't ideal. You don't want them getting the wrong idea. Doing so could eventually lead your dog to express possessive or aggressive behavior, like biting your kids. According to the CDC, there were a total of 109 fatal dog bites from 1989 to 1994, 11 of which involved sleeping babies.
Dogs are Territorial
And when it comes to your own room, if you invite a partner into your bed, the dog may see said person as an intruder stepping into his territory. "It may be because he thinks he's protecting you in this vulnerable position," Amy Tokic wrote. It's just not worth the risk.
5. Bubonic Plague
Wait, what? While you thought we moved past the Black Death in the 14th century, it's still possible to get it today, as your cat or dog may be a host. See, your adventurous pooch and your outdoor kitty could easily get fleas, which carry nasty diseases, including the bubonic plague.
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Recent Cases
In fact, according to a scholarly article by Kenneth L. Gage and his colleagues, from 1977 to 1998, 23 of the 297 documented human cases of bubonic plague in the United States were cat-associated! Out of those 23, five were fatal. We know it's a long shot, but goodness gracious, take your pets to the vet regularly and get them their own comfy beds!
6. Scratchy Scratch
You know those horror movie scenes that depict characters waking up in the morning to find cryptic scratches covering their bodies? Was it from an enraged ghost, perhaps a demon? Who knows, but if you're not a horror protagonist, your cat could easily be the culprit. But aside from the fact that cat scratches feel uncomfortable, you can catch cat-scratch disease, or felinosis.
Cat-scratch Disease
CSD is an infectious disease caused by Bartonella henselae bacteria. Humans can catch it from a flea-infested cat's scratch, bite, or even lick. Symptoms of CSD can include a bump or blister where skin was broken, sore and swollen lymph nodes, fatigue, headaches, fever, and even an enlarged spleen! Coconut will be better off sleeping in the cardboard box he loves oh so much.
7. Meningitis
We bet you never knew your sweet pets were such fruitful hosts for disease, and it sometimes the mode of transmission is truly gross! In 1985, a 60-year-old woman in the United Kingdom was diagnosed with meningitis after admitting to regularly kissing her dog on the mouth. In another meningitis case, a newborn baby was diagnosed after the family cat used the babe's pacifier as a toy. Ew!
Keep an Eye on Your Babies
Bruno B. Chomel and Ben Sun's 2011 scholarly article, “Zoonoses in the Bedroom,” discussed meningitis in households with both babies and pets. “Two cases of meningitis in newborn children (less than 1 month of age) have been reported; one was associated with a pet cat stealing a baby’s pacifier and using it as a toy, and the other was associated with a pet dog that often licked the baby’s face," it stated.
8. Staph Infections
Did you know that both doggos and kitties carry bacteria in their saliva that can cause staphylococcus aureus infections, like MRSA, in humans? Well now you do! And MRSA is quite the... female dog... to treat, as this kind of staph infection is quite resistant to common antibiotics.
Control That Tongue
In “Zoonoses in the Bedroom,” Bruno B. Chomel and Ben Sun also mentioned a 51-year-old woman from Japan who developed a staph infection, which started in her ear. After a bit of digging, doctors found that the woman's dog infected her by licking her fresh stitches from a recent ear surgery! You really don't want your pets' gooey, infected saliva all over an open wound while you sleep.
9. Dookie Dilemma
Do you like playing with your own feces? We didn't think so, but your beloved mangey mutt — y'know, the one who sleeps in your bed — might. As natural scavengers, dogs are not grossed out at the idea of playing with or EATING their waste. There's almost definitely fecal matter embedded in your dog's fur and paws.
Bacteria Everywhere
According to the Georgia-based Clean Water Campaign, it's estimated that just one gram of dog feces can contain 23 million fecal coliform bacteria, which have been associated with causing cramps, dehydration, diarrhea, intestinal illness, and kidney disorders in humans. That's right, go wash your sheets and set some boundaries with your canine children.
10. Some Benefits
Okay, considering we threw several negative nuggets of information your way, we'll let you in on the positives. In a study, researchers at Mayo Clinic found that many pet owners believe having their pets in the bed with them either has no affect on their quality of sleep, or even strengthens their quality of sleep. That's 41% of the sample, to be exact!
Comfy Cozy
"[Some people] find that sleeping with their animal actually helps them feel cozy. One woman said her two small dogs kind of warmed her bed. Another person felt her cat who was touching her during the night was comforting and soothing," said sleep medicine specialist Dr. Lois Krahn. About 50% of American dog owners let their good boys snuggle in bed, and it's clearly for a reason. Still, they might be missing the bigger picture.
Pet Ethics
Pet ownership has skyrocketed into a lucrative industry, and several people have questioned if that's a good thing, especially after a new study reveals pet ownership has become a bigger moral grey area than many would like to admit.
Little Critters
The discovery began with a type of critter that most people overlook as pets. Rats, despite their enduring link to diseases, are extraordinary creatures. They have strong feelings of empathy, so when baby rats are taken away from their mother, the distress is amplified.
Firsthand Account
Dr. Jessica Pierce saw such an event while visiting her local PetSmart. A customer had brought in a Tupperware box of the babies in hopes of selling them. With their desperate cries, something clicked in Pierce.
Another Kind of Oppression
As a bioethicist, Dr. Pierce studied ethical issues surrounding biology and medical advances. That day in PetSmart, Pierce realized pet owners had too much control. Confined to cages for their entire lives, the rats became practically helpless.
Speaking Out
In an article for The Guardian titled, "Should we stop keeping pets? Why more and more ethicists say yes," Dr. Pierce stated her initial reaction. "It was a slap in the face – how can we do this to animals?”
Author Beliefs
Pierce went on to emphasize her stance in 2015 when she published her book, Run, Spot, Run. Readers were taken aback to hear the bioethicist, in some ways, condemn pet ownership. All in all, she wanted to outline why it rejected the animal's self-determination.
Moral Ground
However, Dr. Pierce doesn't advocate simply giving up pet relationships forever. She owns a few pets herself, after all. Critics argued that because they give their pets great care, they essentially "fix" the ownership problem. Another expert stepped in to answer.
Inter-Species Relationships
In the same Guardian article, psychology professor at Western Carolina University Dr. Hal Herzog added his thoughts. He helped create the field of anthrozoology, the study of human and animal relationships. He explained that the biggest problem is the convoluted relationships we form with animals.
Book Report
"It is morally problematic, because more people are thinking of pets as people," he said. In 2010, he published Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat and gave a strange account of an ex-pet owner.
Going Vegan
Dr. Herzog met a doctoral student named Jim Thompson. After reading an animals rights magazine, Thompson decided to completely alter his life. He became vegan and made his girlfriend change her habits too.
A Caged Pet
While doing so, Thompson started to reconsider the presence of his caged cockatiel. With everything else he was altering in his life, having the bird "locked up" didn't seem right.
Animal Ethics
Thompson freed the little bird and watched it fly out into the open space of nature. It then hit him that the bird would not have survived for long. In the end, human morality crept back in. Had it been a selfless act or a selfish one? Well, the complicated answer revolves around a contradiction.
Talking Points
Neuroscientist Gregory Burns wrote a piece for The New York Times. In "Dogs are People, Too," Burns brought up the titular topic. The immense control that owners have over their pets doesn't match the way the humans view their furry friends as "people."
Fellow Helpers
Man's best friend is a pretty new idea, as pet ownership has had only a short history. Prior to the 19th century, households didn't cuddle up with the animals they owned. Instead, the animals worked to provide assistance.
The Good and the Bad
During the 19th and 20th centuries, the tide turned. Pets were taken in thanks to a better, affordable income. While Dr. Pierce detailed that trend in Run, Spot, Run, she delved into the dark underbelly of the pet industry.
Morbid End Goal
When animals are both friends and commodities, they are set up to suffer. Dr. Pierce reported that in the year of 1877 alone, over 700 stray dogs were terminated horrifically in New York City. They were captured, trapped in iron crates, and drowned in the East River.
Death Rates
To this day, stray animals are still in danger of ill treatment. Especially for the ones brought to shelters, their lives have not improved. According to the ASPCA, over 1.5 million shelter animals have continued to be euthanized each year.
Better Outlook
Not all is grim, fortunately. In recent years, the number of euthanized cases has indeed dropped. This is in large part due to adoptions and successful returns back to owners. But Pierce and Herzog also called for changes in owned pets' lives.
From Here and Beyond
Perhaps it was a good argument the two doctors presented, looking out for the empathy and agency of living beings. But a complete deconstruction of pet ownership would surely take decades and where would the previously owned animals go?
Pipe Dreams
Ultimately, should a pet's self-freedom be worth more than their survival in the wild — a wide and open space that they have no preparedness for? Well, don't expect to see a Noah's Ark of animals suddenly released to fend for themselves. Instead, we'll probably see a shift in the concept of pet-hood.
You Got A Friend in Me
Multiple national governments, along with certain states in the U.S., no longer define pets as property. Instead, humans are considered the legal guardians of these animals, who in turn have rights to basic protection and survival. Some extremists will still demand more, of course.
Blissful Ignorance
Jim Thompson let his cockatiel free, knowing full well his pet's life span would be cut down drastically. But at least the little bird would be happier, right? Well, pets' freedom may only be the tip of the bioethical iceberg. Another issue is the fact that we've permanently altered the DNA of many of our furry friends.
A Breeding Expert
In the 1980s, Wally Conron worked as a breeding manager for the Royal Guide Dogs Association of Australia. While his job allowed him to help people in need, it wasn't always easy.
Guide Dog Wanted
One day, the association received a particularly challenging request in the form of a letter from Hawaii. A blind woman needed a guide dog, but she had one specific problem. No one had been able to help.
A Troublesome Allergy
The woman needed a guide dog to help her function, but there was one problem. Her husband was allergic to Labrador retrievers, which complicated their life at home in one crucial way.
Conron's Solution
Labrador retrievers are the preferred breed for guide dog, but the woman's husband couldn't deal with their dander. Conron started racking his brain for any possible solution to suggest. Eventually, one came to mind.
A Dash of Poodle
Poodles do not shed, so Conron tried to find one that could act as a guide dog. It wasn't easy. After auditioning 30 canines, none of them had the appropriate disposition. Time was running out.
Mad Science
Conron wanted a pup with a Lab's disposition and a poodle's hypoallergenic coat. No such dog existed, however. In a moment of desperation, the breeder decided to try to make his own.
The First Labradoodles
After a while, Brandy the Lab and Harley the poodle paired off. Nine weeks later, three puppies were born. Conron had done it; the woman would get her guide dog after all.
Unwanted Pups
One of the puppies was sent to Hawaii, but the other two remained in Australia. Try as he might, Conron couldn't find anyone to adopt the dogs. One day, however, he had an idea.
A Slick Rebranding
He called the dogs "Labradoodles" and reached out to the media. Before long, call after call started pouring in; thanks to the rebranding effort, everyone wanted to adopt this new hybrid breed.
"It was a gimmick," Conron recalled in a conversation with ABC News. "They were a crossbreed, nobody wanted them, but everybody wanted a Labradoodle. Same dog, different name." But it wasn't a happy ending.
Conron realized he had created an unsustainable demand for the breed. While Labradoodles were meant to solve one specific problem, now everyone wanted one as a status symbol. Drastic action was needed.
"I realized what I had done within a matter of days," Conron remembered. "I went to our big boss at the time and I said to him, 'Look, I've created a monster. We need to do something."
Unfortunately dog breeds cannot be trademarked; before long, breeders around the world selling their own Labradoodles and other hybrid pets. "I opened a Pandora's box and released a monster," Conron said.
While some hybrid dogs come from reputable breeders, that isn't always the case. Unfortunately, there are plenty of unscrupulous folks who are trying to capitalize on people's desire for a designer pup.
Many designer dogs come from puppy mills, where animals are kept in poor conditions for the sole purpose of breeding. The canines are seen as means to a profit, rather than beloved pets.
"We've seen puppy mills cash in big time on these 'designer breeds," John Goodwin, a senior director at the Humane Society of the United States, explained. "A lot of these breeding dogs are kept in miserable, inhumane conditions."
Even if they're born in a humane environment, however, Labradoodles can still have health problems. When you mix two different dog breeds, not everything works out in a seamless fashion.
While plenty of Labradoodles are healthy, some struggle with hip and elbow dysplasia; in those cases, the dog's joints don't fit smoothly together. Complications can range from arthritis to permanent lameness.
At the end of the day, that's Conron's biggest concern. While his first love might have been horses, he's a canine-lover at heart. He just wants to ensure that people aren't breeding dogs that are bound for longterm health issues.
But even he can see the breed's appeal. "I find that the biggest majority [of Labradoodles] are either crazy or have a hereditary problem," he explained. "But I do see some damn nice Labradoodles."
Labradoodles aren't the only breed of dog that has some issues, however. In fact, there are quite a few different pups that you might want to reconsider adding to your family...
1. Boxers: Though Boxers generally only take issue with large dogs of the same sex, boredom can also turn them aggressive. Lack of exercise may result in chewing, digging, and other disruptive behavior.
2. Dogo Argentinos: Although commonly found as police and rescue dogs, Dogos were originally bred as big-game hunters. Combined with their strong opposition to strangers, an untrained Dogo is about as dangerous a dog as they come.
3. Akita Inus: While its smiling face would suggest a gentle temperament, Akitas are socially dominant dogs that do not get along with other pooches of the same sex. Without a confident handler, this breed can become highly aggressive and shirk obedience altogether.
4. Dobermans: Though decades of breeding have made most Dobermans more gentle in temperament, the breed as a whole was originally bred as a fiercely loyal guard dog. While attacks on owners are rare, untrained Dobermans pose a serious threat both strangers and other dogs.
5. Malamutes: Known for their skill at pulling sleds and other freight, Malamutes are closer to their wolf ancestors than most other domesticated dogs. As such, they have a high prey drive, meaning they're likely to chase and even attack smaller animals.
6. Great Danes: Despite its reputation as a gentle giant, Great Danes can be dangerous if not properly trained. With some weighing up to 200 pounds and standing nearly three feet tall, you certainly wouldn't want to see a Great Dane charging at you full force.
7. Bull Terriers: A powerful pooch in a small package, Bull Terriers can be incredibly stubborn and independent. If not socialized early on, they can become disobedient and aggressive toward strangers.
8. Japanese Tosas: The sumo wrestler of the dog fighting world, Tosas are favored in legal Japanese dog fights for their size, power, and aggression. As such, the Tosa is actually banned in countries like Australia, Iceland, and Norway.
9. Huskies: Like Malamutes, Huskies were also bred to pull sleds and are therefore highly energetic. Their prey drives are also high, meaning it's best to keep an untrained or unsocialized Husky away from small animals and children... and maybe Christmas scarves.
10. German Shepherds: While used in highly social situations like disability aid, search-and-rescue, and even acting, German Shepherds can become aggressive and territorial if not trained correctly. A powerful breed, German Shepherds possess a bite strength nearly three times that of a human.
11. Dalmatians: Believe it or not, about 30 percent of all Dalmatians are born either partially or completely deaf. Unsurprisingly, training these Dalmatians is incredibly difficult and can lead to aggressive, unmanageable behavior.
12. St. Bernards: Given this breed's enormous size, training a St. Bernard as a puppy is crucial to preventing it from becoming a large and unruly adult. It's probably best to keep them away from rabid bats, too...
13. Rhodesian Ridgebacks: Bred as hunting dogs capable of fending off lions, Ridgebacks are also particularly sensitive. If mistreated or trained too harshly, these dogs can become aggressive and lash out.
14. Rottweilers: Originally bred to herd livestock for butchers, Rottweilers have gained a reputation as vicious guard and attack dogs. Their territorial instincts result in aggressive behavior toward strangers, especially when mistreated or not properly trained.
15. Fila Brasileiros: Also known as Brazilian Mastiffs, Fila Brasileiros are bred to be aggressive and are faithful to their masters to a fault. If left alone with a Fila, a stranger may stand to suffer serious injury.
16. Basenjis: Considered one of the least trainable dogs in the world, Basenjis have high prey drives and generally dislike all non-canine animals. Given the opportunity, Basenjis will chase cats and other small animals, even scaling fences to do so.
17. Caucasian Shepherd Dogs: A highly protective breed, Caucasian Shepherd Dogs need broad socialization in order to properly get along with other animals. If threatened or perceiving a threat to its master, this breed will not hesitate to make noise or attack.
18. Pit Bulls: Sorry pit lovers, but these dogs were bred for violence since Medieval times. Though there are plenty out there that are big 'ol softies, a pit bull in the wrong hands can become a powerful and deadly weapon.
19. Cane Corsos: While Corsos typically pose no threat to their owners, strangers should be mindful to keep their distance from this traditional guard dog. Corsos rarely let anyone other than their masters handle them, making veterinary care a potentially dangerous undertaking.
20. Bullmastiffs: Originally used by 19th-century gamekeepers to guard estates, Bullmastiffs are instinctively protective of their household. Highly independent, this breed can become aggressive if not trained consistently.
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