I have just read the thread about break ins and dogs being attacked if people break into houses and wondered if this possibility has had any impact on where your dogs sleep?

My 7 year old staffy has always slept in my room on my bed or in a bed beside and this has always made me feel safe as I am sure she would hear any intruder before me which would give me a heads up that there was someone in the house.  My nearly 2yr old rott has always slept in the kitchen and doesn't get upstairs (unless it is for a bath or he sneaks up which is very rare).  My rott has never been allowed on furniture either, unlike my staffy, but I have been having second thoughts about having my rott boy upstairs.

I would hate for him to come to any harm and would rather lose any of my possessions than my boy.  Just wondering where your dogs sleep and what the reasons for this are.

FWIW I swore my boy would never get upstairs (cream carpets and black dog don't mix), on furniture and would be at the bottom of the pecking order but now I am starting to feel sorry for him.

I have a bungalow, Duke sleeps at the foot of my bed curled up in his own suede, fleecy type dog bed, and stays put most of the night.

I have found none of my GSDs to be fond of sleeping on my bed.

They are often pretty warm animals so I do sleep with the window open (special lockable ones)as well. Plus I have no neighbours, but I don't worry about break-ins, unfortunately if it happens it happens. That said I have a huge, penknife right next to me in my bed side drawer, just in case.

My Staffy sleeps in the bedroom but only since he's been 15 - for the previous 15 years he's slept downstairs.   The Belgian Shep wouldn't sleep in the bedroom even if I let her - she likes to be downstairs - think she likes to think she's on guard.     If you've got a dog that will be a bit of a deterrent to burgulars wouldn't you want it where people are most likely to gain entry anyway - especially a rottweiler or similar ?

Just a few weeks ago someone in a town near to where I live was broken into, they stabbed her poor little yorkie to death. My dog used to sleep downstairs, since I heard about that he comes upstairs with me.

Makes no difference to me - mine will still sleep downstairs. If I worried about someone breaking into the house, I would have to take the dogs everywhere with me and never leave them alone day or night :) :)

Daisy

All mine sleep downstairs in the living, kennel on their own lil couch- actually where ever they prefer- but not allowed upstairs. If they hear a noise they will go up and see... I also have a house/window alarms as well, don't just rely on my dogs. If someone was to brake in the alarm would go off straight to the police in hopes the police arrive shortly so no harm comes to my pets. I also always have my neighbours watching my house as well.

> they stabbed her poor little yorkie to death

Seems to be getting more and more common.  We had a thread on here recently on the same topic.  What intruders did to a pregnant bitch was unspeakable.  I would rather they took everything I had than hurt one of my pals.

I'd rather they do what they want to me, than touch Duke.

My male cocker sleeps either in my bed or his own beside mine. He will absolutely not let any of my other 3 upstairs! My other cocker will sometimes charm her way past him but she seems happier downstairs in the living room where she had her crate as a puppy. My saint bernard and gsd sleep there too. My gsd is an excellent watchdog and will alert at any unusual noise outside. But I would willingly help any robber to load all my possessions into their transport if it meant they didn't harm my dogs. If they harmed the dogs, I would very likely end up doing a jail sentence for my actions.

I can honestly say I don't think my GSD would make a single noise, I've had him now for 11 months-ish and I wouldn't recognise his bark from any other dog. He's literally only barked twice maybe three times, when the last time was I can't remember.

Since the incident with my friends gsd my dogs all sleep in my bedroom in their own beds sprawled around the room. Luckily my house is all on one level as my elderly gsd wouldn't manage stairs ( if there were stairs I would move my bed downstairs rather than leave her alone ) If the dogs bark during the night I close them in the bedroom, grab the baseball bat I keep by the bed and go out to investigate knowing the dogs are safe shut in the bedroom. I consider my dogs to be my companions but not my protectors.

Newfie sleeps in our room because that's where she's always slept. The bedroom door is open and she occasionally moves out to the landing if she's too warm but she's never more than a few feet from the bedroom door.
Rottie x sleeps wherever he likes as he has the run of the house at night. He used to choose to sleep downstairs but for the last few years he has adopted the spare bedroom (next to our room) as his. And it's not unheard of for us to be wakened in the middle of the night by 55kg of Rottie x jumping up onto the bed if he decides that he fancies kipping in with us.

My OH used to work away a lot and I liked having the dogs in close proximity at night but more for company than security.

In reality it just wouldn't make any difference to a burgular where the dogs or you were, if they were that strung up on drugs they'd kill the dogs, you no matter what.  When they did mine they took one of my dogs, luckily I presume she wasn't safe with them and she was wherever only for a couple of days as she wasn't seen for the first 4 days.  She returned to my parents by herself 2 weeks later.

Even if they don't kill the dogs it can still be devastating even with a pregnant bitch up to 18 months later, as I was to find out.  Sadly my pregnant girl scaled the garage to escape from them and fell off.  All seemed fine with her pups but after a few months neurological signs set in with 2 of the pups which the two vets said were due o damaged sustained during the pregnancy and they both were pts at 18 months.  Only one of her litter is still alive and well 8 years later, the other sadly was killed by a car before the age of 2.  My girl that was missing is now petrified of children and men and would attack.

Hey Perrodeagua

That's an awful thing you went through there.
Everyone would hope this never happens to them.
You seem to have the right attitude to things though, good for you.

my puggy sleeps upstairs in his own bed outside the bedroom door,my newfie sleeps downstairs in the kitchen,he would never get up the stairs,does worry me alot,but i cant do anything by it,i do believe he would bark and i would hear it,it is not practical to get him up and down stairs every night!!!

This is an interesting topic which crops up every so often on CD.  This time the motivation for doing it is a bit different but the question about whether to let dogs sleep in a bedroom is the same.  Always some in favour and  some against but I wonder if anyone has changed their mind over the topic due to feelings of insecurity.  The story about the GSD was so shocking that I wish it had contained a warning.  I moved screens the minute I saw it so I'm not sure if I got all the details but I hope never to see it repeated as it genuinely gave me nightmares.

I don't really believe that my dogs or my family are any safer sleeping in one room over another.  We do our best to make the house secure and to ensure that everyone has their own space suited to their needs.  My dogs are downstairs and if I was so worried about their security I'd strengthen my 'external' protection rather than move them upstairs.  One of them snores so loud that I'd never sleep anyway!!

Many years ago there was a series on the BBC about making houses more secure. In one episode they showed an ex-burglar breaking into a farmhouse at night (with the owners' consent) to demonstrate how bad their security was. The burglar walked right past their dog(s) in a downstairs room without a murmur :) :) :)

The chances of these things happening are very, very small, so there is no point changing routine. I would rather my dogs (being downstairs at night) alert me to anyone outside, or glass breaking etc etc. It may be a good idea to have a sign outside the house somewhere saying 'Dogs about' as it is well known that most burglars will avoid houses with dogs :)

Daisy

> It may be a good idea to have a sign outside the house somewhere saying 'Dogs about' as it is well known that most burglars will avoid houses with dogs :-)
>

I too have a German Shepherd about warning sign. It says 'beware I can run faster than you can'. Though what good that would do if the burgler had a pound of steak with him.

Tighten up the security, locks, lights, alarms, cameras everywhere that's what I have.

Up until a couple of months ago we had  5 Bullmastiffs (we now only have 3, RIP). 2 slept in what should be the dining room but is the dog room which has big patio doors. 1 slept in the lounge and 1 slept in our bedroom. I'm pretty sure the 2 girls we have now would stop dead in their tracks if a burglar threw them some steak but there wouldn't be a chance of that working with my stud. He point blank refuses to eat anything unless I'm stood next to him!!!  I cooked a lamb joint for him a couple of days ago went out in the garden with him to eat it, then the phone rang and I rushed indoors and shut the patio doors behind me locking him outside. When I returned 15 mins later the poor boy was stood at the doors still holding the joint in his mouth but not having eaten any!!!! When I was in hospital having our daughter he didn't eat for 3 days. Its something I've been working on for quite a while now by moving slightly further away from him each feed but its hard going.

I live in a bungalow so the dogs are dotted around the place.

> but I wonder if anyone has changed their mind over the topic due to feelings of insecurity.

This is what I was trying to get at with the topic.  I was determined that my rott wouldn't get on the furniture or upstairs but if I thought I was exposing him to danger by having him downstairs rather than in the room beside me I will definitely reconsider.  I think my house is pretty secure with lots of deterrents including lighting, alarm, locked gates etc which should mean that housebreakers pick another house but I do wonder if it is secure enough.  I find it really sad that threads like this and the one that prompted me to start this one are necessary because there are so many scumbags out there. :(

Both of mine sleep in my bedroom.  
My older boy starts off on my bed but when hes finished with me cuddling and petting him, he takes himself onto the floor.   Hes never far away though.   He lies either right beside the bed or just nearer the door but will sometimes pop back onto the bed during the night.
My little puppy sleeps at the bottom of the bed and she stays put until the dreaded sound of the alarm at 4am.
My reasons?   I adore them and it gives me the greatest of pleasure to have them near me.   Hairs?   Mess?   Personally, I just dont care.   I just love having them with me and they love being with me.
If anyone tries to harm them, let them try and pass me first!   I can be more of a Rottie than a Rottie!

but I wonder if anyone has changed their mind over the topic due to feelings of insecurity.

Yes it certainly makes me think, but they will still sleep downstairs. Not keen on them having access to the stairs when I'm asleep especialy if they start to mess around. Youngest has to be carried up anyway due to problems & at 30 kilos I need to have eaten my spinach. House & garden walled so like you I think pretty secure, dogs do occasionally bark and then I'm down to investigate. OH could sleep through a raid by the SAS!

All mine sleep with me! Always have, I would rather my house was emptied than my dogs came to any harm.
I wouldn't be able to sleep if they were elsewhere as I would worry all night.

All mine sleep downstairs, the Viz and bitch Lab sleep in the utility behind a stair gate at the back of the house, our male Lab sleeps at the front of the house under the stairs, though it has been known for him to pop up in the night ;)

> but I wonder if anyone has changed their mind over the topic due to feelings of insecurity.

I live in a bungalow, so no change in sleeping arrangements, however I have been around to check over all locks are locked, lights working, checked alarm and camaras after reading the topic in question.

Mine are both downstairs and one of mine is a great watchdog(whether I like it or not) and barks at anything he hears, sees or thinks he hears or sees within the vacinity of the house.

I'd not risk mine to keep going up and down stairs, its not good for their joints and if they miss a step then it could cause a nasty injury, especially if they think they've heard something and want to go downstairs to investigate... Sorry big dogs up and down stairs are a no-no for me.

all of mine sleep in the attic in my room, and on the bed whenever they like (which is most of the time unless it's too warm). It started when the oldest boy injured himself and I was too anxious about him to leave him on his own--now all three just love this arrangement :)

We live in a small rural village where until recently locking doors wasn't really an issue. My oldest dog woke me up at 4am last week and tore downstairs barking, with me and the other two in hot pursuit. The back door and the gate were open, and they wouldn't open by themselves.

Really bright outdoor sensor lights are a real put off for strangers.

We live in a very quiet road, in a very quiet village with no through traffic so we rarely lock our back doors, in fact there have been times when we've gone to bed only to get up a few hours later to discover the doors weren't even closed never mind locked!

We have the noisiest little beast in the whole world who barks if the neighbour 3 streets away so much as sneezes so someone coming up the driveway and into the back yard would cause a huge commotion.

After reading the break ins thread though I will be locking my doors every night, our village can't remain crime free forever.

ETA - the noisy beast sleeps in his crate in the living room and the puppy rotates between the kids bedrooms (it's the only way to get them up early for school!).

My dogs sleep whereever they want (or can). That's my pyrenees downstairs (he can't go up stairs anymore) and the rest of them in my bedroom or downstairs. They have access to all rooms bar one and the bathroom, partly because there is no reason to restrict them to certain areas and partly for security reasons.

Vera

The worst I have heard in our village is a bit of mild vandalism and noise nuisance, and that's at the other end from our house. Nonetheless we do always lock our doors at night and when we go out. Our dogs all sleep in the kitchen unless hubby is away when they sleep on the bed to keep me company. I doubt any of them would bark at an intruder, they'd just run up for cuddles!

My younger dogs sleep in an outdoor kennel. However, my older dogs sleep in the bedroom with me. This has never been about security but about fire. Years ago a lady I knew was unable to save her dog in a house fire and it tormented her for years to come. This has plagued me ever since and it is actually something that rather terrifies me. I know some will think it's irrational but I guess we all have some "quirk" that doesn't appear rational to others :)

My two cockers sleep in the hall on their bed.  My boy always slept with me when OH worked away from home, but I'd wake during the night and he'd have taken himself to the bathroom of all places to sleep.

When we brought Maddi home she was crated in the hall, and the decision was made to leave them in the hall overnight from then on, as she would come into bed and go under the sheet or across the pillow above our heads, and we were scared we'd hurt her by rolling onto her or something.

I sleep very light and if one of them is even dreaming I hear them and get up to make sure all is well.  That said one windy November night it was just me and Murphy and the police were battering the door to tell me someone had ran into the car and not one of us stirred!

My gsd sleeps upstairs, alternating  between the landing and the floor in my room. She's never wanted to go on the bed, might have something to do with snoring!

My rottie boy is downstairs in a pen, which he could easily jump out of but he likes it in there.

I am pretty certain that both would make a huge racket, my gsd girl will go mad in the night if she hears the side gate rattle (cats) and the rottie will bark to alert if anyone comes through the door (except me). He has got quieter though now he knows the kids come right in.

I'm still quite sure they would alert me.

colliecrew, the fire thing freaks me out too. 

Oh Cheekychow - it's such a horrible thing to talk/think about! I've lain in bed thinking about how I would make sure we all got out the house safely!! I just couldn't settle if they were in another room to me - I am so scared about not being able to get to them if, god forbid, a fire ever broke out. I would never recover from that!

Fire and the thought of it terrifies me,  I've been too close to two already. If ever we go out and leave the dogs alone for even a short time, leave a key with the neighbours. They think I'm alittle touched as I've told them that if ever needed get the dogs out and sod the house.