Blogspot - Companion Animal Psychology

Women whose dog sleeps on the bed report better sleep than those with a human or feline sleeping partner. Photo: Julie Vader/Shutterstock Whether or not pets should be allowed to sleep on the bed is an age-old question. Some worry it will lead to a disturbed night’s sleep, while some old-fashioned dog trainers still claim it will spoil the dog. The latter argument is based on out-dated ideas about dominance and dog training and can be easily dismissed, but the issue of sleep quality is starting to get researchers attention. A new study by Dr. Christy Hoffman (Canisius College) et al and published in Anthrozoös asked women about who sleeps in/on the bed with them and how good they thought their sleep was over the previous month. The results show dogs are a less disruptive sleep partner than another human, while cats are just as disruptive as humans. Dogs are perceived as providing more comfort and security than another human, while cats provide even less. Not only that, but...