Another dog question

Not sure dogs understand the concepts of higher up on the bed or softer... 

If your dog gets off the bed/couch when you tell them to, if they sit when you tell them to, if you 'have control' over them, I don't think it is an issue.  Now if I had a dog that was showing signs of dominance aggression towards me, the last place they would find themselves is on my bed.  There are also a lot of other things I would be doing to teach them that they are not the boss.  I say so long as they know that ALL the humans are alpha, enjoy cuddlin' with your pups.

Dogs are more comfortable, and happy,  knowing who the "boss" is.  The two comments after the OP were right on the money.

If a dog is confused about it's place in the "pack" you will not have a happy dog.

We have two big dogs....they rotate beds throughout the night...sometimes with the kids in their beds, sometimes with us.  They both know it's something we allow, and get down immediately if we tell them to. (admittedly, not very often) They live WITH us....it's their house too, and they respect it. 

They also have their own beds.....and they're happy to stay there as well.

From the time they are pups in your home, NEVER let them assert dominance....they'll be happy dogs who know their place in their home.

Same here, my dogs know who is boss.... and the boss "allows" them what ever they want. Our girl will not sleep with us, and our boy is too big. I need my sleep. But they know they can get on the bed, and they know to get off when we say. But when I'm on the couch, my boy knows the spot next to me is his.... and he waits for permission every time. He is allowed everytime. But when the wife comes over, he's gotta go.

We spoil our dogs rotten and love them to death. But they know their place in the pack and with each other. But they are also really good dogs and we really didn't have much of a battle with either of them. Super fortunate, very good dogs... right from the no kill shelter. Lots of great dogs out there that need a home... and I really think they appriciate it.

The dogs need to know their place in the pack...and you need to know your dogs. That's what it boils down to. Some dogs are naturally more assertive/pushy/challenging--the bed would be a bad place for them. Others not so much.

When I got my older dog, who is an Akita cross, we followed all the rules--he was not allowed on any furniture, he ate second, etc. After 12-18 months, and after we had gone through the boundary testing phase, it was clear that he did NOT have that need to push his limits and challenge us (like many akitas do), so we gradually relaxed those rules. I've had other dogs who just don't do well that way, so they have a firmer hand.

The other thing (besides knowing their place in the pack) that dogs need is consistency. It helps them to know that how the world works today is how it worked yesterday and how it will work tomorrow. Keep in mind that dogs have temperaments and personalities of their own, and how much reminding they need (about the rules in general, or about their place in the "pack" of the house) varies. 

My first dog, Nikki, understand the house rules right away, and was very happy to be at the bottom of the pack. She never so much as tried to steal a piece of food off the coffee table at nose level, and would not even challenge the cats if they ate her food (she would, however, stand nearby and cry so I would chase the cats away, since I was above the cats in our house order). We had a "house rule" of no dogs on furniture, which she followed. Then we got Mojo, who was young and hyper, and we could not enforce the house rule, so we dropped it (for Nikki too). Being on the bed never changed who was alpha, and the dogs never challenged the humans right to take over a bed or a chair or a couch. 

The only problems we have ever had with dogs sharing a bed were that (a) our current pair have shredded a couple of sheets and a down comforter using them as tug toys during the day - something that could not be avoided if they were not on the bed at night, since they would still grab things and then play tug - and (b) sometimes the dogs think that since everyone is in bed, that means it's party time, and so they wrestle each other while we are trying to go to bed. Given that we have always had bigger dogs (80-90 pounds apiece), it's like "Clash of the Titans" if they don't settle down.

OTOH, none of our dogs have ever shown a wish to be dominant over the humans. I suppose if they were challenging for the alpha in the first place, bed time would be floor time, and meal time would be no more continuous feeders, but doled out by hand after the humans ate.

Niether of the dogs has been showing any sign of dominance or agression. They both know their place in the pack. We have always used positive reinforcement with them except for one time. Noiree was about 6-7 months old and decided to ignore my wife. every time my wife gave her a command she would turn and walk away with her tail in the air.

My wife put up with that for about 2 days, the next time she ignored her Noiree got a very gentle swat on the butt and my wife grabbed her muzzle. Noiree immediatley submitted and that ended that problem and the pack order was firmly set.

I was just a bit concerned after reading that article, because like I said we do spoil them rotten.

I had a Border Collie mix that had issues with dominance. We could not give her an inch. I loved letting her sit on my lap but it never failed, the next day we would walk in the door from work and she would stand in front of us and pee on the floor. It was like she was saying this is my house. I really should have known. When I picked her out from the pound she was in a pen by herself while all these large breed dogs were sharing .

My current pooch could never get herself into the bed with us. I have to boost her from behind so she can get in the van! She likes to sleep under the bed but honestly she snores and grunts all night long and I can't stand it so she has to stay on her pillow in the living room.