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Archived Message

ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
by Ruben

My Maltese (now 5 months old) sleeps with us every night and duriing the day she is in a crate (without a bed). Must I buy her a bed? I don't see the use of it since her favorite spot is on our bed. Thanks!

DISCUSSION:

Ruben: No she does not have to have her own bed. We bought one for KoKo and she never uses it. During the day KoKo and Shayna sleep everywhere as long as they are in the same room with me. But when we are not home they sleep in our bed. I know this because some times we get in the house before they hear us and they jump off the bed and run down the hall. At night KoKo prefers the chair at the foot of the bed with the comforter and her dog blanket on it. Shayna sleep in our bed with us. In the motor home the bed is larger and they both sleep with us. The key question here; is where does she feel comfortable sleeping? Figure that out and go for it.
-Shelley

Reuben. I bought Lucy a bed when she was little, thinking she would sack out in it in my office while I worked. Well, she really sacked out in my lap, as it turned out AND she ate the bed--totally ripped the cover and pulled out the foam before I finally tossed it. So, buying a bed isn't a necessity at all. Just let your kiddo find a place nearby you (or ON you) and she will be perfectly comfortable and probably much happier!
-cathy brown

Ruben: I bought a Penny a bed when she was a puppy and we now use it to store her toys in. When I am working she sleeps either on a fleece pad in the office or on a t-shirt on my desk. At night she used to prefer her cage to sleep but now sleeps with me. Your puppy is going to sleep anywhere it prefers and probably not in the puppy bed you get.
-Nikki

We used a shoebox with a T-shirt in it which she liked just fine.I just bought a cute navy bed at Target for $9.99 and she likes that too. The shoebox works great when there's not much room. I cut out one side of it. I used that when i was putting her in the crate at night and it fit quite well. She's in the playyard now and the navy bed fits fine.
-Joy

That's the great thing about Maltese. They are small enough to sleep anywhere. I got a Pet travel bag. It looks like an oversized Cloth Purse. The top unzipps so you can open it up on hot days. It has a hole in the side the the pup can crawl inside whenever she wants. At work I keep it under my desk. At home It's next to my bed. It's great because I can carry her anywhere I want to go.(It's a portable bed) When I don't have it with me, my pup just climbs into my purse. But at least when I have to go somewhere she is not use to, she has something familiar that she can curl up in to sleep; that helps keep her stress down in unfamiliar places.
-DL

Wow...we got our Tobey from a single parent with too many problems. We also go the crate, which Tobey used for a maximum of 2 nights before he decided this was not a good thing. We have a king-size bed and Tobey has his own flat foam pillow and cover and rolled up towel (to prevent his rolling off at night) and his pillow is between ours. We all three approve of this situation, except when I (John) snore too loudly and Tobey will move to the other side of Geri to get is required beauty sleep. This has been going on for 5 years now, and there is no reason to assume it will cease anytime soon. I am for ditching the crate unless you travel a bunch, and let your Maltese be the family member it deserves. Purely biased, of course!!
-Geri & John Iglehart