The “Joint” Benefits of Using Bedside Dog Steps
13 Mar 2010
You’re snuggled nice and warm under your comforter, dreaming that you’ve just gotten supernatural powers and you’re exploring the fun of running super fast…when suddenly you’re jarred awake by your dog had pouncing onto your bed. –Ignoring the part about the super powers, does this sound familiar to you? It’s great to have a fuzzy pooch to snuggle with during the night time, but sometimes it’s hard to overlook your annoyance at the dog for pouncing onto the bed while you sleep.
Even if you are overcome with annoyance when awakened by your dog, a part of you probably thinks back to all the times your dog snuggled with you while you cried or chilled out next to you while you watched The Godfather marathon on TCM. It just doesn’t seem right to suddenly deny your dog the tradition of sleeping with his favorite person—you!—when the reason he gets off the bed in the first place is likely to scope out the house to make sure you aren’t in danger. It’s completely natural for a dog to feel compelled to get up a few times during the night; he’s the watchman while the family sleeps. That being said, you DO need your sleep, which is why it’s highly suggested that you consider investing in a set of dog steps for beds.
As the bulk of your night time stress is in fact due to your mattress jolting as your dog jumps on and off the bed, then dog stairs are the perfect solution. Your dog is able to evenly distribute his weight from the stairs to your bed—and vice versa—so you needn’t feel a thing when your dog goes for his night time patrol. The fact that most pet steps are carpeted also means that the sounds from your dog’s movement will be completely muted.
Now that you are aware of the comfort that dog steps for beds can bring you, you should also know that they can play a major role in preventing your dog from developing serious conditions such as arthritis later on in life. Yep, dogs can acquire joint issues with age just like we can. Large breeds of dog are already susceptible to hip dysplasia and arthritis, and small dogs can actually break body parts from landing improperly from a jump.
Now that you see the JOINT advantages (pun intended!) to purchasing dog steps for beds, you just need to make sure that you purchase the appropriate height of stairs for your bed. Getting stairs that are too short or tall for your bed will hardly make a difference if your dog has to jump to and from the stairs. So just make sure that you get the measurements from the floor to the top of your bed’s mattress. Best of luck with your “new” sleeping arrangement!
