Putting child to bed in the dog basket

[BellyAching19]

When I was a toddler I used to be put to sleep in the dogs basket. We were living in an old Georgian estate at the time with no heating. It wasn’t our house. It was a big spooky house in the middle of nowhere with an agar in the kitchen, coal fires and obviously no double glazing. Very little furniture. Wind howling through the windows, no neighbours for miles. The theory was that the dog and I would share body heat.

I’m a little shocked but at the same time, AIBU to think the old simple way of living was actually quite romantic?

Yeah I got the spelling correction early on. But you knew what I meant so no harm done

I don't find the story implausible-which isn't to say that it was necessarily a good plan. I was afraid of the dark as a child and preferred to have my Dachshund asleep on the foot of my bed. I admit that it different for lots of reasons, but I could see how the logic might go.

are you healthy with a strong immune system?

I have an excellent immune system. I’ve had flu once and that’s the only time I’ve ever felt unwell. I don’t even catch colds.

I am autistic however but I doubt that was caused by sleeping with the dog 😂

I fell asleep on the dog's bed when drunk a few years ago. It's surprisingly comfy. I think DDog would leave home if she found my DD taking up space in her bed, though! Or at least very pointedly lie with her back to her and sigh dramatically every so often.

I often shared the dogs bed with the family springer spaniel but I think it was more out of choice rather than being told too. We didn’t have heating in our old house, just a log fire so I guess it was warmer in with the dog 🤣

This sort of thing used to be done many years ago, i don't think anyone got harmed at all . In older times people and animlas lived much closer tho I do not like our moggy on my bed damm thing rips the duvet:(

Dog used to creep on my bed when i was a nipper it was sooo cold in that old house any extra warmth was welcome!

And how do you think your mother would’ve felt if a visiting nurse had commented on your sleeping arrangements, hmmmm??

@BathshebaAndGabriel Gads, I hadn't made that connection! Well spotted.

Sleeping with animals was a very common thing before heating. People with smallholdings sometimes used to bring animals inside at night partly for the warmth. Growing up in Slovakia my mum spent a while living somewhere very rural with some relatives where she basically slept on a shelf above the stove because it was a warm spot and she was small enough to fit. She remembers that time very fondly - these relatives lived in a traditional wooden house with no utilities.

It would be my DDs’ dream to be allowed to sleep in the dogs’ beds with them 😀

The saying Three Dog Night's not for nothing.

Although, I do wonder what a visiting nurse or any other health professional would have commented on this house.

Gah, someone got there already....

It doesn't sound all that outlandish. As long as the dog had no fleas or worms and you were warm and safe, it wouldn't hurt you to sleep with the dog for a while. Better than freezing your a**e off in a draughty bedroom.

You've lived to tell the tale.

I think it's a sweet memory to have, I can remember being tiny and playing with my grandparents dogs (lab and dachshund) fairly certain I would have slept with them if allowed

I do have pictures of DS (13) sleeping in his Grannys laundry basket when she was babysitting - he was cosy, cared for and much more portable than in a Moses basket :)

Not sure that sharing the dog basket really counts as "the old simple way of living". I grew up in a house without heating except for a small gas fire in the living room (a council house not a Georgian pile) and I wouldn't say that frost on the inside of your windows is romantic!

But you lived to tell the tail.

I think it's lovely! Bet you had a great immune system

God my eczema would've been crazy bad

I do have pictures of DS (13) sleeping in his Grannys laundry basket

My parents didn't have a high chair for ds when he was a baby so when we visited them we used to put the laundry basket on top of the dining table and pop him in it! I think there's even a photo somewhere. One of my absolute favourite baby photos of him is me giving him a bath in my grandmother's kitchen sink

I find one of mine in the dog basket occasionally, not sure why anyone think that it could reduce his life expectancy . He does have a perfectly good bed, he just like the dogs 🤷

Thehop So did my dad in his old transit van.

Had a childrens party lots of kids all ages, one toddler was found curled up in the dog basket with our old labrador. Our children loved curling up with dogs on the sofa in the evening.

'agar'....

Not that much different to the dog sleeping in the child's bed really. My DD had her dog sleep with her for years.