Healthy Pets & People with Dr. Patrick: Sharing Your Bed Space With Your Partner and Your Pet
Healthy Pets & People with Dr. Patrick
Sharing Your Bed Space With Your Partner and Your Pet
by Dr. Patrick Mahaney
Working as a veterinarian in West Hollywood provides me the opportunity to help gay and lesbian couples bring new pets into their homes. Additionally, I find myself having to aid established pet owners who choose to incorporate a new romantic partner into their lives. As your relationship progresses, you may be faced with the dilemma of squeezing both your partner and your pet into your bed. One must take care not to disrupt the hierarchy of those with whom you already share your bed. If you are lucky, your pet and your partner will easily make the transition. Otherwise, you will have to compromise your space, sex life, or sleep.
Space
Make sure that there is enough room on the bed for you, your pet, and your partner. Consider upgrading your bed size to accommodate additional warm, space-occupying bodies.
Your pet’s presence in bed may be familiar to you, yet your partner may take more time to achieve the same level of comfort. Have your partner and pet warm up to each other’s presence by engaging in frequent pre-sleep snuggle sessions.
Out of respect for your shared bed space, have your pet get onto the bed only when invited.
Make sure your pet’s coat is clean and ectoparasite free, as environmental debris and fleas or ticks are potentially disease-spreading additions to your bed.
Sex
Your pet may become excited when you and your partner are engaging in some quality time. So as to not generate suspicion that you and your pet have unusual fetishistic tendencies, create a welcoming alternative location for your pet to inhabit during romantic interludes.
Give your pet a tasty, time-occupying treat to coerce them off of your bed and onto an appropriate location. The treat should be something familiar, as incorporating new treats can cause vomiting, diarrhea, or other problems. My dog, Cardiff, enjoys CET rahwide chews, Greenies, and Nylabones.
If needed, create a barrier by putting up a gate, closing the door, or putting your pet into a crate.
If your pet does not cooperate, consider a training intervention by an experienced professional. Positive reinforcement makes for a better training outcome, so offer treats and praise good behavior.
Sleep
The bed should be a welcome place for you, your pet, and your partner to rejuvenate after a hard day of work or play. The presence of a pet in your bed may adversely affect the quality of sleep for your partner, thereby creating unnecessary strain in your relationship.
Be considerate to your partner’s needs before you and your pet slide into your own state of deep relaxation. Have your pet sleep on your side of the bed or create a pillow barrier between your pet and your partner to provide them with adequate sleeping space. If needed, supply your partner with an eye mask, white noise, or other sleep aids to facilitate a proper night’s rest.
The decision to bring a partner into your bed is as least as significant as incorporating a pet into your life. By considering the needs of your partner and making accommodations to allow for your pet, you will more likely achieve success.
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About Dr. Patrick Mahaney of TLC West Hollywood: Dr. Patrick Mahaney, VMD graduated from University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in 1999. In 2000, Dr. Mahaney completed an Internship at Friendship Hospital for Animals in Washington, D.C., and has since practiced in a variety of hospitals, doing both general and emergency practice.
Dr. Mahaney moved to Los Angeles to join the TLC Pet Medical Center team in early 2006. His practice philosophy is to improve the quality of life for both pets and their owner’s by establishing client relationships with open lines of communication and providing optimum care within his capabilities.
Dr. Mahaney completed the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society basic course in 2006 and is now a Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist (CVA). He is especially interested in chronic pain management and uses a variety of modalities, including acupuncture, to improve the comfort level of his patients. Dr. Mahaney strongly believes that many canine and feline diseases can be better managed by incorporating both Western and Eastern treatments. In 2008, Dr. Mahaney incorporated his own small business, California Pet Acupuncture & Wellness (CPAW). CPAW offers in-home acupuncture and musculoskeletal therapy, pet appropriate environment consultation, veterinary supervised exercise sessions, and euthanasia.
Dr. Mahaney will be taking the Canine Rehabilitation Institute physical therapy course in 2009. He is currently in the initial stages of creating a veterinary physical therapy and wellness facility.
Having lived in Philadelphia, DC, and Seattle, Dr. Mahaney feels as though Los Angeles’ mix of city, nature, and culture make it the ideal place to establish both personal and professional roots. Dr. Mahaney resides in West Hollywood with his Welsh Terrier, Cardiff. He and Cardiff enjoy canyon hiking, urban trekking, running on the beach. Dr. Mahaney also enjoys working out, playing tennis, doing yoga, going to museums, cosmetically improving his home, propagating plants, and spending quality time with friends and family.
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