Wendy and Trusty's Page

Wendy, this is a very lengthy article, but I think it would be well your time to read it. One of the issues discussed in this article is something you touched on in one of your discussions, which was the dog going to sleep with your son, as well as the part about the dog bonding to the primary caregiver, which is always going to be an adult, probably you.  From the standpoint of having placed more than 1000 doodles in new homes through my work as a director for Doodle Rescue Collective, I can tell you that pet dogs will not willingly go to sleep with anyone other than the primary caregiver, i.e. you. A service dog who has been specially and properly bred and trained might do so as part of his job, but even then, there is going to be a bonding issue. This is why almost every reputable service dog agency in the country will not provide service dogs for children under 5, and some put the age much older. Here's the link: https://about.illinoisstate.edu/vfdouga/Documents/331/PDF/factors%20afffecting%20behavior%20and%20welfare%20of%20service%20dogs%20(1).pdf