My dogs know I'm the boss, but they still sleep with my son. Seems right to them...he's part of the pack, too!

On a parenting and dogs note, I always made sure that I, the mom, was okay with any pet the boys wanted, that it appealed to me and that I was willing to care for it. Because...it would be my pet in short order. They were kids--I didn't expect them to follow through on all the fervent promises to care for it after the initial fun wore off. I don't like dogs in my bed (or cats, but try telling that to the cat!), so all of our dogs have been trained to sleep with one of the boys. When that boy moved out they moved to the next kid's bed. Thus, I have been the long-term caretaker of 5 dogs, 5 or 6 cats, 2 hamsters and way too many hermit crabs to count!

To our kids, moms are the source of all things good. It won't be long before the dogs figure that out, too. The important thing is that the dog knows he's next in line behind the KID.

Karen