Comedian Nate Bargatze was asked why he let his dogs sleep on the bed and his reply is every pet parent

If you have a dog who sleeps in your bed, you have probably had this experience—they start curled up at the foot of the bed, and by morning, they have somehow taken over your pillow. For many pet parents, sharing a bed with their dog is not even a question—it is just the way things are. But every now and then, someone chimes in with the idea that letting your dog sleep in bed is a mistake. Similarly, comedian Nate Bargatze—who goes by @natebargatze on Instagram—shared his thoughts on the platform, and his take had dog lovers cracking up. In the clip from his Netflix special "Your Friend, Nate Bargatze," released in 2024, he recalled how someone told him that sharing a bed with his dog meant he was losing "dominance." His response was as straightforward as it was hilarious.

"Our dog sleeps in our bed, and someone told me, 'You're not supposed to do that because you lose dominance over the dog.' And I asked him, 'What year do you think it is?'" he explained, immediately dismissing the idea. He then said, "These are all doodles. They're barely dogs. It's a person. They're people," he joked. He went on to call out the person's thought process, saying, "This guy acts like it's 1980 when you kept the dog outside all year. Those you needed dominance over. You had a wolf in the backyard. Friends come over, 'Do you want to go outside?' I wouldn't."

Pet parents who have completely surrendered their bed space to their pets didn’t hesitate to share their own experiences. @daboanddani wrote, "Yes yes the only way? We didn’t know you could sleep without a bed." @ezracarey commented, "When we got bit our mom would ask us ‘Well, what did you do to him?’" Meanwhile, @lrkey completely understood the struggle: "Our dog sleeps in our bed. 100 lb Chocolate Lab. Some nights it would just be better if I slept on the floor."

Others admitted they had fully given up any claim to their bed. @gingermaealltheway quipped, "We got a king-size bed, so our dog and cats can sleep in bed with us." @realis_rebmac78 added, "I don’t let my dog sleep with me, she lets me sleep with her. She gets up in the morning pretending to need a wee, so that I get up and she can have the warm bit I left." 

@imhbuzz shared, "My baby girl (Maltese, 11 lbs) curls up between our pillows to sleep. And she will stay there for 13 hours if we let her." @rjms780 agreed with what Bargatze said about the 80s, "The way my parents kept our dogs in the backyard, never gave them a bath or took them to a vet in the 80s." Some fans couldn’t get enough of Bargatze’s humor.

@erinrusling said, "Laughed all morning at this. Thank you for sharing your humor with us all. Such a gift!" @lc4liife penned, "Watching now. Comedians seldom make me really laugh…but you, my friend, are hilarious. That’s a compliment, I promise!" @thedullams chimed in, "Wonderful Christmas gift to watch with the entire family. You are a class act!" 

You can follow Nate Bargatze (@natebargatze) on Instagram for more comedy content.