Upstairs or not?

[maddieh]

We have two curly-coated retrievers that are currently allowed upstairs where we have a TV lounge and the bedrooms, but they are not allowed on the beds and sofas. The dogs normally sleep upstairs but we are considering a puppy and it would not be allowed upstairs at first due to chewing, house training etc.
Should we start training the dogs to not go upstairs anymore so they could keep the puppy company and not get so much hair upstairs? I thought this could be confusing for them but we have laid down a 'no dogs in kitchen' rule and they seem to be responding fine to this, despite having been allowed in the kitchen for some time.
Also, is it a bad idea to let your dog sleep in your room if it has its own bed on the floor?
Thanks so much to anyone who can help with this!

[Mattie]

Just put a gate across the stairs, your problem is solved with no stress.

[emmabeth]

Babygate would solve the problem, but personally, I like puppies crated by my bed - that way housetraining is MUCH faster and you do not set yourself up for any seperation anxiety issues.

I would also NOT leave adult dogs to keep a puppy company all night, what actually happens is that the puppy terrorises them and doesnt settle and you will spend all night getting up and sorting out problems.

As for hair upstairs - dog hair is a side effect of having dogs. Vaccuum more often!

If you do not have the puppy upstairs, and your tv lounge is up there, and dogs are not allowed in your kitchen either - you do need to ask yourself, how much time and company is your puppy actually going to get from you? I would suspect (unless you have another room downstairs where you will spend a lot of time) that the answer is going to be 'not much' adn this will cause issues with all manner of things.