DOGS are not barking mad because they are bored in suburban back yards.

They are suffering separation distress and should be in bed with their owners, where they rightfully belong.

One of Australia's leading animal behaviorists, Dr Robert Holmes, is happy to court controversy by decreeing dogs demonstrating destructive damage or depression are better behaved when welcomed into the boudoir.

"That's where they feel secure and safe, and rightfully part of the family pack," he said.

"A back yard is no place for a dog, it's not their natural environment.

"They should be in bed with their owners, that's where the pack lies and they should all pile in together."

Dr Holmes said people had wrongly believed for decades that problem dogs were bored pets.

"But we've discovered boredom is not the big deal. The problem is an anxiety to be with people and we have seen a dramatic turnaround in treatment success rates by dealing with that issue instead," he said.

Animal owners in Europe and America did not understand why Australian dogs were kept outdoors.

"They see dogs staring plaintively through a window or door at their family inside and they feel very strongly that the animal should be in there as well with their family," Dr Holmes said.

Sharing their owners' bed was the "best pacifying and stress reducing area".

Dr Holmes said Australian animal owners had come a long way to helping their pets deal with their problems.

"Previously the options were to put up with an animal's aberrant behaviour or have them put down," he said. But now behaviorists can help owners identify and treat their pet's problems.

Dog owner Josh Thillagaratnam said there had never been any question maltese poodle cross Fry would sleep anywhere other than his master's bedroom.

"My wife McGee and I joked right from the start that Fry appeared to like being part of our pack and so that's where he always is," he said.

"He's got his own little dog basket in our bedroom but more often than not he chooses the bed with us."

