No More Sleeping in the Bed

[KimL]

I have 3 dogs - 2 beagles and a lab mix that sleep with me in the bed every night and have done so all their lives (the beagles are 6 and 4 years and the lab mix is 1 1/2 yrs). To be totally honest, I'm over all the dog hair in the bed and there's no room for me anymore!

I have tried to close the door and have them out of the room at night, but all 3 of them just lay at the door scratching and crying all night long, needless to say I gave up pretty quickly after not getting any sleep!

I love my dogs, but I want to train them to either sleep on the floor inside the bedroom or in the living room which is right outside of my room, but have no idea how to go about doing this in an effective way that will train them correctly.

Please let me know your thoughts and how to best handle this situation!

Thank you!

KimL

[Kai]

Hi there,
I have two dogs. A German Shepherd and a poodle. Both of them sleep outside my door with no problems at all. They have never been allowed in the bedroom and training them to sleep outside is not as hard as you might think, but it will take some willpower from you! I bought a piece of crate wire and taped it in front of my door (normal duck tape works fine That way they can still see me, but not come into the room. The first couple of nights, they will whine and cry and bark, but if you ignore them. they will get used to it very quickly. I am able to close the door completly now with no problems. Dogs tend to demand our attention, but if they see we don't give it on demand, they quickly learn not to bother. Hope this helps!

[Maggiesmom1]

I would buy 3 new dog beds and put them on the floor of your room. Of course they are upset--they have lost their bed and don't understand what is happening here. Try the beds in your room and if they try to jump on your bed, just tell them "Off, No!" and NEVER allow them to get on the bed again. But, I think expecting them to suddenly sleep away from you outside the door is too hard. Praise each one when they lay down on their own bed. Good Luck!

As for "training them" how to stay on their own bed--you could teach the 'down/stay' command. Or...at night when they are sleepy, just have them lay down and kind of "put them to bed" on their beds- praise, pet, tell them goodnight. Consistency is everything...I bet it will take less than 10 nights of insisting they stay off the bed for them to realize you mean business. You'll feel better knowing you have provided them with a comfortable alternative to your bed.