Moving dog away from sleeping on our bed....

[GiraffeNecked]

I know ... I know. But we are where we are.

She'll start the night off in her bed which is in our room, and then jump on as soon as we put the light off. And make herself really heavy. Just jumps back on whenever we move her back.

She's a year old - cockerpoo. Basically she sees sleeping between us with her head on the pillow as her place.

It's not conducive to sleeping well.

Option 1
We put her in the kitchen downstairs in a bed and put up with her barking and whining till she gets used to it. Slight issue is that old set in his way cat would have to be locked in there with her and the cat flap rather than having the freedom to roam the house that he's always had.

Option 2
Spend however long it takes just keeping putting her back in her bed .... all night.

Any thoughts?

It doesn't help that DH sleeps much more soundly so isn't as disturbed so frankly it'll be me doing all this. He's also a softie.

We are currently going through the struggle of getting our basset to sleep in her bed.

We were told that it's likely she was getting cold at night as most dog beds are actually very cold.

She sleeps in our room but we have added layers underneath her bed. It is now a camping mat with a folded double duvet on that, then her soft bed with an old duvet to snuggle under.

It's definitely working for us (she still sneaks on sometimes) so could be worth a try?

Forgot to say, we were also told not to put her in her bed or walk her to it. Wait for her to go in by herself.

Has she ever slept in her bed overnight? You need to make it a good place to be - lots of treats and positive association with the bed. You could also try sectioning off an area of your room she can sleep near you and see/smell you but can't get to you?

Again, you'd need to do lots of positive association.

She started off sleeping in a crate just outside the room - which helped with toilet training. She quite happily took herself off there at night. Then she started sleeping just in a bed in our room - again she takes herself off to bed most nights when she's had enough about 8pm.

But after we've taken her out for a last wee before we go to bed - she'll pop back into her bed but once we are asleep she'll pop up on the bed.

Sometimes with an exuberant kiss on the lips to whoever is nearest, sometimes a bit more sneaky and worms her way up the bed.

I put a temporary baby gate across my bedroom door with his bed on the landing the other side. He whined a bit initially but then settled down.
I also taught the ‘on your bed’ command.

After he was regularly settling in his bed I got rid of the baby gate and moved his bed into the bedroom. He still tries to come up occasionally but I chuck him off and say ‘on your bed’.

Consistency is key, chuck her off everytime.

I would put her bed back outside our room and use a baby gate to stop her accessing the room/bed itself. It might take a bit of consistency and ignoring some whining but she can clearly settle there - she'd just rather cosy up with you instead

You can get babygates fairly cheaply from Amazon and it means she'll still be able to see/smell/hear you :)

Don't ask me. I love my wee doggy on the bed

Our dog used to sleep downstairs but then started sleeping under our bed so we moved her bed there. During lockdown, not necessarily because of it, she decided to sleep on the bed with us and continues to do so. We don't really mind.

I had a very anxious dog. Who paced all night and slept so close to my face it was too much. I ended up putting him in the wardrobe.

Sounds awful. But it was a big huge walk in one. Took all the clothes out. A massive duvet. And a gate across the entrance.
Realised that actually he less anxious when he was secure somewhere. He was less stressed ( no panting etc ) and he slept all through the night. ).

Springer here, she is nearly 5, she can sleep downstairs if she has a companion (and a stairgate) but when we don't have a foster she would prefer to be next to me on the bed. Over last week i have persisted and she has spent last 5 nights on the floor in her own donut bed right next to my side, lots of huffing and puffing and sighing for first 3 nights but last 2 nights she has slept all night, think i may have cracked it.

I think some of it is she’s anxious we might have disappeared in the night and she’s feels more secure jammed between us.

She could be cold too.

We’ve had this problem - ddog has always slept in bed with us but I’m pregnant and with me, my partner, bump, her and the pregnancy pillow in a double bed it got very crowded!

It sounds silly but does your dog like her bed? We have a huge (and very expensive!) dog bed but she never really used it, wouldn’t sleep there if she had a choice. We got another dog bed for downstairs recently - only £20 for a large from a market but it has sides instead of being a big pillow like the other one. She loves it! I think she feels cozy all nestled up like that, and we put a blanket in there as well.

I don’t have the heart to lock her in the kitchen - breaks my heart to hear her crying. We let her cuddle on the bed if we’re watching tv/reading and then when we’re trying to sleep and run out of room we gently push her off. She may try a couple more times but soon she realises there isn’t room and get fed up of being moved and heads to her bed. If she’s anxious maybe have the bed next to yours, would she like a t-shirt that smells like you to sleep with? One of those microwave wheat bags in the dog bed or a heated teddy may be nice as long as she isn’t likely to chew? Good luck!

We found a way with our dog. I'm a very light sleeper so she waits until I'm asleep before she jumps on the bed as she doesn't like being disturbed. She also curls up next to DH who sleeps very deeply.

She knows she's likely to get kicked if she sleeps anywhere near my legs. It kind of worked itself out after about a year, her sleeping on the bed, in a way that benefits all of us. I can honestly say I don't notice her now

I could have written that post!

Ours always sneaks up on DH side and in between his legs under the duvet. It's only when I wake up (I'm a light sleeper) that I notice and I move her. She definitely knows not to try my side of the bed.

I would put her bed back in a crate and cover it with a blanket.