Re: Bet You Can't Solve This Problem!

Put their baskets, if they are ridged ones get new soft ones, on your bed at the bottom, that way they won't hog the duvet & you will get a good nights sleep.
BTW Our dog always slept on my bed. She slept in the crook of my knees. If I moved in the night she'd growl & go for my legs under the covers. She did not like being disturbed at all.

Re: Bet You Can't Solve This Problem!

I never used to have dogs on the bed, mainly because if one of the German Shepherds spread out on a single bed, there wouldn't be room for me!
I've always had a dog on the floor next to my bed though.

Then one day things changed.
My last GSD died a few years ago, and my oldest Beddie was extremely attached to him. The big boy looked after the Beddie pup from the day she came home. They did everything together and were inseparable.

The day he died, my Beddie climbed up onto my bed that night and lay close to me. She had never done that in her life before.
I knew she was as distressed as I was at the Shepherds death, and I think we both needed each other's support, so I not only allowed her to stay, I was grateful for her company to be honest.

Only thing is, because I allowed it when we were both grieving so bad, the little monkey has done it every night since!

Fortunately she is only little, never messes about or fidgets, and sleeps near the bottom of the bed and to be honest, when her time comes, I would miss her company dreadfully at night now.

She is the only one though, and the others don't copy.

Re: Bet You Can't Solve This Problem!

Agree, back to the crates or a play pen....
Ignore any sound, and that means no word no eye contact . Reward wanted behavior ie settling down quietly with praise.
Do this calmly and firmly and it should work quite quickly.

Re: Bet You Can't Solve This Problem!

Most "Dog problems" are not dog problems at all but rather owner problems.

When people view and treat dogs a little babies then things go awry.

Dogs are animals and it's stupid (and in many ways cruel) to treat them any differently.

Dogs have pack mentality, it's in their genes. They need a pecking order, a pack leader and if one doesn't present then they take up the role themselves.

There should be no reason at all to sleep with your dogs. I personally find that silly. They are not human babies or children. They are animals.

Put them downstairs in their designated area and leave them there.

When they complain it's because YOU haven't sufficiently established who is the pack leader. So now you've made it harder to do so. You ideally want to assert pack leader authority as early as possible. The dogs will most certainly understand that process. They need a leader, they need to understand where their place is in that pack, otherwise they remain confused and uncertain and their behaviours suffer.

Put the dogs downstairs, if they whinge, go in there and talk sternly to them and tell them to shut up. Do what you have to in order to assert your authority. Once they realise YOU are now the pack leader they will change their behaviors.

Re: Bet You Can't Solve This Problem!

I can't cure the dogs on the bed problem as I think it's most natural thing in the world to sleep with your family if you are a pack animal. So mine chose where they sleep and it's usually with me. But I can make it easier for you.

2 single duvets, one for each of you then when they get into the middle they won't drag the double into a dip, they will fall through and you keep warm. We found that worked marvels. Also meant we could have different togs for each of us which was magic we thought.

Re: Bet You Can't Solve This Problem!

That seems a good solution.

Re: Bet You Can't Solve This Problem!

With mine, I won't say I can't cure the old gal sleeping at the bottom of the bed, the truth is, I don't mind, and rather like to feel her little body there. I am not complaining at all, because I know if I tell any of them to 'Get off', they will.

I agree with you Julie, that being pack animals, dogs usually sleep in heap against each other. It is NOT natural for them to wish to sleep alone.
Puppies in nests sleep in very close contact for comfort, body warmth and safety. A tiny pup sleeping in a cold bed alone would not fare well.

It makes me very angry when thoughtless and ignorant new owners bring a pup home who has never been alone in it's life, never eaten alone, slept alone, often given a different diet, has lost it's mother and siblings and has nothing familiar around it whatsoever - all this happens to it in the space of one day. Many changes all at once for a young mind to process and understand, then the ignorant and selfish new owner expects it to not miss it's family, not be afraid, not feel lonely, not cry, all because the human wants to sleep!

Pack instinct, which some people are so fond of quoting, means a whole lot more than an egotistical human with ancient ideas, about having to ''Dominate" another life.

Re: Bet You Can't Solve This Problem!

I think it is terrible when little pups are taken away from their mother and their brothers and sisters. Luckily they do get over it fairly quickly considering but it must be very lonely for them. It is a shame when people get a pup then go to work all day because I'm sure the dog misses out on all the fun with the rest of the litter.

It is a while since we have had a dog but I know with cats, they change their sleeping habits regularly, sort of on a weekly basis.

Re: Bet You Can't Solve This Problem!

Thank you all so much for your replies and especially your advice.

I hold my hands up to being fully responsible for allowing them to jump up on the bed. These two gorgeous little LaChons are lap-dogs, completely and utterly spoiled by me in every way. After a lifetime of having Labbies that always knew their place and slept in their basket in the small, warm utility room downstairs with all the doors open for access if they needed us. I never had any problems, but these two! I know they see me as pack leader because I can't even go from the living room without them following me immediately. If I have a bath, they will lie outside the bathroom door until I come out. When I sit down on the sofa for the evening, (even typing on here) there is always one with his head on each knee. They both used to try their utmost to get right on top of my legs to curl up before I had to teach them that was a definite no no. I have to admit this is my first experience with very small dogs and it is still proving a learnimg curve,, if not lovely or comical at times.

As for your solutions....

To be honest with you, it wouldn't bother me personally if they did sleep on the bed, but HWMO is having none of it. (I am just thankful that we no longer have to go to work anymore). It wouldn’t be so bad if they got on the bed and stayed there! But they get up for an hour or so whilst we are asleep, then one followed by the other, jump off again to either lie full stretch on the mat or curl up in one of their soft bed baskets. Then they will decide they want to be on the bed again and take aim to try and reach the centre but often landing on top of us instead, thus waking us up. Sometimes if they manage to get back on without us waking up, they then succeed in waking us up by kicking one of us with their four little legs as they move in their sleep!

A cage with their baskets inside sounds feasible - if we didn’t know what Ollie was like, he would put a child to shame with his crying, and we do have working neighbours to consider.

Suggestion to get two single duvets sounds good too but brought an instant face pull from HWMO because he did not take kindly to the thought of having two dogs being allowed to lie on the bottom sheet that we are lying on every night. A definite no from him.

Unfortunately, putting their baskets outside the door with a barrier so they can’t access the bed but can still see us for reassurance wouldn’t work either, as we have a large main bedroom that runs the length of the property.and the bed is on the far wall furthest from view from the door.

I know they are not spooked by fireworks or loud noises as we have plenty going on around this area and they are not phased in the least. They’re never cold either as their little baskets (soft with fluffy cushioning, complete with extra blanket) are placed next to each other, with plenty of room in them to curl up in different positions. Funnily enough, after jumping up on the bed twice last night, we woke up this morning to find them both fast asleep curled up in their baskets.Bliss!

Separate bedrooms wouldn’t work either. HWMO and I usually wake up every morning with the jokey “we’re both still here then”. Wouldn’t be so funny shouting “are you still alive?” from another bedroom!!.

Advice that we should treat them like animals and not children definitely won’t work either, I’m afraid.
Now my own family have flown the nest, my two little boys are exactly that, my babies!! Over-pampered, over-spoiled, the centre of our lives in this home. I’m afraid I have left it too late to ever change that, I own two very frisky, happy, spoiled little dogs that are used to getting their own way in most things. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I just wish I hadn’t made a rod for our own backs (that’s exactly how it feels when Flynn digs his body into my back at night!) by this constant jumping on (and then off) the bed.

I’m very grateful for all your advice though. I guess it will continue until we are so shattered from them that they will finally be allowed to stay on the bed and just have to put up with the little beggars night time antics. I can’t see any other solution.

Re: Bet You Can't Solve This Problem!

Excellent post Mups I never had a dog until I married, so was led by my husband who had them all his life. Oddly he says he's learned more about them since marrying me than he did all the previous years mainly I think because I try to look at things from their point of view too and don't try to dominate them to make them do things. All dogs need individual rules IMO and if we can keep it to how they naturally behave it all works so much better. Even among my little tribe they all have different needs and shout at one will devastate her but shout at another she thinks what a good game and runs round in joy. If we all spent more time watching our puppies we might find best way to get the good behaviour we all want out of them.
MIL never learned that and was a huge fan of Barbra Woodhouse, her dogs may have behaved well but it wasn't a kind gentle way of teaching them.