Dogs need good rest just like humans too. How and where your dog sleeps is very important to your dog’s health. This is why every dog owner needs to understand how to train your dog to sleep in a dog bed. This article will help and show you how to get a dog to stop sleeping in your bed.
While some dog owners want their dogs to sleep separately, others allow their dogs to sleep in the same bed with them. There are advantages and disadvantages to both of these solutions, so it’s all about preference. You need to decide what works best for you.
However, most people prefer their dogs sleeping separately for a better quality of sleep for both the dog owner and the dog. There is also the issue of dog smell and dog fur on you if you allow your dog to sleep in the same bed. A dog bed allows your dog to sleep separately and comfortably.
According to various experts, another benefit of buying a bed for your dog is to help prevent behavioral issues. A dog bed gives your pet a special place that allows him to feel safe and secure, helping to prevent behavioral issues.
Here are some training tips that you can follow to help you train a dog for a dog bed;
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Table of Contents
1. Study How Your Dog Sleeps
The manner and pattern in which your dog sleeps will help you decipher the best type of bed to get it. For your pet to sleep on a dog bed, the bed should be the most comfortable bed you can get for his body.
What you should study here are his body language and gestures. Notice if he stretches, curls, or wakes up at intervals.
An ideal dog bed for a dog who stretches is a rectangular one that grants him enough space, while an oval bed would be ideal for a dog that curls.
If you have a large dog, you also need to be careful when selecting a dog bed for your dog. Large dogs are prone to joint problems when they sleep on floors and wrong surfaces. You may wish to read about the best dog bed for large dogs here so you can be sure your pet is sleeping on the right surface.
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2. Pick An Ideal Room To Place The Bed
Your dog bed should be placed in a room with moderate temperature and well ventilated. Most importantly, it should be placed in a room where your dog would feel safe.
The room selected could be your room. You’re training your dog to sleep alone, but there’s nothing wrong in keeping your dog’s bed in your room, so long as both of you are not sleeping in the same bed at night.
It’s best to pick a part of the room that isn’t too bright at night. However, it shouldn’t be behind doors, close to any open windows, or any other openings where your pet could go through.
3. Fill The Bed With Toys
Adding toys to the new dog bed is an important step on how to get a dog to stop sleeping in your bed. The new bed needs to attract the dog away from your bed. Your pet must have some favorite toys; placing these toys in the new dog bed and around it makes it appealing to your pet.
When your pet goes to that area, as usual, to play with his toys, your pet is drawn to his bed and stays there until he falls asleep.
Alternatively, you can place the toys on your bed and let your pet play. When it’s engrossed with playing, you take the toys away and place it in the dog bed so your pet will relocate from your bed to the dog bed to continue playing.
4. Take Your Pet On Walks Before Bedtime
If your dog is tired, it’s likely to sleep anywhere, it finds comfort. Taking your pet on a walk before bedtime is an ideal and safe way to stress it a bit just enough to make it relaxed when you return home.
Once back, place your dog in his bed, and even if unwilling to sleep there, he’ll not have a lot of energy to fight or run after you.
Aside from walks, there are other indoor activities that’ll wear out your dog. You can play active games like ‘hide & seek’ or feed it using a pet treat launcher that would require it to run for every piece. Also, see our post on how to calm a restless dog at night for more ideas on getting your dog to be calm.
5. Stick To A Particular Bedtime
Sticking to a particular bedtime routine is important if you’re looking for solutions on how to train your dog to sleep in a dog bed. Most dogs are very intelligent, and when you follow a bedtime routine, it doesn’t take long for your dog to understand that you want it to sleep in the dog bed at certain times.
You can use signals to notify your pet that it’s bedtime every night. Ideally, it would be best if you came up with a bedtime command, and you can also have some treats on hand to reward your dog. Giving your pet treats at the same time every night can also signify bedtime.
See this video for more information on how to get your dog to like and sleep in a dog bed.
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6. Don’t Fall For The Whining
I believe you love your pet and wouldn’t want to see him sad. When you keep your pet away from you at night, it could whine and cry. He is just displaying his displeasure, and you shouldn’t fall for it if training him to fall asleep is what you want.
The best thing to do is to ignore him and go to bed. Please don’t yell at him to stop as that would only instill fear and make things worse. However, you need to ensure that his whining isn’t due to something else other than displeasure.
You may wish to use a dog collar to help if you have a dog that whines a lot. See our post on the best dog collar to stop whining if you will like to try that out.
The whining will not continue forever; after a while, he will stop whining and adjust to his new situation. Know that as many experts have stated, it helps to improve your dog’s health when they sleep on their own, so be firm, think of the long term, and ignore the whining for now.
Conclusion
In this article, I’ve discussed ideal tips on how to train your dog to sleep in a dog bed. As it is in training dogs to do anything, you need patience. It’ll be easier to succeed with a puppy than with an adult dog. We have shown you several tips on how to get a dog to stop sleeping in your bed and getting your dog to use a dog bed instead.
Remember to pick an ideal bed for your dog, put it in the right location or room, fill it with your dog’s favorite toys, tire out your pet before bedtimes for faster sleep, and ignore the whining for some days until it stops.
Also, note that you may need to consult a vet for ideas after following the tips and not getting any results.
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