Where does your dog sleep at night.

[sassandgroove]

Do they wake you up in the night?

[Shadow_Ferret]

They used to. The Jack Russell was a rescue dog and he had spent part of his life as a stray, so he'd get up and wander at night and then bother me to put him out. But he settled down over the year we've had him.

And there was a period a few years back where the Dalmatian kept wanting to go out every few hours. But he outgrew that.

Now they both sleep through the night unless something outside disturbs them.

[Jenifer]

Originally Posted by Shadow_Ferret

My 60 lbs dalmatian sleeps on top of the covers between my legs and our Jack Russell squirms between my wife and I under the covers.

And our dogs do as they're told.

Mine does, too. In fact she will leave my side at any place in the house or yard and hop into her crate when I give the signal. Sits automatically to receive treats or meals. Recalls from any distance/situation. She hardly runs the house!

And she sleeps in my bed... on my furniture... has her own chair in my office and has a total of three dog beds.

My only complaint is that she stashes her Dingo bones in the couch cushions and my bed for snacking later, and they poke me in uncomfortable places. Oh, and occasionally she streaks by at warp speed with a toy in her mouth- completely distracting my boyfriend, whose attention should be on ME!

[sassandgroove]

I didn't mean that letting the dog sleep on the bed would mean the dog wouldn't mind you. The dog book I read said if you let them sleep on the bed to make sure it is on your terms, not theirs. I have seen people on the Dog Whisperer whose dog sleep on their bed even though they didn't want him too, and they couldn't control him anywhere else at anyother time of the day either. So what i gather between the book and the show is that whatever you decide, your bed or theirs, it has to be on your terms and they have to know who is boss. From what I know of you, Ed, from posts I've read over the years, you are a good parent and dog owner and your dogs know you are the boss. I never meant to imply otherwise. I really appreciate your input.

We have Leela sleep in her crate in the kitchen. We'll decide it is best, then a few days or week later, start talking about letting her in our room again. I'm torn. I already have trouble sleeping. I like having my husband to myself. I know that if we let her sleep in our room once, we'll probably have to do it from then on, no going back. So I don't want to make the decision lightly. She seems fine in the kitchen and has a routine so I am hesitant to disrupt that too.

Thanks everyone for sharing with me.

[kristie911]

My dog usually sleeps at the end of my bed but sometimes he chooses to sleep in the living room on his bad or on his couch. (Not my couch...he has his own!)

The bed sleeping is on my terms and sometimes I kick him off just to remind him it's my bed and not his.

[Moxie]

My German Shepherd sleeps on my bed, as do my two cats. It is certainly a cozy setup, especially since my bed is not particularly large. My dog sleeps at the foot of my bed and stays there all night. I guess it depends on the dog but mine was never a chewer, even as a pup, and so I never worried about her being destructive. After eight years she does expect to sleep there but on the rare occasion that I've not allowed it (usually summer nights when it is just too darn hot to sleep with a fur blanket on my feet) she's slept on the floor without a grumble.

[VeggieChick]

Originally Posted by Pomegranate

When I was a teenager I had a dog that would crawl under the covers and sleep at the foot of my bed.

That's exactly how my dog sleeps!
He also has his own bed and would usually curl up on it during the day, but otherwise will sleep on pretty much any piece of furniture he can find: couches, armchairs, even the office chair sometimes (although he's a cocker spaniel and not exactly the right size for that). He definitively has free reign of the house --It never occurred to me to do it any other way.

Cat sleeps near my head, against my stomach or my back or whatever place she can find. But as close as possible.

[sassandgroove]

Originally Posted by sassandgroove

Hi.

Our dog Leela sleeps in a crate in the kitchen. The last few nights I have sectioned off the kitchen and still 'put her to bed' but leave the crate door open. She seems to like that.

But Mr. Groove and I have been talking about having her sleep in our room.

we are not sure if we should or if she's fine and we should leave things be.

If we do decide to do it, we're not sure how to go about it.
Obviously we need to dog proof the bedroom. Right now she's only allowed in there with us, otherwise we keep the door closed.

Would we need another crate or would a dog bed work and would she stay in it or would she move around. One concern I have is that we would wake when she gets restless. Mr. Groove talks about having her on our bed, but I am not sure I want to go there. For one thing she isn't allowed on any other furniture.

Anyway, it is just something we have been pondering and I wonder what you all think. Thanks.

OK so it's been a year and a half since I started this thread. We're at a point now where we still 'put her to bed' as in we have a routine, she goes out to pee then comes in and lays in her crate, we give her a treat. But I don't close the kitchen off anymore.

This started because I forgot to put up the gate one night, and she stayed in the kitchen all night. She came in our room (it was a weekend morning) when she heard us start to stir. It was sweet. So we've been leaving the gate open.

Here's the thing. She won't stay in our room. LAst night she looked sad when I was putting her to bed and so I beckoned for her to come with me, I put a dog bed in the bedroom, had her lay down, then I laid down. She got up and went back to her crate in the kitchen.

I was wondering if I got her another crate or pet carrier for our room if she would stay. I'm wondering if it is the den that she wants.

What do you think? I like having her near us but I also like boundaries, especially when we want to be romantic. Sigh. Still don't know what to do.

[Use Her Name]

2 dogs, both sleep under the covers with me... One is an Italian Greyhound with blue dog alopacia who is as naked a Xolo in areas. She's also pretty warm. She just curls up and provides great little living heating pad. My chihuahua has more hair, sometimes he sleeps outside the covers. -- I don't think it is strage-- little dogs were bred to sleep with people. I keep them both washed. They love snuggling with me.

[NewKidOldKid]

Two dogs. One is a puppy and just now learning how to get on my bed. They both have their own beds right next to mine and usually switch between sleeping on their own beds and jumping on mine.

[backslashbaby]

I bet another crate would work. I think dogs do prefer 'dens' if they are used to them.

My doggies? You know the term 3 Dog Night? That's us They really are sweet little furry heaters!

Oh, for getting into things, I just absolutely reprimand them every time, and then give them a toy and make that fun. They start to prefer their toys all Pavlonian-like, even when I'm gone

[sassandgroove]

Yeah, she's gotten pretty good about only chewing her toys. But she gets tissue out of the trash so right now my husbands trash can is in his closet and mine is up on a box.
Hubby said we'd talk about getting her another crate or travel carrier thing this weekend.

[JrFFKacy]

My 6 month old Border Collie sleeps in his crate at night. He also spends part of the day in his crate, especially if my mother and brother are home, since they really don't like him. My dad and other brother don't mind him, so if it's just them around, he runs free in the house as long as I'm doing something that allows me to keep an eye on him. He has a habit of collecting random things, like shoes, bathroom garbage (His particularly fond of the cardboard tubes toilet paper comes on. The bathroom has the only garbage he can reach, though we usually shut the door so he can't get in there), and other stuff. I'd like him to eventually be loose 24/7, but not right now.

My mom's old beagle (almost 14), used to sleep in my room almost every night. She snored, licked her feet, and made all sorts of other random noises. She's so old she's gotten rather incontinent, so she has to be confined at night now. She's still really happy and gets around well, even if she can't really see or hear (she can still smell for where she's going though...lol). Annoying since she still has a mind of her own, and you can't verbally reprimand her unless you're right where she is. Yelling from a distance doesn't work with a dog that's more than half deaf...lol.

My brother's Bichon sleeps in a crate. She used to sleep on his bed, and still does sometimes, but when I got my dog, she got very jealous and started leaving puddles around the house and destroying things. Now that she has the crate, she's fine again and will probably be let free again at some point.

[Canotila]

Our griffon is like a biological chainsaw and smells like manure, so we keep him safely gated in the laundry room at night. It is good incentive to keep up with the laundry and make sure it's all folded and put away every night. Our borzoi has impeccable manners. He sleeps wherever he wants. Sometimes in our room, or on the couch, or the doormat, or on our daughter's bed.

[Collectonian]

I have three dogs. My chihuahua/rat terrier mix (13) sleeps in the bed with me and the cat. My deaf border/aussie mix sleeps on a dog bed on the floor of my room. My young border mix sleeps in a crate in the living room. Would generally discourage having dogs sleep on the bed except the smaller toy breeds, as they toss and turn just as much as most people :-P A dog bed on the floor for a medium-large breed is quite comfy.

For transitioning from crate sleeping to sleeping loose, my general steps are:

1 - has to have a year of proven house manners - not just being "house broken" but also not chewing anything other than toys, behaving with the others, etc
2 - start with leaving loose while napping (if you nap) or for short trips (can just start with leaving loose while walking around the house a few times, things like that) - basically short alone times while lose
3 - once you feel comfortable and confident that they will behave with the unsupervised moments, then can try sleeping in the bedroom - highly recommend this be a Friday or Saturday night

I've followed those three steps for all of my dogs and so far, always successful. My youngest girl, Yuki, is still at step one but she's only a year old :-)

Originally Posted by sassandgroove

Here's the thing. She won't stay in our room. LAst night she looked sad when I was putting her to bed and so I beckoned for her to come with me, I put a dog bed in the bedroom, had her lay down, then I laid down. She got up and went back to her crate in the kitchen.

I was wondering if I got her another crate or pet carrier for our room if she would stay. I'm wondering if it is the den that she wants.

What do you think? I like having her near us but I also like boundaries, especially when we want to be romantic. Sigh. Still don't know what to do.

Does she tend to shadow you when loose or does she pretty much do her own thing? If she is a shadower, then I'd say going by your first post she just may not be comfortable being in the bedroom yet. Yuki was afraid of my room as a younger pup because it was "forbidden", and even now she just runs in and out quick if she's loose and I go in there. Just the other week, she finally felt okay enough to lay down while I folded laundry. It will likely be another year or two before she's ready for sleeping there, but trying to make sure she will be okay in there when the time comes. You may want to bring her in during the day time and just sit on the floor and give her some loving. Help her realize its okay that she is in there now. If you're comfortable with her free in the house, I'd just leave the bedroom door open a few nights and see if she starts staying in the room herself. If she is a shadower, she will likely have an internal battle over wanting to be with you which will usually win. How trained is she? If she's pretty well trained, you may also try doing some down/stay exercises in the bedroom.

If not, then maybe a second crate could make her feel more comfortable. I remember when I transitioned Blue to having free reign, she didn't even know the dog bed was hers at first, but she stayed in my room to be near me.

[dgrintalis]

My boy, Kane (a 60-pound pit bull), is a cuddle bug and sleeps at the bottom of our bed, usually across our feet, until we start to wake up. Then he wiggles his way up between us to put his head on the pillow and give us good morning kisses.

[Chumplet]

We've never allowed dogs on beds or furniture, and they got the idea right away. Chester is 13 now and he spent his puppyhood crated at night. When he was housetrained he graduated to sleeping upstairs, but we all close our bedroom doors. He lies in the hallway outside our doors. I put his sleeping mat there.

These days he couldn't get up on a bed if he tried!

The cat still sleeps with my daughter until the wee hours when he starts running around and being a general pest. Then she kicks him out.

[katiemac]

I honestly don't remember when we starting letting our dog sleep loose, if we ever crated him at night at all. (We must have.)

But he usually started the night by hanging out in the hall or someone's bedroom when we were all getting ready for bed, then when we were all in the right rooms he'd move to the landing on the stairs between the two floors. That way he knew everyone was upstairs, and he could keep track of us if someone went down to the kitchen or something.

[Moost]

My dog sleeps in my bed. It was a huge mistake letting him get used to staying there. He's a sweetheart, but he gets very territorial if you encroach on his space. I've been woken up numerous times by him growling at me for poking him with my foot.

[Puma]

It's not a matter of where our dog(s) (4) sleep at night; it's a matter of where we sleep at night. I'm thinking of getting trundle beds for us or maybe flip up extensions for the sides of the bed. It ain't easy trying to bulldog 250 combined pounds of dogs with our feet. Puma

[Canotila]

Originally Posted by Jamesaritchie

Just me, I guess, but if you're going to crate a dog at night, or not allow it on furniture, why have a dog? Dogs are people, too.

When our dogs were puppies they were crated at night for their own safety (and to preserve our sanity!). Otherwise, we'd wake up to shredded electrical cords, heaps of dog doo on the kitchen floor, etc. The one dog we keep gated in the laundry room holds his bowels overnight finally, but still can't be trusted not to destroy/ingest things that aren't food.

We also taught them a command for getting on the furniture. All other times they need to stay off. That way we can invite them up when they're clean, and don't have to worry about them wiping cow manure on the cushions otherwise.

Then again, we spend a lot of time laying on the floor with them watching TV.

[NewKidOldKid]

Originally Posted by Moost

My dog sleeps in my bed. It was a huge mistake letting him get used to staying there. He's a sweetheart, but he gets very territorial if you encroach on his space. I've been woken up numerous times by him growling at me for poking him with my foot.

lol

[NewKidOldKid]

Originally Posted by Jamesaritchie

Just me, I guess, but if you're going to crate a dog at night, or not allow it on furniture, why have a dog? Dogs are people, too.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks so. I wouldn't dream of having dogs and keeping them in crates so I could sleep more comfortably. When they're puppies, I can somewhat understand it, although I'm raising my second one and neither one roamed around at night. They just made their way into the bedroom and stayed with me the whole night. They were never crated.

[Canotila]

Originally Posted by NewKidOldKid

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks so. I wouldn't dream of having dogs and keeping them in crates so I could sleep more comfortably. When they're puppies, I can somewhat understand it, although I'm raising my second one and neither one roamed around at night. They just made their way into the bedroom and stayed with me the whole night. They were never crated.

I'm glad it works out for you! Not every dog needs it. My aunt never crated until she got her third german shepherd puppy. After two surgeries to remove bowel obstructions she gave up and started crating at night when she couldn't supervise what he snacked on.

[Bushrat]

"Quote:
Originally Posted by Jamesaritchie
Just me, I guess, but if you're going to crate a dog at night, or not allow it on furniture, why have a dog? Dogs are people, too.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks so. I wouldn't dream of having dogs and keeping them in crates so I could sleep more comfortably. When they're puppies, I can somewhat understand it, although I'm raising my second one and neither one roamed around at night. They just made their way into the bedroom and stayed with me the whole night. They were never crated. "

We have four dogs and we do not treat them like people because they are dogs. They are not allowed on the furniture, I would never entertain the thought of allowing them into bed with us (must make for an interesting sex life otherwise...) and they get no snackies or left-overs, just high quality kibble.

Tough life? Oh yeah...we cuddle with them while lounging on the dog pillows with them, they are not left alone 8 hours of the day because we work from home, they can go in and out of the house as they like, they are never walked on roads or sidewalks - every walk is out in the forest since that is where we live, and they go for a 2-hour walk or more every day with us (off leash).

Your dog can be an integral part of your life without getting "spoiled". I think a lot of people treat dogs like people out of guilt (not enough time for them) and loneliness.