Need doggie advice

cynthiaandkeith · November 2010

ok I have a 2 year pittie, who is my furry baby!!! xoxox

She sleeps in a closed crate at night- and EVERY morning she cries at like 6am- i get up, let her outside to pee, then she jumps in bed with us- right under the covers til like 7-7:30 when we get up...

So my question is HOW DO I BREAK THIS HABIT??? i figure before I get pregnant i should stop doing this- having a dog in the bed with feeding a newborn and all that probably isnt a good idea.

PLUS i really want her to be able to sleep free in the house- god forbid someone breaks in, she can protect us. (she already stays free in the house when we leave for work and is fine with it)

How do I train her to sleep free in the house? if I leave her crate door open she automatically thinks she can jump in bed with us. when i closed our bedroom door- she just cried and scratched at the door- UGH- what to do?

EvenAngelsFall · November 2010

What type of place do you live in...? If you have an upstairs/downstairs, you could try putting up a baby gate (which you'll need eventually anyway! Big Smile ) at the bottom of your stairs so her freedom is limited to downstairs only. The crying / wimpering will stop after a few nights. Good luck!

catahoulatte · November 2010

You should probably talk to a trainer about "spot training" her (I think that's what our trainer calls it). You would put a doggy bed next to yours and when her crate is open keep her off of the bed. Train her to stay on her bed with toys/kibbles until she realizes that's where she sleeps.

Unfortunately it's a lot harder when she's already in a routine, but it can be done! Good luck

Babybear70 · November 2010

I hear alot of "NO (name) off!" in your future. You are just going to have to help her get use to sleeping on the floor when she comes back in from going potty. Maybe give her another spot to sleep on in your bedroom when she comes in from going out, outside of the crate. A new puppy mat or pillow....something special. And give her a goodie when you put her back on her new pillow. Our puppy (she is 2 1/2 so really not a puppy) sleeps loose in the house, she wakes DH up to go out, and when she comes back in, we tell her "Nitress it is night night time" and she knows exactly what that means. She goes in, gets on her bed, waits for her goodie and goes back to sleep. It is all in how consistent you are in being repetitive. It takes a dog about 50 times of repeating something before they start to pick it up. Good luck!

loveypants · November 2010

Is it wrong that I thought you were talking about the position "doggie"? I was like, heck yeah I can give some advice!!! Embarrassed

Anyway, good luck. I know we have at least 1 vet and 1 dog trainer on this board, maybe they will respond!

SarahRuthG · November 2010

My dog used to sleep on my bed for years - but when I got a new mattress a few years ago I wanted to put an end to that, and also I was dating H at the time and we were talking about moving in together. Not nearly enough room on a queen size bed for two adults and a 70lb dog!

Anyway - I literally spent two nights getting up everytime my dog jumped on the bed and quietly taking him by the collar off the bed, then walked him to his dog bed and told him "Down, stay". It was hard and tiring but he got the point pretty quick. I think it's important not to yell or lose your temper with it. Anger in your voice confuses dogs sometimes. They cower in fear but they don't know what they did wrong.

But what I think REALLY helped was when I got the new mattress it was much higher then the old one, making jumping the bed for him a little different. The night I got the new bed he stopped jumping up at all - so two nights of removing him and the new bed did it. Maybe if you have an extra boxspring from another bed you could build your bed up for a few weeks to help discourage her. It's sorta like that training method of "redirecting". It breaks up the routine of jumping on the bed because its suddenly different and she would have to rethink how she would jump up.

Good luck! Its a hard thing to break! We are currently working on keeping our dog off the new couch. He doesnt come up here when we are home but the cushions are curiously covered in black and white hair every evening

glueck · November 2010

Its tough when they are so snuggly in the morning! Its cute!!!!

I am a huge fan of clicker training. It solves a lot of problems and helps so much with training. Our dog has a bed, and when we say bedtime, he now knows thats where to go. We "clickered" him to bed. For your dog, it might be his open crate. Whether you use the clicker or just a strong, low growling "no" and praise him when he stays down, you must be 100% strict with the no bed rule. No exceptions, or he will get confused. It will be hard for him to understand at first and the big sad eyes will hurt your heart, but he will get it. Set aside some practice time when you both are in bed and he must stay on the floor. Hope it helps.

faydre · November 2010

(The dog trainers advice)

First of all I would like to say that maintaining your crate training, and sleeping in the crate will be INDESPENSIBLE when you have a newborn and need to keep the dog somewhere safe.

Second, I highly reccomend maintaining the sleeping in the crate, for several reasons. FIrst-- it's natural, dogs are denners so sleeping in the crate is like a den. Second -- It keeps the dog out of trouble while you are sleeping. Third -- It becomes a natural place for the dog to go when they need a "time-out" it will be good to establish with your children that when the dog is in the crate, that means they need to be left alone.

Third. If you are letting your dog go pee immediately before bedtime, and the dog can't hold it all night, you may have to either continue letting them out or take them to a vet to rule out medical conditions. Then, I would take him/her back to the crate to sleep instead of the bed. Getting to sleep in the bed is reinforcing her 6am whining. Instead, make going back to the crate reinforcing -- maybe have a kong prepared for her or a frozen meatball or something for when she goes back in the crate after going out in the morning.

Fourth -- working on the bed thing. You have to make this decision and STICK BY IT. The whole family. Always. Is the dog allowed on furniture? If you don't want her to be on furniture -- you MUST not EVER let her on furniture again. Maybe keep a handful of treats and toss them on the floor every time she gets on the bed/couch/etc -- ABSOLUTELY DO NOT give her any positive praise/attention/love/petting/anything at all when she DOES get on the bed. you have to mean it! because, variable schedules of reinforcement are more reinforcing than continuous schedules -- meaning if a tantruming 2 year old occasionally gets a candy bar once in a while when they tantrum, Then they will continue to tantrum indefinately and it will be louder and longer each time.

I'm sure i have more to add.. i'd love to be able to teach you about the clicker traaining method etc --- but it's tough to do over the internet

look into KarenPryor Clicker training --- I highly reccomend ANY of those trainers!!

ohsaysaysay · November 2010

Have you tired getting a doggy bed and making that her spot in the morning rather than on the bed? It'll be tough at first, but she'll enjoy her new spot in your bedroom in time.

Babybear70 · November 2010

SarahRuthG:

Good luck! Its a hard thing to break! We are currently working on keeping our dog off the new couch. He doesnt come up here when we are home but the cushions are curiously covered in black and white hair every evening

You can help to break this by purchasing the high pile carpet runner that you would put down in your house with the little nubbins on the back. Turn it over so that the little nubbins are pointed up, they don't like the way it feels on their feet so they stay off. It is a cheap alternative to a scat mat. And you can cut it to fit your couch, chairs, anything! GL!

Mel2000go · November 2010

faydre:

(The dog trainers advice)

First of all I would like to say that maintaining your crate training, and sleeping in the crate will be INDESPENSIBLE when you have a newborn and need to keep the dog somewhere safe.

Second, I highly reccomend maintaining the sleeping in the crate, for several reasons. FIrst-- it's natural, dogs are denners so sleeping in the crate is like a den. Second -- It keeps the dog out of trouble while you are sleeping. Third -- It becomes a natural place for the dog to go when they need a "time-out" it will be good to establish with your children that when the dog is in the crate, that means they need to be left alone.

Third. If you are letting your dog go pee immediately before bedtime, and the dog can't hold it all night, you may have to either continue letting them out or take them to a vet to rule out medical conditions. Then, I would take him/her back to the crate to sleep instead of the bed. Getting to sleep in the bed is reinforcing her 6am whining. Instead, make going back to the crate reinforcing -- maybe have a kong prepared for her or a frozen meatball or something for when she goes back in the crate after going out in the morning.

Fourth -- working on the bed thing. You have to make this decision and STICK BY IT. The whole family. Always. Is the dog allowed on furniture? If you don't want her to be on furniture -- you MUST not EVER let her on furniture again. Maybe keep a handful of treats and toss them on the floor every time she gets on the bed/couch/etc -- ABSOLUTELY DO NOT give her any positive praise/attention/love/petting/anything at all when she DOES get on the bed. you have to mean it! because, variable schedules of reinforcement are more reinforcing than continuous schedules -- meaning if a tantruming 2 year old occasionally gets a candy bar once in a while when they tantrum, Then they will continue to tantrum indefinately and it will be louder and longer each time.

I'm sure i have more to add.. i'd love to be able to teach you about the clicker traaining method etc --- but it's tough to do over the internet

look into KarenPryor Clicker training --- I highly reccomend ANY of those trainers!!

Wow, that was such helpful advice for me. I have an one year-old dog and he sleeps in the crate all night long. He is so good with it and goes right in every night and never cries or whines. However, I always feel guilty about putting him in the crate for like 8 to 9 hours at night, and was thinking that maybe I should allow him to sleep with us at night. However, with your advice I realize that I should stick with this since this is natural and normal to him. Thanks!

btaylor19 · November 2010

loveypants:

Is it wrong that I thought you were talking about the position "doggie"? I was like, heck yeah I can give some advice!!!

Anyway, good luck. I know we have at least 1 vet and 1 dog trainer on this board, maybe they will respond!

Mind out of the gutter lovey!!!

JuneButterfly85 · November 2010

Well if you want her in the room, but just not in the bed...get her a BIG fluffy bed. Thats what I do with my boxer.

I got him all amped up, made such a huge deal about his bed, put him in a down/stay on his bed and just gave him lots of treats. Now he will lay there willingly and not try to get into bed. ALTHOUGH....if I move his bed into another room (Like into the living room) he will refuse to lay on the carpet in the bedroom. He usually sneaks up into our lazy boy that is in there. He's a brat lol.

catahoulatte · November 2010

Babybear70:
SarahRuthG:

Good luck! Its a hard thing to break! We are currently working on keeping our dog off the new couch. He doesnt come up here when we are home but the cushions are curiously covered in black and white hair every evening

You can help to break this by purchasing the high pile carpet runner that you would put down in your house with the little nubbins on the back. Turn it over so that the little nubbins are pointed up, they don't like the way it feels on their feet so they stay off. It is a cheap alternative to a scat mat. And you can cut it to fit your couch, chairs, anything! GL!

Haha we do this!!! During the day we put car floormats upside-down on the living room couch-they are cheap at Wal-Mart!

JuneButterfly85 · November 2010

Oh I also wanted to add that try using a special word or sound for "NO" instead of saying no. Because you will be saying no A LOT in your future and sometimes the dogs can get confused and think I am telling them NO when I'm telling my DH no lol.

So we say "aught". Its a german phrase but it makes the right kind of sound and it catches the dogs attention. They know if I say that....that I AM directing it at them lol.

Although sometimes I find myself telling the boy I babysit Aught....and he looks at me like I'm crazy. Habit haha.

EvenAngelsFall · November 2010

faydre:

Instead, make going back to the crate reinforcing -- maybe have a kong prepared for her or a frozen meatball or something for when she goes back in the crate after going out in the morning.

Oh sweet! Did not know this was safe for them! Our furbaby would be beside herself with excitement if I gave her a frozen meatball! I am assuming only the precooked kind, correct?

cynthiaandkeith · November 2010

btaylor19:
loveypants:

Is it wrong that I thought you were talking about the position "doggie"? I was like, heck yeah I can give some advice!!!

Anyway, good luck. I know we have at least 1 vet and 1 dog trainer on this board, maybe they will respond!

Mind out of the gutter lovey!!!

LOL thats awesome- I guess the subject can throw you off!! thats too funny- LOL

cynthiaandkeith · November 2010

WOW so much great advice- Thank you to all you ladies !!

I will try the baby gate in our room.... and just have to deal with the whinning and crying for a couple of nights til she gets used to it...

and to the dog trainer- i know she LOVES her crate- I dont want to get rid of it- that is her go to place when people come to the door, when we give her treats, when we eat dinner, etc... so i'll leave it for her to sleep in - i just want the crate door to be open. THanks for the suggestions on dog trainers- I definetly want to get someone when we do have a baby to learn how to introduce the baby to the dog and all the right things to do in that situation.

so now i just have to choose which days I dont want to get a good nights sleep- LOL

brookelynpaisley · November 2010

CatahoulaMom:

You should probably talk to a trainer about "spot training" her (I think that's what our trainer calls it). You would put a doggy bed next to yours and when her crate is open keep her off of the bed. Train her to stay on her bed with toys/kibbles until she realizes that's where she sleeps.

Unfortunately it's a lot harder when she's already in a routine, but it can be done! Good luck

I was going to say this. I gave up and wasn't successful in getting our girls to sleep on a bed on the floor, but I'm sure it could be done with a lot of persistance and rewarding good behaviors.

EDIT: I also agree with Faydre on the crate training. It works best for us. Even though one of our dogs (Paisley) would easily sleep with us all night and laze with us until late morning, we all sleep better knowing she (and our other dog) are in the crate, safe and not roaming or getting into anything. Paisley loves the crate and has always found it a safe haven. If she gets tired, she'll put herself to bed there, and if there's a lot of commotion, she'll go to her crate for quiet. I agree with Faydre that eliminating it is unnecessary.

MrsTran021310 · November 2010

loveypants:

Is it wrong that I thought you were talking about the position "doggie"? I was like, heck yeah I can give some advice!!!

Anyway, good luck. I know we have at least 1 vet and 1 dog trainer on this board, maybe they will respond!

Bahahaha. Lovey. You are great with position advice. Wink You should write a book. 'Lovey's lovable sex positions'.

brookelynpaisley · November 2010

mrstran021310:
loveypants:

Is it wrong that I thought you were talking about the position "doggie"? I was like, heck yeah I can give some advice!!!

Anyway, good luck. I know we have at least 1 vet and 1 dog trainer on this board, maybe they will respond!

Bahahaha. Lovey. You are great with position advice. You should write a book. 'Lovey's lovable sex positions'.

Who's this loveypants person. Is she a heartpants AE?

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