Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2011 2:04 pm Post subject: Please help!
You guys have been so great with your advice before and I need your help again.
Story, my partner an myself have moved into a new house a month ago. Because she was separated from 2 other Dogs to move we decided to put her bed in our room for the first few nights so she would not be disoriantated and scared. She now refuses to sleep on her bed and insists on getting on the bed with us.
No ammount of "Shooing", "NO-ing", chasing or "AU-Au-ing" will help. She gets up, we chase her off. She gets up - we chase her off....this goes on ALL night.
Last night I tried to lure her to her bed in the kitchen and shut the door to the bedroom and she cried until 2.30 this morning.
I have had no sleep and we are at our wits end with it all. Is she lonely? Cold? Scared? Wanting to be with her pack? And how can we get her to sleep in the kitchen so we can get our bed back and a good nights sleep?
She is nearly 2 now. She was in the room on a bed but now insists on sleeping on ours. She had a crate where she used to live but my housemate used to put her in there when she was bad and so she is now terrified of them. I only found out about that after a month of her doing it while I was at work.
She will. And its a tricky one. Sams right, a crate would probably be about the only way to teach her to be with you but not on the bed. Is it a real problem her being on the bed? I wouldn't liek a dog on the bed personally, but seen as she is in your bedroom, unconfined, and obviously a slightly insecure little soul, chances are she WILL seek your company and feel banished if you push her from you.
her emotions are not complex. She doesn't understand why she can't be with you on the bed and needs training to learn it. Probably in the day. You need to take her to your bedroom and take toime over several days to teach her 'off' or 'basket' or whatever by putting her in it with a treat and telling her how good she is. Personally I would lay on the bed, and when she goes to jump up, take her immediately to the basket and say 'Basket!' Gooooood basket.... and treat her there. Then gradually teach her to go to her basket for a treat and settle there. Its not going to be easy at 2 years old.
Myself, I'd have her downstairs. She will take a night or three to shut up. She, again, has been with you for a few nights, and now she doesn't understand why she is shut on her own. You can't change anything now of course but really going on from day one as you mean to continue is often the only answer. BUT you have four options. Reteach her a crate is a nice place by putting work into that. Allowing her on the bed. Truely take time to TEACH her the owrd OFF and being in her bed gets her treats and praise. Or ride out the noise downstairs - which would be my recommendation if you DON'T want her on the bed and she honestly is terrified of crates.
Picture this, chances are in the lounge she can come sit with you. Its the same thing to her, she just doesn't understand why a bed/bedroom is remotely different to that.
Di
____________
The boys!
Read: Wylanbriar Dog Blog on the website: Updated! 1st February 12´!
Bella has been in my bedroom from day 1 (and Shadow when I got her 3 weeks ago), but I have now decided to reclaim my bedroom. From tonight they will be on the landing behind a stair gate and after a couple of weeks I hope to move them into my office (their new bedroom )
You could try the slowly approach, but as I haven't even started the process yet, who knows how it will work!
____________ Owned by Bella, Shadow & Cats ....
Never forgetting Harry : 18/01/11 - 14/05/11 RIP
We have allowed Mambo and Skittle to sleep (on their beds) in my room, BUT if they have to stay downstairs they are fine with that too. They get the sofa
I've adjusted Luna to sleeping on her bed the other side of a baby gate in the past - similar to Mel1970 above - so that when I had to leave her overnight with my parents who didn't want her on their bed she wasn't upset. It only took a few nights for her to give up sighing through the doorway!
Luna used to hate her crate when young but recently had to put up with resting after an op for 2 months. It only took 2 days for her to realise that her crate was the source of yummy filled crates!! Have a read of this article on adjusting a dog to being used to being alone too.
http://liziangel.blogspot.com/2011/10/pleeeeease-dont-leave-me.html
I found it more than useful when settling my new rescue boy into feeling secure with being left alone and when adjusting my girl into being back into a crate.
I'm afraid that I now share my bed with 2 of the snuggly lab sorts! Or should I say that I share their bed.....
Luna - how did you get her used to being on the other side of the baby gate? I really wouldn't mind her being on the bed except I have a bad back and she tends to want to lie ON us alot of the time and I wake up in agony :0( - although last night I think she was cold.....
I would try and teach her to get used to the crate again, as you never know when you might need to use it again.
George hated his crate when he was little even though we tried to teach him to like it, and we never used it as a punishment. We opened the door to his crate at night (when hew was 10-11 weeks old) and he was fine after that, so we de-crated him. He was always kept downstairs fenced in by a baby gate on the bottom of the stairs. But recently we decided to have another go at it, so we popped him in after luring him in with a treat to see what happened and we didn't hear a peep all night. We thought we would try him in our room overnight in the crate and he tried to sleep on our bed but it's just not big enough and he is only 6months old. But lo and be hold he was fine with it. Crates are so useful that it would be worth teaching her to trust it again. If you put it in your bedroom its a new situation so she might be more accepting of it, especially if you practice with it during the day.
I hope you find a solution soon x
____________ Gemma, Lee and our lovely little George
I put her bed literally next to the baby gate with door wide open. I put my duvet or a blanket I'd been sleeping on on top of her bed so that it smelt like 'our bed' and then I've taught Luna 'on your bed' command so I did that and gave her her 'bedtime biscuit' and then went to bed. I talked very gently to her, told her she was a good girl and when she sighed or whinged to let me know I'd left her the other side I just said gently 'you're ok, have a good sleep' with a 'sshh' gentle reassuring sort of voice. I read quietly until I could see she had fallen asleep, turned the light off and went to sleep myself!
Once she was happy with that set up I began to gradually close the door more and more each night until I knew she'd be happy with the door being closed by my parents while she was asleep on their landing. She was still bedded down asleep when they got up in the morning so was obviously comfy! I always give her my duvet to sleep on when she has to spend the night elsewhere!
I have to say that when the weather is warm or hot both my dogs tend to find a patch of floor to sleep on whereas in this cold weather they are both snuggled under the duvet until they over-heat! Saves on hot water bottles and heating! Perhaps snuggle her under a blanket
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Please help!
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