How to get your dog to sleep on a dog bed?

Posted By: Woofmat Team On: Comment: 0 Hit: 3516

One of the most common problems that many dog owners face is encouraging their dog to sleep on their own dog bed. 

They spend hours, days and sometimes even weeks by trying to train their canines to do that. If this does not work, they usually give up and let their four-legged friends to sleep next to them on their bed.  

However, before letting this happen, as an owner you should be aware of some bad reasons why your dog should not sleep in your bed with you.

Parasites

According to CDC, the most common parasites in dogs are hookworms and roundworms.

These parasites usually lay their eggs in dogs’ hair, where they can then easily be shed on your bed sheets. 

Think about: do you really want to sleep with the eggs that are ready to hatch next to you any minute?

Risk of getting bubonic plague

Many of us mistakenly believe that bubonic plague is the disease of the past that does not exist anymore.

However, in reality the fleas living in the hair or our pets still carry this disease, and sleeping next to your dog put you at serious risk.

The official statistics says that in the period between 1977 and 1998 there were 23 registered cases of human bubonic plague, 5 of which appeared to be fatal.

In order to eliminate the risk of getting this disease, the veterinarians recommend not to let your dog sleep with you and conduct regular check-ups of your pets at a vet clinic.  

Possibility to get a staph infection from your dog

Many dogs carry staph infections in their saliva, one of them is MRSA. MRSA is a dangerous bacterium that is resistant to many medicaments, which makes a disease difficult to treat.

If you let your dog sleep in your bed, the chances of catching a staph infection are increased.

Risk of allergies

Even if you are not allergic to your canine, you still might have many other allergies. Every time when your dog comes from outside, she brings a lot of different allergens in her hair and on paws that you might have reaction to.

A lot of dog owners sleeping with their dogs in one bed have noticed that they have such problems as sneezing and stuffy noses – the most common symptoms of an allergy that keep them awake and make sleep troubled.

Now, when you know that letting your dog sleep in your bed is not a very good idea, even though it sounds pretty nice, you might start wondering how to get your dog to sleep on her own bed.

There are several steps that you need to follow in order to achieve success.

Step 1. Choose the right bed for your dog

When choosing a bed dog for you, the first thing you need to consider is how  and in which pose your canine prefers to sleep.

Thus, if your dog likes to stretch out, the best time of bed for her will be a large rectangle mattress.  Some dogs like to curl up in a shape of a ball, so they will enjoy  a round or oval dog bed.

Also, do not forget  to take your dog’s age into consideration: if you dog is in senior group,  then the most comfortable bed will be a memory foam mattress, orthopedic or heated bed.

Remember: the more comfortable bed is, the faster you will train your dog to sleep on it.

Step 2: choose a proper spot for a dog bed

You should keep the bed visible, but not in the middle of a busy household.  Neither you nor your dog will like if a dog bed will be placed in the busiest part of your house.

Even though a dog is a social animal that likes being around people, she still needs some privacy and proper rest.  The best places for a dog bed are a living room or study room, where you spend a lot of time by working, reading or watching TV.

Step 3: Make a dog a safe place for your puppy

You dog will not start sleeping in a new bed unless she feels completely safe.  It might take some time, so you need to stay patient and follow some recommendations. 

The first thing that you might try is to put your dog’s favorite toy on her bed.  Let her chew the toy and play with it in the bed. It will give your dog the feeling that there is no threat or danger. 

If the dog bed is in crate, do not close the crate door by giving the dog freedom to come and go whenever she wants.  It is not recommended to keep a dog in a crate locked for longer than 4 hours.

Step 4: Make sure that your dog understands where her bed is

Start leading your dog to her bed every time when come back home from a walk. By indicating a bed, teach your puppy the command ‘Go to your bed!’, and do not forget to hand your canine a little delicious treat when the command is followed.

This will help your dog to understand that sleeping time is associated with the dog bed, and soon she will start going to her bed herself, without any commands.

If the dog refuses to follow the command in the beginning, try not to yell or carry the dog to the bed because she will start associating it with negative emotions.

Training your dog to sleep in her own bed might take some time, and the most important thing for you to remember is to stay patient and not to give up.

It is definitely easier to abandon the idea of a dog bed and just let your canine friend to share your bed with you. However, in reality we all need and deserve our personal space and our own bed to get good and quality sleep.

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