Retraining Old Dog

[BikingLady]

Is this possible? 6 1/2 year old, 45 pound beagle, loves me more than imaginable. She has slept on my half the bed since day one. Our King size bed now feels like a tiny twin to me. Now it is too the point I say of: I love you mom and have to be so close to you all night.

I have terrible sleeping issues to say the least. Ok I feel a huge chunk of this is due to the overly fat loving blob of heat producing, snoring dog laying next to me.

DO I just lock her out of room after all her life? Will it just be a night of two of terrible whining? If in the blue moon I go away for night, the rumor is the howling and crying are terrible.

[CathyA]

That's a real dilemma. It sounds cruel to lock her out now. I'm not sure she would ever get over it. How about getting a big comfy dog bed and put it next to your bed? That seems less traumatic and could give you more space in your bed too.

[BikingLady]

True so true. Big comfy bed...she thinks that is the King bed;) Really she was a 18 pound dog and slept at the bottom of the bed when this started. The weight progressed and then in the last year started the has to be so close to me that I can't move. This is on couch too!

[catherine]

Oh, boy, I have the same problem. Except it's a threesome in our bed: DH, the 8-year old dog, and I. And the dog takes up half the bed, while DH and I try to make it through the night on the other half without falling off.

So, usually, in the middle of the night I get sick of being squished and I move to another room.

DH and I talk about how ridiculous it is for the dog to take command of our bed, but we also aren't looking forward to the hassle of changing her behavior. So I have no advice. Just commiserating with you! Looking forward to solutions others may have.

[Aqua Blue]

How about one of those co sleeping cribs they use for babies. I actually think they make ones for dogs. I am getting a new puppy at the end of May an have made a bed height "table" out of pvc(spray painted to match the decor) with a canvas sling for the bed part. I am hoping this dog will get used to that being his bed. He'll be close, but not too close.

six doesn't seem too old to change a behavior.

[iris lilies]

My overly fat, loving, snoring blob also sleeps with me, but he is a good sleeper. Once down, he is out for the night with rare occasion. I find his snoring comforting, and I find the weight of his body, at my feet, nice. Sometimes I slip my feet under him and it feels like he is anchoring me in bed. Probably I am more of a bother to him sleeping than vice verse.

I have had 45 dogs in our house since 1993. Only 3 of them were elevated to the status of bed partner, and those are my special dogs.

Now the cat, dear god, that is another story. Our cat must sleep by my chest with her face on my face, her cold nose touching touching touching various places on my face like pinpricks, her paws pattng my face. Yeah it sounds nice but it isnt. i want to sleep! Plenty of times I chuck her out of the bed. And then, sometimes the dog decides That Cat is NOT allowed in the bed and he chases her off.

Fortunately, I dont have trouble sleeping or I would rid my bed of all of them.I take sleep seriously.

I purposely chose our new sofa with an ugly pillow back for the future time when Teddy Bear, the dog, wont be able to climb steps to bed on our ipper floor. When that happens I can sleep downstairs on the sofa in the same room with him.

In reply to your question OP, you need sleep and if moving the dog out of your bed will facilitate it, do it. This is not cruelty although it may seem like it. :) I do wonder how much noise and etc. she will make if you lock her out, that could be worse than sleeping with a blob.

[Float On]

I've never understood the allowing pets in the bed thing.
We did move our dog from being an indoor dog to an outdoor dog when he was having skin issues and scratching all night and losing hair. He's better so he is back inside (change of food and quit using the flea med squeeze tube). He has a nice comfy pile of dog bed and towels in the laundry room under a desk (dogs like more of a cave feel). If there is a big storm he'll sneak into my room and go to the closet (back to the cave feeling). Thankfully he's too old to get up on a bed if he wanted to.

I think you can change their behavior if you change your own. Making it clear that the new bed on the floor is easy and accessible and comfy and his/her place and the bed is now off-limits.

[Teacher Terry]

When we inherited my sons 80lb dog he was used to sleeping in the bed. I bought him a big dog bed to put by ours. Every night for 2 weeks I woke up and he was in bed with me. My DH was working out of town so he was on his side. Head on the pillow:)) I would tell him to get down and he would look at me. I would have to get up and walk over to his side of the bed and order him down in a mean voice. After 2 weeks he stopped. Our 3 Maltese never slept with us until one got dementia and insisted. Then the other 2 insisted. They all want to be touching so I have to move carefully. All I can say is try it and see if it works.

[BikingLady]

Oh I hear you TT, I am an expert at moving around. ( I also have a Jack Russell). Last night I put a wonderful big bed on floor with toy and her blanket. I kept my hand on her, talking, saying no stay.......nope not last night. But one of the other beasts slept there. Yes I have 4.

I never have been able to keep dogs off furniture. We have leather just for that reason. My fault I am a bad owner;)

[Teacher Terry]

BL: I would keep trying and see if you can retrain her. It is good that at least one of them slept on the bed:))