Staying off the bed

[jeannette84xx]

My dogs have free roam and can use the couches. The ONLY boundary we want to set is the bed! For those who didn't see my little introduction I have two dogs Niko who I adopted when he was 1, and then Guinness who I adopted 3 months later and he is between 2 and 3 yrs old, he was a stray and when we first got him he barked at us when we ate and seemed generally bossy and demanding. I was very surprised and not sure how to handle this type of dog who is opposite to the Niko we were used to. We never fed him while we ate and eventually he stopped his bad begging.

Niko had never tried to come onto the bed except for once and then we told him no and he's respected that since then. We have a very high bed with a chest at the end of it that they like to sleep on. From the chest it's easy to come onto the bed. Guinness has gotten worse and worse, going on the bed constantly and sleeping at the foot of it. Often on my feet or in our way, I've been waking up to him being there, we just don't want him to be on the bed at all. It used to be that yelling at him he would get off of it but now he doesn't care even if I push him with my foot he just lets himself fall off onto the chest and 2 minutes later hop back on.

Now this is manageable and I don't mind much but this is our only limit!!! I think by now he KNOWS we do not want him there but he does not care for the consequences (us yelling and gesturing wildly or pushing him off.. doesn't faze him). He is very sneaky and when we are "sleeping" he will very quietly creep onto the bed. I am sure he was spoiled in his previous life.

I have seen on TV, Victoria Stillwell on Animal Planet I love her! That she trains dogs to get off the bed as a command and rewards them for that behavior. I have not tried that yet and think it would work for having him get off of the bed but the problem is him constantly going on it and sneakily! The past few months even Niko comes onto the bed if they are playing a lot and get carried away.  Any tips? They have many options for sleeping in the room, a dog bed, a comfy chair, the chest, a crate, the floor, but he favors our bed. He is not afraid of anyone or anything and does not act submissive to us. How to teach this type of dog?

[RedLocks]

Since Guinness is allowed on other furniture, then he doesn't think he is doing anything wrong by getting on the bed--it's just another piece of furniture. They should never be allowed to use the bed as a "playground" either. Also, getting up from the floor level oftentimes signals the dog is trying to show dominance. He should be banished from all furniture in order for you to get the behavior under control.

[Hana]

Since Guinness is allowed on other furniture, then he doesn't think he is doing anything wrong by getting on the bed--it's just another piece of furniture.

I don't think that's true.  Our dog was allowed on certain furniture.  Not all.  She knew the difference and would only sit on the furniture she was allowed on in our house.  Ditto that for our parents' houses.  She knew in all 3 houses which she was allowed on and it was never a problem with her misbehaving.

You might try getting a crate.  When he sits on your bed, immediately put him in his crate and give him a treat?  Or you could close the door and keep him out of your room at night?  Or move the chest that's next to your bed so when you push him with your feet, he falls off.  Sorry I don't have much in suggestions.  Hopefully others do.

[jeannette84xx]

Hana how did your dog know the difference between furniture she was allowed on?

I crate my dogs while no one is home so not sure but maybe something similar I could put him on the dog bed and give him a treat. Maybe he will see that dog bed=treats and human bed=nothing. One thing I think is a correlation is that he does not act submissive even if he is being corrected or yelled at etc so training is hard with him. He doesn't seem to want to please his humans, he does things that he wants to do. We've had him close to a year now. Our bed is the highest place to sleep with the chest at the end being about 1 foot shorter. I think he is very dominant because before he became a stray he MUST have lived with a family that slept with him and also fed him scraps and allowed him to jump on people, lick people in their mouths, bark as he pleases, be on tables and so on. Bad habits to break. He is small and cute, and these problems are not major but I'm very fascinated by dog training and quite curious how to have his behaviors improved.

He can learn new tricks and commands quickly because he wants to earn the treats, so he is smart.. but also a spoiled brat.

[Kathy]

You can definitely train dogs to know which furniture they can be on and which they cannot. At my house, the dogs are allowed on the bed, but not on the living room couch or two recliners. They can be on the old leather couch in the TV room.

The training has to be black and white. They can either be on the couch or they can't, not sometimes.  (One exception is that you CAN train them to only come on when they are invited). So if there is a piece of furniture you don't want them on, they can NEVER EVER EVER be on that piece of furniture. I don't just push them off, or kick with my feet. I act completely horrified that they would even THINK of such a thing and treat it like an emergency. OMG! I gasp! I rush to immediately get them off. I'm gentle, I don't hurt them or make them fall, but I get them off the furniture ASAP!

Another thing to remember is to act like a dog. When a dog has a bone and they don't want another dog to have it, they don't wait for the other dog to grab the bone. They start reacting if the other dog even LOOKS at their bone. Training is more effective if you react while the dog is just THINKING about doing the wrong thing. Don't wait for the actual bad behavior. So if Fluffy walks into the bedroom and even LOOKS at the bed, say a soft Ah Ah! You're telling the dog "Don't even THINK of jumping up there!" Then when he doesn't jump up, praise like heck. Good dog!

[jeannette84xx]

Kathy thank you very much for that reply! I think me and my boyfriend had started getting lazier, and the reaction to Guinness now is just to nonchalantly push him off because asking no longer works. You are right that since he is a dog he will understand body language the most. I'll need to stop being as subtle about it and really show him in his own language that he is not supposed to ever be on our bed.

It's so tough because we are usually asleep or because he is so cute that it's hard to act like we are defending the territory.. I admit even one morning me and the BF cuddled with him for a few minutes when we woke to find him in the bed.. I know that's a big no no if we are trying to establish this rule but he's tooooo cute

I suppose some strict consistent training now will get him to be better in the future so can't be lazy about it. I'll be doing both rewarding for not being on the bed and i'll try to muster up more enthusiasm when I see him committing the crime.

[Molly's Mom]

Although I know it's not the same as keeping them off the bed, we trained Molly and Teddy to stay out of our bedroom.  They're not even allowed in anymore, after being able to sleep in bed with me for years.  They now just lay at the door and stare in, even if the door is open.  It took lots of consistent training and correcting them when they considering it and praising them when they laid down instead of walking in.  They finally got the hang of it, and it doesn't seem to bother them at all! 

[Yukon]

One thing I think is a correlation is that he does not act submissive even if he is being corrected or yelled at etc so training is hard with him. He doesn't seem to want to please his humans, he does things that he wants to do. We've had him close to a year now. Our bed is the highest place to sleep with the chest at the end being about 1 foot shorter. I think he is very dominant because before he became a stray he MUST have lived with a family that slept with him and also fed him scraps and allowed him to jump on people, lick people in their mouths, bark as he pleases, be on tables and so on. Bad habits to break. He is small and cute, and these problems are not major but I'm very fascinated by dog training and quite curious how to have his behaviors improved.

He can learn new tricks and commands quickly because he wants to earn the treats, so he is smart.. but also a spoiled brat.

I think you may have hit the nail on the head.  "Corrections" and yelling at him doesn't work -- that sort of training is "hard with him", but he learns new tricks and commands quickly because he wants to earn the treats.  So, do what works!  Praise and treat behaviors that you want, and do what you can to prevent behaviors that you don't want.  He will catch on very quickly.  My boy eskie, Yukon, is a very independent, stubborn boy.  He works really, really hard to do what I ask -- when he thinks it is HIS idea!! Over time, he has become much more biddable because I have established a reward history with him.  He knows now that when he is a good boy and does what I ask, he gets treats and rewards that he likes.  So now, even if what I'm asking him to do isn't a trained command, he is likely to do it.  It's a cycle that you build on -- even now, when he does these things, I take advantage of the opportunity and I reward him.  The key is consistency about your expectations.

If you are interested in dog training, I highly recommend reading   "Don't Shoot the Dog!" by Karen Pryor.  "When Pigs Fly" by Jane Killion is also a good read for someone training a very independent minded, stubborn dog. Although I have not read it yet, I have heard good things about "Ruff Love" by Susan Garrett, which talks about relationship building and controlling your dog's access to rewards as a way to establish a foundation for training.

[kittyangel]

Jeannet, I can't offer any help, because I had to entice kiki to actually come ON the bed. She would go on the bed if we are both not in the room or only 1 of us is on. Usually when both of us get on, she gets off! I think she feel cramped or too much movement. lol I had to call her back otherwise she goes under the bed and not to be seen again until we move again on or off the bed. Does anyone know how to keep the dog ON the bed?

I can only tell you, to keep my dog off the bed, both people get on, then she is gone. Or if you shake the bed a little, she will jump off. But how about practice OFF with cheese? Good luck! =)