Crate - Bed?

[bored_robots]

Im looking for some tips on getting my 7 month old from the crate to a bed at night. He likes to sleep on the bed but being 70lbs he kinda takes up a lot of room and generally we end up putting him in his crate and he settles down and likes it there, doesnt moan. I had the idea of getting him a large plastic bed and putting it at the side of our bed and getting him to stay in that, does anybody have any tips of encouraging him to stay in there and to like it? Thanks

 

[jbbtlr]

I guess my question would be, if he likes sleeping in his crate why not leave him in there, why try and get him use to something else, especially when he likes the crate. Just keep the door open if you want him to be able to come and go.

 

[Jan]

If he is happy in his crate, you really don't have to get him to sleep in a bed. You could try getting him a nice bed and leaving the crate door open and let him choose. Just don't let him choose your bed.

 

[bored_robots]

Mmmm

He'll go in but only when one of us gets off the bed and enncourages him in there and the other person pushes his bum to get him moving, I think he'd enjoy it a lot more if he had something with a bit more freedom and then we might be able to move his crate into another room at night

 

[kassa]

Generally if they're not compelled to go in, they like their crate -- it's like their own personal cave. If they don't have a crate dogs often seek out a space under the coffee table or behind a chair to achieve the same effect.

If you put a nice comfy bed inside the crate, and keep the dog off the bed, he'll probably settle on it. There are very plush crate mats that will make a castle out of any crate

Personally, I've never known too many people who've had success teaching boxers to lie on a freestanding bed. The more expensive and beautifully designed, the less likely they are to elect to sleep on it! On the other hand, a crumpled child's sleeping bag or old bedspread = nirvana!