Training her to sleep on HER bed and not MINE

[BeckyNC]

OK, OK, I know everyone's probably laughing at the title of this thread. I started allowing Tae to sleep on the bed when I adopted her two years ago b/c she was waking me up in the middle of the night and I was an exhausted new Boxer mommy. Naturally, she feels it's where she belongs now. As for me, I would prefer a comforter and sheets that are not covered with dog hairs at this point.

I ordered a bed warmer thingy from Drs Foster and Smith, thinking this was the time to transition Tae, while it is still cold at night. During the summer, she tends to sleep on her bed anyhow b/c it's cooler on the floor. So, I was all excited to receive the bed warmer yesterday, but then was quickly disappointed b/c it was barely warm. I guess the question is, has anyone used one of these? How did you transition your dog from your bed to her bed?

 

[abbey_eisma]

no advice here....they have more room in my bed than I do.

 

[Checkers]

How about getting a fleece blanket and putting it in the dryer for a few mins right before she goes to bed. It will wear off but it would stay warm until she falls asleep

 

[MxRxSth]

How did you transition your dog from your bed to her bed?

Sorry to hear about this issue that is going on but I will be honest with you that I will be surprised if anyone here has ever made the transition from their baby sleeping in THEIR bed and 2 years later having them sleep in THEIR own doggy bed.

So did you try and using the bed warmer last night for Tae? I know you said that it did not get that warm but did you try and turn it on a couple of hours before bedtime that way it would give it enough time to heat up?

 

[bayleighmom]

Good luck!! We started Bayleigh out in our bed and then tried to get her to sleep on her bed.

This is how our night goes.

We go to bed and watch a little tv. Bayleigh crawls under the blankets between us. After about 30 minutes, she gets hot and will jump down and sleep on her bed til about 2am. Then she sneaks up on our bed. She will get down if we tell her, but will sneak up when we fall asleep!

Personally, I don't mind her sleeping in our bed part of the night. I don't like the dog hairs either...I just change our sheets 2-3 times a week now!

 

[mmsimon]

What about using a hot water bottle? If you fill it with not-too-hot water it should keep her warm for at least a few hours.

 

[Lucymom]

I'd love to hear if you find something that works!!!

Our night usually consists of Lucy falling asleep on her bed on the floor, couple hours later she either wakes us up whining to come on the bed or sneaks up. Between 5-7 she wakes up and jumps off to go outside, back up in bed after that's taken care of then back off to sleep until someone rustles her up. Lazy bones!

 

[sarah taylor]

I spent quite a few nights up and down with Ruby getting her settled as we learnt by our first Boxer, Jade that having her on the bed was great at first but waking up every morning we dead legs was not. Ruby found it hard and she would spook me by putting her head on the matress and just stare at me until i woke up. I then brought her a bean bag bed, i've never looked back she absolutley love it, infact she's upstairs now having a doze, mind you it is next to the radiator so she nice and cosy at the moment, on really cold nights we cover her with a fleece aswell.

 

[BeckyNC]

The fleece blanket in the dryer is a good idea. I think the key, though, is something that will be warm all night. Once the warm blanket cools, Tae will likely be back in the bed--probaby when it gets really cold about 3-5 AM.

I did plug the heater thing in two hours before bedtime. I put it in her bed and when I went to take a shower last night, I put the doggie bed with heater plugged in on my bed. I thought, "she wants to be on my bed, so maybe she'll discover the warm doggie bed, then follow it to the floor when I move it." WRON G, WRONG, WRONG! Tae nested her bed then laid down next to it!

I looked on the Petsmart website and noted both Petsmart and Drs Foster and Smith have these plastic disk-like things that you put in the microwave for 5-7 minutes before bed. They then hold heat for 12 hours. I know Petsmart didn't have them in the store, cuz I was there yesterday, but maybe I'll check at Petco tonight.

This may very well be a losing battle!

Hey, how dangerous would it be to get an electric blanket and turn it on low, then leave that on top of Tae's bed? If they are safe for us, I wonder if they are OK for dogs? I would think on low, it would be OK... Maybe I'll call my vet to ask...

 

[Murp.mm]

It's musical beds in our house. Ali was out of our bed for awhile. I put her bed by our bed but as soon as we closed our eyes she was in our bed. So we gave up and now we are the ones moving from bed to bed. Go figure.