Question: Overnight Sleeping/Bed Issue

14 years ago

We have a 14 month old English Pointer who sleeps in her own dog bed on the floor by our bed. We have gotten her to the point where she knows she can't join us in bed until we tap the bed and call her up. My husband and I decided anytime after about 3:30 if one of us wakes up we can call her up, he typically gets up at 5:30 for work.

Our issue though has always been (since about 8 months when we let her sleep outside her crate)...she puts her paws up on the bed or my husband anytime starting after 1 or 2. We tell her to go lay down, which she does, but she may be putting her paws back up in 10, 20, or 30 minutes and we repeat the cycle until sometime around 3. We never invite her up unless she's laying on her own bed, so don't think that when she paws us that we automatically let her up.

Does anyone have any suggestions for stopping this pawing behavior? It's starting to wear on us with interrupted sleep in the mid morning hours.

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Comments (8)

annzgw
14 years ago
Put her back in the crate for awhile or let her get in the bed when you turn out the light. Those constant interruptions will definitely rob you of sleep!
User
14 years ago
Dogs can tell time within a span. The 2 hours between 1AM and 3AM are probably nearly the same for her.

I doubt you will be successful in training to a specific time.

Might just be best to not allow her on the bed at all between midnight and waking.
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Elly_NJ
14 years ago
Turn your back and ignore her. Give her no attention at all. Don't even correct her. Ignore.
coolm19
Original Author
14 years ago
We're not necessarily trying to train for a certain time, but I think she realized that once she was up and pestering us it was only matter of an hour or two until she was allowed in the bed.

We ignored her last night, 1:40-2 she tried to get our attention then again from 2:15-2:35 at which point we put her in her crate so we could get some sleep.

I think ignoring her will start to work, but its going to be a rough few nights.
Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
14 years ago
This is what I would do, set an alarm, something low and non jarring, for three o'clock. Keep her in the crate and when the alarm goes off, let her on the bed.
Get her to realize she can come on the bed when the alarm goes off.
Eventually, let her out of the crate and keep using the alarm. She will associate coming on to the bed with the alarm and won't pester you otherwise.

I have trained my dogs to respond to certain sounds and it works beautifully.
trancegemini_wa
14 years ago
It might work better if she doesn't need permission. I have one dog who wanted to sleep on the bed from the time we got her but I wouldn't allow it and would put her back in her own bed and she got used to that. But over time she would sneak up there during the night at times (usually only if it was cold) so I would let her stay up there because I knew she just wanted a bit of body warmth. She has to go to sleep in her own bed and if she gets up on our bed during the night that's ok, and most of the time we don't realise she's in bed with us until the morning but it's not even a nightly thing.

I just think if you're going to let her up there during the night then just let her do it without permission because she has to wake you up for that, but just make her go to her own bed at the beginning of the night until you fall asleep.
calliope
14 years ago
"if one of us wakes up we can call her up". So she makes sure one of you wakes up. You've trained her well. LOL. She's not 'getting' the rationale here that it has to be after a certain hour and she can't read a clock to see if the time is appropriate anyway.

It appears there are a couple options:

Let her sleep on the bed anytime.

Forbid her to sleep on the bed ever.

or the routine about setting a clock might work if one of you doesn't mind being awakened nightly.

She's actually being a good girl by asking permission. The fourth option is sound too. Let her do it without permission, or an alternative is don't let her ask. Invite only and never let her up if she asks, only by invite.

She's confused and I can see why.
coolm19
Original Author
14 years ago
Just want to let everyone know we've reached a resolution...we decided to completely ignore her "requests" to get on the bed. After about 3 rough nights where she ended up being put in her crate she now gets it. I've heard her wake up a few times or leave the bedroom, but she doesn't bother us and stays in or returns to her bed. Unfortunately I'm a very light sleeper to when I get awaken in the night is when I call her up to the bed. So far, its been working very well.