bed time

[suebroughton]

Hi all, Happy New Year to one and all.
Have not posted for a while, but am still an avid reader of all posts, and get many many new tips and ideas.
I need help and fast. Im afraid like most Weim owners, we have made a rod for our own backs, by letting both our Weims sleep in bed with us. This was quite cute and not a problem at first. Now that both dogs are fully grown though, its a nightmare.
The problem is they both are using the power thing. Then comes the fight, then they make friends, and by this time we are all that stressed its morning.
Rana (5) has started to sleep in her own bed after this, but she will wander all night , trying to find a gap to squeeze onto the bed, Shadow (1 and half) will sleep no where else but on the bed, and literally sprawls all over the bed, so me and hubby fall out....
I am going into hospital for major surgery very soon, and I will be needing 3 months recuperation time, how the heck can we make this happen in time.
I totally blame ourselves, I feel like we have confused the dogs by letting them into bed, and now I have to start some sort of different sleeping method. Is it best to try them in our room, but on the floor, or simply put them out completely, and hope for the best?
Thanks pps.

[greyghost]

Poor you. Sorry to hear about the surgery and obviously time is of the essence now.

Several things I would do, although I still have a little tinker that decides to waltz in most mornings around 4/5am. She gets told to go back to bed and is not allowed in until she hears the alarm go off. She is uncannily prompt some mornings ;D.

First thing is persistence. If they can sneak back in and get on the bed without waking you it is only reinforcing the idea that they can get away with it. (This happens to us sometimes ).

You could start off with a bed each on the floor in your bedroom or on the landing. Mine happily uses the futon in the spare room. If they get up a stern 'back to bed' and take them if necessary at first. You don't get a lot of sleep first week or so. The nights she decides she wants to sleep with us I put a bed on the floor and she does sleep in longer and I don't have to get out of bed to get her to settle again.

Another thing to do is make it really uncomfortable on your bed for them. Swish your legs around and disturb them, they soon jump off if your legs don't 'accidently' push them off before that.

The times I have shut my door for the sake of a lie in at weekends has resulted in her sometimes being sick or leaving us a message downstairs. I think this may have something to do with her previous life so we tend not to use the closed door option. If you can manage it, it will mean completely ignoring their moans and groans or even howling (hope you have good neighbours).

When we brought our pup home 11 years ago she was in our bedroom for a few nights until the crate arrived then she was put in it downstairs. The vet said she would howl for 3 nights and she did. 4th night was quiet . I wouldn't crate train this way again as I now know better. Many things work but whether they are the best for you and your dog/s is another matter.

My girl knows she can come on our bed after 6am but she just tries to push the boundaries now and then.

If all else fails give them the bl**dy bed and move into the spare room he he.......

[suebroughton]

;D hi, thanks for all the ideas. Yes, the dogs heve great big cushions on the floor beside our bed, and even with a blanket on to cover them up...lol. I am the same as you, I wont have a closed door on my dogs, only if they are totally out of control, due to a bad experience for Rana when she was a pup, in kennels, so I think my legs will be doing a lot of "wriggling" tonight ha ha. And like you said, I can give the bed up and sleep on the floor in their bed......

[tasha]

sorry to hear your going in for an op hope it all goes well.

Maybe it might be better to have them out of the bedroom altogether??? They do some lovely raised beds that might come in handy but I'm sure some dogs also like the hot water bottle your creating for them

I crate trained mine and its come in handy but i'm too big a greedy guts at night to share my bed with them

[moonbeam]

Hope your op goes well. In the meantime, decide where the dogs are going to sleep and stick at it. If they sneak on your bed, turf them off ... sometimes works better if you can interrupt the creeping up rather than getting them off once they're there ... persistence is the key as if they think they can get away with it they'll keep trying.

[Rachel]

Oh what are these dogs like, give them an inch and they take a mile.
My dogs would love nothing better than to sleep with us, but they are told to get into the kitchen last thing at night. They do have sneaky cuddles though, and my Vizsla has the ability to leap from the doorway and hit my bed, slide full pelt from the length of the bed, hit her head on the pillow and look at me as if she has been their all night ha ha....
Sorry to hear about the operation. Really try and get those grey beasties off the bed because I am sure you need all that space for yourself. Being tough is never easy, but in the end you will reap rewards. Do you own a crate/house cage ?
Rachel

[suebroughton]

Hi all. Thanks for the replies. We have never crated our dogs, I thought it would be a good idea, but hubby thought not, so we didnt do it.
Your reply Rachael was so funny, I can imagine your dog doing that, and the thing is, they know how cute they look, which is why they get away with it....
Rana has started to sleep on her bed which is at the foot of our bed, as long as we cover her up with a blanket, she sleeps most of the night, but I think she does this because she quite simply cannot fit on our bed anymore...
Shadow is insisting on sleeping with us. I have tried the idea of swishing my legs about when he gets up, and to be honest, if we persevered, it would work.
I am trying to follow this through, my (stupid) hubby, unfortunatly has other ideas. He thinks its too late to change them. Well, when I am completely bed bound for those first few weeks, he may change his point of view eh?

[sieglinde]

Hi Sue - Hope your op goes well and the recovery is swift.
As for your dog/bed thing, you could try this approach: start with day time - if they go onto your bed during the day (which they might well do) claim the bed as yours i.e. move yourself into their space on the bed and send them off and really mean it. Claim the bed as your space!!! Remind yourself that it is your house, your bed, your Mortgage - that might make it easier for you. The dogs will pick up on your energy if you really mean what you are trying to teach them. Do the same if they still persist on coming up at night time, but if you start with day time, you may even get a good night sleep quicker then if you start it at night time. Personally I would put beds for them initially close to your bed and you can move them slowly into the space where you want them to sleep.

Consistency will be key in this exercise, so show them that you really mean it and stick to your guns.

Having said all that, Louis always starts of in his own bed but sneaks up onto our bed at sometime during the night/mornings, but he is sooooo quietly lying on the foot end that we don’t even notice that he is there until we wake up.

[suebroughton]

Hi and thanks. I will be following this through.
They both seem to be going through some sort of "power" thing too at the moment. Sharp, short fights are common occurancies here these days........ Oh, the joys of being a Weim owner.....

[greyghost]

Hi Sue, hang in there. I have a copy of Caesar's training book in pdf format if you would like me to email you copy. He is good at telling you how to use your 'energy' to be pack leader and many other tips. I haven't read the book yet btw, but I do watch some of his programmes.

PM me your email addy if you would like a copy and anybody else come to that.

[greyghost]

Just another thought. Is Shadow trying to become Alpha and pushing his luck . Are both dogs entire?

Also, it is time for you to show hubby who is boss in the household and stick to the same training rules.......grrrrrrr

[suebroughton]

Hi, I have sent you my e mail by PM. Thanks.
Rana was spayed last year, Shadow is still entire.
Yes, they are both pushing their luck. Rana takes off him what he has, then she taunts him with it, she wont let him have the toy back. She growls and makes a point of dropping the toy in front of Shadow, and when he tries to take it back she goes for him. Its not nice. Most of the time, he will back down, and accept another toy from me, but lately, he has started to fight back.
Sometimes I wonder if I have done anything wrong with them, for her to be like this.........

[tasha]

I'd like a copy if you don't mind sending it