HELP~I need to have my bed back!! Need advice/help!!
 

Ok...I'll try to keep this simple because I could easily write a novel. The long/short of it is this....I can't have the boys in my bed anymore....for both their benefit and mine.

Prince is 11 and his eyesight isn't the best and I haven't had a full nights sleep(6-8 hours) and it's starting to effect my health and well being as well.

It gets complicated because they've always slept with me and bed time is their favorite time of day. Treats and playtime happen in bed before we go to sleep. Even if there were no treats or toys, they would do nearly anything to be with me....including scale baby gates. I wasn't trying to take treats and playtime in bed away....just merely make them sleep in their own bed when it's time to go to sleep.

Last night was my first attempt to have them sleep in the kitchen with the playpen stretched across it so they couldn't get to the bedroom. I got a huge fluffy bed and small beds and toys and pee pads....and even gave them each a piece of really expensive steak. I was really scared that Ricky was going to try to climb it and fall on my tile and hurt himself, but he did not.

Instead, Prince just stood there, looking into me sleeping in the bedroom(he spent most the first 7 years of his life in a cage) and Ricky just sat there and barked. Now....Ricky hardly ever barks. When people knock on the door....Prince barks to alert me, but not Ricky. When my moms dogs came over, all 3 of them barked, but not Ricky. This is one of the rare occasions I've heard him bark...and bark and bark.

Finally, after he was consistently barking and I was crying for a good 30 minutes as it was killing me to kick them out of the bed in the first placed, I let them out and back in bed.

So....any advice/tips as to how to make this transition easier on all of us??

As I said, my bedroom is small so I can't just put the playpen in the room(I think they'd cry anyways even if I did though because they'd still be behind a gate on the floor and not in the bed)

PS...they have no problem sleeping on their beds on the floor if its their idea and it's not behind a gate....it's just when I put them behind the gate and make them stay out of bed, it's horrible.

It's not that they don't like their fluffy bed, they want to be with you. Is there anyway, you could make your bed larger? I hate to tell you, but what you did last night will make it even tougher for you to train them to sleep without you. You basically trained them that they have to cry a minimum of 30 minutes before you will get them. Before you try it again are you absolutely sure there isn't anything you could do to have them continue sleeping with you, while still allowing you to get the sleep you need. For example, have you thought of something like this? 5. Side Dog Bed - 7 Unique Items of Home Decor for Pets ... ? Lifestyle

If there is no way you can have them in your room, you will have to probably hear them whining most of the night until they get use to their new bed. Walking them and making them more tired than usual might help.

That is so cool!!

As my pups are getting older I have considered putting my mattress on the floor so they can get on and off the bed easier and I wouldn't have to worry about them falling. But unfortunately hubby is not agreeable to doing it.

Would he consider a really low bed? I switched to something like this MALM Bed frame, high - black-brown - King - Lönset - IKEA a few years ago. It's really low, and on both sides there is a ledge that works like a step for Kaji. Just a thought!

Sorry OP. I know that's off topic. I hope you find a solution or someone guves you a really good idea.

Would he be agreeable to a platform type of bed, they are pretty low to the floor, but are still comfortable. Our bed is kind of high, we have a chest at the foot with some stairs next to that, it was pretty easy to teach my older dog how to use them.

I love those little side doggie beds!!! My room is so small it wouldn't fit though. We recently bought a new mattress and we did get a low profile foundation and a lower profile mattress too. They do use doggy steps to get on the bed but Daisy mostly jumps off. On my side of the bed I have layers of blankets on the floor for her to jump into. She has a stocky body with little bitty short legs so I do what I can to keep her from getting hurt.

Putting them in another room when there used to be with you is kinda cruel. You could use an exercise pen in your bedroom maybe even one with a top.

I saw that side doggie bed and got some inspiration. I recently bought an old/secondhand night stand at the size I needed and am gonna convert it to include a dog bed so my little girl can sleep in my room with me or rest there when I'm working. Since the opening would be low enough from the ground she could just jump right in :D I am discarding the drawer parts and am gonna hollow out the insides and redo the interior part like it's a room or something and add a very plushy cushion ^^ (after painting over the baby pink exterior of course lol)
But yea, to the topic, try something like that for your furbabies :D if it works out it's a win/win situation.

Yes, I was thinking someone could do something like that. I hope you take a picture and start a thread with your design, I'm sure it will help others.

:)Nancy I love that side bed! Wow.


But for the OP, it is going to be deuced hard to train them away from your bed. One suggestion I have is to take a vacation for 2 wks, and then train them away from your bed.:) You will need to do this in stages, in the bedroom in their playpen/crate. But you see away is a different kettle of fish in a dogs mind. I do know that vaccays are a little over the top though.

I suggest you get earplugs, play relaxing music at low volumne, toys in crates of different textures, shapes, and yes sigh even squeakies. For a another week or so you might get disturbed sleep, but stick to your guns so to speak and see how it goes.

Oh, I certainly plan to make a tutorial of how I'm doing it as well as make pictures :D I was thinking to make it from scratch at first but thought it'll be easier to just convert one. I'm just trying to figure out how I want to do the interior, I'm debating between a stuffed vinyl/leather-like upholstery for easy clean/wiping that makes a soft cushy wall or simple wallpaper... I'm leaning towards the first :P I'm also debating if I want to install a curtain ^_^ Yes, I want to make this luxurious lol ^_^;;

Oh wow, it sounds so neat, can't wait to see the finished product.

I would say after this length of time, even if you tried one of those beds Nancy posted they would still climb into your bed, if you really can not have them in bed with you there is only one option and Gail alluded to it. You will have to stick to your guns and put up with probably several weeks of crying and barking. They are old dogs so you will not be able to retrain them in a day or two. Unfortunately for you they will probably snooze a lot during the day and when you are dog tired at night they will be rested and ready to bark, LOL you might want to try to keep them extra busy during the day so they are tired at night. I also wonder if a crate would be better than them having room to roam in your kitchen

LOL do you have a basement, and shut your bedroom door

Oh just had another thought, what about those baby cribs that attach to the side of the bed? :D part of it opens into the main bed so it's like having an extension. Unless your furbabies like to roam around the bed ^^;;
Nancy1999 - yea i'll definitely post either a link or something here when I finish :D