sleeping outside of crate

[SueMcGauley]

Bella is 5 months old and sleeps upstairs in our bedroom in a crate, its an intermediate size and our room is small so it just barely fits at the foot of the bed. Downstairs in the living area we have a large crate which we use when we are out during the day. At 60 lbs she is just about grown out of the intermediate, she can just turn around and can sleep if not stretched out, comfortably - she can't sit, she has to slouch and anyday now she won't even be able to turn. I've been trying to leave the crate door open and put a dog bed next to my bed. I've introduced her to the dog bed and she's not very impressed by it. When I leave the crate open she slips into our bed. I can't fit a larger crate in my room and i don't want her to sleep downstairs - how do I transition from crate to bed....not mine!

[jocomoreno]

Its all in how you introduce the bed to her. Introduce the bed the same way you would a brand new crate. Remove the crate and when its bedtime lure her on to the bed with a treat and then praise her while shes on it. Make it more comfortable than the crate she had. Put some extra blankets on it. Once she realizes its her spot to sleep she will love it. Remember its all in how you introduce it to her.

[Teresa]

Jose has some great suggestions.
Lots of praise and reward for being on her bed. You may want to practice you sitting or laying in bed and encouraging her onto her bed during the day .
(can be short training sessions
If she does get into your bed at night, consistently direct her back to her bed.

[SueMcGauley]

lol, so here's how last night worked out.....spend much time introducing her to her bed....bed meet bella, blah blah blah. praise, cookies etc. Bedtime she was looking for her crate so I left it there with the dog bed right outside of it (next to my bed) and I left the crate door ajar. All is well, everyone goes to sleep. 3AM Wham! I am awoken by 60 lbs of dog on my head estatically licking and kicking. Now I figure I have to take her out because she is wide awake, so we go for a moment, all business, i'm not happy or fussing over her I quietly lure her to her bed (husband has slept thru all this) and the second i get into bed, there she is - right next to me....ok Bella....back in the crate and we'll try again tomorrow. Today I put some comfy blankets on the floor, the heck with the dog bed and I've been treating her on the blankets throughout the day....I'll try that tonight. At least I'll have somewhere to sleep if she gets the bed first!! (just kidding)

[Teresa]

Good luck tonight. Let us know how it goes.

How is she when you get on the bed during the day ? Will she try and jump up on the bed/ furniture?

[SueMcGauley]

Ok so last night didn't go so well. At 3am she jumped on the bed and when I got her off I tried to put her back in the crate and she wouldn't get in. Andy wanted to force her into the crate but I didn't like that idea so we went downstairs where she willingly went into the larger crate and I slept on the couch. Typically I don't have time to lie down during the day to test it out. But today I had 30 mins where I laid down and she laid on the blankets on the floor. she's fine for an hour or so but ant make the whole night and tempers flare at 3am. The crate is 36long and she is fitting but has to duck her head when she sits. I'm going to crate her in it tonight to make up some list sleep while I plan my next move. I know it's a bit small but if she can turn around I should be ok for another couple of nites

[SueMcGauley]

PS she doesn't jump on the furniture because I have aluminum foil on it! but yes she will jump on the bed if I sit on it during the day. I tried to fit the larger crate in the room today but I couldn't get it in. The 36L is rated for up to 70 lbs but she is long. Am I cruel to keep putting her in it at night? she can still turn around....

[Teresa]

If she can lay down comfortably and turn around, and it's only her night time crate, then you can probably get away with it for a little while longer. If she is trying to jump up on the bed when you are there during the day, you should set up training scenarios practicing this. This will be the first step towards keeping her off the bed at night and will save you sleepless nights.
The other thing you may try is to tether/station her near her bed on the floor in your room, So that she can't jump up. Or transfer her to her larger cage in the other room at night time.

She can earn the privilege of sleeping in your room when she is likely to succeed and you are likely to get some sleep!

[SueMcGauley]

2 nights crate free!

[jocomoreno]

Consistency is key!! Woohoo!