Sleeping places

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JudyN
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Sleeping places

Post by JudyN »

At night Jasper sleeps in a corner of our bedroom on a memory foam bed. Over the summer he preferred to sleep on the carpet for most of the night, but has gradually gravitated back to his bed as the nights are getting cooler. Often, though, he'll give his bed a bit of a dirty look and lie on the carpet for a while before finally moving to the bed. I'm wondering if this stemmed from when we had a bit of a flea issue and he associates the bed with being nibbled.

Because of his occasional paranoia about not wanting me to leave the bedroom, once he is on his side of the bedroom I position a clothes dryer so he can't get to my side & the door (without going over the bed, which he doesn't do). He's not been at all bothered about me leaving the room for a long time, but I really don't like having to wonder about whether he's settled down in between me and the door if I get out of bed in the dark!

Last night, though, he was pacing around and whining (very quietly - maybe he knew he shouldn't be bothering us really!) off and on for an hour or so in the night. Eventually I let him out of the bedroom, and he went downstairs & slept there (he didn't call me down to let him into the garden, so that wasn't the problem). He was back up with us when the alarm went this morning, but I've no idea what time he returned.

Sooo... why is he not overkeen on his bed, and what can I do to convince him it is a safe and snuggly place to be? He can't still be too hot surely? We have a cool house, and no heating at night. And why does he prefer to sleep downstairs for some of the night?

I don't really want to give him the run of the house at night because, apart from the worry he'll settle down between me and the door, DS1 has a disturbed sleep cycle due to ME/CFS and is often wandering round the house at all hours, turning on all the lights as he goes. So I would really prefer it if I could make Jasper love his bed again. I'm going to try a blanket on his bed, maybe a smelly nightie of mine, but does anyone have any other suggestions?
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
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Nettle
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Re: Sleeping places

Post by Nettle »

Did he love his bed before? I don't get on with memory foam. You might try something thick and natural fibre-y over it.

He sure is an enigma!
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JudyN
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Re: Sleeping places

Post by JudyN »

I wouldn't say he loves his bed, but he didn't give it dirty looks last winter, as far as I can remember. He has the same style of bed downstairs and he's happy on that - though he did settle on it much more happily during the fireworks when I put my best Laura Ashley sofa throw on it - which thankfully has turned out to be machine washable despite the label :wink: I'll have to hunt through the charity shops for something. I must check what the cover is made from - he's had static shocks from man-made-fibre throws before, and you can imagine how his sensitive nature feels about that :lol:
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
Ari_RR
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Re: Sleeping places

Post by Ari_RR »

It can be anything, really... Especially with rather spoiled hound types, I think :wink:

Ari spends a lot of time on the couch downstairs during the day. Which has a huge cover on it, sort of an extra large throw that covers the entire couch.
My mom, in addition to being an anti-NILIF activist, is a big fan of tidy and clean and neat... So when she comes over during the day to give him lunch and take him out, she also straightens and fixes the cover on the couch so it looks all nice and neat.
End result of this is that now Ari will sit in front of his beloved couch and whine and make faces if the cover is wrinkled or crooked, until someone straightens it up :roll: Then he climbs up and happily settles down.
Sweetie's Human
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Re: Sleeping places

Post by Sweetie's Human »

JudyN wrote:though he did settle on it much more happily during the fireworks when I put my best Laura Ashley sofa throw on
:lol:
Ari_RR wrote: End result of this is that now Ari will sit in front of his beloved couch and whine and make faces if the cover is wrinkled or crooked, until someone straightens it up :roll: Then he climbs up and happily settles down.
:lol:

They both sound a bit lavender, don't they?

When I die, I'm definitely coming back as a dog. I just have to decide if I'm going to be Judy's, Ari's or OH's!

Judy - is it possible for you to give him his favourite thing to chew on in that bed so that he associates it with awesome things? Or would that make him guardy?

I also think the idea of a worn article of clothing is a good one. Worth a shot, anyway.
JudyN
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Re: Sleeping places

Post by JudyN »

And Ari looks such a rufty-tufty macho boy :lol:
Sweetie's Human wrote:Judy - is it possible for you to give him his favourite thing to chew on in that bed so that he associates it with awesome things? Or would that make him guardy?
He only chews on things that he can eat - or that he thinks he can eat, like hard bones, which he would then guard. But he does get a dried meat treat when he goes to his side of the room.

Last night I put a charity-shop throw and a stinky nightie (only stinky if you're a dog of course :wink: ) on his bed. He was a bit reluctant to go to his side of the room, but his bedtime treat did the job. Then he decided he'd quite like to go on his bed but it was still scary - so he stared at it balefully for a while, sniffed it all over suspiciously, and with our encouragement settled down on it (I praised him and chucked a treat at him), & slept well all night. I still have no idea what makes it so worrying - or if he just doesn't like sleeping next to OH :lol: - but hopefully we can convince him that it's a nice safe place to spend the night.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
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minkee
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Re: Sleeping places

Post by minkee »

Is it anything simple like draughts from the window or the door? Hopefully you've cracked it though!
JudyN
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Re: Sleeping places

Post by JudyN »

No, there shouldn't be any draughts - it's in the far corner of the room, away from the door & window, and also tucked into an alcove, so should be quite cosy and den-like.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
DianeLDL
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Re: Sleeping places

Post by DianeLDL »

Judy,

Is this the bed you spent a fortune buying this past year?

I would hazard to guess that he remembers the flea bite situation. It might be hard to change that idea in his head.

Sandy loves fleece blankets although he did take over the acrylic yarn afghan that I crocheted and worked so hard and long on during my last year in nursing school over 42 years ago! :roll:

At my parents, we noticed that he loved my mom's fleece throw on the sofa in the family room where he slept. So, we bought him his own. They are fairly inexpensive and washable and soft. Even going to your discount fabric store (I go to JoAnn's Fabrics here in USA), you can buy by the yard the amount you want. So, that may be worth a try, and fleece doesn't need sewing either, won't ravel.

And, at one hotel that we stayed, in on this last trip, there was a really nice dog one in the doggie package they gave us upon check in. :D

Ironically, at our last motel, there was both a sofa and armchair. His blankets were on the sofa where he spent both nights, but during the day he seemed to prefer the overstuffed armchair. :lol:

Diane and Sandy who are grateful to be back home in Albuquerque, New Mexico USA :D :D
Sandy, Chihuahua mix b. 12/20/09
JudyN
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Re: Sleeping places

Post by JudyN »

DianeLDL wrote:Is this the bed you spent a fortune buying this past year?
Yes, one of the two :lol: I'm trying not to hold it against him :wink:

Jasper loves fleece, too - I tend to live in fleeces in the winter and if he's at all unsettled he likes to nibble on my cuff. But the bed already has a fleecy coating, which you'd think it would be a plus. Still, a fleece blankie would be worth trying as long as I can be sure it won't give him static shocks.
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
JudyN
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Re: Sleeping places

Post by JudyN »

This evening he suddenly got up from his downstairs bed, looked at the bed, looked at his bum, looked hard at the bed again, and headed upstairs to sleep on our bed :?

So either there's still a few fleas around, which there shouldn't be after all the spraying, squirting, vacuuming & treating I've done, or every time he gets a random itch he assumes it's a nasty invisible bitey monster :roll:
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
JudyN
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Re: Sleeping places

Post by JudyN »

He slept downstairs last night - didn't even come up for his bedtime treat - then came in with us and settled on his bed about 6am. I have no idea what will happen tonight :lol:
Jasper, lurcher, born December 2009
DianeLDL
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Re: Sleeping places

Post by DianeLDL »

Judy.

It sounds like Jasper is getting back to where he was. Great news! :D :D

Sometimes I wish they could talk and tell us what the problem is. But, I wonder if we really would want to hear it. :roll: :wink:

Diane
Sandy, Chihuahua mix b. 12/20/09
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minkee
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Re: Sleeping places

Post by minkee »

I think you might be on to something with the fleas. I wouldn't want to sleep on a bed that sometimes randomly bit me in the night
DianeLDL
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Re: Sleeping places

Post by DianeLDL »

minkee wrote:I think you might be on to something with the fleas. I wouldn't want to sleep on a bed that sometimes randomly bit me in the night
Minkee,

I agree. Even a random bite would bring back the memories.

When we were staying at a Comfort Inn & Suites in Las Cruces, New Mexico USA (just north of the Mexican border, last February, a couple we met in the breakfast area said they usually stayed in the place across the street (he drove a truck), but their bed had been infested with something, fleas or bedbugs, that they decided to change motels. :shock:

So, even people are wary after one incident.

Judy, maybe if you tried lying on Jasper's bed, it might be more revealing to you if there are still things biting Jasper or maybe he might associate the bed with being bitten. :lol: :lol:
The fact that he slept there last night, may mean the incident is over. Hopefully. :D
Diane
Sandy, Chihuahua mix b. 12/20/09
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