Getting off the bed

[JudyN]

Our usual evening routine: Jasper takes himself off to our bed sometime in the evening. At bedtime, I call him and let him out in the garden for last wees, and if I'm still pottering when he comes back in he'll get back on my bed. I'll then ask him to get off and get on his own bed and then give him his bedtime chicken chew.

He is sometimes reluctant to come down for last wees, and sometimes reluctant to get off the bed when he's come back in. Last night when he wouldn't get off the bed I gave the blanket he was on an experimental tweak and he did get off, but roared at me and waved his teeth in the general direction of my arm (I''ve come to see this not as an arrested attempt to bite but a communication - 'THIS is how angry I am.')

During the day he'll happily play the 'on the bed, off the bed' game but at bedtime he sometimes isn't even tempted by chicken chews. I can't say I blame him - it's warm and cosy, it smells of me, and he's ready for a big sleep. It's easy to manage by not letting him back in the bedroom after he's been out until I can go in with him, but I can train him to get off willingly, so much the better (because I keep forgetting to shut the door ). He knows perfectly well what I want him to do, he knows he'll get a chicken chew (if I put it on his bed he still won't get off), and I praise him effusively when he does get off - he'd just rather stay where he is. And let's face it, when he tells me it's time for me to get out of bed in the morning so he can get on it, I won't often shift either

I don't want to block access to the bed all evening as he's happy and relaxed there.

[Ari_RR]

When it's time for me to get in bed (or on the sofa) which is occupied by the beast who is pretending to be asleep and not hearing "off" - I just get there... And after a little bit or reshuffling and rearranging himself, the beast inevitably gets off and goes to his own bed. The joys of sharing space are still well beyond him.

"Off" works most of the time, but I suspect that it has become a warning that in a few seconds this will become crowed, and I think his dislike for sharing outweighs all other emotions he might be feeling, so off he goes.

Anyway... Realizing that this doesn't teach anything probably, but everyone should be entitled to at least a few hours of sleep, right? Would it be too dangerous to just get in bed? You are not a very large size person can't you curl up in the corner?

[JudyN]

Would it be too dangerous to just get in bed?

Unfortunately, yes. He gets sleep aggression (and sometimes I suspect he isn't really asleep ), and hates being disturbed, so we don't share sofas or beds. Fair dos, he won't actually get on the bed in the morning till I'm out of it, so he knows the rules.

[off topic]We used to sleep together when he was a pup and I wanted him to sleep downstairs so I shared a mattress with him down there. He was a terrible bed hog though, and I'd wake up finding him in the middle of the bed with his head on the centre of the pillow, legs straight out trying to push me off. Either that, or he'd lie across my throat like a fox fur stole, but considerably heavier and more constricting [/off topic]

[WufWuf]

I'd up the value and variety of the rewards for "off". Something tasty and quickly consumed that he doesn't normally get, it doesn't have to be anything substantial enough to upset his tummy, just a taste of something special and keep him guessing as to what it will be this time. I will keep bits of my own meals or buy a pack of precooked something and just use a little bit for new or difficult stuff.

"Off" here was trained very rarely with really good stuff (like cleaning my plate after a roast dinner) so that Honey got the idea that if she was being asked to "off" it was a GREAT thing and totally worth her while to do as being a terrier she's been known to weigh up the odds before doing as asked

I'd also consider going back a step and luring him off with the tasty treat without the "off" command initially and then reintroduce it once he's consistently looking eager to get his reward

[JudyN]

Would you up the value & variety of rewards both at bedtime and during the day? I think he sees them as very different situations - maybe he knows that once he gets off at bedtime he can't get back on again.

Dropping the command is a good idea - when I stopped asking, cajoling, bribing, begging him to get into the car but just put a treat on the back seat and waited, he got much better. If I just stick the treat on his bed and ignore him it will avoid it turning into a battle of wills.

Thank you

[WufWuf]

Would you up the value & variety of rewards both at bedtime and during the day? I think he sees them as very different situations

If you reckon he already see's them as different things I'd go with more variety in the day time but keep the REALLY GREAT rewards for bedtime.

Non verbal communication can be the easiest route in some situations, if I do X you do Y can take away the thinking element and become something that they just do (once the reward is worth it )

[Nettle]

How about making your bed less appealing by covering it with a tarpaulin or some tinfoil, plastic sheet etc.?

Then he can choose to relax elsewhere. As it's then his choice, it should be relaxing for him.

[JudyN]

I'd probably have to nail it down, Nettle, he does like to make the bed (i.e. turn the quilt, blanket and dog blanket into a great big nest) before he settles down I really don't want to stop him going on it for most of the evening as he looks so happy and peaceful up there and it would be a shame to stop him.

[Nettle]

Nothing else for it than a bigger bedroom and two beds

[JudyN]

That's just what OH said

[emmabeth]

Could you make HIS bed more appealing?

Whats your bed got that his hasnt? Smells of you? Height off the ground?

So... bit whacky but...raise his bed up so its the same height as yours, rotate your bedding so when you change yours, the mucky sheets go on his, before they go in the wash?


As its fresh in my mind because I actually witnessed a proper Ttouch session on Saturday, have you ever considered seeing a Ttouch practitioner with him?

[JudyN]

I like the idea of putting our old bedding on his bed

I have tried TTouch in the past - a practictioner demonstrated it and I got a book and practised. I'm not convinced by it - I'm not sure it does more than when I massage him using my instinct and what I learnt on a 'human' massage course many years ago. I don't believe he'd relax with any practitioner now, and he wouldn't benefit if he was tense and suspicious.

For now, I'm just changing my routine so I always shut the bedroom door when he comes down for last wees, and it's working a treat