How to Train Your Dog to Accept a New Bed

Hello Tony, If you have a friend with a well mannered dog who Archie likes and isn't afraid of, I suggest having that dog come over frequently and have the friend dog spend time on the new bed with a chew toy while Archie lays on his bed. Having the other dog use the bed often might make Archie want to use it more - dog's can be jealous like that. It needs to be a dog that Archie isn't afraid of though - so that he doesn't avoid that dog's "thing" to avoid a potential fight. A dog who Archie wants to play with the same toys with is what you want. Also, pay attention to the differences in the beds. We often buy our dogs a certain type of bed - like a really plush looking one or one with sides, thinking it will be an improvement over the old bed, when a firmer bed or more open bed or vice versa is more comfortable for pup. If he likes a certain type of bed, try to mimic that type. For example, my Border Collie (another eccentric breed like many herding breeds can be) preferred his old cheap bed to the new plush one that had plush arms to rest his head on for years, and would never use the new one. When I finally bought a firmer, foam mattress type bed for my younger dog I found out that my Border Collie liked firmer beds and not plushy ones and that was part of the reason he avoided the soft, new one previously. That and jealousy that my other dog had something he didn't, made him prefer a new firmer bed finally. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello, how is it working out? I think if it were me, I would keep removing the cat from the bed until Susie feels at ease. Even consider getting the cat a new place to sleep, like a cat tree with a scratch post and a comfy perch since cats love heights! Take a look at the guide where you submitted the question and try some of the tips suggested: wagwalking.com/training/accept-a-new-bed. Take a look here as well: https://wagwalking.com/training/lay-on-his-bed. Give Susie a couple of treats after leading her to her bed. Do this for a day or two. Then, throughout the day, when Susie is not looking, place high value treats on the bed so that she finds them on her own. Eventually, she should seek out the bed herself. Good luck!

Hello Clara, I recommend working on calmness, the barking specifically, and more socialization. For the calmness, I suggest working on the structure of your walk first. You want pup to be working during the walk - having to stay behind you, focus on you, perform commands periodically, and not have his mind on scanning the area in search of other dogs. The walk should start with him having to exit your home very calmly, performing obedience commands at the door if he isn't calm. He should wait for permission ("Okay" or "Free" or "Let's Go") before going through the door instead of bolting through if that's an issue. When you walk he should be in the heel position - with his head behind your leg. That position decreases his arousal, reduces stress because he isn't the one in charge and the one encountering things first. It prevents him from scanning for other dogs, staring dogs down or being stared down, and ignoring you behind him. It also requires him to be in a more submissive, structured, focused, calmer mindset - which has a direct effect on how aroused, stressed, and reactive he is. Additionally, when you do pass other dogs, as soon as he starts staring them down, interrupt him. Remind him with a gentle correction that you are leading the walk and he is not allowed to break his heel or stare another dog down. It is far easier to deal with reactivity when you interrupt a dog early in the process - before they are highly aroused and full of adrenaline and cortisol, and to keep the dog in a less aroused/calmer state to begin with. Staying in a calmer mindset also makes the walk more pleasant for him in the long-run. Once pup can walk past other dogs more calmly, you can carry small, soft treats hidden in a treat pouch or plastic bag in your pocket. When pup's body language stays calm, they remain focused on you, or are very obedient when other dogs are within sight, reward pup with a treat and very calm - almost monotone praise (too much excitement can make the situation harder for pup). Thresholds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-w28C2g68M Heel article - The turns method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-poodle-to-heel You need a way to communicate with him so I suggest also teaching the Quiet command from the Quiet method in the article I have linked below. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bark Next, once pup understands what Quiet means you will choose an interrupter - neither too harsh nor ineffective. A Pet Convincer is one example of an interrupter. A pet convincer is a small canister of pressurized, unscented air that you can spray a quick puff of at the dog's side to surprise them enough to help them calm back down. (Don't use citronella and avoid spraying in the face!). In situations where you know pup will bark or is already barking (catch them before they bark if you can), command "Quiet". If they obey, reward with a treat and very calm praise. If they bark anyway or continue to bark, say "Ah Ah" firmly but calmly and give a brief correction. Repeat the correction each time they bark until you get a brief pause in the barking. When they pause, praise and reward then. The combination of communication, correction, and rewarding - with the "Ah Ah" and praise to mark their good and bad behavior with the right timing, is very important. Once pup is calmer in general after the initial training, practice exposing him a lot to the things that trigger the barking normally (make a list - even if it's long). Whenever he DOESN'T bark around something that he normally would have, calmly praise and reward him to continue the desensitization process. Finally, work on calm socialization, and don't skip rewarding pup for calmness around other dogs once he is doing better on walk and is calm enough to reward it! That can help ultimately. For socialization, do things like joining obedience classes, trainings clubs, group dog hikes and walks, canine sports, ect...Your goal right now should be interactions with other dogs that have structure and encourage focus on you, calmness around the other dogs, and a pleasant activity with other dogs around - opposed to roughhousing or tense environments with tons of unpredictable dogs loose which increases adrenaline. If pup does really well playing with other dogs, have one-on-one play dates with a friend and their well socialized dog and intermittently practice obedience with them together so they learn how to also be calm and responsive to you around another dog. Recruit some friends with well mannered dogs to go on walks with you and your dog, following the Passing Approach method and Walking Together method to help the dogs learn how to be calm around each other, while also continuing socialization. Passing Approach and Walking Together methods: https://wagwalking.com/training/greet-other-dogs Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Jacolize, During the day, while the door to the pen is open, periodically sprinkle treats in the pen. First, walk her over there after to help her find them a few times. Once she releases that there are sometimes treats there, then sprinkle them and just let her find them on her own, replacing them a couple times during the day, so that she starts to go there on her own often to check for more, and associates that area as somewhere fun to be. Also, practice locking her in there for shorter periods during the day using the Surprise method from the article linked below: https://wagwalking.com/training/like-a-crate Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello, First, has pup seen a vet? I am not a vet, and I would ensure pup is healthy. If pup is healthy, then I suspect pup is probably stressed and needing time to adapt, plus some dogs tend to enjoy sleep more than others, and a certain amount of that is normal. A stressed dog is often not very excited about food or toys though. If you can, I would give pup a few days to adjust to your home before beginning a lot of formal training. If pup starts to relax enough to want treats more, you can look for random opportunities to reward pup for doing what you want to gradually start encouraging those behaviors more and more. For example, if you catch pup lying in a certain position that's out of the way, like on their bed, simply place a treat between pup's front paws, praise softly and calmly, then walk away. I suspect one of two things are needed. Either pup will become food motivated if you give them a few days to adjust and de-stress, then you can periodically sprinkle treats onto a dog bed for pup, showing pup the treats the first few times, and then replacing those treats when pup isn't looking, for pup to start finding on their own, to teach pup to want to be on that bed. A second option is to teach Place, where staying on the bed is a direct command, and rewarding pup for staying. A third option if pup never learns to care about treats, is to guide pup to Place with a leash, command Place, praise pup while on there, and then gently block pup whenever they try to leave Place before you have said "Okay!" to release. This is less rewarding for pup, but the sheer repetition and gentle insistence that pup stay there should still help pup learn without being harsh. Once pup is trusting of you, I would also teach Out, but right now pup probably isn't ready for that until they are a bit more used to you. In a few days to weeks, depending on how quickly pup warms up, check out teaching Out. Out - which means leave the area: https://www.petful.com/behaviors/how-to-teach-a-dog-the-out-command/ Place command: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O75dyWITP1s Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden