How to Train Your Dog to Not Sleep on the Bed

Hello Seda, Using a crate you can train this, you will just have to be firm when he tests things at other times for a bit. Crate at night and in the morning when you want to sniff with him, give a command like "Up" to encourage him on the bed. Anytime he tries to get on the bed at other times, command off and be calm but firm about it. If he starts crying to get out of the crate when you put him in at night or any other time - just to get on the bed, you can either ignore the crying and let him give up due to consistency, or you can use a Pet Convincer to teach him to be quiet more quickly. To use a Pet Convincer, teach the Quiet command using the Quiet method from the article linked below. Once he understands what that command means, tell him Quiet when he cries, and if he doesn't stop or gets quiet but then starts crying again, spray a small puff of air at his side through the crate whenever he starts crying. When you let him snuggle with you in bed in the morning, because he will have been holding his pee all night and will be awake then, you will likely need to take him potty, then return to bed to prevent a potential accident in the bed. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Lucille You have two options: 1. You can either reward quietness during the day and ignore the barking. 2. You can reward quietness during the day and gently discipline the barking. For the first option: First, I suggest leaving him in that area some during the day with a food stuffed chew toy, like a Kong stuffed with dog food that has been soaked in water and mixed with a little peanut butter. Ignore any barking, but when he gets quiet go to him and sprinkle a few tiny treats or pieces of dog food (if he loves his food) into the area where he is, then leave again. If he stays quiet for at least five minutes after that, then return again and repeat the treats and leave again. Practice this for a couple of hours every day. As he improves and stays quiet for longer, space your treat rewards out so that he has to stay quiet for longer and longer before earning a treat. At night you can either wait out the barking (Everytime you give in it rewards the barking and encourages it more), or put him to bed in your room while you practice during the day, then when he can handle being alone during the day start nighttime too...there will likely be barking when you first transition if you do it this way, but the barking at that point is probably just protesting the situation and not true anxiety or need and he should adjust if you ignore him for a couple of nights. Option 2. If you discipline it it's important for him to understand why he is being corrected and to practice rewarding him for doing the right thing (which is why I suggest doing the treats and practicing during the day below - you do not want to give food or attention at night because he needs to get into the habit of sleeping. There are a number of ways to discipline but I suggest trying a vibration collar first, or an electric collar, like E-Collar Technologies, that has a vibration option. A vibration or e-collar let's you correct without rewarding with any form of attention at the same time. First, work on teaching the Quiet command. Check out the Quiet method from the article linked below. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bark Next, during the day when you are practicing him being alone in his area like I suggested with option 1, tell him Quiet when you leave. If he barks, tell him "AhAh" then buzz the vibration collar. If he stays quiet for five minutes, reward with treats. While working on the training still you can either ignore any barking at night, or put him to bed in your room temporarily. Ignoring any barking is ideal training-wise but will mean lost sleep. The main goal at this point is not to give into the barking by freeing him when he barks though. Have him start where he is going to stay all night and keep him there all night right now. After you have practiced the training during the day and he can be quiet for the full two hours in his area when left alone, then have him sleep in that area at night (if you are not already doing so). If he barks, correct with the vibration collar but do not go to him or give treats at night. Because he has practiced this during the day he should be able to handle being alone at night and should understand why he is being corrected and have the skills to calm himself after being corrected. At this point stay consistent and don't give in so that he can practice a new habit of sleeping in his spot all night again. Corrections can feel harsh but as long as the dog clearly understands why they are being corrected and does have the skills to succeed because you have spent time teaching them to him, then corrections can actually be better for the dog than the anxious state they would otherwise stay in. The goal of a correction is to interrupt unwanted behavior long enough for the dog to learn how to do something better instead. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Madeleine, I highly suggest taking a firmer approach with Storm and the crate and pushiness. He sounds like he is demanding to get what he wants, and that's not good for his health, Sandy's, or yours! So don't feel bad being more firm with him for everyone's sake. For the crate, Sandy is likely crying because of how unstable he is, but I suspect would adjust to being crated alone if he calmed down. With that said I would suggest working on the Surprise method for crate training Sandy by herself. Her attitude is different than his and the Surprise method is gentler: Surprise method: https://wagwalking.com/training/like-a-crate For Storm I would take a much firmer approach. To start, work on crate manners using the method in the video below: https://thegooddog.net/training-videos/free-how-to-training-videos/learn-to-train-the-good-dog-way-the-crate/ Second, discipline the barking. First, check out this video from SolidK9Training on treating anxiety. It will give a brief over-view of treating separation anxiety more firmly. This trainer can be a bit abrupt with his teaching style with people but is very experienced working with highly aggressive, anxious, and reactive dogs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5GqzeLzysk Make sure you are implementing what he teaches there in other areas of his life too. Second, purchase a remote electronic collar, e-collar, with a wide range of levels. I recommend purchasing E-Collar Technologies Mini Educator for this. If you are not comfortable with an e-collar then you can use a vibration collar (the Mini Educator is also a vibration mode) or unscented air remote controlled air spray collar. DO NOT use a citronella collar, buy the additional unscented air canister if the collar comes with the citronella and make sure that you use the unscented air. (Citronella collars are actually very harsh). The vibration or spray collars are less likely to work though, so you may end up spending more money by not purchasing an e-collar first. The Mini Educator has very low levels of stimulation, that can be tailored specifically to your dog. It also has vibration and beep tones that you can try using first, without having to buy additional tools. Next, set up a camera to spy on him. If you have two smart devices, like tablets or smartphones, you can Skype or Facetime them to one another with your pup’s end on mute, so that you can see and hear him but he will not hear you. Video baby monitors, video security monitors with portable ways to view the video, GoPros with the phone Live App, or any other camera that will record and transmit the video to something portable that you can watch outside live will work. Next, put the e-collar on him while he is outside of the crate, standing, and relaxed. To learn how to put the collar on him, check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLxB6gYsliI Turn it to it's lowest level and push the stimulation button twice. See if he responds to the collar at all. Look for subtle signs such as turning his head, moving his ears, biting his fur, moving away from where he was, or changing his expression. If he does not respond at all, then go up one level on the collar and when he is standing and relaxed, push the stimulation button again twice. Look for a reaction again. Repeat going up one level at a time and then testing his reaction at that level until he indicates a little bit that he can feel the collar. Here is a video showing how to do this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cl3V8vYobM Once you have found the right stimulation level for him and have it correctly fitted on him, have him wear the collar around with it turned off or not being stimulated for several hours. Next, set up your camera to spy on him while he is in the crate. Put him into the crate while he is wearing the collar and leave the room. Spy on him from outside. Leave however you normally would. As soon as you hear him barking or see him start to try to escape or destroy the crate from the camera, push the stimulation button once. Every time he barks or tries to get out of the crate, stimulate him again. If he does not decrease his barking or escape attempts at least a little bit after being stimulated seven times in a row, then increase the stimulation level by one level. He may not feel the stimulation while excited so might need it just slightly higher. Do not go higher than three more levels on the mini-educator or one level on another collar with less levels right now though because he has not learned what he is supposed to be doing yet. The level you end up using on him on the mini educator collar should be low to medium, within the first forty levels of the one-hundred to one-hundred-and-twenty-five levels, depending on the model you purchase. If it is not, then have a professional evaluate whether you have the correct "working level" for her. If he continues to ignore the collar, then go up one more stimulation level and if that does not work, make sure that the collar is turned on, fitted correctly, and working. After five minutes to ten minutes, as soon as your dog stays quiet and is not trying to escape for five seconds straight, go back inside to the dog. Do not speak to him or pay attention to him for ten minutes while you walk around inside. When he is being calm, then you can let him out of the crate. When you let him out, do it the way Jeff does is in this video below. Opening and closing the door until your dog is not rushing out. You want him to be calm when he comes out of the crate and to stay calm when you get home. That is why you need to ignore him when you get home right away. Also, keep your good byes extremely boring and calm. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5GqzeLzysk Continue to put a food stuffed Kong into the crate with him. Once he is less anxious he will likely enjoy it and that will help him to enjoy the crate more. First, he needs her anxious state of mind interrupted so that he is open to learning other ways to behave. Once it's interrupted, give him a food stuffed Kong in the crate for him to relieve his boredom instead, since he will need something other than barking to do at that point. Practice all of this during the day at first. Once he has learned that e-collar corrections are for barking and is able to calm himself back down during the day, then you can transition the training to night time when he tries to bark then - if you are certain that he does not need to pee at that time. VERY IMPORTANT the dogs should NOT be in the same crate when you do this. Storm absolutely needs to be crated alone, especially for this protocol of he may take his frustrations out on Sandy or cause her a lot of emotional distress just having to listen to him. Crate her in another room while you work on this. For the pushy behavior/clinginess I highly suggest teaching a Place command and working up to him being on his Place while you for for 1-2 hours. This not only gives you a bit of space, but even more importantly helps him learn to be calmer, more submissive, less demanding, and less anxious. Expect an increase in anxiety while on Place at first - he will suddenly he expected to be calm and doesn't know how to in that way. That's just a sign that this exercise is really important for him. As he practices he should come up with ways to sooth himself and relax better. Correct any barking on Place with the collar like you did for the crate if needed. Teach the Quiet command from the article linked below so that you can tell him when to stop, and correct if he disobeys, and reward if he stays quiet for several minutes. Place means stay on that area, but he can stand, sit, or lie down - as long as he doesn't get off until told "Free" or "Okay". Place: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omg5DVPWIWo Quiet - Quiet method: https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bark Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Marizzan, There are two ways to do this. First, teach him the Off and Up commands. Only let him on the bed when you say Up; any other time he jumps up there without being invited, tell him Off - if he gets off and goes to his dog bed, toss a treat onto the dog bed. If he won't get off, keep a drag leash attached to him while you are home and calmly but firmly use the leash to move him off the bed - so that he will learn that you mean what you say and he has to do it. Put a dog bed for him in your room, and periodically sprinkle some small treats or pieces of dog food on the dog bed - so that he will find the food and start going to the dog bed on his own. This will take a lot of consistency at first since he is used to being on the bed right now. Don't worry about him being confused at first - that's part of him learning. You just need to focus on being super consistent with your rules - he is only allowed on the bed when told Up, and moved off the bed or told off if he gets on at any other time. The more consistent you are about the rules the easier the transition will be for him and less confusion there will be (my own dog was taught to stay off the couch at five years old - after being allowed on it before - she adjusted fine since everyone was consistent about never allowing her on the couch once the rule began, and she has a dog bed to lie on instead). At night, if he keeps jumping on the bed while you are sleeping, you will need to crate him for a while if you can't enforce the rules because you are asleep. He may protest the new rules a bit, but that doesn't mean it's mean or bad for him - dogs need structure and boundaries too, and being consistent with your rules and enforcing them helps build trust and respect with a dog. To teach up and off, hold a treat in one hand, pat your bed excitedly with your other hand and say "Up!" happily, encouraging pup to jump up. When pup gets up, praise him and give one treat. Next, attach a leash to pup's collar, and show pup another treat in your hand. Slowly lower the treat from his nose the the ground, so that pup has to jump off to get it. Say "Off" happily while you do this - gently give short tugs on the leash a couple of times while temping pup with the treat on the floor if pup doesn't jump off on his own. As soon as he is on the ground, praise and give the treat. Repeat encouraging pup to jump on the bed while saying "Up", then rewarding, and luring pup off the bed while saying "Off" and tugging on the leash if pup needs additional encouragement, then rewarding. Practice both commands several times, then end the training session for that part of the day. Practice 2-3 training sessions where pup is rewarded with a treat for both "Up" and "Off". After those sessions, practice both up and off and praise when pup does either command, but only give treats now when pup obeys Off and not when he jumps up. You want to make Off the rewarding command long-term, and only reward Up long enough for pup to understand what it means. If pup shows any form of aggression at any point, you need to hire professional help from someone who specializes in aggression and behavior issues and will come to your home to help. Don't train on your own with aggression present - and if there is aggression present pup definitely shouldn't be on your bed! Pup will need to sleep in a crate even more for now. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden