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You’ve always loved cuddling up with your dog when you sleep at night. You wanted the company and he gladly obliged. Now you have a new partner though, and a dog sleeping between you isn’t quite what your partner envisaged on moving in. Your dog is also quite defensive and protective about who sleeps in his bedroom, so you know it’s time to make a change. He’s not a puppy anymore either, so maybe some independence will do him good.
Training him to sleep in a certain room is good for both of you. He needs to be able to survive without you, at day and at night. It will make leaving him in kennels or at a friend's when you go on vacation easier, too.
The training itself isn’t always a walk in the park. It depends largely on how long your dog has been used to sleeping wherever he likes. If he’s mature and you’re breaking a 10-year-old habit, then it may take a few weeks to get him truly settled into his new bedroom. If he’s just a puppy and new to having sleeping freedom, then taking it away could take just several days or a week. The biggest struggle comes with making his new sleeping area a comfy and desirable bedroom for him. Also, if you’ve spent years with him sleeping in your bed, then letting go of your cuddle buddy may prove challenging for you as well.
Succeed with this training and you’ll have a dog you can control and who won’t cause you any trouble at night time.
Before you start your new training regime you’ll need a few things. You’ll need a comfy bed and toys, plus treats to make your dog's new sleeping area nice and appealing. You’ll also need to set aside a few minutes each day for getting him familiar and excited for his new bedroom.
You’ll have to find all your patience and resilience to stick with the training campaign, so bring the right attitude. Once you’ve collected all of that, you can get to work!
The ‘Bed’ Method
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Stand by his bed
Be right next to the bed in the room you want your dog to sleep in and then call him over. Make sure you’ve got a pocket full of treats with you.
‘Bed’
Issue the verbal command, then point at his bed and encourage him to head there. Once your dog has looked at you puzzled for a while, he’ll finally clock on and take a step onto the bed. As soon as he does that, give him a treat and shower him with praise.
Increase the distance
Repeat this again and again over the next few days. As you practice, slowly increase the distance you are from the bed when you send him there. The trick is to increase the distance gradually. Keep practicing until you can send your pooch to his bed when you aren’t even in the room. At this point, you can cut out the treats, he’ll no longer need them to follow your command.
Apply it at night
When the evening comes, send him to his new room/bed with the command. Be firm and clear so he knows you mean business. If he trots back out, send him straight back. If he comes into your room or another room at night again, give the command in a louder, clearer voice. You will need to be persistent. It will take him several days to a week before he finally realizes that he needs to stay in that room all night.
The Routine Method
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Follow a timeline
Each evening, try and be consistent. Give your dog his food, take him to go potty, and then put him to bed at the same time. It should never be a surprise when you want him to go to bed. Routine brings with it comfort, so take him to his new room at the same time each evening.
Leave a treat on the bed
An easy way to get him to go in there in the first place is to put a treat on his bed. Simply having something in there to look forward to will encourage him to head in there each evening.
Say ‘good night’
Spend a couple of minutes gently playing with him and stroking him. Get him comfortable and happy, then say good night and leave him. It’s important you follow this routine each day and then he won’t be surprised when you leave.
Go and get him in the morning
Having a routine in the morning is also important. If he’s not already up, go and say 'good morning' and stroke him. Doing this in the morning and evening will teach him that going to bed and where he goes to bed is on your terms. It will also comfort him to know you’ll be there when he goes to sleep and you’ll still be there first thing in the morning.
Be consistent
If you slip up every couple of evenings your dog won’t stick to his new room. You need to stick to your routine every evening or the process will take considerably longer. But be patient, be rigorous, and it will pay off.
The Gentle Cold Shoulder Method
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Make the new room all his
If you want your dog to sleep somewhere else, you need to make it feel like his own. Play with him there in the day. Allow him to have some space in there that is totally his. It will then start to feel like his territory, a safe place where he can escape to.
Add some home comforts
To start with, you may want to put some old clothes of yours into his new room and bed. The smell of you will help put him at ease. It will also help to leave his toys in there. All of this will make him feel more comfortable.
Leave the door open wide
To start with, you need to keep the door open so he can escape if he wants. This may not make sense now, but the idea is you show your dog gradually that he’s not missing out on anything. It also stops you cutting all ties in one go, which won’t be easy for him.
Gradually close the door
Each night, close the door a little bit more, until it is only just ajar and then finally completely shut it. This will allow your dog to slowly get used to not having his own freedom anymore.
Put him to bed
Each night, take him to his new room and slowly stroke him for a few minutes until he gets sleepy. Think of it like taking a child to bed at night and reading them a bed time story. Keep doing this and all of the above steps until he’s comfortable in there. Then you can slowly stop taking him to bed each night.
Written by James Barra
Veterinary reviewed by:
Published: 10/24/2017, edited: 07/12/2023
Training Questions and Answers
Everytime I leave my puppy downstairs to go to bed she starts howling and crying till I come back down
Jan. 28, 2024
Millie's Owner
My puppy will not listen unless i show him a treat.
Dec. 22, 2023
Milo's Owner
My puppy keeps crying at night. We keep him in the bathroom with the door closed and no crate, just a bed with a puppy pad and food and water bowl
Dec. 13, 2023
Milo's Owner
Suddenly crying and howling at being left alone at bedtime
June 4, 2023
Skye's Owner
Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer
1128 Dog owners recommended
Hello, First, I would look for anything unusual that may have scared pup, I would consider any new events that may have been scary like fireworks outside, and check the home for any electronic buzzing near where pup is sleeping that might be high pitched to a dog. The suddenness of this seems to indicate something that's either new, scary, or physically wrong with pup, since pup is five years old and was alright previously. Even a trip away for a week could be enough to cause this, but you just want to make sure there isn't anything underlying that needs addressing that's causing fear. With that said, start by working on teaching the Quiet command during the day using the Quiet method from the article linked below. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bark Second, during the day practice the Surprise method from the article linked below. Whenever pup stays quiet in the crate or room alone for 5 minutes, sprinkle some treats into the crate or room without letting pup out, then leave the room again. As he improves, only give the treats every 10 minutes, then 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, 1 hour, 1.5 hour, 2, hour, 3 hour. Practice crating him during the day for 1-3 hours each day that you can. If you are home during the day, have lots of 30 minute - 1 hour long sessions with breaks between to practice this, to help pup learn sooner. I would give it a week of doing the above and ignoring the crying as long as pup is healthy and nothing scary is happening in the room he is in that needs addressing. If after a week, you are not seeing improvement, in addition to rewarding quietness, I would also correct the crying. Whenever he cries in the crate, tell him "Quiet". If he gets quiet - Great! Sprinkle treats in after five minutes if he stays quiet. If he continues barking or stops and starts again, spray a quick puff of air from a pet convincer at his side through the crate while calmly saying "Ah Ah", then leave again. Only use unscented air canisters, DON'T use citronella! And avoid spraying in the face. Surprise method: https://wagwalking.com/training/like-a-crate Repeat the rewards when quiet and the corrections whenever he cries. If there has been a move, new addition to the family, or some other unsettling factor, you may also need to give him a bit of time to readjust. Border Collie's tend to be very sensitive. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
June 6, 2023
He falls aleep but wakes up after 3,hours asking for me ,how to break this habit
Nov. 8, 2022
Charlie's Owner
Caitlin Crittenden - Dog Trainer
1128 Dog owners recommended
Hello, First, work on teaching the Quiet command during the day using the Quiet method from the article linked below. https://wagwalking.com/training/train-a-shih-tzu-puppy-to-not-bark Second, during the day practice the Surprise method from the article linked below. Whenever pup stays quiet in the crate for 5 minutes, sprinkle some treats into the crate without opening it, then leave the room again. As he improves, only give the treats every 10 minutes, then 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, 1 hour, 1.5 hour, 2, hour, 3 hour. Practice crating him during the day for 1-3 hours each day that you can. If you are home during the day, have lots of 30 minute - 1 hour long sessions with breaks between to practice this, to help pup learn sooner. Whenever he cries in the crate, tell him "Quiet". If he gets quiet - Great! Sprinkle treats in after five minutes if he stays quiet. If he continues barking or stops and starts again, spray a quick puff of air from a pet convincer at his side through the crate while calmly saying "Ah Ah", then leave again. Only use unscented air canisters, DON'T use citronella! And avoid spraying in the face. Surprise method: https://wagwalking.com/training/like-a-crate Repeat the rewards when quiet and the corrections whenever he cries. Practice for a few days until he is doing well during the day. You can either continue what you are currently doing at night during this process or go ahead and jump into what I explain below for night time training - waiting until the day is good before starting the night or starting the night and day both at the same time. When he cries at night (in the crate - where he needs to be sleeping for now) before it has been 8 hours (so you know it's not a potty issue), tell him Quiet, and correct with the pet convincer if he doesn't become quiet and stay quiet. If you go straight to nights and days like this you will probably have about 3-5 rough nights, with lots of correcting before he gets quiet - don't give in and let him out or this will take much longer! But the overall process will go faster if you can stay strong. If you practice the daytime routine first while continuing your current trend in the meantime, and then start the nighttime routine once pup understands the new rules, the night should go quicker/easier when you do make the transition. Either way you need to stay very consistent for this to work - expect pup to protest and for you to have to correct a lot. You may want to pretend like you are all going to bed two hours early and read in bed with the lights off - anticipating having to get up a lot the first couple of hours to correct - so that you don't loose as much sleep. Choose whichever option seems less stressful for you ultimately and is something you can stick to. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden
Nov. 8, 2022