How to Train Your Dog to Sleep on His Bed

Hello Caryn, Because Farley is deaf you will need to modify the method a bit. Instead of giving a command, get his attention by getting in his line of sight and waving your arms in the bedroom, a few feet from his dog bed. As soon as he is looking at you, toss a large treat onto the dog bed while at the same time pointing to the bed with the same hand, so that when you toss the treat your finger is pointed when you do it. Practice this until he will eagerly start toward the bed when you start to motion toward it - before the treat has left your hand. Use large enough treats for him to easily find the treat on the dog bed. When he starts to move toward the bed when you motion toward it - even before he sees the treat leave your hand, then put the treat in your other hand, behind you back, pretend like you are still holding the treat in the hand you will point with, and simply point toward the bed with your empty hand-making the same type of throwing motion that you did before with the treat. As soon as Farley takes a couple of steps toward the bed, then toss the treat on the bed in front of him. Practice this until he will go all the way to the bed when you point and not just a couple of steps toward it. When he will go all the way to the bed when you point to it, then toss the treat to him once he is on the bed and make your pointing gesture calmer and calmer over time, until you can simply point to the bed without pretending to throw anything also. Practice the training regularly during the day at non-sleeping times also so that he will learn to look to you when you enter the bedroom and then follow your point to his bed. If he forgets at any point, then after you point, remind him by walking him over to the bed. You can also sprinkle a bit of his dog food onto the bed randomly during the day for him to stumble across. The randomness of his bed producing dog food will help him want to go to it on his own after a while also. If he tries to get off the bed when you want him to stay on it, calmly but a bit firmly walk toward him so that he backs back up onto the dog bed. When he gets back on it and stays on it while you take a few steps away again, then give him a treat. Use a hand signal that means you can get off, like clapping, to let him know he can leave if you choose to practice him staying on the bed. You can also teach him to look at you whenever you buzz a soft vibration collar. You can do a similar method as clicker training: buzz the collar - give a treat, buzz the collar - give a treat. Practicing rewarding right after buzzing it over and over again during training sessions. Once he understands to anticipate a treat after a buzz, then randomly buzz the collar throughout the day and when he looks at you, toss him a treat, and if he comes over to you, give him three. Vibration collars in combination with hand signals can help you communicate with a deaf dog a lot better. Deaf dogs can be taught most commands using hand signals instead of words. You just need a way to get the dog to look at you first in real life, and having a dog wear a vibration collar that has been paired with positive reinforcement in the form of rewards can accomplish that. Look for a vibration collar that has different levels of vibration since some dogs are very sensitive to the sensation and some don't notice it on lighter levels and need stronger vibration to feel it. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello Alyse, First of all, know that you are not being a bad dog mom by being firm about her sleeping in her own bed, both you and her will actually get more restful sleep according to studies, and anything that is better for your family is better for her also - being tired makes it harder to be patient and a good trainer during the day after all. Start by making the dog bed a desirable place for her to be. During the day sprinkle her dog food or small treats on and around the dog bed. Let her discover the treats on her own after showing her them the first couple of times. Periodically replace the treats after they get eaten when she is not looking - so that she begins to associate the bed with the "magically" appearing treats and chooses to visit that area on her own frequently to check for food. Next or at the same time, work on teaching a long Place command. Check out the video linked below for this. Start with shorter periods of time and progress to her staying on Place for at least an hour a day to get her used to being on there. https://thegooddog.net/training-videos/free-how-to-training-videos/learn-to-train-the-good-dog-way-place-command-the-good-dog-training-tips/ At bedtime tell her to go to Place (her bed) and anytime she tries to get off of it, calmly but firmly bring her back to the dog bed. When she whines you can either discipline the crying or ignore it. Disciplining will work much faster but ignoring normally works also with time if you stay consistent and don't give into it! - Remind yourself that sleeping on her own soft bed will not hurt her, she is either crying because she is adjusting (with means she just needs time to adjust) or because she is being demanding (which you don't want to give into because that's a respect issue) - either way she is totally fine sleeping on her own bed and enforcing the new rule from the beginning in your house will be much easier than trying to change it later when you are even more sleep deprived - the environment is new and you are semi-new to her so now is a good time to teach her your house rules. The above way typically equals the least amount of crying but there is another way you can also teach this that tends to work a lot faster but involves being a bit firmer. Sprinkle treats on the dog bed when she is not around and practice sending her to the bed and rewarding her when she gets on it during the day. Make the bed fun during the day. At night once she has the pleasant association with the bed either send her to the bed and enforce her staying on it whenever she tries to get off of it OR crate her with the bed. When she cries either ignore the crying (typically this takes about 5 days to work doing it this way), OR tell her "Ah Ah" and use a Pet Convincer to spray a small puff of air at her side (through the crate's wires if crated) - avoiding her face and only using unscented air - NOT citronella. The second method above can be used without a lot of prior training and tends to work quickly but there will be more crying typically and it can feel harsh for the owner - but it is still fairly gentle. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden