How to Train a Puppy to Sit on Its Bed

Trixie is great! She’s just what you wanted in a little pup. She’s loving, excitable and is getting you motivated for those walks you’ve always wanted to do. But there’s just one problem. She won’t go to bed!

It was lovely at first. She would cuddle up to you in your bed, or nap on the sofa with you. But now she stands on your head at 6am and lies with her butt a little too close to your face for comfort. It’s time to train her how to sit on her own bed – and stay there. This will benefit the both of you in the long run. You’ll get a great night’s sleep, and she will have her own territory that she can be proud of. It’s important that all pups learn simple behaviors like this in order to maintain their good behavior in all situations. Next time your good friend who's scared of dogs comes around, you can have Trixie sitting in her bed like a good girl. And maybe you’ll even convince your friend she’s great too!

But don’t forget, it’s important to keep up these learned behaviors. Dogs can unlearn all the great work they completed as puppies if you allow them to start sleeping on your bed again. The methods below will also work for adult dogs, but since they are older, it will take them a little longer to learn it.

Like most training methods, this one will start with the use of some treats, so make sure you have some to hand before you get started. It’s also important to have a calm environment around your puppy. As I’m sure you’ll have noticed, these little cuties are very excitable, and get distracted easily by new voices, smells and toys. If you’re training your pup as a family, make sure one person takes the lead, and the others stay quiet while the leader is talking. 

This behavior is a more advanced version of the 'sit' command, therefore it will be useful to have already introduced her to 'sit', even if you haven’t got it quite perfect. Finally, make sure you stay patient. Our canine friends don’t speak human, so they don’t always understand what we want them to do. Stay focused, and she will get there in the end. Right, let’s get started!