I have a 9 year old malti poo who sleeps on my daughters bed ( she is at college). Whe my daughter is home he sleeps fine. When she is gone he wakes me up at least 3x a night mostly because he wants me to sleep with him. Sometimes I do and now he thinks I will always do it. I tried to train him to sleep on his bed next to ours ( my husband does not wZnt him sleeping on our bed). Hw do I solve this problem
Already Tried: Telling him to go back to bed, locking him in his pen that he goes in when we leave the house. No luck
Hi Jacustomer-u7zk0wv8~
Is he crate trained?
Yes he has been crate trained since he was a puppy. When he wakes me I take him to pee. He does, then back to bed and I tll him to stay. Sure enough he wakes me 3 hours later clearly not to pee because I won't go downstairs he wants me to lay with him.
May I ask what is inside his crate with him?Do you allow him to have water right up until bed time?
He does not have a crate anymore it is large Re with a gate around it. Is food bowls , toys and to beds. Yes I do leave a little water out.
Thanks for answering my questions.
It's obvious that he doesn't really need to go outside, but rather uses it as a tool to manipulate you into getting up and paying attention to him. So we're going to switch things up a bit and see if we can't get this behavior stopped.
First, at about 2-3 hours before bed, take his water away. By taking it away at this point, and then letting him out to urinate right before bed, we're virtually eliminating the possibility that he really does have to pee. This will make it easier to get the next steps accomplished.
Next, we're going to reintroduce the crate. Once we bring that in, we're going to take something that smells like your daughter (a shirt she has worn for a day or a couple nights to bed) and put it in his crate with him. If he's used to sleeping with her, it's more the scent of her that he is used to, so by putting her scent in his crate, it may comfort him a bit.
Next, you're going to place him in his crate at night with the door shut at night. It's very possible that sleeping in your daughters bed alone is just too big of a space, which makes him a little anxious. Using a crate gives him an enclosed, safe space (like a den) which may help him feel more relaxed at night.
When he does whine or make noise at night, you're going to get up, and simply say "NO!" in a stern voice. Do not use his name or say anything other than "NO!". We don't want him to think this is open for negotiation, so being stern and short will get the point across faster than a long conversation about being quiet.
Finally, I do think this might be due to a bit of anxiety, so using an over the counter product like a DAP collar could help a great deal. These are collars that are impregnated with a man-made version of the dog appeasing pheromone, which is a pheromone that nursing bitches give off to their pups to help them feel calm and secure. It's something that humans can't smell, but it has an amazing effect on dogs with anxiety and other issues. Although you can find them at your vet's office..you can also find them online at places like Amazon.com and Ebay for much cheaper. Just make sure they're DAP brand, as they seem to work better than some other versions.
I think by making these few changes we can get him back to sleeping through the night when your daughter isn't home.
I hope this helps.
Whst happens when she is home. Do I let him sleep with him? Even when she is home he gets up and wants me. He needs touch me when he sleeps. I agree he has anxiety. I was usin pg the dap thing you plug into the wal. Funny thing is be will stay in his pen for hours when we are gone with no problems
When she's home, if he's still going to want to wake you, then the best thing is to leave him in a crate.
I don't like the DAP plug in thing as much as I like the collar. The collar keeps it right under their noses...whereas the plug in means the dog needs to be near the electrical outlet that it's plugged into.
He has a stuffed dog that he has been sleeping with in hs crate/pen since the day we got him at 10 weeks. What if we bring the dog to bed with him and a pc of my clothing in my daughters room
You can absolutely try that and see if that helps.
First I will try taking the water away then pee before bed , get the dap collar, have him sleep with his dog and my shirt. If he gets up I will put him back in bed and say " no you stay with a firm voice" does he need to wear the DAP collar all day or just put it on him at bedtime? He is very calm and well behaved during the day.
I would leave the collar on all day. It will help keep him from getting anxious as bedtime starts to arrive. Plus, the collar needs to be warmed by body heat to work at it's best, XXXXX XXXXX it on all the time will be the best for him.
Even after you rate/accept my answer, please come back and let me know how it goes with him and the bedtime routines.
Experience: A CVT with a special interest in behavior modificaiton through structure, boundaries and limitations with positive reinforcement.
I will let you knw tomorrow how it goes. How do I get back to just you .
You can always come back to this question and reply just like you have been all along today.
Hi Lisi,I'm just following up on our conversation about your pet. How is everything going?CVT_in_MN
Thank you for your help, so far so good. I have not needed to use the collar yet I did buy one.. I have been putting my shirt and his stuffed dog that keeps him company all day in my daughters bed with him the past 2 nights , when I put him to bed after I kiss him goodnight I firmly tell him to stay and not to wake me during the night.. so far he has been perfect..