August 16, 2023
I’m a dog trainer and my dog sleeps in my bed the majority of the time. I don’t care if your dog sleeps in your bed or is on your furniture as long as they aren’t experiencing behavioral issues & they get off of the resource when you tell them too. If they are allowed access to these objects but will not get off when told, that is an issue.
My personal dog, Tucker, was crated overnight, every night, until he was about 2. After that, I started to give him a bit more freedom because I knew I had created desired behaviors throughout his maturity. He’s 4 now and sleeps with me in bed, or next to the bed on the floor, most nights. This doesn’t mean I completely did away with the crate, I still want to make sure he’s comfortable there no matter what. You never know when you’ll need it, but we can talk about that later.
If you are struggling with reactivity, separation anxiety, resource guarding, fear issues, or aggression, I highly recommend kicking your dog out of the bed and crating them overnight. These dogs (and all dogs, truly) need their own space to hangout, decompress, create healthy separation, and develop an off switch. Not sleeping in the bed doesn’t have to be a forever thing, but wait until the dog’s behavior shows you that they’ve earned that privilege and it won’t do more harm than good.
Happy Training,
Bree ❤️
