Dog question: UNTRAINING a bad behavior...

[lancestorm]

My girlfriend got a puppy at a bad time of year last year (right when she was starting to work with schools). She NEEDED to get sleep, so she put her puppy in bed with her to get it to stop barking. This became a habit. A BAD ONE!!! Now 1 year later and on summer break, she wants to get the dog to sleep on its own bedding furniture she got for it and not her bed. The dog bedding is like the size and shape of the material on a papasan chair and sits on the floor). No matter what she does, the dog will jump up from its bedding thing and into her bed. How do you break this habit?

I understand it is not the dog's fault. The dog was trained that the bed was her bed, along with my girlfriend's. How do you get the dog to understand that this new dog furniture is her own bed.

 

[lancestorm]

bump

 

[Juice Box]

violence?

 

[captains]

put dog in its bed....when dog jumps on g/f bed say no and push dog off.........patience and time

 

[MiniDoom]

reward the dog for going on to its bed. is it a big dog?

 

[baddog121390]

hit it with a baseball bat everytime it goes on the bed.

or even better get one of those collars that shock it everytime it goes into a certain area

 

[Mrvile]

Smack it on the nose and yell NO every time it does it.

 

[royaldank]

Originally posted by: captains
put dog in its bed....when dog jumps on g/f bed say no and push dog off.........patience and time

 

[GasX]

If you want this to be a fast lesson, be prepared to beat your dog. Dogs thrive on consistent owners and this training involves a huge change that to the dog will make no sense.

Your girlfriend showed that she is prone to taking the easy way out, so I wouldn't expect miracles. She has to be very consistent and firm and say NO! whenever the dog gets on the bed and push him off. From now on, the dog can NEVER be allowed on the bed. EVER EVER EVER The dog will get the message in time.

To sweeten the deal for the dog, give it a treat when it goes onto its own bed and then praise it.

Oh, and don't beat your dog...

 

[skimple]

That's tough, because the dog is getting on the bed to be near her. So disciplining the dog will confuse it. Is it getting punished because it's getting near her, or because it's on the bed.

Try putting a treat on the bed each night to get the dog to go there. Also, keep some treats in the nightstand, and give one to the dog when it goes to lay on the bed. Associate the bed with positive feedback.

Another trick is for her to go lay on the bed awhile and get the dog to come to her. If she can stand it, have her lay there with the dog for a half-hour or so each night before bed to associate the bed with sleeping.

If that fails, consider crate training, with the dog being put in its crate every night for bed. It's difficult at first, but after a while the dog will go into its crate on iuts own. Particularly if it gets a treat when it goes in.

 

[43st]

I'd crate train it in your bedroom and then move it to another room. Our dog has stayed in a crate at night for the past 6 years or so.