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A method to safely and comfortably sleep with your dog.
If you're a dog owner, you typically want to sleep with your dog at night. However, sleeping with a dog can be dangerous and uncomfortable. The discomfort could be you sharing a full bed with a dog the size of a great dane and you are not going to get the rest you need. The danger could be you sharing a bed with a small animal that may be crushed or sufficated if you roll over on him. The real trick is to teach the dog that being on the bed is a treat, NOT a right, and they need to give you some space.
Step 1:

Teach your dog how to be in the bedroom with you WITHOUT being on the bed. This seems crazy and we all know that when we go into a bedroom, the dog immediately jumps on the bed. First train your dog to something else in the room. Typically, the dog just wants to be WITH you - so being in the same room should be ok (unless your dog has severe separation anxiety and if that is the case, you should seek more professional help).

To teach a dog takes time and patience. Both of my dogs have doggie beds or mats in the bedroom. I would sit on the floor and say "mat" and put a treat on the mat. I continued doing this until I could just say "mat" and the dog would immediately go to the matt and sit down.

Step 2:

After the dog has mastered this task, immediately put the dog on the MAT when going into the bedroom, and you sit on the bed. Don't make eye contact or anything. Just sit there. Read a book, watch tv. Know that the dog is going to try to get on the bed when you sit down. Keep putting the dog on the mat every time he comes over to you or gets on the bed.

Again, this is going to take time. Repetition is the method for any training.

Step 3:

Now, practice makes perfect. Keep enforcing the mat whenever in the bedroom. The dog will eventually go straight to the mat when going into this room.

The next step is letting the dog sleep in the room overnight on the mat. I put my dogs on the mat and then get into bed. I gave them one chance. If they jumped on the bed, I would give them the "mat" command and they would either get down or stay. If they stayed OR got down but got up later, I put them in their kennel for the night. It only took a few nights for them to learn; they wanted to stay in the room.

Step 4:

Now you can train a dog to sleep on a certain spot on the bed. If your dog is not expecting to be allowed on the bed, you can control exactly where they can go. You pick the command you want so they know they are allowed on the bed. My word is "Get up". Then you pick ONE spot on the bed. If you share a bed with another human, you need to decide together where this spot would be. I suggest the foot of the bed. Whether you have a small or large dog, the foot of the bed will protect a small dog from being crushed, and protect you from a large dog that might move around a lot.

Training to this spot is similar to the mat training. Say the word and put the treat where you want them to go.

Step 5:

This is important: ALWAYS keep it mixed up. I STILL put both dogs on the mat in the bedroom. They have no idea if or when I"ll let them on the bed for the night. By doing this I maintain my authority of when and where they can go. If I let them do it every night, they will eventually start to migrate from the spot I want them in.

Just remember - repetition is the key. This is NOT going to be a one or two day thing. It will take time - but it is worth it!

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