How to Make Your Puppy Sleep in Your Room But Off of Your Bed

Give your puppy its own comfy bed in your room.

Dogs are pack animals that enjoy spending time with you to feel safe, especially when sleeping. However, allowing your puppy to get in the habit of sleeping on your bed can lead to behavioral issues later in life. Prevent late-night whimpering by keeping your puppy in your room during the night, so it can sense you are near, but set aside a separate sleeping space for it next to your bed. Train your puppy from a young age to sleep in a crate and later in its own area.

Things You'll Need

• Dog crate
• Dog bed
• Blankets
• Sweatshirt
• Dog treats

Instructions

1. Set up a dog crate for your puppy next to your bed. Place a comfortable dog bed in the crate or line it with a soft blanket to make it comfortable for your puppy to sleep in.

2. Add a worn item of your clothing, such as a sweatshirt that has your scent on it, over the bed or blanket to give the puppy a sense of comfort.

3. Place some of your puppy's favorite dog treats in the crate, allowing it to find the treats on its own. This teaches your puppy to associate the crate with something good -- the dog treats.

4. Bring your puppy into your room and put it in front of the crate. Say "bedtime" and throw one or two dog treats into the crate. Close the crate and let the dog sit and eat the treats. Wait 15 minutes, then open the door. Repeat this several times each day over the period of a week, extending the time the dog remains in the crate. Verbally praise the puppy while in the crate for calm behavior.

5. Play with the puppy for 15 minutes before you plan to go to sleep to tire it out. Also take it outside to use the bathroom.

6. Bring the puppy into your room and give it the command "bedtime." It should go into the crate. Close the door to the crate and cover it with a towel to keep the crate dark, encouraging the dog to sleep throughout the night.

Tips & Warnings

• After training your dog to sleep in its crate at night, if it consistently sleeps in the crate, you can leave the crate door open. Eventually, you can also place the dog bed or blanket outside of the crate and allow the dog to sleep only on a dog bed, without the use of the crate.

• A young puppy, under 6 months of age, may need to eliminate after three to four hours in its crate, whining to let you know it needs to go. Make this trip short and follow the same procedure to command the dog back to its crate after coming back inside.

• Do not allow the puppy to sleep on the bed during the day or to sleep in a bed with other family members; this reinforces improper behavior, confusing the dog. If necessary, close the door to your room during the day, so that the puppy only has access to your room at night, where you can supervise it to only sleep in its crate.

• Prevent conflict between dogs in your home by not allowing your puppy or any other dogs to sleep on your bed with you.

• If your puppy chews on fabric items, such as bedding, do not place these items in its crate as it may ingest them, leading to an intestinal blockage; instead, give it several plastic chew toys.

• Never use a puppy's crate for punishment or confine it for longer than 8 hours overnight; this will cause the puppy to associate the crate with an unpleasant experience and it will not sleep soundly in the crate.

References

• K9 German Shepherds: Bringing Home Your New Puppy
• Veterinary Partner: Bed or Crate?
• The Whole Dog Journal: Letting Your Dog Sleep on Your Bed With You
• American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: Weekend Crate Training
• PetPlace: Where Should Your Dog Sleep?
• Veterinary Partner: Sleeping on the Bed