How to Teach a Great Dane to Sleep in Your Bed

Sleeping with a Great Dane in your bed is a fairly challenging task, but gets easier with time and practice.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Great Dane, or other large dog
• Bed (larger is better)
• 6 to 10 hours

1. Acquire a young (4-8 weeks old) Great Dane puppy. Other large breeds or Great Dane mixed-breed puppies may suffice. Puppies are best acquired through local or regional animal shelters.

2. 
   Take dog on long walks.

   Dote on puppy using generous amounts of play. Bring dog to parks or beaches, go on long walks, introduce to as many persons and other dogs as possible. Play tug-of-war with sticks, rags, or other dog toys. These exertions will tire the dog, making it more susceptible to sleep.

3. 
   Lounging on the sofa.

   Dote on puppy using generous amounts of cuddling. Caress your dog's ears, pet them, rub its belly. Encourage your puppy to climb on the sofa to watch movies or television with you. Encourage your puppy to climb on the bed while you are reading books or magazines. Let your puppy nuzzle up next to you as you are doing schoolwork or organizing yourself for your job.

4. Dote on puppy using generous amounts of food and water. Constant feeding generates larger dog results.

5. 
   Ready for bedtime.

   Wait for bedtime. As puppy ages, the combination of using generous amounts of play, cuddling, and feeding should lead to your dog wanting to sleep in your bed every night.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure you have a steady supply of dog treats available. These are useful as a bribery tactic for repositioning your dog's body to give you more space on the bed.
• Use consistent command terms to train dog on proper bedtime behavior. Examples include the following: "lay down already!" "quit hogging the covers!" "move over!" "stop barking!" "stop whining, you just ate twenty minutes ago!"
• Warning: Dogs, people, and beds come in various sizes; not all combinations of these sizes will result in a positive outcome.
• Warning: Restful nights are not guaranteed by the reading of this article.
• Warning: Results not guaranteed. Not all dogs will sleep in all beds at the desired time.
• Warning: Having extra dogs or other animals (cats, etc.) may lead to atypical results.
• Warning: Spouses may not enjoy results of this process as much as you enjoy them.

[antonioescape]

on 8/8/2009 Only alpha and pack leaders sleep on beds,This is agressive and or dominant behavior waiting to happen.Your dog should only visit your bed on invitation keeping them in their pack order and place.

[jaxwaxofaz]

on 6/10/2009 How about how to teach him to NOT sleep in your bed?