How do we unlearn our pet from climbing on the bed?

Many people cannot imagine living at home without a dog’s pet. Sometimes, however, the intimacy between the pet and man becomes too much and the animal, instead of sleeping nicely on the bed, constantly occupies the owner’s bed. What can be done about it?

Why does the dog climb on the bed?

Dog hair on the couch can be very annoying, even if your pet is pampered and treated like a family member. It is especially irritating when we feel like wearing something black. Bearing in mind unpleasant consequences of our dog lazing on a sofa or an armchair, we try to teach him not to do it. Unfortunately, our animal does not think to change its habits.Why is this happening?

Dogs, just like people, love comfort. So a soft sofa or armchair will always be something much more pleasant for them than the floor or a rug. It also happens that animals treat their owners as if they were members of their pack. They want to be near them as often as possible, surrounded by the smells of people they know. This is proven by the dog’s behavior when no one is home. Even a very well-behaved dog may find itself sitting on the armchair where its owner usually sits. It’s an expression of searching for the feeling of safety, which is given to the animal by familiar smells. Sometimes the dog treats the place on the armchair or sofa as a kind of vantage point, a hill from which it can freely observe the area.

How to stop your dog from climbing on the bed? Useful tricks

The easiest way to deal with a puppy, of course. A young dog is very teachable and it’s easy to develop proper habits in him. The method is simple: do not allow your dog to climb on the bed. Under no circumstances should you put him on the bed yourself. Unfortunately, it’s often us who contribute to the problem with a dog lounging on the sofa or bedding. We don’t mind the presence of a cute puppy in such a place, but when it grows up to an adult dog weighing 30 kilograms – the matter becomes more difficult.

With an adult dog, in addition big and self-confident, developing a habit of staying on the floor won’t be so easy. So it’s worth using some clever ways which will help us in this uneven fight.

Try to let the dog get off the bed by itself

The basic rule is not to approach the dog with shouting and anger. Such an action will have little chance of success. Even if we manage to achieve something, it may be at the expense of creating other behavioral problems in the pet.

Instead, let’s try to get the animal to leave the bed on its own and, which is also extremely important, be rewarded for it. The method of bribing with treats will give better results, because it will help your pet to get used to the reward received for a specific type of behavior – in this case, it will be getting out of bed on the floor and staying there. Later on, the frequency of treats will be reduced, but the habit will remain. A simple but very effective solution.

How to properly arrange a dog bed?

You also need to make sure that your pet has no reason to climb on the bed. We already know that he, just like us, likes to lie down in a soft and comfortable place. Let’s use this knowledge when designing a dog bed.

It is important that the place for your dog to sleep should be located near the armchair or the sofa which he has so far been so eager to jump on. It would be good for it to be a bit higher and also to serve as the mentioned “vantage point”. Your dog must have a soft blanket, a pillow and toys there. He should be rewarded when he finds himself on his new bed instead of on the couch. We also need to be patient and consistent in our actions – training a dog is not always easy.