What if my dog won't sleep in its bed?
You just shelled out a good one hundred dollars on
a dog bed. You carefully selected the appropriate print and design, you
spent hours deciding if you like the texture of the bed, you thought long
and hard about where it would go in your home and you decided whether or not
it would match the rest of the room it is to be stored. Then you take it
home and put it in front of your dog.
Finally your dog yawns. It is ready to find a
comfortable place to sleep. It walks over to the dog bed. It sniffs it a few
times, turns, lifts its leg, and urinates all over the dog bed.
What Happened?
Just because you went out and purchased a dog bed
for your pet does not mean that it necessarily recognizes what its use is.
Some dogs take to beds right away, finding it an extremely comfortable
location that is perfect for sleeping and resting.
But other dogs may do any one of the following:
·
Urinate on the dog bed.
·
Chew on the dog bed like a toy.
·
Ignore the dog bed completely.
Dog beds are named that way by those that create
them. That does not mean that your dog necessarily knows, recognizes, or
plans on using the dog bed for its ultimate purpose.
What Should You Do?
When you get a dog bed, there are several things
that need to already be established. If your dog is not properly house
trained, or if your dog sees itself as alpha in the household, it may not
adapt well to the bed you brought home. Some dogs that were not house
trained correctly see any soft object as a bathroom location, and dogs that
think they are alpha may be urinating on the bed because they sense or
scent.
In addition, your dog may not understand that this
bed is for sleeping. You may need to slowly train this dog to sleep on the
bed. You can use various forms of clicker training, or you can place the bed
in your dog’s favorite sleeping location until it starts to recognize its
purpose, or you can gently pet your dog on top of the bed until it gets
tired and lies down. But recognizes you may need to train your dog to use
the dog bed correctly.
The Purchase is Only Step One
Buying a dog bed is a good investment for your pet.
But make sure you note that your dog may not simply start sleeping on it
right away. If it has not been properly house trained or does not quite
understand what the purpose of the dog bed is, you should be prepared to
give it ample amounts of training so that it ultimately recognizes what the
dog bed is eventually. And don’t forget to give plenty of treats, because
you want the dog bed not only to be seen as a resting place, but also as a
space that represents both happy thoughts and safety.
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