Cuddle or train to sleep in his bed?

Vince00

New member
Community Veteran
Feb 14, 2012
587
61
Estevan, Sask
Bulldog(s) Names
Kain
Going through the puppy stages with Kain and he loves to cuddle and be held like a baby. All this is ok but I can't help but think this will be a mistake later. Does the attitude change later and he will sleep on his bed or should I be enforcing that now?

I feel I should be enforcing it but he WILL NOT go to sleep without being held unless we kennel him downstairs. This is fine but when he gets puppy biting we also have to kinda timeout and let him get rest so kennel him as well.

My concern is I don't want him to reject the kennel.

Lastly, are they dominate to be alpha dog? I have concerns of doing that right and not wanting to make mistakes lifting them up on the furniture, we won't allow him to put his feet up on his own (definite work in progress). Watching ceaser Millan and brad on end of my leash makes me think treat them as a pet and be in charge period.

I can't break his puppy mentality to sleep in his bed, he walks around dead tired from person to person.
 

kazzy220

..........
Jul 31, 2010
8,556
441
Grafton, OHIO
Country
England
Bulldog(s) Names
Maggie (My Angel Baby 5/31/2012). Daddy (2 years). Linus (1year). Bella (4 years)
Going through the puppy stages with Kain and he loves to cuddle and be held like a baby. All this is ok but I can't help but think this will be a mistake later. Does the attitude change later and he will sleep on his bed or should I be enforcing that now?

I feel I should be enforcing it but he WILL NOT go to sleep without being held unless we kennel him downstairs. This is fine but when he gets puppy biting we also have to kinda timeout and let him get rest so kennel him as well.

My concern is I don't want him to reject the kennel.

Lastly, are they dominate to be alpha dog? I have concerns of doing that right and not wanting to make mistakes lifting them up on the furniture, we won't allow him to put his feet up on his own (definite work in progress). Watching ceaser Millan and brad on end of my leash makes me think treat them as a pet and be in charge period.

I can't break his puppy mentality to sleep in his bed, he walks around dead tired from person to person.

Don't ya just love the puppy stage ... :ROFL::nope::yes::cry::p


Maggie sleeps with us ... she's the diva .. she knows it ... we know it ... but she still started off in a cage.

Daddy is in a cage ... and has only recently at 18 months come out of the cage but still locked in the laundry room. He has stoppped eating stuff but still occasionally pees his bed and just doesnt seem to care!!!

Linus is now just over 4 months and is in a cage, but he is so much better that I do finally see him coming upstairs and also because I call him my :luv: and so can't wait for the day when I get to cuddle him during the night too :up: But, for now, just like you he is in his cage. Apart from the fact that he may pee, poop or chew something dangerous when I'm asleep I also want him to be totally house trained before he comes upstairs.

The alpha question is personal to each dog. Your puppy has undoubtedly accepted you or not as pack leader. If you become pack leader what room in the house you are in makes no difference.
 

ChanelnBrutus

Snookie ain't got nuttin on me!
Feb 6, 2012
4,928
181
New Jersey
Bulldog(s) Names
Brutus (EBD 6/4/11), Chanel (Pitbull 12/23/06)
[MENTION=4305]Vince00[/MENTION] I always said they need to be housetrained before given full roam of the home! :yes: As a puppy they need a crate area to sleep, eat and just relax.:bully: They may be upset but use blankets, toys and some treats to encourge it..You can try putting him where you sleep so he can see you but Im no expert and I do tend to spoil my bullkids :D..The crate shouldnt be used as punishment or be associated with bad. That is there safe haven to get away lol Thats what Brutus did but it takes time and Im the first to admit the first couple nights :nonono: okay The first almost 2 weeks :p I let him sleep with us in bed and it was bad :yes: bad bad! He pee pee on the floor, bed, matress, pillows, blankets, and even my leg by accident and then I went and no Im kidding on the leg hahaha okay back sorry....The best time to train for housebreaking is when they are young! If we let them continue to have accidents in areas we dont want they tend to get confused and it takes longer of a process! DOnt be discouraged everything takes time! Let me know if you need anything :D
 

malaviKat

New member
Jun 15, 2011
250
13
Toronto
Country
Canada
Bulldog(s) Names
Chance
Chance has never been allowed to sleep with us in the bed. He jumped on the bed twice when he was a younger puppy, ran around like crazy and peed all over the duvet. I was, let me say rather inelegantly, pissed. Now that he's older, we did try to let him into our bed once just for fun (it was the night before laundry day). He kept walking around and around the bed and staring at us as if to say WTF? Eventually, he got into the bed, but sat at the foot, still staring. Then he tried to lie down between us, but turned around and stared at his crate in the living room. Eventually, he just got up and went back to his crate. :p

Anyway, he has always been trained to respect and like the crate. We don't really punish him to the crate though sometimes, if he's acting crazy, we do put him in there to lie down for a bit. When he was younger, he would actually just go to the crate himself, whenever he got tired, even if we had company over.

Now that he's older, he tends to stay out of the crate until it is bedtime, but as soon as we say it's bedtime, he goes right into his crate and waits to be locked in. He is also crated when we leave the house. I have been leaving for short periods (to check the mail or something) and leaving him uncrated so he gets used to it. Today I could hear him barking all the way to the elevator of my condo. Since I know he doesn't bark when he's crated, it is quite clear that he loves his crate and expects to be in it when his people aren't around. (I came back up from checking the mail today to find him sitting and looking at the front door.)

FWIW, Chance only slept in our bedroom (in his crate) one night as a puppy. His bedroom is in the living room and he is very happy there.

Oh and yes, I think they will definitely try to dominate you so be alpha in all you do! (Precede them through doors, eat before they do etc.) And if you want them to love their crate, try putting one of your old t-shirts or something with your scent into their crate/on their bedding.

Enjoy your cuddly baby!!
 

ollieivy

New member
Feb 26, 2012
416
13
Bulldog(s) Names
Oliver and Ivy Claire
Ollie and Ivy sleep with us. I suppose it has its disadvantages, but we look forward to cuddling with them every night. They do not dominate us in any way.

I am not encouraging this, because it's probably better that pets do not sleep in their humans' bed, but we love it.

That being said, we do have a finished basement with a spare bedroom, and they have never been invited down there, so they just don't even try. So if we want a bully-free sleep, it's available.
 
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Cooper11

Guest
I think if you don't want her to sleep with you when she is bigger then snip it in the butt now and make her sleep in her bed. But it is so hard to not snuggle with that cute little chunky butt! I snuggle my Coop and he sleeps in my bed even if he has bad :fart:and I am planning on letting his always sleep in my bed! Just watch out if he isn't potty trained yet he might :poo: on the bed!

and even with allowing him in my bed or full roam of the house he will be MIA and I will look for him and he will be in his kennel laid out! I think they like the coolness and the confinement of the kennel! But when it comes to going to sleep for the night he wants in my bed. He is in the kennel right now,,,went there on his own....Last night he did the same thing and when he woke and realized we were all in bed he comes moping into the bedroom with his eyes barely open to have me put him on the bed. I have no clue how I wake up when he comes in the room but I always do, that and he will growl at me to let him up!
 
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ollieivy

New member
Feb 26, 2012
416
13
Bulldog(s) Names
Oliver and Ivy Claire
Glad to hear that other parents sleep with their bullies.
 
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Cooper11

Guest
Glad to hear that other parents sleep with their bullies.
There is a lot of us that sleep with our babies! They just haven't chimed in yet! :) I wouldn't have it any other way I love my cuddle bug, even though he takes up most the bed, as long as he is comfy!
 

JeannieCO

Queenie
Mar 11, 2011
12,680
873
Tip of the Mitt, Michigan
Country
USA
Bulldog(s) Names
Emma, Charlie, Milo, Peekaboo and Jack
Wilson (just turned 1) and Emma(13 weeks) are both up on the bed for about 40 minutes before we go to sleep. Emma usually falls asleep first and then I gently put her in to her nighttime crate which is next to the bed. Wilson then gets helped off the bed for the night. Our bed is high so if they were to jump off they could get hurt. It's a personal preference really. If you keep him on the bed it will turn into a life-long adventure. Our old dog Ace who just passed was always on the bed and we sort tried over the years to get him to sleep in his bed but he was miserable because he was used to being with us. He was very co-dependent and loved loved to be touched and held.

Jack (1 year old) my non bully sleeps with us, we can't keep him off the bed and finally just gave in. He's very tall and lanky and would jump up on the bed in the middle of the night and plopped down quick. He never woke us up. He's always on the bed now.
 
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Vince00

Vince00

New member
Community Veteran
Feb 14, 2012
587
61
Estevan, Sask
Bulldog(s) Names
Kain
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #10
Thanks everyone, he sleeps great and through the night in the crate now and we intend to keep it that way. I was more curious about the downtime on off days like 1pm to 3:30 pm when we are normally at work and school. How to work with him on weekends and sick days etc.

Thanks again.
vince
 

Sybil76

New member
Community Veteran
Feb 7, 2012
670
15
Kansas
Bulldog(s) Names
Tess & Rocky
Glad to hear that other parents sleep with their bullies.

Me three!! Tess sleeps with us but I think it's up to you and the dog. We also let our Yorkie sleep us and now he sleeps with our skin boys!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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ImAGuinneyPig

Guest
Guinness was crated at night and anytime we were out of the house until she was fully house trained and trustworthy. I think it was around 9-10 months. Now she sleeps in bed with us. On the odd night, she has fallen asleep on the couch before bedtime and doesn't wake up when we leave. But halfway through the night we'll get the Piggy jumping in bed.

The key is not to associate the crate with anything negative. Don't use it as punishment. Guinness still loves her crate. We get up early in the morning, so she will get out of bed and go right into her crate to "sleep in" while we get ready for work. She will also just randomly sit in there sometimes. It's her safe place and she knows she can always go there for some quiet time on her own.

I am not the biggest fan of Cesar, though some things he does are ok. Brad is AWFUL. I don't know how that guy has a tv show. Just awful. I would just enrol in a good obedience class with your puppy. There is nothing better. Socializes them with new dogs and people, and you learn some things along the way.

As far as "dominating" your dog, I've never really had to worry about that, I don't think. Maybe that just comes from having owned dogs in the past. As long as my dog obeys me, has manners, and basic obedience, then no problems here.
 

Twice

My Bully Gave Me Wings
Feb 3, 2012
2,686
311
Woodbridge Township, NJ
Bulldog(s) Names
Abby (my Sweetie Head 10.24.11-11.23.12) and Otis
Abby has been sleeping with us for about a week now, if my pre-coffee math is right she is 17 weeks old? My son and I worked out a schedule but she's been staying with me no matter what that paper says :) After her first accident in the bed I bought waterproof mattress covers and switched to old comforters in case it happened again. I walk her right before I go to bed at 11 and she normally wakes me around 3 to be let out. She gets a small drink of pedialyte and back to bed for all of us. There haven't been any more accidents in the bed AND!! Last night was the first night she did not wake me to go out.

As for her crate, I started putting her in there when we first brought her home. I didn't want her to think the crate was a bad place so we gated up the kitchen, put her toys in the crate and never closed the door on it. Now she brings all of her favorite toys in there and she sleep in it all day while I'm at work or after eating or playing and wants a nap. The door has still never been shut.

Miss Abby is a special case tho. We are intentionally spoiling her.
 
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Vince00

Vince00

New member
Community Veteran
Feb 14, 2012
587
61
Estevan, Sask
Bulldog(s) Names
Kain
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  • #14
excellent stuff here... Any suggestions for a timeout area when he starts to puppy bite etc and doesn't want to get out of the zone and starts to treat it as further playing instead?

Currently I let the bad phase stop then change his pace and let him jump in his pen and give an ice cube.

From this point forward I would like to have a spot to respond to bad behaviors if he just won't listen in that regard.

Thanks again! Great group of people here.
 

Blitzburggirl

New member
Feb 21, 2012
64
3
Bulldog(s) Names
Paisley
Pais loves her crate. She seems to have an internal clock that sends her to her bed, around 10pm. We stay up laaaaate, and she doesn't want any part of that! Our bedrooms are upstairs, and, she chooses not to go up there. On occasion, if Daniel is in his room or something playing, I'll carry her up for him (I KNOW!!!) and she'll lay on his bed. He has a bunk with a trundle that is less than a foot off the ground. IF he sleeps in his room (he's the one in my bed, not Paisley!) he sleeps on the trundle, so it's out, with lots of pillows and blankets. I think she thinks it's actually her upstairs bed LMAO.

My guy has a one story house, and she never gets on the beds there. He lifts her up on his bed every now and then, and she acts like she's on a surfboard in the middle of the ocean. Stiff legs and counting seconds til he puts her back on the floor LMAO

I don't allow her on the couch either, but, she does find that comfortable ;) when I'm not looking. OH, I do let her lay on the ottoman when we are watching movies. We push it up to the couch, and she hops up, and snuggles between our legs.

As far as dominance? Well, any dog will assume a leadership role if you don't. But, I don't think leadership is about whether you choose to let him sleep with you :) as long as YOU make the choice, not him.
 

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