Where should a dog sleep?

Of course, you're going to have dog experts who say that letting him sleep in your bed is a problem. But obviously people successfully had dogs before there were people calling themselves "dog psychologists." And those people let the dogs in bed and the world did not end. If you're not seeing any problems arise, let him sleep in your bed. One thing I would say is that you should teach him to only come on the bed when he's invited by you. So maybe make him sit or do a trick before you let him in the bed. I know your kids are young but see if you can get your 2 year old involved, too. This helps him learn his order in the pack.

And you might wanna revisit the crate anyway. Try putting a lightweight sheet over it. That helped my puppy with the crying. Then if you want your bed to yourself or if you ever have to board him or if he's ever sick or any one of the millions of "what if's" that come up, the crate won't be a total shocker for him.

Crate is a great option and it worked for your other dogs. I'd stick with it. If you give in and let the dog out of the crate for crying, he wins.

From a dog psychology standpoint, dogs are pack animals. The pack leader does not leave the pack. As a result, this is something you need to train your dog to accept - that you sometimes leave the room and sleep somewhere else where he can't see you. If you act like it's no big deal (with calm and deliberate energy), the dog will see your confidence and respond favorably.

You can ease this by sticking some Kong's filled with peanut butter in there and let him hang out while you're around - you don't have to close the door behind him. Additionally, put the T-Shirt that you wore that day in the crate with him. It's loaded with your scent and offers him *some* sense that the pack leader is nearby. The other thing I'd suggest is that ALL of your dogs sleep in the same area as a pack. The pup should be fine after 2, maybe 3 nights if you stand your ground - don't get frustrated - and just remain calm and deliberate!

Good luck!

Once the dog knows the rules, you can break them - but he has to know them first. All of our dogs are crate trained, and because they are, we trust them to sleep wherever they want. Either on our bed, on the couch, on the floor, in the crate. Wherever. But they first had to learn to appreciate the crate.

Although there are many ways of crate training, and there is no method that is better than another, here's how I do it. I like it because it keeps the crying down to 30 seconds or so.

It'll take a week or so. Get a crate that is big enough for him to sit (not stand), lay down on his side with all four feet stretched out and wide enough for him to turn around without bumping into the sides.

Day one: teach him to realize the crate is a good place to be. Toss treats into it several times during the day.

Day two: give the command crate, toss a treat and when he goes into it shut the door, give him a treat and let him out.

Day three: repeat day two, only this time sit across the room and wait for 30 seconds before the treat and release.

Day four: repeat day three, only this time increase the time to 5 or 10 minutes,

Day five: give the command crate, shut the door leave the room, immediately turn around, give the treat and release.

Days six to eight: repeat day five only increase the time to an hour. If he cries for more than 30 seconds, go back, give the command sit or quiet, anything, give the treat when he complies, let him out and try again after an hour.

Day nine: Move the crate to your bedroom, or better yet, get another crate, feed him no later than 6 pm, take up all the water at 9 pm, and take him for a brisk walk/run. The dog HAS to go poop and pee before being brought inside. Also play very hard (a tired dog is a quiet dog). Give him half an hour to calm down, put him in the crate next to your bedroom and go to sleep.

If he cries, put your fingers inside the crate and comfort him, but do not let him out. If the crying gets on your nerves, take him outside for five minutes - no playing and very little communication. If he goes, quietly praise him. Irregardless, bring him back inside on leash and put him back in the crate.

If you're going to be gone for more than 4 hours during the day, confine him to a room with a baby gate or use an exercise pen instead of a crate.

Never use the crate as a source of punishment. It's supposed to be enjoyable.

lol my dog is a rescue dog too... and she stayed in her crate the first night a mere 15 minutes before I gave up (because of the crying) and slept on the couch beside her. Now she sleeps in my bed and has slept there for almost a year. I did have a few problems with "bed aggression" but it was nothing a few obedience classes couldn't cure. Something you may not have thought of is bugs. Recently my dog had a tick on her and I didn't notice it was there for a few days... during those days she slept on my bed and the tick could've been transferred to me if I hadn't used Advantix on her. I'm guessing you'll be using Advantix or something like that but you might want to talk to your vet about making your dog "extra safe" about that stuff if its going to sleep next to kids. Also talk to your vet about where the dog should sleep. The vet can confirm if the "bed aggression" might be a problem.

On a dog bed, of course!

If he's been in your bed, he'll probably keep trying to get in it, but just make him get off every time. Unless your room is carpeted, he'll probably prefer the dog bed to the floor and sleep on it instead. You may have to show him at first.

I am against allowing dogs on furniture at all, though. When I was younger I had a pit-bull mix that slept in my bed every night and never had any aggression problems. However, he was the dominant one in that relationship (I was young, didn't really know what that meant until now, when I am dealing with him as a twelve-year old with dominance issues). So, if you really want to share the bed with your dog, by all means do. He may or may not have an issue with it - calmer dogs often don't. If he does, then it really is a must to make him sleep elsewhere rather than have an escalating issue.

My dogs honestly prefer their beds to mine, and like having their own space.

I've had my doberman sleeping on my bed since she was a puppy, (she's two now). Like your pup, she doesn't move in the night so it doesn't bother me! However, every night since she was a puppy I get in bed FIRST. After I'm comfortable and settled, she is invited up. Also, she knows the meaning of OFF. If I say it once, just in a normal tone, she is expected to get off, (and she does). Sometimes when she's tired, she goes to bed before me. This is okay, but when I am ready to sleep I tell her "off" and then I get to lay down first. Once again, she is invited up. I have never had any aggression issues because it is still MY bed and she knows it. Also, when she's resting/sleeping, I don't hesitate to pet her or tell her to move if necessary. I've heard of some dogs that snap when they are disturbed and to me, this is just absurd. Hope this helps!

Well, In My Bedroom, There's A Chair And My Cairn Terrier Sleeps There... Sometimes In His Dog Bed... Or Under My Bed... It Depends On His Mood,, Usually Either Hyper Or Lazy... =P But You Shouldn't Let A Dog Sleep On Your Bed.

I would suggest crate training this dog too, even if it pulls at your heart strings. Also i agree with your mom because I've seen it happen also because it's not fair to your other dogs and he may end up harming them or your children, especially if he's a mastiff (<-- love 'em!!) mix with problems. If he whines in his crate just ignore him completely it's really hard, I know but in the end it will work out for the better and is one of the best ways to stop this however if you don't want to do that you can move his crate right next to your bed. But this could make it dangerous for you to get out of bed and still might not work because he can't see you and would end up yowling right next to your ear (not fun).

Hope this helps, congratulations, and good luck!!! :)

Our dogs sleep in our bed with us and we have no problem with them and our kids,both are rescues also. What we did was when our kids got in the bed with us and the dog has a positive reaction we would give him loves and a treat so he associated the kids with good things. However you could always put a dog bed on the floor.

A comfortable dog bed seems fine or in the bed with u so he gets used to u