Hi All -
Got a 5-year old Pug who's been pretty good with staying out of the bedroom when told to do so (at least for the last 3 places we lived at). He's been sleeping in our bed for <cough> most of his life, so it's a long habit, but when told to stay in his dog bed in the kitchen, he was fine.

Now we moved again at the beginning of the year and all of a sudden he's got issues with staying out of the bedroom. Being a spoilt little rascal, he will whine and whine. And. Whine. We tried to ignore it, but after 2 hours of continuous whining and our need for at least *some* sleep, we gave in.

I hate to ask this, but is it too late to train him away from the bedroom and if (hopefully) not, how can this be done? Put him in his crate and in a room as far away as possible from our bedroom so we don't hear the whining/barking? (The garage seems very attractive, all of a sudden)

Thanks!

No, I don't think it is too late to retrain him. And it is not too late to retrain you either (just a joke). The biggest thing is consistency. I sometimes think dogs are smarter than people and know exactly how to wear one down and push for the final button.

You can take him out of the bedroom, crate him in the kitchen, close your bedroom door, wear ear plugs for awhile, and remember to reinforce all the times he is quiet. I understand about the garage. That may be a desperate last ditch effort to restore who is who in the house. But if you do that, you have to be able to not let him in the bedroom to sleep at any time. Door closed.

Hopefully some of the other dog owners will give their insight into your situation also. Good luck!

Thanks, ShyGrnEyez.
EAR PLUGS! Ingenious.. thanks, that's a great idea, hadn't thought of that. I was thinking of moving the stereo into the bedroom, but ear plugs seem much easier. Also, if one of us snored, that would take of that too. Thanks again.

Slave, yes, you have done a very nice job of training your dog to sleep with you. LOL. Also throw into the mix that you have moved many times. Dogs are creatures of habit. He may very well find comfort in your smell. I bet that when you aren't home, that is where he spends his time.

It will take longer to train an older dog to use a crate than a puppy, but it can be done. It is not necessary to put the crate out of the bedroom. Labman has a technique he uses with puppies that are new to a home that might work in your situation. I would try it with the crate in the bedroom first. If your dog is completely resistant, then move the crate to another room. But, I would put in a t-shirt, towel, or something that has yours & your spouse's smell on it along with a favorite toy. When your dog is in the crate, lie down next to it until he settles down. You may want to start doing this whenever you are around. You need to start desensitizing him to the crate before you leave him in there all night long. That means, short periods and extending the duration each time you do it. You want him to view it as his very own safe place, not as punishment. I am sure labman will stop by with more input. In the meantime, labman also talks about crate training in his sticky. Please read this link until he has a chance to pop in:
https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...man-53153.html

RubyPitBull, thank you, too, for responding. Yes, we often joke about how routine-obsessed Beenie (the Pug) is. When we watch TV at night in the living room, he'll be sound asleep, but as soon as he hears the TV being turned off he'll rise from deepest, comatose sleep, jump up and race to the bedroom.
It's probably the same routine-obsessed mind that urges him to sit on my chest at 6:30am on the weekends, since he knows I'm the one taking him out and feeding him. I feel Frankensteinian.

The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete For more on being top dog, see Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position

I remember not letting the dog sleep in bed with you is rule #13. When you have a dog, one of you is in charge. Many homes are run by 10 pounds of dog. It is time for you to challenge him for the pack leader role. If he is neutered, it will go much easier. Since exiling him has failed in the past, perhaps put it off until you make some other progress in showing him things have changed. Remember, a top dog isn't a drill sergeant, more like a strict parent. A loving parent, but very consistent. Behavioral theory suggests intermittent reinforcement is very powerful. Occasional slip ups perpetuate behaviors you are trying to train out of the dog. It will be hard training yourself to have the consistency you need. One of the differences between a great dog trainer and others is the level of self discipline.

Opinions on letting the dog sleep with you vary. I say, unless, as it sounds like in this case, it is a matter of personal taste. Our dogs sleep in a crate downstairs. Do you want him out of the bedroom, or just out of the bed? It may be easier to impose sleeping in a crate in the bedroom than elsewhere in the house. Before long, he must be put in the crate at bed time and left there. Start with a vigorous walk or a prolonged game of fetch or something. Whatever will leave him ready for a nap. A Kong filled with peanut butter might help too. He can't lick peanut butter and whine at the same time. He may fall asleep before getting it finished.

Hi Labman

Thanks for the feedback. Yes, getting him out of the bed is more important than getting him out of the bedroom, I'd just assumed the two were synonymous.
So we'd got a new (soft) crate with zippers all over, and yesterday we bought a new cuddle from Target. Put the two together and added his blanket and one of my t-shirts and we started the experiment.

I was the one who kept him some company on the floor and then left Beenie (Pug) to it. Initially we left the front door (flap) open/unzipped and Beenie would sneak out and try to get on the bed again as soon as he thought we were asleep, so after 3 failed attempts I finally zipped up the front flap/door, went back to bed, expecting the worst...
Will he whine, will he bark? NO! Nothing of the sort! It's the first night he's *not* been in bed with us in a year!

I can't believe it! He only started whining this morning when it was his time to mark the neighbourhood again. So the crate and his blanket alone weren't enough... it took a t-shirt and actually "locking him up" that persuaded him to stay. Amazing...
When the flag was still open and we wouldn't let him on the bed, he did once step out, go to the bathroom and do one of his frustration pees, but I guess that's another story/post.

Thanks to all again for the feedback.

As a Lab owner, my skin crawls at the thought of a soft sided crate and a cuddle. But as I have posted at least hundreds of times on crates, ''Other dogs may
Not be as bad as the young Labs I am plagued with.'' What would be a disaster with one dog, works fine with the next. There are even dogs that destroy the wire crates.

Nothing makes my day like reading somebody tried something and it worked. Your report both encourages me and helps others. Thank you.

I have a chawawa who is the same way he ether sleeps with me and my husband or one of the kids we spoiled him from day one he eats only ceratins food and raw hide bones and he will also scrach at the door of my room if I shut it until I let him in I tried to kennel train him but it didn't work try keeping 3 year old mommy from letting him out now that a challenge (mommy is my daughter ) he always has to sleep with some one any how your not the only one with a spoiled animal lol there are millions out there lol

Many a house is ruled by 10 pounds of a dog. The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete For more on being top dog, see Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position See also their page on dogs and children.

I hope what he is eating is a dog chow. Even with all the recall problems, it is still the best way for the average dog owner to assure a good diet . If you need help converting him to dog chow, see the sticky at https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/i...tml#post254171