The best place for your pooch to sleep at night should be in his lair. However, if your dog does not want to sleep in his bed, there are several ways you can convince him to do so. First of all make sure your dog’s lair is comfortable for him. Also, a good idea is to place there a surprise for him sometimes in the evening.
What will you learn from this article::
- the dog may not want to sleep in his ben because it is uncomfortable
- if you allow your dog to sleep in your bed, it is very likely that he will not want to sleep in his own lair
- prepare some surprises for your dog in his bedding
Teaching a dog to sleep in his lair
You attach great importance to choosing the best possible bed for your four-legged friend. You wonder which model will be the most comfortable for your dog and will give him a good night’s sleep. Your pooch, however, has a different opinion about sleeping in his bedding. He doesn’t want to spend the night in it. Do you know this problem?
As it turns out, this behaviour in dogs is quite common and we can observe it often. However, sleeping in different parts of the house is not good for a dog. Therefore, I want to help you with how to teach your dog to sleep in the liar.
This is the most beneficial solution for your dog’s health. A permanent place for the dog gives the dog a sense of security. Therefore, it is important to create a refuge for your dog where he will feel good and confident while sleeping.
Why doesn’t the dog want to sleep in his lair?
There may be several reasons why your dog does not want to sleep in his bed. Familiarize yourself with them and consider which one might suit your pooch.
– the couch may be uncomfortable
One of the most common reasons for the reluctance of a pet to sleep in his bed is uncomfortable bedding. Consider if its size is right for your dog. Perhaps the bedding is already too small for him and the pooch feels discomfort during sleep.
The reason may also lie in the poor quality of the bedding. It may not fit your doggy’s body shape well. It is made of a material that is unpleasant to the touch. These all directly affect your dog’s sleep quality.
From my own experience, I can recommend dog beds from the Bowl&Bone Republic brand. My pet’s favourite is a comfortable bed from the URBAN line. My pet also has a matching cushion.
Dog bed |URBAN graphite
– your pet’s bedding may be poorly positioned
Where your dog’s lair is located is very important to him. Above all, he must be able to freely observe everything around him. Otherwise, your pooch will feel anxious.
The lair should also not be placed directly under a light source that is on until a very late hour. It is also important that there is a quiet and peaceful atmosphere in the place where your dog’ bedding is located.
– your doggy is afraid of loneliness
Your little dog may experience discomfort when he has to sleep in a room where he is all alone. Dogs can also be afraid of the dark and loneliness. Therefore, perhaps your dog does not want to sleep in his lair, because in his eyes a better choice is to fall asleep on the floor but right next to you.
How to teach a dog to sleep in his bed
When you buy a bed for your dog, you hope that it will be a perfect place for him to nap. The reality, however, turns out to be completely different. Your pooch absolutely doesn’t want to sleep through the night on his bedding.
I have prepared some useful tips for you that will help you teach your four-legged friend to sleep in his own lair.
Don’t let your dog sleep in your bed
First of all, you need to be aware that you cannot expect your dog to want to sleep in his lair if you also allow him to sleep in your bed. I think that no pooch in such a situation will decide on his bedding.
Therefore, taking your doggie into your care, you have to teach him from the very first days that his lair is the place where he spends the night. If you let your doggy sleep in your bed from time to time, he won’t be able to understand why you sometimes agree and sometimes don’t.
The doggy can feel confused and lost by your inconsistency in your behaviour.
Reward for sleeping in the lair
If you want to know how to teach a dog to sleep in a lair, it is worth mentioning that in the case of learning this skill, you can use rules useful in other commands. So it will be very useful to prepare rewards for your four-legged friend for sleeping in his bed.
Thanks to this, your pooch will develop positive associations with his lair. This will be extremely helpful, especially at the beginning of learning, when the dog is very reluctant to sleep in his bed.
What can be a reward in this situation? Of course, something that in your pooch’s eyes will seem interesting in some way. It can be a new toy, but also a favourite delicacy. It is important that this is a reward that will give your pet a good form of encouragement.
Each time his bedtime, prepare some form of surprise for your four-legged friend in his bedding. Thanks to this, the pooch will feel more excited going to his bed.
Over time, when your pet learns to sleep in his lair and it becomes obvious to him, slowly limit rewarding him for it. Before doing so, however, make sure it is an obvious place for your dog to sleep.
The dog’s bed should evoke positive associations
The basis for your four-legged friend to want to spend the night in his lair is that he must feel good and confident in it. First of all, his message should by no means be associated with punishment or something unpleasant.
Very often, when we want to punish the dog for bad behaviour, we send him ‘to the place’, i.e. to his bedding. As a result, your four-legged friend begins to perceive this place negatively. This is the place he goes when his guardian is angry with him, which makes your pooch sad as well. Your pet feels very upset when he sees the disappointment in your eyes.
Therefore, never take your doggy’s lair as a place where you tell him to go when he’s armed. For dogs, associations are very important in everyday life. If the bed reminds him of unpleasant situations, it is very likely that he will not want to sleep in it.
Sleep is the moment when the pooch can rest, and relax. The lair should be his asylum, a place where he feels comfortable and completely safe. The message should therefore not be associated with negative and unpleasant situations and emotions.
The lair is the dog’s favorite place
If you want to teach your dog to sleep in his own lair, you will need to be consistent in action. You can’t take your pooch to your bed for the night from time to time as this will make him feel confused. It would be a very uneducational situation.
Your pooch eagerly falls asleep in his bedding? If not, where does he usually sleep? Let me know by leaving a comment below.
If you have a question for me or want me to bring up a topic in the next post, be sure to share it with me in the comments section.
or CANADA 
PLEASE join us at