Is it wrong...

T

TayloredEq

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Joined
20 December 2007
Messages
1,105
Location
Shropshire
www.tayloredequestrian.com
...to let Bear sleep on my bed?

To be fair, it is my bed in the lorry as I have had to sleep in here last night and tonight and I needed him and the cheeky boy to help me keep warm!!!

Have booked some 1 to 1 training for Bear as none of the puppy classes round here start till January. And he is apparently going to explain the basic groundrules you need to keep with your dog - am thinking letting them sleep on your bed might not go down too well, especially as he is an ex police dog handler!!
 
I've known a few police dog handlers - they are all soft
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I wouldnt say it is wrong personally, it is personal choice
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When I had two large dogs then they didnt sleep on the bed because there wasnt enough space - now I only have one then she is being a huffy little madam and refuses to come upstairs, looking at me with that 'oh no, you said I shouldnt do so there' expression on her face
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IT really depends on you as a confident leader, and him as a dog, what breed is he?
I can and do let my dogs on the bed when I want to......this morning, as my matress is on the floor at the moment, as we are awaiting delivery of new bed
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my rotti was lying beside me, when OH got up, I was dying with an earche
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, and she cuddles in, HOWEVER, if I tell her to move or get off, she will.....is she growled or refused, I would have no problem reprimanding her and using force if need be to get her off..........could u and would u do this if the need arose?

In general people go out, get a large breed, say rotti for example, and basically let it run wild, teach no boundaries or, rules, let it drag on the lead, snatch food, run riot, have no basic training, and then allow it on the bed and furniture...then one day, decide....u want it off, cos it's too big....and the dog thinks...."NO WAY HOSAY!!!!"..."I have been on here for the past year, and now im a big beast, and I am telling u im not getting off....with my teeth and!!! and vocally by growling", the owner , that has set no boundaries and let the dog rule the roost, then p!sses their knickers and backs off.......allowing the dog to own and take charge of the situation.....we get alot of large breeds in...for this exact reason.

If that self and same dog had been taught the rules and u where a consistent owner, i.e good basic training, respect, no doubt re leadership, then when you want him or her off...and u say GET DOWN.....they should........hence u have been consistent and he/she knows to do as they are told
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Does that
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make any sense
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"Im not up my own arse enough to say....well I do, but u shouldn't", it totally depends on the type of owner u are, and how confident a leader you are, if your a non confident one with little or no leadership skills, don't, even go there
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Agree with Cala, you need to set boundaries, if one day the OH or you decide you'd rather not have a big lump of a dog on your bed, the dog needs to know that it has to leave and should be famililiarised with that command - not just all of a sudden one day not being allowed to do something it has been doing for days, weeks or months with no explanation.
 
Thanks for the reply!

I would like to say that I am a confident leader. I totally understand the need for boundaries ( I ride and compete a 16.3hh stallion).

Since the whole litter arrived at 4 weeks whenever they ran up to us we asked them to sit and pushed their bottoms to the floor so that they don't jump up.

When in the house he is still restricted to the kitchen - he ( and the other remaining puppy) spend all day on the yard with me. If their play gets out of hand then they are reprimanded with a firm no and a (gentle) shake to the scruff of their neck.

At the moment they are very responsive to it.

The puppy training will start next week. My reason for keeping Bear was for safety when I have to stay on site to monitor a horse on my own (ie as I am doing tonight). I am very interested in doing as much training with Bear as possible and whilst I want him to be a visual deterrent to people I want an affectionate dog.

I really feel that we have bonded and since he was about 6 weeks old he would often leave the rest of the litter to come and look for me, his eyes would follow me round the room and if there were a group of puppies together and I called them he would always be the first to come.

So fingers crossed as long as I am firm and don't let him take over control then we should be alright!!!
 
Yes it is wrong and you must not do it
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...........is the thought that goes through my mind every night as I'm settling them down with extra duvets and making sure the pillows are at the right angle and that there's a tiny bit of room left for me
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Seriously, I don't see a problem with it as long as the dog knows absolutely that one word and they're off. As CALA said, get a big dog with no boundaries who thinks he's pack leader and you would be in trouble.

It used to be thought unhygienic but it's just been on the news that women should leave their houses dirty so children can build up immunities, so I think it should be the law that all dogs <u>must</u> sleep on beds
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Our GSD's aren't allowed upstairs, but my old lancashire heeler used to come upstairs when i was a kid and sleep on my bed until Mum went to bed. Even though she was tiny, she always managed to take up the entire bed, and leave me curled in a ball at the top!
 
lol I am completely with you on this one. It is a terrible thing to do and I have no idea why any owner would do it. Again same with you, I wonder this and chant to myself every time I find myself squished off the bed by Bailey. I can move him if I drag him off but to see him know I am awake and trying to shove him over, wedge his straight legs out against the wall so I cannot possibly move him across and then act like he is completely asleep is hilarious. Not so much at 3am, but really, dog is a nut!
 
I've heard about somebody who bought this lovely Labrador Retriever puppy, being so, so cute, when it wanted to sleep like a hat above his masters pillow. Only problem was that puppy grew, but were he slept didn't change...



In your case TayloredEquestrian, I think it can depend on the kind of coat he's going to get. If he has a smoother sort of GSD coat, he could want to continue to sleep in your bed, but if he going to become a fluffy sort of GSD, he might think that anything above 10 minutes in your bed, turns it into a sauna and leave voluntarily.
Personally, I've always taught my dogs "up" and "down" commands. So I can have them in my bed when I want to, but if I say "down" they know they have to leave. But none of my Lapphunds wants to stay all night, in the long run they prefer the cold floor.
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from Sweden.
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As M88 says our GSDs are not allowed upstairs, although do sneak up. THe main reason I don't let them sleep in my bedroom is because I have sadly found that as old age sets in they struggle with our steep, narrow stairs, and feel it would be even harder to stop them coming up when they are used to it. I would actually love to have one up there with me
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Really good news you have only one pup left, you have done well finding them homes, they are not the easiest of breeds to place, but they were gorgeous.
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Would be interested to know who you are training Bear with (pm if you prefer).
 
Only wait till he gets old and starts loosing his hearing Breeze_mum... My first Buhund got herself the habit, in our fenced in summer-home garden, of when looking at you saying "Come" + show hand-sign, she'd put her head sideways trying to listen with that ear, get her head back up, look straight at you with a special look in her eyes saying "Sorry, but I can't HEAR you giving me any command!" and wander away...


Nessie also liked to sleep with her legs straight out but 1 she always had a security distance towards the wall, so her small little golden paws wouldn't bump into it, and 2 she only developed habit 1 after 5 years of age when SHE decided that she was my mothers dog and started sleeping in her bed.
Nessie had her own pillow, but often managed to somehow end up sleeping on both her own and my mothers, and when her hips started being affected of that they wasn't so good, I built a ramp for her (on my mothers request, because she liked that Nessie slept in her bed).




And TayloredEquestrian, I forgot to say that [ QUOTE ]
I really feel that we have bonded and since he was about 6 weeks old he would often leave the rest of the litter to come and look for me, his eyes would follow me round the room...

[/ QUOTE ] sounds so lovely, and it reminded me about how Nessie looked after my mother (but in their case it were not developed until about six months before we new my mother had developed rheumatism).

The thing is, though we didn't really have any problems because it, I realise there was several situations were we could have gotten problems. Personally I felt it would have been very easy to be more indulgent and allow Nessie to do things, I wouldn't allow another dog to do, because the special bond she and my mother had.



from Sweden.
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oh FLH I don't have to worry about a ramp!! Bailey was so happy to get upstairs one day he jumped on my divan bed and broke it ... I am now sleeping on a couple of mattresses until I can get out and find a new bed (just for me, they are getting their own sleep area - but don't tell them that just yet) so it is nice and low for him to crawl up on
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Alternatively, they can all have the mattresses and I will start sleeping in Layla's crate so I get some peace
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So long as you set the ground rules that as soon as you ask him to get off he does so, it is up to you. I agree with MM though about discouraging him from going upstairs as it can cause problems with their back legs.

Most GSDs I have met are incredibly easy to train and have an innate desire to please and protect their owner, and if you get it right you will have a fabulous dog!
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THanks for your replies everyone.

I think Bear thought it was very right!! And he was very happy sleeping with me in the lorry. However last night we were back in the house and he and the other puppy have both voiced their unhappiness about being kept in the kitchen again. (however as they have yet to be allowed anywhere else in the house they have had to deal with it!!)
 
absolutely agree about the stairs particularly for young dogs. I am lucky I have a very shallow set of stairs separated by a half landing, but still carried Bailey and now Layla up and down them. Carrying a 4/5 month old Bailey was no fun, but his legs are great!
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