Why does my dog HAVE to sleep with me?

Question

She has to sleep with me on my bed and under the covers, snuggled next to my leg. it used to be sweet, but i don't get much rest anymore?

Answer 1

Dogs are social animals & sleep huddled up to each other in the wild. They would never be alone day or night. I had a puppy that I let sleep in the bed with me for the first two nights. Only because I needed some sleep & she wasn't used to being alone. I didn't get much sleep though because I was worried I would lay on her! On the third night I put her in a crate on top the bedside table so she would think that she was still in bed with me. Eventually I moved it to the floor & had no problems at all. I would get your dog a bed that she can have raised off the ground right besides yours. Let her have covers of her own & put them over her. Place your arm or your leg inside her bed so you are touching her when she goes to sleep. Once she is asleep you can move back into your own bed. You could even warm her bed up before hand with a hot water bottle, if its heat she wants.This may sound silly but it is a way to wean her off getting in your bed. You can't go on forever without much sleep.

Answer 2

My Chihuahua sleeps with me too. I know it started because when he was a tiny puppy I was scared to leave him out over night, and he would wine so bad in his playpen until I got him out. And he would sleep under the covers, and when his nose touched my leg it grossed me out. So, now that he's over a year old, I've started holding the bedding down when he tried to sneak under the covers and firmly tell him NO!. It took a couple weeks, but now he doesn't get under the covers anymore. But he does sleep ON the bed, which is fine with me.

I don't know what kind of dog you own, but I"ve always heard that small dogs tend to want to sleep under the covers and be extremely close the their owner. Atleast you know he loves you a lot.

Answer 3

Well, YOU trained your dog.
Once you allow a dog to do something (like get up on your bed, or sleep on your couch, etc) then the dog will continue to do it. Especially if it's something the dog really wants to do, like cuddle up with you to go to sleep.
If you decide to retrain her now, it's going to be hard, but not impossible. But as soon as you allow her up on the bed just once, then she'll know it's okay (at least SOME of the time) and she'll just keep on trying until you give in.
The important thing in dog training is consistency. If it's not allowed, it's NEVER allowed.

Answer 4

She just loves you. Dogs are very habit-forming. If you let them do things like more than once, it becomes a habit. Don't worry though, if you want her to stop, try locking her in the laundry room with a nice bed, a blanket, and a toy to cuddle with. Once she gets accustomed to sleeping on the bed, you can move the bed to your room and things should be better for the both of you.

Answer 5

Have one more sleepless night and train her "That sleeping w/ you will no longer be acceptable." When she gets in bed (does she jump in bed?) pull her off the bed do not carry her. Continue doing this till she finally gives up. People are right you started it now you have to end it. Don't put any emotion into it otherwise YOU WILL GIVE IN. Good luck

Answer 6

You trained it...

Now you have to live with it or retrain it. Retraining will be difficult. You'll have to cage the dog in a dog carrier overnight for several nights. The dog will howl due to not understanding why its being punished.

Then you'll have to keep your bedroom door closed for several weeks.... and the dog may scratch and howl at the door.

Eventually you can open the door, but you'll have to kick the dog off the bed every time it jumps up.

Answer 7

The reason why she sleeps with you is because she is used to sleeping with you in the first place. Try telling her no even tho it might be hard at first. She need to understand to sleep on the floor or in a doggy bed. Hope I helped

Answer 8

Dogs are pack animals and love other living animals. Smooth coated dogs will be happy under covers too. Sometimes dogs that have companion dogs sprawl all over each other in balls sleeping.

Answer 9

Dogs love humans. They love attention. and your dog might just be used to sleepong next to you. Dogs and humans are different. We can change our ruotine easily. But on the other hand, dogs do the same thing everyday which includes sleeping next to you. It's hard to change your dog's ruotine by NOT sleeping with you.

Answer 10

Maybe your dog loves you so much that it wants to protect you while you sleep. Or maybe you dog has separation anxiety. My dog is the same way. He's a german shepherd. They are a bit codependant.