When To Let Puppy Sleep In My Bedroom

Hi there. I have a dobermann and he's now 4 months old and we keep him in a crate. we eventually want him to sleep in our bedroom on his bed. What's the ideal age to start this and does anyone have any tips about starting this? I'm afraid he will just want to get on the bed with us and bite stuff all around. He is an inside dog so his crate is inside the house but we do not let him on any furniture (sofa, bed, chairs). Any info would be helpful. thanks
 

Jean Cote

Administrator
Staff member
You can get him used to sleeping in your room by bringing your crate in the room with you.
 

Jean Cote

Administrator
Staff member
Thanks! Um when would be the ideal age to let him sleep out of his crate? :)
I think that it depends on the dog. I personally let my dogs sleep in my room at 4-6 months but I kept the crate there so they could go in there if they wanted to. My B.C. still sleeps in her crate even though I never close the door anymore. It's kind of like her place to go when she wants quiet time. I think if you trust him to not do his duties on your floor or that he won't eat anything then you can let him out. But I'd still make him sleep in your room (in the crate) for a couple of days so that he can get used to it. And then one day leave the door open and see what happens. :) Hope this helps, maybe others will have better knowledge than me ;)
 

Ina

Well-Known Member
Hi Rubberslipper (I like your username!)

I bought a bed for Smokey right away and let him sleep in the bedroom (he was 8 weeks old). Puppies sleep alot. So if your dog had a good workout during the day he should be sleeping right through. First thing in the morning obviously he has to do his duties and you should be quick to send him outside.
However, all dogs are different and Jeans solution sounds good since your puppy is already used to the crate. In that case I would move the crate to the "final destination: bedroom" immediately and once you are happy that he won't go wandering around at night, leave the door open.
Same as Jean .. my knowledge is limited and others might have other experiences to share ...
 
Thanks for your replies :) I will try putting the crate in our bedroom...although during the day when we leave the house we put him in the crate and it's normally in the lounge area which is also where we hang out most when we're home...I'm a bit concerned maybe he will act up if we leave him in the crate in the bedroom when we're not home lol.

When we got him (he was flown in from the east of Australia) he came with a doggie bed but his first night with us, he stayed under our bed so we decided to put him in the crate from the beginning. And his bed didn't last long either because he chewed it lol.
 

sara

Moderator
Staff member
Honestly, I would move his crate in the bedroom, and not worry about getting rid of the crate. a properly crate trained dog will usually prefer to sleep in it, so while you will be able to leave the door open eventually, he may want to sleep in it anyway. He'll likely not act up if crated in your bedroom instead of the front room, but if he does, you can always move it back.
 

srdogtrainer

Experienced Member
I always start with a puppy in my room right next to my bed in a crate even on theit first night home. I think puppies are more comfortable seeing that you are right there, even if they can't be on the bed with you. Then again I have mostly raised service dogs in training.

If you want to transition from the kennel to his bed you can use a tie-down. Putting the puppy on leash and attaching them to something sturdy. Make sure they can reach their bed and maybe give them a chew toy, but that they can't reach anything that they shouldn't have. Keep in mind that some dogs will chew through the leash so make sure you have tried tie-downs with supervision during the day first. Make sure your puppy understands the concept of the leash that if they feel tension they shouldn't keep pulling into it.

Practice having the puppy in your bed room and reward the puppy for not getting on the bed. You can start with them on leash and prevent them from being able to jump. As the puppy is understanding the concept allow him to have more freedom. Increase the difficulty of the exercise sit on the bed and reward the puppy for not jumping up on the bed, lay down on the bed and reward the puppy, etc. If the puppy does jump on the bed simply place them back on the floor.

As for age...the main thing is house braking and whether the particular puppy will be likely to get into trouble. Make sure the room is puppy proofed, pick up wires or anything the puppy could get into that they shouldn't have. Remeber that even if a puppy can go the whole night without an accident in their crate it is quite different when they can walk around a whole room.
 
thanks! I think i'll try putting his crate in the bedroom first then when he's older and less likely to cause trouble i'll eventually let him sleep there without the crate. And srdogtrainer thanks for the transition tips. :)
 
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