Should You Allow Your Dog On The Bed?

Let me start this article off by saying that there are millions of dogs sleeping in people's beds and without a problem. However there are a number of dogs sleeping in people's beds that create a lot of problems the worst of which is usually aggression. 

It's a documented fact that when you put a dog in your bed or on your furniture it becomes an equal. If your dog is an equal why should it listen to you it's just as important or has as much authority as you do? 

Like I mentioned a moment ago there are dogs that sleep in people's beds that are not a problem. This is usually a dog that has been trained or at least knows its place in the pack. 

So now back to the question should you allow your dog on the bed and the answer is generally no? Not unless your dog has been trained properly and knows his place in the pack. 

So now let's talk for a moment about those dogs that do have a problem like aggression. Usually this type of aggression is directed at members of the family which could include the kids, mom and dad, or even the other dog. So how do we fix it? 

Actually it's fairly easy. You are going to start off by not allowing your dog on the bed or on the furniture at any time for the next few weeks. That means you'll need to find a way to keep the dog off your bed during the night while you're sleeping. Using a crate to accomplish this is always an easy fix. 

Keeping the dog off the furniture can sometimes be a little trickier but it's really very easy. Each time your dog gets on the furniture simply grab it by the collar and pull it off the furniture as you give the command "off". I think that you'll find within as little as 24 hours your dog will stop getting on the furniture. 

The second part of the equation is to now obedience train your dog. Ideally you'll want to hire a professional dog trainer that can help you accomplish your goals quickly and efficiently. 

The training should include all the basics. 

· Walking on a loose leash 

· Sit on command 

· Down command 

· Sit stay 

· Down stay 

· Recall - the come command 

These exercises are actually going to establish you as the master and it will show your dog its place in the pack. 

So after the training is completed and your dog knows its place in the pack you can invited back into the bed. If there aren't any additional problems you can allow him to stay in the bed. However if your dog reverts to its old bad habits then it will have to get out of the bed again. With some dogs if you give them an inch they will take a mile.

Source:http://ezinearticles.com/?Should-You-Allow-Your-Dog-On-The-Bed?&id=8479798