Q: What is the easiest way to get my dog to love his bed?
A: First we need to establish what your dog loves in terms of sleeping areas.
Where is your dog currently gravitating to? He will already have a favourite resting area.
Where is the location?
What is the type of fabric he chooses to lie on?
What is the construction of the sleeping area – for example, heightened support, as in being able to lean against the back of a couch, and/or a burrowing area, such as nestling into a deep fluffy blanket or ‘scrumping’ up the duvet, creating a nesting den? If you have a ‘hot dog’ with a substantial coat, he may be seeking out cooler locations.
Once you have the answer to these questions, you will need to mimic all the above for his sleeping area and he will gladly choose to sleep there.
You can speed up the process by randomly tossing some of his favourite treats or toys onto the new sleeping area, and when you do see he chooses the bed area to rest, reinforce this with something he really enjoys.
Samantha Walpole, behaviourist
