[MaddieTheDog]

Ok, got my answer. Talked to my boyfriend...says he'll ease up as long as she doesnt sleep next to the bed because he'll accidentally step on her in the morning when he gets up.

 

[FourIsCompany]

1. Is there a reason you don't want her in the bathroom?

2. If the bathroom floor is tile and your bedroom is carpeted, it might be that she enjoys the coolness of the tile while still being near you.

 

[TooneyDogs]

It might help to understand that most dogs don't sleep like humans (9 hours straight thru...not changing beds or walking around for a bit in the middle of the night.
I have one dog that won't move all night but, she's a senior citizen and has bad joint problems. My other one will change beds (floor, his donut bed, my bed) several times a night. A crate forces them into staying in one place but, that's not natural for them.

Having said that, the #1 'sleep aid' for all dogs is exercise....either physical or mental. My dogs will crash for 24 hours after a really intense training session. They don't move around as much after a long day of running or training.

 

[ambercober]

FourIsCompany made a good point about the cool tile being nice, my dog will often start his sleep in the hallway outside the bedroom then slowly relocate downstairs where it's cooler. I remember when we first adopted him, he was 9 months old, Taylor would get in the bathtub to sleep. It was terribly cute to see an 80lbs puppy on his back, legs up in the air in the tub first thing in the morning *lol........ mind you that all stopped once we gave him a bath <chuckles>.

 

[MaddieTheDog]

That's so cute--sleeping in the tub. Reminds me of Kyle from the show Kyle XY-he slept in a tub.

Our bathroom floor is tiled, but we have mats and she slept on it. We dont want her sleeping just anywhere in the house because we told her to stay in her bed so that's a command, and not listening (although she may forget over time...) and us not doing anything about it lets her in control. It's mostly just about us being her owner, not the other way around, so we don't want a power struggle that we lose. Not to say we just dictate her every move.
We exercise her every day-walks, jogs, frisbee, ball throwing, yet in the evenings we're pretty mellow, so she sleeps on her "pillows" then. I understand she may not be very tired over the night because of that-but she's always been very good at staying in bed, occupying herself by sleeping or cleaning herself.

However, if a lot of people tell me that I should just let it be (I'm more lenient than my boyfriend, it's more of his rule) I will talk to him about loosening up.

 

[FourIsCompany]

I will talk to him about loosening up.

Please do. Dogs get up and move around a LOT during the night (or day). Don't take this the wrong way, I don't mean to be derogatory, but I think it's pretty demanding (in a control freak kind of way) to want to control where and how the dog sleeps. Your boyfriend needs to pick his battles. There's no good reason for him to dictate where she sleeps. There are going to be plenty of times when your dog needs to obey you, but this isn't one.

Sometimes I give a command that, upon reflection, doesn't really make sense. That doesn't mean I'm going to make the dog obey me, even if it's not a good idea... You're making a mistake by dictating your dog's sleeping place, in my opinion. She'll still see you both as her owners.

 

[hulkamaniac]

Our bathroom floor is tiled, but we have mats and she slept on it. We dont want her sleeping just anywhere in the house because we told her to stay in her bed so that's a command, and not listening (although she may forget over time...) and us not doing anything about it lets her in control. It's mostly just about us being her owner, not the other way around, so we don't want a power struggle that we lose.

You're reading entirely too much into this and you're asking entirely too much of the dog. If the dog sleeps for 3-4 hours and then wakes up she doesn't automatically think of what your last command was to her and think, "I'm going to show them. I'm gonna go sleep in the bathroom." The dog wakes up and has no idea at all what your last command was. Doesn't have a clue. Doesn't know and doesn't care. If you want you can stand there right when the dog wakes up, give the command to sleep in that spot, enforce it if necessary and eventually you may be able to teach the dog to sleep only in that spot. Do you really want to stay up literally all night long for 2-4 weeks to do that?

This has absolutely nothing remotely at all to do with a power struggle. I have no clue why you would even think it does. If you want the dog to only sleep in one place (and there are plenty reasons why someone would want that) simply crate her or put her in an x-pen at night.

 

[Marsh Muppet]

However, if a lot of people tell me that I should just let it be (I'm more lenient than my boyfriend, it's more of his rule) I will talk to him about loosening up.

I'll cast my vote for letting her sleep where she wants. It's one thing to insist that a dog not sleep on your bed, but it is not reasonable (IMO) to insist that the dog not move from her own bed all night. Why the heck would you care?

BTW, if this is the biggest problem you have with her behavior, give her a hug and a porterhouse steak. She deserves some appreciation.

 

[MaddieTheDog]

I was only asking because I wasnt sure if I even needed to care or not. So the last two posts can just tone it down a bit because it sounds like you're attacking me, especially with the 'deserves some appreciation'-that sounds like I don't and please don't make it sound like that.

 

[Marsh Muppet]

That's an ongoing problem with soliciting opinions on the internet; you tend to get them. I was complimenting your dog. If I was insulting you, I'd be careful to leave no doubts.

 

[jesirose]

what, the, heck.

 

[MaddieTheDog]

jessirose-i edited my post above. because i got my answer, i dont care if this thread stays or goes, so I just decided to edit it.