Sleep Aggression In The Bed

[Guest FarqyArqy]

Posted on this recently but for very different reasons. I settled on ultimately letting my recently adopted GH sleep in bed with me but there has been 3 incidents of some sleep aggression in the last week. I roll over towards her in the middle of the night and she will growl or snap...nothing bad and she is immediately Ok after but probably time for her to sleep on the floor next to me?

 

I am not super concerned as she is never near my face, and the snaps/growls are not terrible aggressive, but over time something could happen.

 

The problem is my bed is like a foot off the ground and she loves it. It is her favorite place to be.

 

Any tips how to get her comfortable on the floor in her own bed? Worried if I get her to fall asleep there she will come up in the night.

 

 

[palmettobug]

Learn from me--get her used to own bed now. I got bitten. Get her an array of comfy beds, placed out of the way of your path to the door/bathroom.

[krissy]

Try different dog beds until you find one she really, really likes. Any time she tries to climb into your bed in the middle of the night, tell her to go back to her own bed

[Time4ANap]

Not being concerned about it is your first mistake. Get the dog out of the bed now. While your dog may be fine when she sees that it's you, there is still a high probability of an incident when you least expect it. This sets the dog up to fail and gets them labeled as a biter, brings in Animal Control etc when a bite happens, regardless of intent.

 

I have the sweetest boy in the world, but due to his startle potential, he has bitten people several times just through accidental contact. I've been bitten, and other people he loves were bitten all when humans made the mistake of thinking he was awake.

[RaineysMom]

our first 2 slept with us but ONLY because they had ZERO sleep/startle issues. Our 3rd, Larry, is totally off limits when he's on his bed so he never sleeps with us (and stays on his bed) -- with Zeke, we let him up on our bed one morning a couple weeks after we got him to see how he was, and he too snapped when woken up so NOPE. He is actually in a large x-pen in our room only because Larry has the more severe issues and it's to protect Zeke from stumbling on him or whatever during the night.

 

I TRULY TRULY TRULY miss having my pups in bed with me -- both were SUPER snugglers, Rainey would tuck her head under my chin/neck and it almost made me cry it was so sweet.

 

if yours is snapping, no more bed, I totally agree. Having been bitten (my right ear lobe was bitten off) do not take a chance. Sorry

[GeorgeofNE]

I'll be the voice of descent: my dog has a similar amount of sleep startle to what you describe, but to me, it's worth the risk. I'm a fully formed adult, and in fact am past the point where a bite scar would really bother me. I know I'm taking a small risk, but I don't really care.

 

Also, my guy is weird. For a dog I'd describe as "cautious," when he's decided he wants something, that's pretty much it. Unless I want to make a huge production over it, which reduces him to a tail clamping, run into the BEDROOM and JUMP ON THE BED fellow. For him, the bed is his ultimate safe space, and I just don't have the heart to toss him off now. I do not let him put his head near mine though. If he settles in that position, I make him stand up and start over (he's a circler).

 

But you just got your dog, relatively speaking, so now would be the time to make the change.

Edited April 12, 2018 by GeorgeofNE

[fastpointydoge]

My dog adores his memory foam bed. He also had a bit of sleep startle when he started to lay on the couch with me. I'd had him for about six months at that point. I restricted the couch for 3-4 months and then tried again and he hasn't done it since. So this might be something you stop now but could try again later.

[Guest FarqyArqy]

Thanks guys! I have had her sleep on her own bed on the floor when I sleep and then she can come up on the bed in the morning (I am not on it) as a compromise and this has worked out fine. She adjusted to the floor really quickly and has been sleeping through the night, not sneaking up on the bed when I sleep.

[Alyse]

This was a great thread to read. I don't have a grey yet but this was a question i had been wrestling with. thank you to everyone for their input!