[Taikrys]

My American Eskimo puppy, Hunter, is almost 5 months and has been sleeping in his crate at night since when we got him at 6 weeks. In the beginning his crate was placed in my room, by my bed. In the last 2 months, he has been sleeping downstairs (in his crate) alone. He doesn't have much trouble with it - he sleeps fine in his crate.

I recently started letting him sleep with me in my bed (he hasn't had any accidents so far, he just plops down on my pillow and drifts off to sleep until the morning).

Every morning (5:30am), my dad comes into my room to take Hunter out to potty. It was going well until Hunter started to howl and bark (like he does when he thinks there's a stranger in the house) at my dad. He never did that before, it just recently started. He has "guard barked" at my dad 3 days in a row now. I'm contemplating just making Hunter sleep in his crate and not with me anymore.

I love having Hunter be near me and he seems to love it too. c: I've had a friend suggest to me that the "hierarchy" of my family can get mixed up if I let Hunter sleep on my bed, which he says is why maybe Hunter is "territorial" over my bed... Is this a true consequence of allowing your fur baby to sleep with you? My theory is that Hunter gets startled because he's so deep in sleep when my dad enters the room to get him (Being an eskie, Hunter is naturally more inclined to guard and bark, so maybe that's it?).

Should I let him sleep in my bed at night? Are there behavioral consequences from this?
Does your dog sleep with you on your bed?
If you have used the crate for potty training, when did you decide to stop with the crate?

Thank you in advance! c: Sorry, I know I have a lot of questions!

 

[cbarkerb724]

Good news! The dominance/pack theory thing is a myth. There is absolutely no reason your dog shouldn't sleep in your bed based on that!

Buuuut, if he's resource guarding your bed against your dad, that's another issues. If it's just surprise, see if your dad coming in with some treats turns things around. That way, your pup will anticipate good things coming from your dad. If that doesn't help, it might be better to put him back in his crate just to avoid any resource guarding issues popping up in regards to your bed and try switching him back to your bed when he's better at "holding it" and can wait for you to take him on a walk.

 

[kelly528]

My dog has been sleeping someone's bed (it varies lol) for years. No issues, but he does prefer it if people move him verbally, ie asking him to stand up so they can pick him up and lift him. If people try to pick him up while he is sprawled out on his back... you are not his friend! He growls and snarls. Presumably it is not too comfortable to be lifted up, upside down, by your back!

If I were you, I would put a bag of treats by your bed, In the morning your dad can call the dog to get up and come over to the edge of the bed to get a reward, and a potty break. Then no more men grabbing him while he is sleeping!

Keep in mind that the sleep patterns of puppies change often. He could be dreaming when your dad wakes him up.

 

[Pax]

I would be cranky too if I got woken up at 5:30 am every morning too!

 

[SusanLynn]

My dog usually sleeps in a dog bed next to my bed, and that works well for both of us.

About your friend's "hierarchy" comments, I want to say that dogs often bond the most closely with their primary caretaker in the family. My dog is clearly closer to me that to my teenage son just because I feed him, walk him, and show him a lot more affection. However, I don't think he has any idea that I'm older or higher than rank than my son. To him, we're both humans, and I'm just the one who happens to pay attention to him and meet his needs.

Here's our thread on resource guarding:

http://www.dogforum.com/training-be...guarding-causes-prevention-modification-7511/

 

[kmes]

Might be a silly question but can you just set your alarm for 5:30 or 6:00 and take your puppy outside yourself?

 

[Taikrys]

Thank you everyone for all the advice!! There were some really good comments.
We will try the treats. Hunter never snarls, growls or anything, just barks and howls until he realizes who is entering the room. Then he'll wag his tail and hang his head low like, "Oops, sorry!". He had no problems this morning, so I think maybe he was just in deep sleep.

We've been taking him out at 11pm and again at 5:30am - he can hold it for that long right now, we will try extending the time and see how that works. c:

Thanks for all the feedback! c:

 

[spotsonofbun]

I think he is just getting a bit startled from being woken up. My dog was like that too he wouldn´t bark during the day but if there was any noise outside or inside that was out of place during the night and startled him when he was in deep sleep he would alert bark.

I doubt it would change if you set him back in the crate.

We once got this automatic bread maker that you could set so it would start during the night so you had fresh bread in the morning. The poor dog absolutely freaked out when it started during the night...

 

[FinnAlva]

I wonder, if the room is just so dark or dim and the dog does not realize who is coming when he sees a big figure arriving into the room. Especially if all the light is behind your father and your dog only sees a silhouette. But why hasn't he yet learned that it is always the same person who is also a family member and apparently a friend too. Maybe your dad should also say something for the dog when he enters the room. I am also for giving the dog treats and asking verbally to stand up in case the dog has been just picked up earlier.

 

[JudyG]

This has happened a couple of times with our dog. While she doesn't sleep on our bed (most of the time ) she has a bed in our room. If my husband tries to wake her to go potty she's not happy. If your dog is settled & asleep then I would assume he doesn't need to go out, I would leave him until you get up - as long as that's not to late in the morning, or if he wakes you - 5:30 is pretty early. Might be a good idea to encourage him to sleep on his own bed & not yours though.

 

[zed]

Meh... I suspect he just doesn't like being woken up. Seriously, he's probably just upset because he realizes that means he has to get up and he's comfortable and feels safe along side of you. Our puppy sleeps with us in our bed too. He hates the alarm clock just as much as I do.

 

[TiggerBounce]

Probably startling him. It's happened with my GSD before too.

I would just take him out yourself. My pups could all sleep through the night no problem at that age. And if they had to go, they would wake me up. They slept in bed with me too so I could feel them if they got restless or anxious from needing to go.

 

[kpatterson]

My dog startles easily when she hears something in the night. If I wake up first and she's still asleep, I'll start talking to her first to wake her up and then let her crawl out of the blankets herself. If your dad is still waking her up to walk her, maybe having him talk to her from outside the room, "Hi Puppy, good morning! Time to get up..." for a little bit before coming in the room might help.