Turning your bed into a “no dog” zone is the best way to keep your dog off the bed when you’re not home. This means never letting your dog on the bed even when you are home. If that doesn’t work, you can block access to the bed with a gate or use shock mats to teach them to stay away.
Dogs are intelligent animals and know the rules. Which means they also know how to sneakily break them. Jumping on furniture when you’re not home is hard to catch and even harder to break. That’s why it’s best to teach them from the beginning that jumping on the bed is not allowed.
However, if this is behavior you’ve allowed in the past, you’ll need to teach them that they’re never allowed on the bed. In today’s article, we will show you how to teach your dog that the bed is off-limits. Then we will show you a few different ways to keep your dog off the bed until the training process is complete.
Back to Basics and Starting From the Beginning
Sometimes with dog training, going back to the basics is all that’s required. Here are the basic steps to teach your dog to stay off the bed.
Teaching Them the Bed is a “No Dog” Zone
We know puppies are cute, and we all want to hold and snuggle them 24/7. However, if the rule is going to be no dogs on the bed, it must be enforced from day one. It’s easier to create good manners than to break bad habits.
Try crating your puppy at night, and once he or she is old enough, give them a bed of their own. Give them a treat when you put them in their bed at night. This will create the idea that their bed is their happy space. If they try to get into bed with you, pick them up and place them on their bed.
Give them a treat when they’re back on the ground. Do this until it sticks, and they don’t have any more interest in getting in your bed. Always make sure everything good and fun happens on the floor.
Never Let the Bed be an Option
If you never give them access to the bed, they won’t learn they can jump on it. The easiest way to do it is to not let them in the bedroom at night. Give them their own comfy bed in another part of the house.
They’ll learn to associate that place with sleeping and won’t be tempted to snooze on your pillows. If you don’t want them in a separate room, purchase an indoor playpen type fencing to create a barrier around your bed. Make sure they have their own bed.
Barricading the Bed
Put Something on Top of the Bed
If your dog has learned how to get on to the bed when you’re not around, make it impossible. Place laundry baskets, chairs, or whatever you have on top of the bed. Make sure the bed is fully covered and inaccessible for a few weeks.
Your dog will start to lose interest, and you can slowly begin to take a basket or two off every week. Your dog should eventually forget the bed was ever an option and be perfectly content on his own bed. This method works for couches or any other furniture as well. Should you find your dog goes back to getting on the bed, just leave all the baskets on the bed every day.
If this isn’t enough and you’re coming home to laundry baskets everywhere from your dog still getting on the bed, put some tin cans in the baskets. This way, the next time they get on the bed and knock a basket down, it will create a loud rattling sound deterring them from trying it again.
Making a Border Around the Bed
Not everyone likes the idea of covering their bed in laundry baskets, chairs etc. Use those same objects but place them around your bed instead. You may have to put them a foot or so away from your bed so your dog can’t easily jump over them and onto the bed. If you have some playpens, those will work better.
Using a Bit More Force
Shock Mats
We know not everyone is for this method, but it is effective, so we are including it. These are sure to be a one (maybe two for stubborn dogs) and done fix. You can purchase mats that work the same as an electrical fence.
The mats have a battery pack, and you simply turn on and set them wherever you want to deter your dog from. In this case, the bed. When your dog jumps on to the bed, the mat will shock them. Not enough to cause any damage or severe pain, just enough to make them get off and not want to get back on. This is good for those counter surfers too!
Chair Mat
Not just for using rolling chairs on carpet anymore. They’re very good at keeping dogs off your bed too. The mats have little plastic spikes on them that keep them in place on the carpet. To use them for your bed, place the mat upside down, so the plastic points are facing up. This will make your bed uncomfortable for your dog, and they will jump down quickly. The pointed pieces are not sharp enough to hurt your dog. They only cause enough discomfort to discourage them from the bed.
Aluminum Foil or Bubble Wrap
Dogs don’t want to walk on something that makes a noise that they’re not familiar with. Place some aluminum foil on top of your bed. The strange feeling of it and the crinkling sound will weird out your dog so he gets down. This is great if you have a cat that likes to walk on tables and counters too!
Try bubble wrap if you do not want to use aluminum foil. Make sure the bubble wrap will pop under the weight of your dog. If the bigger bubbles pop, those work best. Just as you would with foil, put the bubble wrap on your bed, and hopefully the pop of it will scare your dog so he gets off the bed and does not get back up.
Use Smells To Deter Your Dog
One of the easiest ways to keep the dog off your bed (or any piece of furniture for that matter) is to use certain smells to deter your dog from the bed. The best way to do this is through essential oils. You can dilute essential oils with water in a spray bottle and spray some on your sheets.
Here are the top three essential oils that might deter your dog. Remember, these won’t work on every dog, so be sure to try all three before deciding this method doesn’t work for you.
- Citrus
- Cinnamon
- Eucalyptus
Simply add five or six drops to a spray bottle, fill the rest with water and use it on any piece of furniture you don’t want your dog jumping on.
Your Dog Might Just Miss You
Another reason your dog might get on your bed when your gone is because they miss you. Dogs are pack animals, when they’re left alone, they’ll find comfort in your scent.
The best way to fix this is to place a piece of your unwashed clothing on their bed. Placing your scent on their bed will encourage them to sleep on their bed instead of yours.
When All Else Fails…
We have doors for a reason, to keep unwanted people or, in this case, dogs, out. Closing your bedroom door is the cheapest, easiest, and most effective way for you to keep your dog off your bed. It’s completely hassle-free, though it can be hard to remember.
Put a sticky note on the inside of your front door telling you to close the bedroom before leaving the house. Unless your dog knows how to open doors or walk through walls, it would be impossible for them to get into the bedroom.
If you don’t teach your dog as a puppy to stay off the bed, they’ll get into the habit of sleeping on your bed when everyone is gone. Be sure to teach your dog that the bed is a “no zone”, but it may take a few months for your dog to learn the new rule. In the meantime, use one of the methods above to keep them from jumping on the bed.
Recommended For You
