[bassettmom]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to this forum but I am sure glad to have found this site.

I have a 16 month old bassett hound. Now I know you are not suppossed to let you dogs sleep on your bed but I let both my boys and I think I created a monster in one of them.

It started only last week when I got up to get ready for work. I came back in the bedroom to kiss them all goodbye for the day and he started growling at me. I removed him from the bedroom and put him in the living room and he proceeded to growl at me and snapped at me once. I am concerned because he is a good, sweet, gentle boy and has never ever showed aggression like this. He is very polite to company, my family and loves to play with kids. I have never had any problems with him nor my other bassett.

I thought he may have been grumpy because he was woken up before he wanted to get up but it has been happening every day(except weekends when I don't have to get up early). This morning he snarled and growled and was coming at me when I tried to sit down on my bed. My husband promptly removed him from our bed and put him in his crate.

He nor my other bassett are going to be sleeping on our bed anytime soon but I don't know why he just started doing this. My other bassett has no problems has never ever shown any kind of aggression. I really do not want to neuter him so I need some advice. Unfortunatley I cannot afford to pay a trainer to work with him so I need to do this on my own.

Thank you

[Todd]

This can be attributed to him thinking that YOUR bed is HIS territory. You need to ultimately make it clear to him that that is YOUR territory and that he is YOUR guest if you will. I'd start with what you've already started to do. Each time he growls at you, give him a strict verbal command and remove him from the room. Eventually, he will associate his aggressive/possesive behavior to being removed from the room. Hopefully after time, he'll stop his behavior so he's able to stay in the room. Also, don't forget about positive reinforcement. If you try to take him off of the bed and he doesn't growl, praise him and reward him with a treat.

Also, I wouldn't put him in his crate when he is removed from your room. You don't want him to associate his crate with punishment.

[bassettmom]

Thank you for your reply. I hate putting him in his crate. We have not used his crate for at least a good 4 months now and he only was ever put in his crate to sleep. I thought this was a wrong move because I don't want him to associate his crate with any negative feelings. I just have never taken the crate down just in case we needed it. Is this a common problem with dogs? I hear a lot about not having your dogs sleep on the bed because it can cause problems but I have had quite a few dogs in the past growing up and I have never had this problem. I will continue to work with him. I appreciate the advice.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by bassettmom

Thank you for your reply. I hate putting him in his crate. We have not used his crate for at least a good 4 months now and he only was ever put in his crate to sleep. I thought this was a wrong move because I don't want him to associate his crate with any negative feelings. I just have never taken the crate down just in case we needed it. Is this a common problem with dogs? I hear a lot about not having your dogs sleep on the bed because it can cause problems but I have had quite a few dogs in the past growing up and I have never had this problem. I will continue to work with him. I appreciate the advice.

My dog sleeps on my bed as well. As long as you establish that the bed is your territory not his, I see nothing wrong with letting him continue to sleep there. If you don't want him to sleep on your bed, you can always put him back in his crate or let him sleep elsewhere if you wish. But if you like him sleeping there, just be sure to establish the fact that you are the pack leader and that bed in yours not his.

[Lara's mom]

I share my double bed with a Border Collie X, 2 shorty JRT's and an elderly cat. We all get along just fine.

[Lunareclipse]

I share my bed with Sammie, but she only comes up when I invite her up. She never gets up there without me telling her she can. I don't allow Luna to get up there because of her epilepsy. If she had a seizure and fell off the bed, she could get hurt bad. And Buster goes in his crate because he likes to chew when we are asleep. I think he chewed up half of our library before we got the crate.

[Yogi]

You are correct in that you never want to use a crate as a means of discipline as this sends conflicting signals. The crate should be a place where the dog wants to go. Feeding them in their crates helps to bolster this.
As Todd noted, dogs do become territorial and the bed in general is very common place for this to occur as dogs will become territorial over their crates when that is their bed. Your best bet at this time is to start using the crate for his bed again and slowly re-introduce the bed over time so that it is like a treat to him. Monitor his behavior when you start letting him back on the bed and if he returns to a negative manner let him sleep in his crate. Not all dogs do well in beds even though many of us generally have no problems. I have a few that sleep in bed with me and many more that sleep in their crates and actually prefer their crates to the bed. This is generally contributed to not having to share space which many times dogs do not like to do when sleeping. If it turns out that the crate is more suited, it will not be a bad or negative to the dog once he acclimates himself to it and realizes that this is HIS bed. Good Luck.

[Lunareclipse]

I have a question. Buster goes to his crate when I tell him he's been a bad dog. Does he do it because that's his comfort zone or because he thinks he has to go there when he is trouble?

[Yogi]

Originally Posted by Lunareclipse

I have a question. Buster goes to his crate when I tell him he's been a bad dog. Does he do it because that's his comfort zone or because he thinks he has to go there when he is trouble?

Both. When you stop and think about it, most of us as kids were probably sent to our rooms when we were bad. This did not take away from us seeing our bedrooms as a place of security and seclusion. Dogs can see it the same way.
Initially we do not want to use a crate for the sole purpose of discipline but emphasis on the crate being a place they WANT to go to, no matter what.
By putting bedding with your scent, feeding the dog in the crate as well as covering it at night. It gives the dog a sense of a secure place that they want to go to. Mine, whey I am upset with one or so because they became unruly I do not tell them to go to bed but tell them to get in their crates or boxes. At bed time I use the term go to bed and this totally has a different effect on them. Heads are not hanging down as if they are guilty of something but are perked knowing they will get their good nite cookie and they go sound to sleep. When I tell them to go to their crates, just the opposite. Their heads are down and they know is is due to doing something they should not have. They are also restless when they are in there where bedtime they are not. In Busters case, I think you will find that though he knows he has done wrong, he no longer sees the crate as the punishment but the lack of freedom for a period of time. In which case like kids, being in their room is not all that bad.