# Sleeping woes- please help!



## Harper (Jan 3, 2019)

My hubby and I are having some difficulty agreeing where our Vizsla should sleep. To shorten a very long story, initially Harper slept in the crate starting at 10 wks. My husband then allowed Harper to sleep in our bed. A habit was formed going on for almost 2 yrs now, and quite frankly I absolutely love having him in our bed. Now, because my husband says is sleep is disturbed, Harper has been banished from sleeping with us. I feel so bad forcing to sleep in his crate all night after he got used to not doing so, that I sleep in the guest room with him. I have tried suggesting a king size bed, a dog bed insert (would attach to our bed), etc.... but my husband isn't willing to budge. I am at a loss and it's really a huge source of contention. Suppose I give in and and put Harper back in the crate, will this affect our bond? I am worried it will cause behavioral issues to suddenly make a huge change like that. Maybe I am reading too much into this? It breaks my heart to think of him being alone all night. HELP!!! Thanks in advance!!!


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

I'd try to address with hubby what has changed for him and see if you cannot work on that. Is Harper doing something new? Has hubby's needs changed and if so, how? Having Harper suddenly sleep in his crate and you sleeping with him is, um...interesting and beyond the scope of this forum..lol. When issues or problems occur with co sleeping (regardless of the species...), it's best to try to figure them out and do some training to resolve them.


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## Greta (Sep 19, 2018)

Difficult situation but sleep deprivation is horrible for your husband. Bigger bed and dog bed inserts are worth trying. But if Herper has to be crated would the crate be in with you? That would at least be less of a separation. And letting him have an under the covers bed cuddle in the mornings and longer at weekends? So you still have the bond.


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## Gabica (Jan 20, 2018)

Having for the dog to change up the sleeping habits once in a while helps them to build more flexibility and cope if a new situation arises. May be compromise to have him once in a while in the crate, sometimes on the bed, sometimes even on the couch etc for the night. We have learned it throughout the years and have the dogs sleep 1-2 nights a week in their daytime crate in the living room, and the rest with us in the bedroom. They have learnt to be fine either way. This has also helped to have them settle in hotels or other people houses quickly too.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I would say, till you come up with a solution.
Crate him a few nights a week, and give him special nights where he gets to sleep with you.
You can pick the sofa, or guest room.
It's a compromise, so everyone gets a good nights sleep. My 9 year old June was banished from the bed a few years ago. She's a bed hog, and also steals everyone's blankets. She gets to take naps with me, and sleep in the bed when my husband is out of town. If we have storms during the night, that scare her. My husband goes to the guest room, so she can be in the bed.
We do have a king size bed, and she wants half of it. Will shove you with her feet, to make sure she gets it. One person sleeping with her is fine, but two means no one gets any rest.


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## Harper (Jan 3, 2019)

I really appreciate everyone's input!! I like the idea of switching it up and having a few nights in the crate. It's going to be a challenge to take the emotion out of it lol. He is my baby, and I swear he's part human 😂. But thank u all again! I always feel better when I read on this forum. I will keep ya posted!


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## KBAspen (Jul 23, 2019)

We had similar challenges w/our 1st V who over time we let sleep w/us but as she got older, she really caused sleep disturbances for both my husband & I. It was hard to banish her from the bed but necessary for our health. While the transition was hard, ultimately she did just fine. We got her an "envelope" style snuggle bed & bought a dog-specific heating pad to go underneath (cord is wrapped in protective metal wire so they cant chew into it) - I think a big part of the issue (besides being velcro dogs) is that V's get cold so easily. We gave her lots of couch snuggle time, too. We now have a 5 1/2 mos old new V puppy. We didn't want to end up in the same boat as our previous V so from day one, we put her crate in our room, always give treats when she goes in so she loves it - literally leaps in when it's time for bed - we also still use the heating pad underneath since our room is cold and have a routine where we let her out between 5:30-6am to pee & then she gets an hour or so (longer on weekends) in our bed under the covers with us before we get up. Gives us all some quality snuggle/bonding while still getting a good nights sleep. So far has worked great 4 us all. Good luck!


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## A-arons Kodster (Sep 2, 2018)

Kody is our Vizla....he sleeps underneath the covers on our bed....he is our child and he knows how to climb in and out of the sheets if he gets too hot. Depends on the Vizla also.

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## NutterButter (Mar 5, 2016)

I don't really have anything to help specifically, but our Sadie's routine was to start on her pad on the sofa, then in the middle of the night move to her bed on the floor in our bedroom. We did not want her to get in the habit of sleeping on our bed, and when she would occasionally jump up on the bed (in the daytime) we would just pick up the water spray bottle and she would immediately get off. I think she was testing the idea for a response. Later we learned that our usual dogsitter would let her sleep on their bed when they kept her overnight (actually her husband's idea).


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