Did you know that 45% of dogs sleep in their owners beds? If your dog is part of this crew, it may be time for you to invest in a beautiful, durable, everlasting dog bed from Kingboy! But once your dog's eco-friendly snooze station arrives, how do you get your dog to actually lay down and sleep on it? Great question!
It may not happen on day one, but within a week or two your dog should be loving their new bed. If your BFF isn't transitioning to their new dog bed naturally, here are some tricks we've learned over the years:
- First, place the dog bed in an area where you spend the majority of your time during the day, since that is likely where your dog will be spending their indoor time as well. At night, move the dog bed next to your bed (or, for best results, purchase a second dog bed!).
- Even if you have a different location in mind for the bed's final spot in your home, it will benefit you to keep the dog bed near you at the beginning so your dog gets familiar with it.
- Encourage your dog to lay on the bed by offering treats or toys on or near the bed.
- Sometimes, we have even been known to slip a few small treats inside the cover of the dog bed to get a dog interested in the bed! The first few times your dog sits or lays on the bed, rewards are a must.
- If you are having trouble getting your dog to sit on the bed, one exercise to try is putting your dog in a section of your home where there is only hard wood or tiled floor, and put the dog bed in there with them. Keep them in this area for 15-20 minutes (they will need access to water of course!) and hopefully the dog will lay in the dog bed instead of on the cold hard floor. Once your dog has his/her scent on the dog bed, and has spent time laying in the bed, they will be much more inclined to lay on it over and over again!
- Another pro tip for a brand new dog bed: put one of your worn t-shirts or other articles of clothing on top of the dog bed. We all know that our dogs love and recognize our scent, so having our scent present on their new dog bed will help normalize the bed to your dog.
We love hearing from other pet owners about methods that have worked for them! Please feel free to comment and share your dog expertise with the Kingboy world!