Sleeping downstairs

[JB]

We have a 6 month old golden cocker called Louie.

From day 1, we tried him sleeping downstairs in the kitchen in his crate but he cried/howled/yodelled the house down. We therefore moved him to our bedroom in his crate where he stayed for a few months. He has now progressed to the landing in his crate still. He is a good boy and after he has trotted around upstrairs trying to see what mischief he can cause with the aid of a little treat he will get into his bed and go to sleep once our lamps go out.

My question is this - how long did people leave it before them moved their dog downstairs (I am sure there are people on here that have them in the bedroom with them anyway) and did they move them to say, the bottom of the stairs before getting them into the kitchen ?

We accept he will cry a bit if/when we move him downstairs (if my wife had her way he wouldnt go downstairs at all but thats another story) but what are people experiences with this ?

[Birtles]

  oh dear i think it'll be like starting from scratch and you may end up bringing him back up to the bedroom because he will probably be like the first time, crying/howling constantly for hours and nights but it depends on how much you want him out of your room because you'll have to be veryyyyyy strong and resist going down/bringing him up/you sleeping downstairs etc.
Sorry but i haven't had the experience of him being in our bedroom.  When we brought Monty home at 8 weeks he howled, howled, yelped, barked the house down for a few nights and we were very upset about it all and concerned about neighbours etc but i knew that if we didnt stick at it we would be creating a rod for our own back.  He settled after 2-3 nights of this and is wonderful now at nearly 5 months, not a peep out of him.  (if we didnt have young kids we may have given in to his cries but i knew I had the kids etc to think about)
All I can say is be strong, maybe have a few drinks to knock out the sounds  and possibly do what i did... put my ipod on so i couldnt hear him because I was getting more upset than he was i think.
Good luck and stick at what ever you decide to do, don't give in because that will be it. 

[Jenny]

All I can say is BE STRONG and stick with it.  Barney yowled from day one in his crate (he was 16 weeks when we got him), and because our kitchen is next to our bedroom it was terrible and I felt awful and so cruel.  However, after 4 nights the yowling subsided into whimpering and after 2 weeks he happily trotted into his crate to go to bed.  Now he can't wait to be left alone in his cosy bed at night to get some sleep and waits for us to say "bed time"!  You just have to lay down the rules and stick with them.  Good luck!! 

[sez0807]

Molly sleeps on our bed at the foot    I know some people will frown but we love it, and love getting cocker cuddles first thing in the morning.
She is a good girl, and has never had an accident upstairs, never gets off the bed and never wakes me up before 6.00am.
Everyone is different and every dog!!!!!!!

Sarah
xxx

[Birtles]

If i didnt have the kids coming into our bed at night I would love to have Monty on the foot of ours but just wouldnt work with the kids waking in the middle of the night and making their way into our bed ............ I can just imagine the chaos in the middle of the night, kids waking up, Monty then waking so on.........

[princess]

elliott sleeps in our bedroom,infact his basket is permanently there.he was crated until he was 1 no bother,then we started leaving door of crate open and found he just wanted to be near us .like sarah says we too love cocker cuddles in first thing in the morning.

[ladylola]

Ellie sleeps in a soft crate at the side of my bed. she only wakes when she needs to go out.starting to go through the night now till about 7.30. she is 4 months old. sasha sleeps on the bottom of my bed, well she starts off there anyway.  wake up to find her fast asleep at the top of my head 

[MollieMoo]

Ellie sleeps in a soft crate at the side of my bed. she only wakes when she needs to go out.starting to go through the night now till about 7.30. she is 4 months old. sasha sleeps on the bottom of my bed, well she starts off there anyway.  wake up to find her fast asleep at the top of my head 

SNAP

Mollie on the bed and Daisy (5 months old) in her bed on the floor next to my side of the bed!   After my last dog (a labrador) I said never again to letting a dog sleep on the bed, but somehow it felt lonely with out my doggy cuddles - sorry OH!

[JB]

Yes I think we should have got him sleeping downstairs months ago but as I said, the wife will reluctantly give in and try him downstairs perhaps the weekend. We want to try it the 1st time on either a Friday or a Saturday as we know Louie is going to make a fuss so interrupted sleep is less of a problem at a weekend.

The thing that is a problem at the moment with him on the landing is as I am a light sleeper his fidgeting and snoring. Plus he wakes up between 7 and 8 at weekends (doesnt bother me in the week as the alarm goes off at 615) but I suppose thats puppies for you.

Did people put their dogs at the bottom of the stairs or in the lounge for a bit before putting them in the kitchen or kitchen straight away ?

[Birtles]

we considered the kitchen but felt it was a little cold and not that nicer place to be so we put him in the lounge in his crate from day 1. suits him and us.
good luck, take the plunge (whats best for you and your routine/lifestyle) and then stick to it........ gonna be hard.

[isla]

We tried the crate in the kitchen thing when we first got Jem. The prob was we lived in a flat and the racket she made prompted us to move her into the bedroom where she slept in a basket. I was so worried about teh neighbours complaining. We have just moved and she now sleeps in her bed outside the bedroom door. She has access to the hall, sitting room and kitchen. The living room etc are all blocked off. The first night she howled and scrtached to get in for ages and teh second and third nights there were a few scratches and whimpers throughout the night. Last night was night five and I am pleased to say that the last two nights we haven't heard a peep. Both mornings I have gotten up at 7 to take her out and she was fast asleep in her basket.

We found having her in the bedroom wasn't practical. She lived to pad about the bedroom alot and kept putting her paws up and sticking her face in your face. It mean we couldn't get an uninterupted night's sleep. OH nearly caved on the first night. He hates to hear her cry but its worked well. Fingers crossed it continues.

All I can advise is to keep at it and don't give in!!

[wisleyma]

Wisley was a right monkey from when he was about 1 to when we moved house when he was about 2 (he had slept totally happily in his crate without a whimper until he was about 1 ). we too were worried about neighbours and the banshee hound of the baskervilles impression sounded SO loud in the dark that we gave in after a few nights of nuisance and no sleep and he slept in the bedroom (mainly by the door "guarding" in a very fierce cocker spaniel way. NOT). when we moved house, we were determined he would sleep in the kitchen and that is where his bed was right from day 1. we haven't heard a peep out of him since (except for the odd whimper when he thinks it's time to get up!). I did pop some Bach's Rescue Remedy in his water the first few nights but I don't know whether it helped or not. he runs straight to his bed now after his last wee/garden fox patrol as he knows he gets a biscuit. perhaps he just grew out of it or perhaps he picked up on our anxiety re thinking the neighbours could hear in our old flat. now we are in a detached house so we don't worry anymore and our room is that much further from the kitchen so we perhaps don't hear him as much as we could before. I guess sometimes there's just no rhyme nor reason to the extent of a cocker spaniel's naughtiness!

[JB]

One word - "WOW" !!!!

We put Louie to bed downstairs in his crate around midnight Friday quite on edge wondering how he would find it. What were we worried about ? We heard a couple of little whimpers and then he went straight to sleep. I had a trip to the toilet in the night and........still not a peep from him. He slept right through until he cried to get up around 715 the next morning (which is quite normal for him). He slept soundly while my wife and I had the worst nights sleep we had had for a while constantly thinking about how he was downstairs on his own - haha.

Last night - put him to bed around 2am and.........not even a "oh is it bed time now?" whimper - he curled up went right to sleep and WE had to wake HIM up just after 9. I am amazed at how he has taken to it.

Fingers crossed that tonight will be a success too 

Thanks to everyone for sharing their advice and stories.

[sarah25]

Glad it was better last night JB

Sophie sleep's with me under the cover with her head on the pillow at night    I know she should but she gets cold lol.I wanted Miffy to come up with me aswell but my rooms not that big  .
Harvey has his own bed in moms room he sleeps in that with his pink teddy 

[LurcherGirl]

One word - "WOW" !!!!

We put Louie to bed downstairs in his crate around midnight Friday quite on edge wondering how he would find it. What were we worried about ? We heard a couple of little whimpers and then he went straight to sleep. I had a trip to the toilet in the night and........still not a peep from him. He slept right through until he cried to get up around 715 the next morning (which is quite normal for him). He slept soundly while my wife and I had the worst nights sleep we had had for a while constantly thinking about how he was downstairs on his own - haha.

Last night - put him to bed around 2am and.........not even a "oh is it bed time now?" whimper - he curled up went right to sleep and WE had to wake HIM up just after 9. I am amazed at how he has taken to it.

Fingers crossed that tonight will be a success too 

Thanks to everyone for sharing their advice and stories.

Excellent. I am sure it went so well because your dog already knew the place, knew his crate, knew you were about... so didn't worry too much. Had you done this from the start when all was new, it would have been much more of a problem! So well done for letting him sleep near you until he was settled and confident and transferring him so painlessly to sleeping on his own now.