Said It Here

Why did my dog suddenly stop sleeping in my bed?

Sudden changes in a dog's sleeping habits can stem from physical discomfort, aging joints that make jumping up difficult, or new nighttime behaviors like whining to go outside. While some owners choose to move older dogs downstairs to protect their joints, others find themselves confused when their pet stops sleeping with them out of nowhere for no apparent reason.

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

  1. 1
    Putting the dog back on the bed briefly for cuddles
  2. 2
    Keeping an eye on the dog's behavior and checking for other changes
  3. 3
    Waiting to see if the dog switches back or mentions it to a vet if other symptoms appear
  4. 4
    Moving the dog downstairs to sleep on the couch
  5. 5
    Considering introducing a crate or moving a crate into the bedroom

In their words

Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.

“My dog (basset hound, 7yo) has nearly always slept in bed with us. A number of factors have lead to our decision to have him sleep downstairs now, rather than upstairs in our bed.”source ↗

“he lately will not sleep through the night, he gets up every hour and whines to go outside.”source ↗

“I keep telling myself this will be a positive change, we’ll all sleep better, he won’t be hurting his aging joints climbing our steep stairs or jumping up onto our bed, but I can’t help but think I’ve betrayed him.”source ↗

happygolucky1157 · r/dogs · 928 upvotes

“The thing is, about 2 weeks ago she started sleeping on the floor and doesn’t sleep in my bed anymore.”source ↗

“I know it’s probably nothing, but I just find it so weird that she slept with me since always and without a reason and out of nowhere she just stopped doing it.”source ↗

SphinxDream · r/dogs · 7 upvotes

Where this came up

r/dogsbehaviordogspet behaviorpet carepets

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