How to Teach Your Dog to Go To His/Her Bed Using The ‘Go To Bed Command’.

There are times your dog needs a safe, comfortable place to relax, and take some time out, so apart from going to his/her bed at night to sleep, it can be convenient to command your dog to chill out on their bed.

Having complete control of your dog is a dog owners’ responsibility, especially when out together in a public place, but communicating with your four-legged companion, so they understand what you want from them is also how you build a strong bond.
There are many bed set-ups for dogs. Some dog owners allow their fur baby to sleep with them in their bed, while some have a lounge in a family room, suitably covered with blankets. While PetsBook doesn’t use the ‘Crate Training’ method, many dog owners use a large wire cage fitted out with pillows and blankets as the time-out or bed for their dog. Then there is super comfortable purpose made beds available from pet shops and lastly, there are the traditional dog kennels, normally kept outside, but these days they can be more like palaces.

This dog obedience training article will teach you how to train your dog to immediately go to their bed, wherever it is, using the ‘Bed Command‘ by utilising positive reinforcement training techniques.

The following list is what we recommend you have handy for this dog training command session:

• Small sized, soft treats that are very tempting
• Clicker
• Their bed

If you don’t have, or prefer not to use a ‘clicker’, you can substitute it by using the word ‘yes’.

Dog training essentials available from Ezydog Australia

Steps to Teaching the ‘Bed Command’

Before we dive in, it’s worth clarifying what we’d like from our dog after using this instruction.
Essentially, we want our dog to walk calmly, to their bed and sit or lay down, at any time of the day for an extended period of time, or until released with another command such as calling their name.
To begin, we’ll accomplish this by initially encouraging them to go to their bed on command, then extend the understanding of it as the place to stay or go to voluntarily when they need a place to chill in peace.

When teaching this dog training command, I’m going to assume you’ve already taught your dog to ‘Sit’ and lay ‘Down’ successfully. If not, you’ll find links to these contained in the article ‘List of Dog Commands‘.

1/ The first step in training this command is to walk your dog to their bed. If they have several, one inside and a kennel outside for example, with access to each via a ‘Doggy Door’, simply pick one to start with.

2/ Drop a few treats onto the bed and as soon as your clever canine steps on his/her bed, say ‘Bed’ while pointing to the bed. As soon as your dog eats the food say ‘Yes’ and reward with praise ‘Good Boy/Girl’.

3/ Next, throw a treat away from the bed. Your dog will happily run after the treat and devour it, then come back to the bed.
If your dog doesn’t automatically return, let him/her see you place a treat on the bed, say ‘Bed’ and point to the bed.

4/ As soon as he/she steps onto the bed, mark the event by saying ‘Bed’ followed by praise with ‘Yes’ and ‘Good Boy/Girl’.

5/ Repeat throwing a treat away from the bed and using the ‘Bed Command’ while pointing to the bed, but without placing a treat on the bed.
You can now start to introduce a command once your dog is on the bed such as ‘Sit’ or ‘Down’, waiting about 10 seconds before throwing a treat away from the bed for your pooch to run after.

6/ Next, move away from the bed. Once you have eye contact with your dog, point back to their bed and say ‘Bed’. Your clever canine should go quite enthusiastically to their bed and may even sit or lay down too. As soon as they settle on the bed, say ‘Yes’ and praise.
If you get the head tilt and blank look, slowly take a few steps closer to the bed and try again.
After a few practices you’ll be able to stand the other side of the room and command your pooch to go to his bed and sit or lay down for extended periods of time.

If after a short period of time, your dog gets up and walks back to you, repeat the command, sending your fur baby back. Wait a few minutes then ‘release’ them with the ‘Come Command’.

Summary of How To Teach Your Dog The ‘Go To Bed Command’

Remember consistency, practice and patience are the keys with all dog training. Some dogs, such as Beagles are more difficult to teach than others, because they love to sniff and follow their nose.

Some dogs that aren’t overly motivated by food treats (rare) will almost certainly take to cooked chicken pieces. However, I would strongly suggest finding a commercial option from pet shops that will entice because apart from the expense, chicken is messy and doesn’t last very long out of a sealed container in the fridge. There are many brands and flavours to choose from these days, and many are made with healthy natural ingredients. I would also suggest using and rotating several different types, so your dog doesn’t become used to just one.

Your fur baby wants to be with you, so it’s natural for them to want to come back to you as soon as they can. By increasing the ‘time-out’ periods on the bed, you’re teaching your dog patience.
Remember though, your pooch should never feel that they’re being sent to their bed because they’ve been bad and you’re not happy with them.

You may have noticed I have interchanged ‘Go To Bed’ with simply ‘Bed’ as the command to be used. It’s best to start with to keep things as simple as possible, so start by using just the ‘Bed Command’, but once your clever canine responds to that, you can make it a little more conversational and cheerier, by using ‘Go To Bed (Name)’.

Having trouble, or have a question about getting your dog to go to their bed and stay there when commanded?
Leave a comment for ‘Bear’ below and he’ll be happy to answer it for you, especially if you get his attention by using his name.

We at PetsBook also recommend getting out with your dog and join a training course.
Pet Directory has many local dog training businesses listed near you with experienced and accredited dog trainers ready to help you with dog obedience and dog command training.

» List of Dog Commands

Bear

Hi, I’m Bear, the Training Manager at PetsBook. With over 20 years experience using positive reinforcement dog training techniques, I’m proud to have the opportunity to help you develop a stronger bond with your fur baby, by teaching you useful commands with obedience training.