Why Won’t My Dog Sleep With Me?

There is nothing like curling up next to your furry friend in bed at night and drifting off to sleep. Dogs love to sleep with us just as much as we love to sleep with them, if not more!

Their warm and soft body against ours while snuggling with them feels comforting and relaxing and puts us to sleep faster.

But if suddenly your dog no longer wants to sleep with you anymore, it can feel perplexing and may disturb your routine, too.

What do you do about it, then? And most importantly, why won’t my dog sleep with me anymore?

There are many reasons your dog does not want to sleep with you anymore.

This article delves into the most common reasons for this behavior to help you understand and resolve the issue and enjoy a good night’s sleep with your pet again.

Let’s dive in!

Reasons That Your Dog Won’t Sleep With You

There are many reasons that your dog won’t sleep with you anymore. It could be that your dog feels too hot and may want to sleep in a cooler place.

Or it wants to stand guard at the front door and make you feel secure and safe at night.

Some dogs resemble den animals who like sleeping in a cold, dark, enclosed place instead of in a bed.

If your dog’s health is not good, that could be another cause for your dog sleeping somewhere else.

Here are seven other common causes for your puppy or dog sleeping elsewhere and not with you:

1. The Bed Is Uncomfortable for the Dog

Just like humans, dogs have different preferences regarding bed quality.

If the mattress is too soft or hard, or the bed or bed sheets have other issues that do not allow your dog to feel comfortable anymore, it will sleep somewhere else where it feels comfortable and cozy.

2. The Bed Is Too Small

If you’re wondering why won’t my dog sleep with me anymore, consider if there is enough room for both of you on the bed. After all, dogs grow over time and need much more space to sleep comfortably.

Large breeds also require more leg room than other dogs of a smaller size—they may sprawl out as they sleep and will not easily fit in the bed of their pet owners.

In this case, your big dog will decide to go somewhere else, such as the couch, floor, or another room in the house, where it can spread out and sleep.

In this case, the only solution to get your dog to sleep with you again is to get a bigger bed that you can share.

3. Not Used to Sleeping With a Person

If your puppy has undergone crate training and is not used to sleeping with humans, it will take time to adjust to its new partner at night.

In this case, you can train your puppy to sleep with you using voice commands and positive reinforcement techniques. Soon, it will learn to sleep in your bedroom instead of its crate or dog bed.

4. Your Dog is Stressed

If your dog adjusts to a big life change or other major events, it may have trouble falling asleep. The poor thing may lie awake at night even if it wants to sleep.

If stress prevents your dog from sleeping peacefully, give it enough exercise during the day to provide sufficient mental stimulation.

This will tire it out at night and help it fall asleep peacefully and sleep comfortably.

Shower your dog with love, attention, and enough support daily to help it feel secure and calm.

5. Your Dog is Distracted

If your dog is a light sleeper and gets easily distracted by the sounds of moving vehicles, passers-by, cats, or other animals, it will experience a lot of trouble falling asleep at night.

Your dog will be more interested in what is happening outside the house instead of sleeping.

To help your dog sleep soundly, investigate the cause of its lack of sleep and try the fix the issue. If this is impossible, do what you can to soundproof your bedroom.

You can also increase your dog’s activity levels during the day so that it will be too exhausted to check out outdoor goings-on at night.

6. You Snore

Humans are not the only species on the planet that cannot sleep if someone else snores in the same room.

If you usually snore while sleeping, your pet may not be able to sleep comfortably in your bedroom. It may want to escape the noise and decide to go somewhere else to get a good night’s sleep.

If you know that you snore and your dog has stopped sleeping with you, find ways to mitigate your snoring so that your furry friend can sleep with you again in your bed.

7. Accidental Positive Reinforcement

Sometimes pet owners may inadvertently bribe their pets to sleep on the dog bed, floor, couch, or somewhere else in the house other than the bed.

Giving dogs extra love or treats when sleeping in these areas teaches them to stay there instead of in your bedroom.

If you are not responsible for this kind of inadvertent positive reinforcement, ask your family members to check if anyone of them is doing it. 

To put an end to this, do not reward your pet when it sleeps somewhere else. Treat it only for sleeping with you in your bed.

This will help it gradually learn that sleeping at night means going to your bedroom.

However, if you’re trying to crate train your pet, you will have to accept that it will sleep elsewhere for the time being.

Once it learns to sleep in its crate, you can teach it new commands and use treats to return to your bed for the night.

Can I Train My Dog to Sleep With Me?

There are a few tips and tricks that pet owners can use to get their dogs to sleep with them in the same bedroom:

1. Teach Verbal Commands

Teach verbal commands such as “bedtime” or “stay” to help your dog understand that it is time to hit the hay.

While saying the commands, encourage it to climb on your bed. Keep repeating the word until it understands them and curls up on your bed.

This training process may take a few weeks—just exercise patience, and you will have a peaceful bedmate in no time.

2. Use Positive Reinforcement

Another way to get your dog to sleep with you and help it learn that your bed is a safe space is by using positive reinforcement such as praises and treats.

You should use this technique when you’ve established verbal commands so that it remembers to sleep with you from now on.

If it gets out of bed at night, offer it a treat once to entice it to come back. Don’t keep giving it treats every time it gets up, though, as it may learn to get up from bed for more treats.

3. Buy a New Mattress, Mattress Cover, or Dog Bed

If you also have trouble sleeping because of your mattress, consider replacing it with a firmer one that you and your dog will be more comfortable with.

This will bring your dog back to your bed to sleep companionably.

If you do not wish to change your mattress, buy a dog bed and put it in your bedroom. You can at least sleep with your pet in the same room instead of in different areas in the house.

Alternatively, if your dog likes a harder surface over a soft bed causing it to sleep somewhere else, get a hard mattress cover for its spot.

This will give it the firmness it wants and enough support for long and restful sleep.

4. Switch on an Air Conditioner or Fan

Dogs prefer sleeping in a cooler place as they tend to have a higher body temperature than ours.

If your dog feels too hot while sleeping at night, turn on a fan or air conditioner in your bedroom. This may make your dog want to sleep with you and return to your bed.

Conclusion

Dogs may stop sleeping with us suddenly for seemingly no reason at all. But everything they do usually has a reason.

Don’t admit defeat if your pet begins to sleep away from you one day. Instead, take the time to understand what is causing discomfort to your dog.

Then find ways to solve the problem and get it back in your bed. If your dog still wants to sleep elsewhere, it could be that it simply needs more privacy and space.

Resources:

• VetStreet.com