Intro and question

Hi! I'm Kate and I'm the proud owner of Hunter a 3 yr old Blenheim. We got Hunter 4 months ago from a breeder who decided she wanted to breed smaller Cavs. As Hunter is on the bigger side, she wanted him neutered and sent to a happy home, We were happy to oblige.

Now here's my question. After 4 months with us he's feeling confident and seems to be enjoying being the one and only dog-perhaps a little too much. I read through all the posts on growling and realized that he is definitely 'owning' some places like his favourite spot on the couch and most importantly our bed.

Last night he really growled at my husband when he tried to get him to move off the bed. My dh backed off and told him to get down in no uncertain terms and Hunter did. What I'm after are positive ways to get him off the bed without growling.
We've already decided to give him a good fuss if he gets down voluntarily and not shout, touch him or get in his face. But what do we do it he simply won't get down?

Any thoughts? And thanks in advance for such a fabulous opportunity to gain help and information.
Kate

icon_welcome Sorry Im no help in answering your question as I just got my first Cavalier this weekend and this is my first dog so I probably know less then you do I did want to say welcome and you've come to the right spot as there are loads of info on the site as well as tons of knowledgeable Cavalier owners who can answer your questions better then I can

By the way I love the name Hunter I named my cat that! Heehee :lol:

icon_welcome

I've never had a furniture posessive dog so haven't any suggestions, but I'm sure other will be able to give you some pointers.

Our beloved Charley always slept on the bed.

I would just tell him firmly to "move" if he took up too much space.

He had a crate in our bedroom but seldom slept in it.

Mary Alice, on the other hand, doesn't like being disturbed.

I *do* tell her to "move" but if she doesn't or gets moody, I place her on the floor. Very quickly, no fuss....just place her down on the floor.

She usually gets the message, returns to the bed and stays near the bottom til I'm asleep.

You might also want to consider putting Hunter into a crate in your bedroom, as an alternative to being on the bed.

Mary Alice goes crazy in a crate but it's there...like an ornament!

icon_welcome Kate and Hunter!

From Mary Alice and Zippy :flwr: :flwr:

Sorry, I should have welcomed you first.

I would suggest reading up on resource gaurding and leadership skills both issues are at play here. I can not think of a positive way to get him off the bed if he will not come when called. The only thing I could suggest but not sure if it is good advice is make it a training exercise.

Go into the room and give him the command to get onto the bed and praise and give a food treat then give a command to get off the bed and when he does praise and give a food treat. Do this several times everyday so he will learn that following the command is a good thing to do then gradually decrease the treats but keep up the priase and only give a treat every other time and so on.

The only other thing which really is not all that positive is to use the cover on your bed to slowly make him slide off so he has to move. Take it by one corner and lift it under him very slowly so it is kind of pushing him off the bed this way you are not trying to pick him up and making him act on his back off growl ???

I am no expert just some suggestions I could think of. Good Luck and icon_welcome

icon_welcome kate and hunter!

unfortunately i am no good at training advice but i'm sure you will find a lot of help on this website!

enjoy!

k

luvzcavs said:

I would suggest reading up on resource gaurding and leadership skills both issues are at play here. I can not think of a positive way to get him off the bed if he will not come when called. The only thing I could suggest but not sure if it is good advice is make it a training exercise.

Go into the room and give him the command to get onto the bed and praise and give a food treat then give a command to get off the bed and when he does praise and give a food treat. Do this several times everyday so he will learn that following the command is a good thing to do then gradually decrease the treats but keep up the priase and only give a treat every other time and so on.

The only other thing which really is not all that positive is to use the cover on your bed to slowly make him slide off so he has to move. Take it by one corner and lift it under him very slowly so it is kind of pushing him off the bed this way you are not trying to pick him up and making him act on his back off growl ???

I am no expert just some suggestions I could think of. Good Luck and icon_welcome

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I would also use treats and positive reinforcement to get him off the bed if he is on it.

But I would definitely consider not allowing him on the bed at all in the future, and instead let him sleep in a crate or dog bed in your bedroom at night.

I have a small booklet entitled How to be the Leader of the Pack... and Have Your Dog Love You for it! by Patricia B. McConnell, Ph.D. where she addresses this situation as a dog challenging the owner's status. She advises not allowing status-seeking dogs on the bed.

Welcome to the board, Kate and Hunter! :flwr:

Hi and icon_welcome aboard. It sounds like Hunter just needs to re learn his place in the pack. I'm no expert so I wont even try to advise.


:flwr: :flwr: