Sleeping On Lap

[meekomegs]

my 9 wk old gsp puppy loves sleeping on our laps when inside. Could this create a problem when she is older? We do love getting the cuddles but we are getting nothing done! Is there any tips for enticing her to sleep on her bed or rug? we have tried treating her but she comes straight back. Or should we just enjoy it while she is a puppy?

[Guest belgian.blue]

I'd enjoy it while she is a puppy, as she is still very young and the warmth from your lap is comforting to her. They aren't that small for long!

I went through the same with my Pointer [English] puppy but now he is around 30kg so clearly too big for lap cuddles but he does try

Badger now sleeps really well in his crate, on the floor or in his many beds but both my dogs do follow me from room to room. I get up to get something from the kitchen, both follow and then follow me back to my room and settle again.

Do you have any photos of your little girl?

[koalathebear]

A lot of people will say start as you mean to continue but we let our puppies sleep in our lap while they were small. They grow big pretty quickly and then it's not an option anymore so we let them sleep there while they could and after that they get cuddles when they're too big for our laps. I guess the main thing is that you're supposed to initiate it and pick them up and put them in your lap rather than letting them dictate that it's lap time:D

[sas]

With puppies, start as you mean to go on. So if you're happy having the GSD on your lap as an adult then go ahead and have the pup on your lap now

[Stitch]

It is nice to have a puppy fall asleep in your lap and it is also comforting for the pup - I see nothing wrong with it.

Even if you did have a fully grown dog that wanted to sleep in your lap it would be easy to train it out of it later.

It is not going to be the 'end of the world' if you did have to retrain however I have found that this kind of trait in pups rarely continues into adulthood.

[poodlefan]

my 9 wk old gsp puppy loves sleeping on our laps when inside. Could this create a problem when she is older? We do love getting the cuddles but we are getting nothing done! Is there any tips for enticing her to sleep on her bed or rug? we have tried treating her but she comes straight back. Or should we just enjoy it while she is a puppy?

If you don't want her to do it as an adult you are setting yourself up for problems down the line. You're already seeing her refuse to sleep elsewhere. A 25kg dog who wont' get off your lap won't be fun for you.

I'd suggest you teach her where her bed is and a comfy bed in a crate would be the way to go.

[The Spotted Devil]

I've always been against having dogs on my lap whilst sitting on the couch (couches and laps are for the cats!).....but my young pup has me suckered in already

With my Dalmatian, he was always going to be too big and awkward so, when he was a pup, we had cuddles on my lap whilst I was sitting on the ground. That worked really well but he was always taught to sleep on his own bed and in his crate as well.

With current pup, she is really, really snuggly (JUST like her mum) - however, she has cuddles by invitation ONLY. If she jumps on the couch without being invited she is gently placed on the ground. If she asks for a snuggle on my lap sometimes I say no, sometimes yes. At other times she goes into her crate. Oh yes, there were tantrums but it was worth a few weeks of tantrum chucking for the convenience and safety of having a happily crated dog.

I like to teach my dogs that anything goes. It's just that I get to dictate what "anything" is from day to day

[Adza]

Tahli would sleep on my lap since we brought her home, I loved it and enjoyed it while she was small totally beautiful ahh memories.

After a while she just wanted to be in her bed..she is now 16kg and she doesn't want to sleep ontop of us anymore, so I don't think it sets up the dog to be that way for every person. Gee'z I even try to get her on my lap sometimes but it don't work.

If I let her on the bed though, she will lay right next to me like a person, so thats our form of cuddles now :D

[koalathebear]

Elbie slept in our lap as a little puppy - at our choosing not his. He's now far too big to do it although sometimes do still plonk him in our lap for a cuddle. I actually wish I'd held him in my lap more when he was a wee one so am making sure we cuddle Hoover as much as possible before he becomes too big. We wouldn't have done it if it was at the puppy's insistence though - Kelpies are notoriously manipulative so play and cuddles always have to be initiated by the humans and not the doggies.

Both our two are totally fine sleeping in their crates, dog beds and mats - or just on the floor.

Edited November 22, 2010 by koalathebear