Luke GSP Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Hi all, As some of you will know, we have acquired a beautiful little cocker who is the softest dog I have ever met. We got him on Saturday and he is fundamentally a dog for my daughter to concentrate on. my concern is in regard to sleeping arrangements. I already have two GSP's and he has integrated quite well with them in regard to no physical violence and in fact the only reprimands have been limited to chesty growls with no teeth shown. Last night they all came in to the front room and laid on beds next to each other with no issues, no growls at all They all have to exist together in the day (three days a week) as we are at work and kids at school. Our neighbour has been keeping an eye on the new arrival and has reported no issues so far. I want him to integrate with the "pack" and be accepted, however, so that he gets to spend more time with my daughter (she already gets him out of bed each day and spend a minimum of 1 hour with him before school and then spends all evening after getting home from school) I was wondering if he could sleep in her room? Not on her bed, but in her room. either on a bed/matt or in a crate (he is an ex show dog and seems to love a crate as he is so relaxed inside it. the reason I ask is two fold, 1 he would get to spend more time with my daughter and increase their bond 2, he is a very bad eater in that he will simply not chew a lambs ear when you give it to him, when he spent the first night in his crate, he did eat it during the night but when not in a crate, I know that one of the GSP's are nicking it (he literally just leaves the ear laying there hence the theft) Now I know that some will say, why not just crate him in the same place that the other dogs sleep, but the fact of the matter is that the laundry where they all are simply id not big enough for two GSP size beds and a crate longterm. So, let me know what you think, do you think letting him sleep elsewhere could cause any acceptance issues in the day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smisch Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 If he's for your daughter then I would consider it.. To build a bigger bond get her involved in feeding him as well.. Funny enough my OH had this little lowchen Ella, over the course of our relationship I spent a lot of time with Ella so much so that she is now my dog and is ATM snuggled up against my chest snoring... We got a Lakeland puppy for showing and I was like "she's your puppy" and have done as little as possible to encourage her to relate to him for all things good... No such luck lmao! She won't show nearly as well for him and she gives me 110% lol so anything to encourage his bond with your daughter may be considered a positive as long as it doesn't impact on the pack order... We found having both lowchen on the bed led to drama so it's just Ella and Leo can be in his crate in our room or free roaming behind the baby gate in the kitchen.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzy82 Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 My dogs sleep apart and they're great friends and it hasn't affected them. My youngest has always slept in a crate in our room, while our oldest sleeps on a bed next to our bed. Recently the crate was moved to my office so he now sleeps in his crate away from us, while our oldest still sleeps next to our bed. Hasn't changed anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke GSP Posted August 14, 2012 Author Share Posted August 14, 2012 If he's for your daughter then I would consider it.. To build a bigger bond get her involved in feeding him as well.. Funny enough my OH had this little lowchen Ella, over the course of our relationship I spent a lot of time with Ella so much so that she is now my dog and is ATM snuggled up against my chest snoring... We got a Lakeland puppy for showing and I was like "she's your puppy" and have done as little as possible to encourage her to relate to him for all things good... No such luck lmao! She won't show nearly as well for him and she gives me 110% lol so anything to encourage his bond with your daughter may be considered a positive as long as it doesn't impact on the pack order... We found having both lowchen on the bed led to drama so it's just Ella and Leo can be in his crate in our room or free roaming behind the baby gate in the kitchen.. She does everything for him, feeding, letting out in the morning, putting to bed etc etc, she does it all (she is a seriously responsible 9 year old) it was all part of the deal of getting her "own" dog. thats the reason why I am considering it, however, if it risks his integration in to the "pack" it will be off the cards straight away. He is already extremely devoted to her (considering they have only been together since Saturday.) but he really misses her as soon as she goes to school (not to the point of causing an issue, but he just looks a bit lost so if him staying with her at night gave him more time with her and made the relationship even stronger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke GSP Posted August 14, 2012 Author Share Posted August 14, 2012 My dogs sleep apart and they're great friends and it hasn't affected them. My youngest has always slept in a crate in our room, while our oldest sleeps on a bed next to our bed. Recently the crate was moved to my office so he now sleeps in his crate away from us, while our oldest still sleeps next to our bed. Hasn't changed anything. Thats good to know, thanks. If it were my GSP's I would have no issues with it as they have an established pack bond, my concern is based on the fact that this little guy is already on the back foot due to being new and I don't want to impede him integrating with the pack that is already established. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumof4girls Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Rogue sleeps on our bed my daughter desperately wants him to sleep with her but he refuses lol loves his mum more ha ha.. Since sleeping on our bed our bond is stronger , :-) how will you stop him from jumping on the bed and why do you not want him on the bed? Just curious :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheyd Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Our rescue dogs always sleep separate to our dogs, either in a crate or in the bathroom at night and we have had no problems with them getting along in the mornings or any issues like that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke GSP Posted August 15, 2012 Author Share Posted August 15, 2012 I was thinking of putting him in his crate "as he loves it" but in her room so he still knows she's there, it also then let's him take his own sweet time to eat his bedtime chew without it being stolen by a GSP thief. My main issue with sharing the bed is purely that he is an outdoor dog in the day and hence would probably transfer a fair bit of dirt etc on to her bed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 I don't see why it would be a problem. As you said the laundry is too small for all of them, they will only be apart while sleeping. Put a crate in your daughter's room and let them enjoy! At one stage I had a dog who was not allowed to sleep in the house overnight ( long story ) but the others were. There was never a problem in the pack. In fact all my dogs have and can sleep inside or out, in a crate or not, with others or by themselves. You never quite know what curveball life will throw at you and it's good the dogs can be adaptable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W Sibs Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 (edited) The crate in her room is a good idea. He doesn't have to sleep on the bed with her, but he can sleep in the same room with her. It's still sweet, the bond between child and dog :) As for the dog sleeping together effecting a pack... nah, I don't think so. My bitch sleeps on the bed with me, my oldest boy sleeps on the floor on his own bed and a pup who sleeps on the floor too. Sometimes with the oldest boy, but most of the time on the wooden floors because it's cooler, and my 3 seems to have a pretty solid bond with each other. Edited August 15, 2012 by W Sibs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ash1 Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 The crate in her room is a good idea. He doesn't have to sleep on the bed with her, but he can sleep in the same room with her. It's still sweet, the bond between child and dog :) As for the dog sleeping together effecting a pack... nah, I don't think so. My bitch sleeps on the bed with me, my oldest boy sleeps on the floor on his own bed and a pup who sleeps on the floor too. Sometimes with the oldest boy, but most of the time on the wooden floors because it's cooler, and my 3 seems to have a pretty solid bond with each other. We have four senior dogs who all sleep in our bedroom (mostly on the bed with us) and four pups (unrelated, all between 6-10 months old). The four pups sleep together in a room off our room (weird house layout), but there have been no problems with bonding, they're all happy to see each other in the morning. Actually I think the seniors enjoy their "puppy time out", the puppies are so full on during the day, the seniors seem to enjoy the peace and quiet once they've been put to bed. Give it a go for a week or so, you can always put them back to sleeping together if you think the older dogs aren't bonding well with the pup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frufru Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Our dogs have always slept in our room in their beds and at various times I have babysat or fostered dogs who I didn't want in our bedroom (usually snorers LOL) I had one guy for several months and it never seemed to cause a problem. I think it would also be of benefit to your daughter as she will have a confidant and special friend to talk to at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perfumed Lillium Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 If he's for your daughter then I would consider it.. To build a bigger bond get her involved in feeding him as well.. Funny enough my OH had this little lowchen Ella, over the course of our relationship I spent a lot of time with Ella so much so that she is now my dog and is ATM snuggled up against my chest snoring... We got a Lakeland puppy for showing and I was like "she's your puppy" and have done as little as possible to encourage her to relate to him for all things good... No such luck lmao! She won't show nearly as well for him and she gives me 110% lol so anything to encourage his bond with your daughter may be considered a positive as long as it doesn't impact on the pack order... We found having both lowchen on the bed led to drama so it's just Ella and Leo can be in his crate in our room or free roaming behind the baby gate in the kitchen.. I so agree, I have experienced that feeding an animal does not guarantee preference towards the person that feeds it although in my case this applies to cats, I have 3 cats, had them since they were 8 weeks old and am the only one that feeds them yet they definitely gravitate towards my OH to the point that they can be, at times, overbearing....wanting his attention and cuddles all the time, I wish they showed me that much attention, lol. I suppose the same would apply to dogs and like people, animals have their favourite people Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perfumed Lillium Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 One thing I have learnt over the years, not only through personal experience but also via other people's experience, is that dogs can experience jealousy and if a dog senses that the other dog is getting preferential treatment, it will feel resentment. If both dogs are the same size, they can sort out their differences but two big dogs against a smaller dog can present problems. Ideally, it would be great if this weren't the case....and perhaps it mightn't be in your case but it is risky nevertheless; perhaps increasing the attention the other dogs are getting might help but there is no guarantee, is it possible for you to separate them during the day when you are unable to supervise them? Congratulations on your new puppy, he's one lucky pooch and I am sure he will be spoilt :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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