We have 3 girls. 2 share a room and the oldest has her own room. Our puppy (A Jack Russell) take turns sleeping in each room from night to night. The oldest who is my SD and does week to week ask can Blake choose who he wants to sleep with a night? Meaning who ever room he goes into that is where he would end up instead of treating him like a possession.
Our goal is to always be fair and my thoughts are that if he ends up sleeping with someone more than I am going to have to hear the others whine about it and than my other thought is if he chooses someone over the other than that is because that child is taking care of him more (they all have to be told to feed him and take him out) even though my SD put's a little more effort to do it on her own.
My SD spend one week with us and the other with her mom and she does have a puppy at her moms. On the week that she is not home Blake will sleep with our youngest 2 all that week. The child that he sleeps with has to take him out in the morning after she is dressed for school.
What say you?
I am still confused! and still in thought about this. Points taken! That when SD is not there what that will do to blake and the fact that she has a puppy to bond with at her moms but also if she is willing to do more than she may deserve more time. Still confused and still in thought about this.
Sleeping in our room is not an option for a few reason: He will pee on the carpet (but not in the girls room), when hubby and I are doing our thang he is all in (like he wants to join us) like Brain on Family Guy and that makes me uncomfortable so I have to kick him out.
I think that is where my concern comes in my 2 will forget to care for him and my step daughter will do just a little more than them but just a little so Blake is closer to my step daughter when she is there. Will letting him choose teach the other 2to take more care of him? I do not want to crate him at this point because he has never been in one, he is 2 years old.
My havanese {12 pounds} has slept in his pen since he was born. It's his safe place & he goes in there whenever he wants to get away from my 3 girls {4,7 & 12} The door is always open when we are home & awake & we close it when we go to bed or leave the house. He doesn't seem to mind at all {especially since he gets a treat if we leave the house}
our dog started out on a bed in the kitchen, where she would eventually move from room to room. Hanging with who ever. She is not allowed on the beds, cause she is huge and takes too much room up, and boots the kids out of theirs. So by morning shes in the master bed room on the floor next to my husbands side, cause she knows I hate her stink, and snoring. Then when I am up first, she comes outside and stays there till kids are up and ready for school...the cat used to sleep only with my oldest daughter, she was 4 at the time and the only one that didnt pester him to death. So he loved her. Unfortunately we lost him to a car last Jan. She wants another one, but our dog will likely use it as a chew toy.
What your doing sounds fine, keep it up.
Our pet's sleep wherever they want. If they only sleep with one person, well that is their choice, and it does happen. It's about comfort, i want to be comfortable why shouldn't they?
Now having said that...they all pretty much sleep with me.
Is there a jealousy issue here? I think you're doing well. Tell SD and the others that Blake *likes* to visit around, and that he loves *all* of them. Tell them also that it's tough to tell Jack Russells what to do! They like to make up their own minds.
Admittedly, your SD gets less time with him because she's not there all the time, but she has another puppy she needs to love, too! That's something the other girls don't have.
I think having the "hostess" take care of Blake's needs is a fine idea. I also think that, with three girls, if they weren't whining about Blake they'd be whining about something else.
Our dog sleeps in a crate in my room. She treats her crate as her own private suite.
our beagle sleeps in my room during the week and on the weekends when my kids can share the top bunk he sleeps in there (usually on the lower bunk). during the week he bugs the 4 year old in the night so that is why he is in our room.
I don't know, I kind of feel like if your SD is cool with taking the dog out every day she is with you, then you should let the dog sleep with her while she is there. Then the other weeks the dog sleeps in your other daughters' room. If she is asking for the responsibility, I would give it to her. Your other daughters have time with the dog while SD is at her mom's. Or, make a schedule that accounts for SD's nights away -- each girl gets 10 nights a month.
At our house, we have an open door policy -- the kids keep their bedroom doors open so the dog can go where he wants. They used to try to trap him in their rooms, and I'd be awoken by the dog whining to get out... not fun! If they want to take him to their bed that is fine -- after they've let him out for the night. But they need to give him his freedom. He typically ends up on the playroom couch.
my dogs sleep in the kitchen with a gate up so they don't roam and get let out in the morning by who ever comes down first.
My cat sleeps at the foot of my bed. I would not let the dog sleep in the kids rooms. There are no issues if he sleeps in no ones room, or if he sleep in your room.
our kitten sleeps outside(garage). i am done with poop! our dog(english bulldog) sleeps in the kitchen with a baby gate up so he cannot roam. while our situation is slightly different. our dog will pee on the bed or carpet randomly so she has to stay in the kitchen. we really dont have a good spot for a kinnel and they seem to be just another thing to clean.
other dogs we have owned have slept with us or the dogs favorite person. like growing up our dog loved the mom best and slept with her. while our cat slept in my room. no one seemed to mind and we did not fight over the dog and if the cat went to sleep in one of my brothers rooms who cares that is where she was safe. i agree with letting the pet decide. sometimes animals sence your not feeling safe,/well and will "protect" you or just keep you company. let the dog choose!
I would allow the dog to sleep wherever he wants.
I think it would be hard to insist the dog be on some sleeping arrangement, that are always changing , based on what you all want.
If anyone does not want him in their room, they need to close the door.
My mom has a crate in her room, that is where her dog sleeps. It is easiest for her so they can here him if he needs to go outside and potty.
My sister has her dog sleep in her room on the floor every night, whether the kids are there or not, because, that is where he likes to sleep.
In our house, the dog sleeps in his bed in the sunroom and is not allowed in any of the bedrooms. It works out great. Maybe put the dog in a neutral room. That will end that possessive issue.
i say youre doing it right.. every other night is fair.. she has her own puppy all to herself all week while shes at her moms and you 2daughters have theirs .. during the weeks she is there every other night is the fair thing to do.. my dog has always slept in the basement with my father, although as hes getting older hes not a fan of walking up the stairs in the morning when he has to go outside, he barks by the cellar door (theres about half as many steps if he goes that way) we want to move him up to the ground floor but his bed is a fullsize futon mattress & theres really nowhere to put it, he wont sleep on a regular dog bed, spoiled brat lol
Hmm. In our house, our dog sleeps in OUR room. :)
She slept in a crate next to the bed (on my side) when she was a small puppy when we first brought her home, and that is where she has stayed. Of course, we stopped closing the door to the crate, and she was free to come and go as she please---but she always seemed to 'please' to be next to my side of the bed. :)
I am not sure what I would do in your situation. My natural choice would be to let the dog choose. I mean... like you said, the dog is going to choose to be near whomever he feels attached to the most. The problem with that is that it seems to be your SD, who is not there every other week. And that could cause unnecessary stress your dog.
Maybe you could encourage the dog to sleep in your room and solve the entire thing in one shot. Because the dog is NOT a possession, but a pack/family member. And all dogs have a place in the hierarchy of the pack. Usually where a dog will choose to sleep is as close to the alpha as they are allowed to be.
ETA: Crate training will solve both of those issues. :) Our dog is not allowed on the beds (ours OR the kids'). And until I go to bed at night, she roams around and checks on the kids in their rooms. Sometimes she'll take a short nap in one of their rooms until I go to bed. It varies. Sometimes my son, sometimes my daughter. Sometimes she just pushes their door open and does a once-through of their room and comes back out. Then she will eventually make her way to our room. She is a bigger dog than you have (GSD), so she could stick her nose right up on the bed if she wanted... but she knows that it isn't her place, so she keeps it (and the rest of herself) on the floor for the most part (I do pet her from the bed as a "good night" pet once I am in bed, then she does her 3 turns in a circle and lies down).
And booting her to outside the bedroom? No biggie. What's wrong with doing that? We always close (and lock) our bedroom door for such things, and if the dog is in, it's fine. If she is out, that's fine too. No whining or anything else from her. She knows her place.
After, I'll open the door and if she's been "out" and wants to come "in" to go to sleep, she will, and usually does.
Basically, I'm just saying you could solve your issues with the dog in your room if you want to. It wouldn't be hard. But if you'd rather him sleep in your kids' rooms, then you will have the issues you currently have to solve, still.
Up to you, of course... :)
I would stick to what you're doing now. This way all the girls get time with the dog. Our puppy (7 month old Boston Terrier) sleeps with my daughter and has since we got her. Our dog will wake me up at night if she needs to go out and go back to sleep in my daughters bed.
My SD visits in the summer and on holidays but she doesn’t want the dog sleeping in her bed so we don’t have any whining (except for other things).
