Another Milestone for Sparky!

[SparkyJonesMom]

Last night Sparky reached another milestone. He has been sleeping in his crate at night, but every time I tried to get him to sleep with us, he would just roam around on the bed, and then roam all over the room. I wasn't sure if I could trust him. But last night I put up everything that he could possibly destroy if he got bored in the middle of the night, and made sure he had plenty of toys in the room, just in case. My DH and I turned the lights out and then...we waited. I could hear Sparky poking around, and this went on for a few minutes. Finally I felt him jump up on the bed, and after he roamed for a minute, he curled up. I woke up this morning to Sparky in the same general area that he had started in. He slept with us, out of his crate, through the entire night and caused no problems at all. I was really proud of him, and I'm happy that we can trust him out of his crate at night. Today I'm going to buy a nice, soft bed for him to put next to our bed, and try to get him to sleep there, instead of with us. He tends to try to sleep right on top of my chest or across my legs, which makes it awkward. But I'm just happy he knows that when the lights are out, and we're quiet, that means it's time to sleep. What a good boy.

[Sandi16]

Awww very cool!! It's a great feeling isn't it?

I love when Louie sleeps with me. He knows when it's time to go to bed, and will follow me up. Sometimes, when I'm up too late, he'll even sit on the landing looking at me and then upstairs like "I'm tired let's go"

Sparky is just too cute!

[sheila and Misty]

yay sparky! movin on up!

[Idaho Cairns]

One of the joys of Cairn ownership is having them sleep in bed with us. Course we don't tell them that because as sure as we did, they wouldn't do it, being Cairns! I am so used to having our older dog sleep in the crook of my legs that I miss her when she decides to spend the night on her own bed.

We have been trying to get the puppy settled into the routine, but like your little one, she has a tendency to move around a bit--plus the fact that, out of the crate, she wakes us up early in the morning to go outside and piddle. For some reason she can hold it silently in her crate but left loose, she chirps and gets in the verticle blinds, clacking them until we let her out! Congrats, that is a milestone for you and your dog!

[Sam I Am]

I can sooooo relate to the early riser! Jock sleeps on the bed (he actually has his own pillow!) however no matter what, 5:00 oclock is the time he wakes up. And if you think for one moment that ignoring him is an option, think twice. Never let it be said that a Cairn is not persistant! Sitting on your chest, with his face 1/4 of an inch from us, heavy breathing, and licking our noses is not something any human owner can ignore.

[mjones]

Gus has also graduated to sleeping out of his crate at night. He is 7 months old now and just sleeps on the floor, usually under my bed. I would love for him to sleep in bed with me, but my husband won't allow for it. Bummer, but I gotta keep the peace! It is nice to have him in the room with us though and I think he is happier sleeping out of the crate. Right now my Lab sleeps in my 4 year old's room because she has to protect my daughter from the monsters in her closet. If those darn monsters ever leave we'll have to see how it goes with two dogs sleeping in our bedroom.

[beccadiane374]

Tanner is 8 months old & we've been working on him sleeping on the bed. I tried it when he was 5/6 months old, but couldn't get him to settle down...he kept wanting to play tug of war with the blanket or just sit there and lick my face (sweet, I know, but I had to sleep!). I've found that if it's on a day that he's had more exercise & is more worn out, he'll usually curl up & go to sleep pretty quickly. But for the times he's not so ready for bed, I try putting him in his kennel for abt. 30 minutes & then moving him directly to my bed & usually that'll do it. He still has his nights that he just won't settle down so he has to go back in the kennel, but I've found that putting him in there for a little bit gets him in the frame of mind for sleep & most nights, he curls up next to me & sleeps until I have to wake him up in the morning.