How do I get my dog off my pillow?

[sandyk]

Hi Everyone,

I'm hoping that someone has some advice that will allow me to get some much needed sleep. My 6 pound chihuahua feels the need to sleep on my pillow all night. He curls up around my head and licks my forhead quite a few times as well. In the morning, my neck is cramped and I haven't gotten much sleep. He's 2 years old now and he's always slept in our bed. Both of us would hate it if he slept somewhere else, but I feel like the lack of sleep because of this is really taking its toll on me. Does anyone have any suggestions or had a similar problem and know of anything that would make him not want to sleep on my pillow/head?

Thanks!
Sandy

[mugsy]

Perhaps another pillow right next to yours might help. Try having a 60 pound Weim sleep on your head!! lol That's where Max likes to sleep too as does Sox the 55 pound GSD/Aussie mix! hehehe

Good luck! Sleep tight!

[sandyk]

After reading your reply, I guess 6 pounds isn't so bad! I tried putting another pillow next to mine, but I think his whole goal (more like his mission) is to sleep wrapped around my head. I've also tried wrapping a scarf around my head so he couldn't lick my forehead all night. He scratched at the scarf until my forehead was finally exposed for the licking again. When my husband's awake and sees Tiger licking my forehead, he pulls him off of me. My husband said Tiger just climbs back up instantly like he's on an important mission to lick my forehead and straddle my head all night. I know it's his way of loving me and spending time with me all night since I am at work all day apart from him, but it seems like there's got to be a solution that would allow me to sleep.


Thanks for the reply!!!

[ihave2dogs]

i think you should put another pillow next to you then you should just move your head over to it and sleep there. it might work

[Sam's My Baby]

Maybe getting his own pillow on the ground and not allowing him to go on the bed anymore?

[KYS]

LOL!

It took me over 20 years, but I am finally passed
that stage. When Pepper takes over my spot,
I have no qualms about pushing her on my husbands
side or on the foot of the bed. Let him get cramped. lol
Pepper still sleeps with us, whether she gets her
prime spot or not.

[Dixieland Dancer]

Originally posted by Sam's My Baby
Maybe getting his own pillow on the ground and not allowing him to go on the bed anymore?

That's my advice too! At least until he realizes that the pillow is not his! :eek:

[mugsy]

Sandy,

I thought of you last night. When I went to bed Max (the Weim) was at the foot of the bed. In about 2 minutes flat he was at the head of the bed. I just took my pillow and scrunched down about 6 inches and had my feet hanging over the end of the bed and promptly went to sleep and woke up about 1am with Jessie (the Toy Eskie) laying right by my chest! And Dudley LOUDLY exclaiming that he needed to go O-U-T! hehe

[sandyk]

Well mugsy, at least I don't feel alone anymore!!!

The problem with Tiger is that it's not about sleeping on the pillow for him. It's about wrapping himself around MY HEAD. I think he just wants to be close to me. I actually slept without a pillow last night and he still curled up around my head and licked my forehead all night! Even when he's keeping me up, I still can't help but laugh while he's frantically licking my forehead. Maybe I will just start licking him back!!!

[lovemymaltese]

I have the same problem with my dog, but it's not every night. I hate to inform you, I think that you may have lost your pillow, ha!

[lovemymaltese]

by the way, welcome to Pet Talk. Warm greetings from all of us.

[sandyk]

Thank you for the nice welcome. I found a picture to show you what I'm up against. This is how he waits for me to come to bed and the position he assumes the minute I get out of bed.

[KYS]

Awwhh! He is so precious.
But I am still laughing over how he licked your
head all night.

[lovemymaltese]

Sandyk little tiger is so cute, all bundled up. Is that his favorite place to be?

[sandyk]

He can't get into the bed by himself, but when we put him in bed right before bedtime and in the morning, he loves to lay under the covers. He used to only sleep under the covers before the new "laying on my pillow licking my forehead" stage. I'm hoping that when winter comes, he'll want to sleep under the covers again instead of on my head!

[Karen]

I think your only choice right now is to not let him sleep on the bed, or that's where he'll end up. Get him a nice comfy doggy bed, put it next to your bed, and let him sleep there for a few nights.

You need to let him know that YOU are the alpha dog, and he is not in charge, and incidentally, the alpha dog needs her rest!

[chanel5]

I think you just answered your question. If he can't get onto the bed alone, I say you put a 'special pillow' on the floor for him. Move it from room to room to train him that that pillow is truly his. Encourage its use and praise him for using it. After a month or so, then if you must have him in the bed, try putting him up there on HIS pillow. Just a thought.

[ParNone]

If you really want him on the bed with you, you might try
the following.

Get a special pillow for him. Place it on the bed.
Give him a command to go get on the pillow. Then place him
there. Tell him to stay. Start with a very short interval for the
stay, so you can praise him for successfully staying on the pillow.
Keep repeating the process and increasing the interval of stay,
as he's successful. Lots of repetition on this so he understands
what the commands are.

Then at night give him the commands and if he doesn't stay
on the pillow, place him and the pillow on the floor. It won't be
long before he'll associate getting kicked out of bed with not
following the commands. And major praise in the morning if
he stays where he's suppose to all night long.

Par...

Edited to add: If he starts whining to get up on the bed, when
you put him and the pillow on the floor for the night, you're
gonna haveta suck it up. Resolve yourself to some sleepness
nights in the beginning and not give in.

[jackiesdaisy1935]

Tiger is adorable, I think he deserves the pillow. lol. Daisy my schnauzer sleeps with us and she has her own pillow, her idea of closeness is sticking her butt against me.
Jackie

[sandyk]

Thank you, HE knows he's adorable lol!!! I agree with you! I'm giving up the pillow! There's really not room in our bed for another pillow. I'm not going to punish him by putting him on the floor or in his kennel just because he wants to be close to me all night. Over the last few days, we've compromised. I run him ragged and keep him awake all evening, and by the time we get to bed, I get a good half night's sleep before he wakes up enough to crawl up onto my pillow. We are both a little droopy eyed in the morning, but there's nothing like waking up with his little furry body snuggled up against me.

[lovemymaltese]

Oh man, the winter time is when my Tango is always alsleep on my head. That is a warm spot for them. I still think that you have lost your pillow, but isn't it worth it.

[sottice]

Sandy,
I have a Chihuahua (Anna) that has to sleep on my pillow too. Fortunately she does not lick my head very often. However, when I first got her 7 years ago she did. I would move her down to my legs and let her know it was ok for her to lick me, but not on my face.

We went round and round night after night, but she finally realized what I was trying to tell her. If it's too hot for her to get under the covers, I just keep my legs on top of them for awhile, till she gets through licking. She will lick my arms sometimes too.

We cuddle and I pet her and tell her how much I love her, and after about 20 or 30 minutes, she's ready to go to sleep. She curls up on one side of my pillow and I get on the other side. Sometimes she gets over on my husband's pillow and as long as she stays out of his way he lets her stay.

Good luck. I hope it all works out without too much sleep lost.

Teresa

[CountryWolf07]

LOL I am sorry.. but I was having a fit of laughing about your situation, if that was rude, I'm sorry again. But having a cichuahua sleeping on your head.. that is a funny image. :) It's cute about that though.. he's been doing that since he was a pup? - Rachel

[sandyk]

He only started doing it about 2 months ago. I'm hoping that he'll go back to sleeping under the covers once it's not so hot. I have really started trying to get him to get the message, like sottice said. He still sneaks up there at night and licks my forehead sometimes, but if I run him ragged before we go to sleep and keep telling him NO when he starts licking my forehead before we go to sleep, he tends to do it a lot less now. He does sleep on my pillow for a big part of the night, but it was the constant licking that was really keeping me up. Even in my sleep-deprived state, I laugh about it when he wakes me up frantically licking my forehead.

[sottice]

I'm glad it's getting better!

[kitty_puff]

you should sleep with a pillow for about a month and give him yours then after a week or 2 slowly inch by inch move him farther from you :D

[ChrisAK]

Nice to hear it is working out.

In the future, keep in mind:

If you don't want your pets on the furniture, or want them to do those things, like kick you off the bed, hog your pillows, or even steal the blankets (mine do), when they get older; don't allow them on these items when they are pups.

They are animals first and foremost and have individual personalities. We don't know what those personalities are going to be until they get older. Why risk trying to reprogram when they are older when we could have prevented it when they were younger.

YES I'M GUILTY. I have 2 large dogs that force me to sleep in positions a contortionist would be proud of. But I did it, and now I pay.

It's not really that bad anymore. They got older and wiser and get off the bed once hubby starts to snore. They can't sleep either :D

[MHMama]

Ricky used to do this too and I was beginning to think that I would never sleep without a stiff neck in the morning again. I started pulling him down so that he could put his head on my pillow and lie against me but not on the pillow or around my head. Everytime, he went back up to the pillow, I gave him a stern NO and put him back. I had to be a very light sleeper for a while to catch him each time but it worked. Now he sleeps next to me and puts his body next to my back with just his head on my pillow.