Sibling rivalry - cairn terriers

We have two male cairn terriers--Kirby and Cooper--littermates, both neutered (I know shouldn't have litter mates--too late, 10 years old)! Cooper is a fairly calm lap dog, the dominant of the two. Kirby is more hyper & keeps his distance from his owners, but does come to us for affection when he wants it. About two years ago, someone in the household (!)began to allow the dogs on the bed for sleeping. Kirby starts the evening on the bed, then gets down to sleep on his bed on the floor. Of late, Cooper is asserting his dominance over the bed by growling at Kirby, making Kirby get down with his display. Once Kirby is down, Kirby barks at Cooper & Cooper barks from "on high" at Kirby. They stir each other up & calm down once we break the barking cycle by pulling Cooper out of Kirby's view. Kirby then goes under the bed (also a new behavior) and comes out to his own bed about 15 minutes later to settle in for the night.
I want Kirby and Cooper off the bed, period. Cooper whines and scratches when he is put down and won't go to sleep on his own bed. We usually end up giving in, wanting to get some sleep, and let him back up. SUCH ENABLERS!!
Suggestions? Feel free to let me have it, the situation is of our own making!

Well the first step is NOT TO give in. Pick a night- a night it wont matter if you dont get any sleep like maybe over the weekend. Keep them off the bed- be firm.. "No- get off" .. Just tell yourself ' " okay self- I wont get any sleep tonight but tomorrow I will take a nap...." ( you get the point...)

Thanks for the post Borzoimom. Will do the deed this weekend. In the meantime, we shall encourage "off the bed" behavior with reward & praise or wait for cold turkey approach in a few days?

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Originally Posted by goffie

Thanks for the post Borzoimom. Will do the deed this weekend. In the meantime, we shall encourage "off the bed" behavior with reward & praise or wait for cold turkey approach in a few days?

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The problem is, if you give in at all you lost.. With me it would be cold turkey. And maybe set up a comforter on the floor for them for the next few days... If they argue in your pressence, scold. " No".. then silence.. Silence to a dog means ohoh- I am in trouble...

No praise with this procedure! You're off the bed; end of discussion, that's it period! It will be harder on you than it will be on them. ;)

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Originally Posted by bluebird

No praise with this procedure! You're off the bed; end of discussion, that's it period! It will be harder on you than it will be on them. ;)

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EXACTLY ...

Messages received loud and clear! Thank you all & I shall post results when the deed is done. You are all very generous with your time :cool:

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Originally Posted by goffie

Messages received loud and clear! Thank you all & I shall post results when the deed is done. You are all very generous with your time :cool:

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We allllllllllll help each other.. Good luck- get a good pot of coffee in bed and good luck.. We are here for you!

If necessary, use some sort of restraint to keep the dogs off the bed at first. I had the same problem with my dog. He had to be leashed to an eyebolt in the baseboard near the bed for a few nights so I could get some sleep. He now knows that bedtime means on HIS bed, not mine.

Just make sure the leash isn't long enough for him to get on the bed anyway. I learned that the hard way.

Or use a crate with the door closed until he gets it. Then leave the door open so he has his own 'room'.

Well teethering might work, but these are determined terriers- they will probably chew the leash up .. lol.. or the baseboard out of frustration.

Hello all--here's an update on my cairns:
First night: on Sunday night, the dogs were not allowed up on the bed. Kirby likes to sleep on his dog bed on the floor, so he was no problem. Cooper fussed and whined for about 1 1/2 hours--he was given countless "no's" and silent treatment. He was guided onto his bed a few times and encouraged to stay there--he would get off and whine some more. Eventually, he gave up and went on his dog bed on the floor--once he gave up, he went to sleep.
Second night: on Monday night, the dogs were allowed on the bed to visit for a bit, then made to get down. We did this because we don't mind a brief visit, but it will be on our terms, not theirs.
Again, Kirby was fine, Coooper pleaded for a bit but gave up after about 10 minutes and went to sleep. We all had a great night's sleep and we are still friends this morning!
Thanks again all -- so far, so good.

Greetings,
Well night #3 went very well. Cooper begged for a bit to come on the bed, but after a stern command to get in his own bed he did it.

We all slept very well. I had not realized how much having Cooper on the bed disturbed my sleep!

Thanks to all, I think this has come to a successful conclusion... :cool:

Excellent, keep it up, and let us know! :)