Advice on Bedding?!

[lzeb]

Hi There,

You may have seen my recent thread introducing my new Chow pup, Winston.

I'd like to ask some advice on how you bed your chows? We bought Winston a crate, but he gets really upset when we try to put him in it and when we leave him. On the first night we tried him in our room, but he was obviously hot and bothered so we took him into the kitchen and shut the door, where he slept all night quietly.

He has done this ever since and hasn't destroyed any furniture, simply shreds a bit of newspaper and drinks lots of water (with no accidents through the night). Our kitchen is tiled, and he only likes to sleep in their or in the hallway, which is laminate flooring. He's not yet fallen asleep in our living room, which is carpetted.

So, to my question - I want to get him into a routine of putting him to bed and sending him to bed (as we did this with our childhood dogs), however he sees the whole of the kitchen floor his bed area! Has anyone had any similar experiences? How have you differentiated between play time and bed time?

Thanks, Lucy

[lola chow]

we have lola in the kitchen in a large crate and she has been fine at night time she goes into the garden we put the water in her crate and tell her in your bed and she goes in no bother same during the day when i have to pick the children up i tell her i wont belong in your bed and in she goes xxxxxxx

[Sirchow]

We were very lucky with Bramble and it sounds like Winston is a lot like her. We let her lie on the kitchen floor with her crate door open for the first few nights as she had never been in a crate before. The breeder insisted she was a "free range chow". Then during the day we fed her in the crate and gave her treats in it gradually closing the door for a few minutes giving her longer each time in it. Make it a place for treats and nice associations. Within three days she was happy to spend the night in her crate and never looked back. She never cried once at night and we have never had to get up to let her out. Chow puppies are very clean and wil not generally mess their space so a crate helps to house train them as well. Winston sounds like he is very good at night he just doesn't see why he should be shut in. keep persevering as being able to shut them in after ops or for safety of small children etc is really useful. Good luck.

[Coco Chow]

Coco has a soft textile crate we bought her because we wanted her to be comfortable and have her own place at dog shows. But at the shows, and at home, she refuse to stay inside if we close the door! The crate is now never used and it lay flat somewhere in the basement.

At home, she refused the plastic dog bed we bought her when she was a puppy, even with a blanket inside, but liked to sleep on the blanket alone on the floor. The dog bed has been thrown away.

What she prefers to sleep on are her fur rugs, sheepskin rug, lambskin rug, etc... she always loved them (even though they were not bought for her, but for decoration purposes!).

Coco at 3 months old on the lamb rug:


Coco now on the cowhide rug:


Finaly, a few weeks ago, I cut an old matress to Coco's size, I covered it with a blanket, then I put it on the floor at the end of our bed, and she now likes to spend a part of the night on it...

[Dogdad]

I bought beds for 2 of my three chows, Maxwell prefered sleeping with me until He thought i feel asleep and then went on the cool floor. Yoshi prefers to sleep in the bathroom where the floor is uncarpeted. Maxine, sleeps right next to me all night

david

[kingalls]

We've never used crates. Shiloh has her blanket next to the sofa and Nahkohe has an area rug in the kitchen area that he likes. We have bought the big doggie pads and a dogloo but didn't like them at all. As for them going to bed, when it's time we tell them "time for goodnight" and they usually go to their favorite spot and lie down. Sometimes they are not ready for bed so I have to wait and make sure they don't turn on the zoomies in the house.

[Loha'sDad]

Loha scoffs at anything but bare floor or bare carpet. Couldn't care less about beds--- other than he enjoyed humping his bed when he went through his humping stage.

Loha's Dad

[DOHMAN]

My angel hates carpet and also hates crates. She loves the tile floor in my bathroom and also right in from of my fireplace.

[redangie24]

Ivana like most chows perfers the coolness of the tiled, lamenate, or wood flooring. However, I trained her to go to bed. Which is a dog bed. She does like her dog carrier as a house. She uses it in the house for privacy. Chows are den dogs and most will like to hang out for quiet time under a table, desk or carrier.

[kiwani]

A crib mattress, is the perfect size for an adult Chow's bed. While Chow's do prefer cool surfaces, they will also give their joints some comfort and visit their beds. It becomes their special place to eat treats, keep their toys, and it's a good place to groom them.

[Sylvia]

Sweetie sleeps on an inexpensive blanket I got at McFrugal's. Don't know if they have those outside of California or not, but they are sort of like a dollar store (but they carry many things that are more than a buck). The cheap human blanket was less expensive than a dog blanket at half the size. I just today ordered her a dog cot for outside. You can see it here.
http://www.jefferspet.com/ssc/product.a ... id=0031097

I've heard some chows like them, and I'm hoping it will help keep her from attracting so much bark and leaves in her coat.

[lzeb]

Thank you all for your advice and sharing your experiences with your dogs/pups, all the pictures are gorgeous! Thanks for posting them!
We currently do leave his crate door open and keep all his toys in there and put treats in there. He's started spending a little more time in it, but he just goes crazy as soon as we lock the door on him. We say 'bedtime' when we shut the kitchen door, but I think we'll start putting him in his bed and saying it (without locking him in to see if he starts to go in by himself).
He is really good and doesnt destroy anything or make a mess when we leave him in the kitchen, i'd just like for him to have his own space to retire to when he wants to sleep.
Thanks again! Lucy

[Judy Fox]

This is a picture of Milly's first bed and you can see she had a little chew of it but that is the only thing she has ever chewed. Mabel had one very similar. Since then they have had a new one each.

They mostly sleep in them but in the very warm weather they might opt for somewhere cooler such as the kitchen floor as the tiles are cool but generally, I prefer them to sleep on their bed where their joints are cushioned, as Kiwani has pointed out.

[Auddymay]

Mine prefer to sleep where there is a draft. Lily likes the front door in the winter, because it is not well insulated. She often tosses the draft sock aside in the cold months. Otherwise, she prefers the kitchen linoleum. She has only once slept on the bed with me. She got up there to look out the window, and fell asleep. It only lasted about an hour, and she was too warm and got down...lol.

For the crate, I used to put a small cotton rug on the tin bottom. Lily liked to use it as a smushed up back rest, and like the tin bottom to lay on. I would wait and see if your Chow likes the creature comforts, or prefers cold and hard surfaces. Many a dog bed have collected dust, when bought for a Chow Chow!

[Cara&Haley]

The 4 of us fight over the bed and the humans usually win. Some nights I'm forced to sleep in a fetal position to make room for a dog.

[Sharons Chows]

I crated JR when he 1st came home...12 years ago and I was at work...he hated it. Shortly afterwards the crate went in the basement and has ben there ever since.
I never crated Cheyenne sib=nce she was almost 4 when she was rescued.

JR sleeps outside my bedroom door or at the foot of the bed on the floor.
Cheyenne prefers the cold tile floor in the foyer downstairs. They are both very good at night.

[lovechows55]

I bought Chelsea several dog beds and could never get her to sleep on them. When she got older, I bought her a really expensive orthopedic dog bed and just like the others, she would lie on it to pacify me but as soon as I looked away, she was out of there. She did really like them to eat her treats on, turning her beds into tables. I finally tried buying her a twin size children's comforter that was on sale (from $80 to $5 at Bed Bath and Beyond) and she loved it. Maybe it's the chow equivalent of a sleep number bed; some chows like soft doggie beds and others like cold floors.