Our Bed Time Routine

Every night I open my back door and step outside with my two pups. I give the cue go potty and wait until they are done and then I call them back in. Next I grab two treats and open the puppy gate and say alright it’s  “Bed Time”. I always use the words “Bed Time”.

Bed Time has become the cue to go to my room and wait for me to bring them their treat. After I double check that all doors and windows are locked I join my dogs and hand them their treats.

I close my closet door and plug my phone in to it’s charger as they finish up their treats. Next I lift Banjo onto the foot of my bed and give him a hug.

I then give Mugsy a hug and tell him he is a good boy. Mugsy will jump onto the foot of my bed later in the night at some point, but most of the night he likes to lay where the cool air flow comes in under the crack of my bedroom door. I fiddle with the alarm on my phone briefly then say the words “Bed Time “and wait for the sound of Mugsy sliding into my door with a thunk before falling asleep.

Mugsy’s favorite spot to lay has always been in front a my door on either side of it.

This is our routine, on the rare occasions it gets interrupted we start over.

How We Formed Such an Elaborate Routine.

The first step of the routine I think is obvious. It is remnant of potty training. I took both my dogs out right before bed when I first brought them home for weeks in order to ensure they didn’t have any accidents in my bedroom at night.

The next part is easily explained as well. I didn’t want Mugsy to run anywhere else when he was free to go past the puppy gate. I provided an incentive to follow me to my room with the treats.

I used the word bed time mostly as meaningless chatter at first. However since it was paired with a reward I noticed the connection Mugsy was making to the cue bedtime and going back to my bed room  and encouraged it.

When I brought Banjo home, I couldn’t stop bringing Mugsy a treat before bed so he just had to follow Mugsy’s example and with his little nose to the treat  he also learned the cue “Bedtime.”

I lift Banjo onto my bed because when I first brought him home he was injured and couldn’t jump all the way onto the bed on his own. After having him paw and whine at me as he tried to scrabble onto my bed the first night, I learned if I put him on my bed he stayed exactly where I put him.

Banjo’s first day home

So putting Banjo onto the foot of my bed became routine merely because it happened enough times and I never really had a reason to put a stop to it. I’ve never had an issue with dogs on furniture.

This accidental routine is just one example of the face that dogs are always learning. One doesn’t have to be intending to teach a behavior for one to develop.

It works out in my favor here, but the same sort of accidental learning is how one ends up with annoying or dangerous habits such as counter surfing, or trying to eat trash from the street. ( If your pup does have either of these Habits it best to get started with Teaching “Leave It” snd “Drop It” sooner rather than later.)

As Dog carers we have to ensure that we aren’t inadvertently teaching the wrong sort of accidental lessons, and that we are teaching the awesome sort like a bed time routine.

Mugsy’s Place is on our Sofa

What routines do you and your pups have?