Why It Matters #2: A Bedtime Spot for Service Dogs

Consider Teaching a Designated Bedtime Spot

Primarily written for service dog owners; pieces of this will apply to any dog owner, though

fawn dog with black mask sleeps curled up on plush dog bed

Growing up, my dog Jess slept in my bed. She’d often tunnel her way under my down comforter to a pocket of warmth by my feet. If she wasn’t with me, I imagine she slept in a chair we had long since surrendered as being hers. I don’t know for certain, though. On more than one occasion, I know she walked the house – it was terrifying to come out of the bathroom in the middle of the night to see a white blurry shape at the end of a dark hallway. We never thought much of it, what did it matter? She did not hurt anything by being free, and no one told us any different.

Jess has long since passed. She was my 1st dog, as a little girl’s steady companion, not a working dog. 10 years later when our trainer for Robbie demanded we teach a bedtime spot, it was news to both my husband & myself. Now, I can’t see life any other way. Read on to learn 4 reasons for teaching your service dog a bedtime spot, or head over to my YouTube page to listen to the podcast version.

You Know Where Help Is

At minimum, for any type of owner, you know where your dog is and what they’re doing

a dog lays next to the bed, on the floor

golden colored fluffy dog sleeps on his back inside a dog crate

Potential Worry About Nighttime Safety

Whether your disability is constant or variable, nighttime is one of the most vulnerable times to have a disability. It’s dark. Light switches are rarely within reach. You know it will be safer to ask for help going to the bathroom, turning the fan on/off, or getting medication. How though? You don’t want to wake up your partner. It shouldn’t be their burden to lose sleep because of your disability (our inner monologue). Maybe you live alone. Navigation alone is to risk an added flare or injury.

How Training a Bedtime Spot for Your Service Dog Alleviates It:

Being in your line of sight makes you more likely to ask your service dog for help
Your service dog isn’t a trip hazard somewhere out in the sea of floor darkness
Less chance of waking up partner by calling service dog; can whisper cue
You don’t spend energy looking for your service dog, and possibly bumping into things along the way

Easy to Ask for Help

Or for help to come automatically

white male hand making a pinching shape, with text on the photo describing a motion paired with the hand shape that tells the dog to stand up or come help

Potential Concern of Inaccessible Help

To wake up in the middle of the night is its own disorienting experience. You know you need help, but it might be harder to map out the order of operations. Or what if you need help without even being awake to ask for it? Both aspects make help, even if it is close, feel more inaccessible.

How Training Alleviates It:

Train your service dog to sleep in an open crate in your room, or on a Place mat close by while not being a trip hazard. From there…

Teach hand cues to easily wake up & call your service dog if you can’t talk.
A small dog crate or bed can be placed on a table at bed-height. This makes it easy for them to come & go when you need them, then back to sleep.
Nightmare interruption dogs learn signs you need them to wake you up, and act automatically
Alarm alert dogs learn the alarm means to leave their bedtime spot to wake you up

Accessibility on the Go

service dog curled up on hospital bed with owner

brown dog with black face mask sleeps on his back in a plush dog bed

Travel Triggers Flares & a Lack of Stability

Your home is set up how you need to be able to function with your disability. Home is our safe place.The tools we need to minimize or manage flares are easily accessible. Be it a hospital stay or vacation trip, our sense of safety is now less reliable. Since our normal management tools aren’t with us, we’re more susceptible to flare ups or overdoing it. A hospital stay equals nurses who don’t read our notes, being extra foggy on medication, and an unfamiliar room layout. Hello stress and feeling unsafe.

How Training Alleviates This Truth:

Our service dog can travel with us. As long as he/she is there, we have 1 piece of the comfort and safety of our personal accessibility plan with us.
Being able to look up to see our service dog in a familiar location among the unfamiliar lowers our stress and reminds us we do have help
The use of the bedtime spot in real-world scenarios like this helps generalize the bedtime spot for our service dogs, which strengthens the skill for them
A place mat can easily go most anywhere. This gives your dog a spot to sleep, with the freedom to help you easily by cue or automatic choice

Benefits a Service Dog’s Well-Being

Most service dogs are likely sleep deprived

fawn colored dog with black mask falling asleep while laying upright

Concern for Service Dog’s Well-Being

Adult dogs need 16-18 hours of sleep a day. Different types of service dogs work variable hours. All of them need to be ready to get up and help us when we ask. Some dogs learn to take light naps or sleep in the car. Others struggle to find a good balance in being ready or taking a nap. I feel confident to say service dogs are more likely to be sleep deprived, despite thorough mindset training, than a pet dog. The demand on their time is simply higher. It is an unfortunate side effect of needing their help.

How Training Alleviates It:

It gives them a reliable place at the end of the day to turn off their brains.
If nighttime help is a consistent task, this spot becomes their daytime spot to turn off the sentry mode
Our brains remember it clearly as a space to not interrupt REM cycles. *Unless we absolutely need to – I try to wait if I see dream twitches until his breathing slows to ask for a wake up and assist
Refreshes them more deeply than sharing a bed with us; they run, we toss & turn

BONUS: Benefits for All Owners

two dog crates beside each other in a room with blue walls. a golden dog is in the left crate, a white poodle puppy in the right crate

Training Benefits

Teaches the self-control to remain in a crate or on a bed until given permission to move
Reinforces impulse control across other areas of your dog’s life, like waiting for meals, at open doorways, and general Place use in day to day life
Prepares your dog for future times when they have to be crated for travel or medical reasons. Learning this now will lower or prevent stress in those situations when they happen.
Aids in potty training puppies. If they practice going potty anywhere while you’re asleep, it hinders the success of your training.
Dogs who are free to roam, even in 1 room, practice behaviors that negatively impact their well-being. Pacing, constantly changing sleep spots, or getting all the toys out encourages an anxious, busy mind. A busy mind is less likely to sleep and get the rest they need. Now you have a sleep deprived dog, who is more likely to be reactive during the day and who doesn’t know how to settle.
Teaches your dog how to be bored, and helps them learn how to sleep. They learn to make this spot their default setting in between activities.

Keeps Your Dog Safer

In a fire, you know where to direct firefighters to rescue your dog. This light helps rescuers find your dog through thick smoke.
Prevent scuffles or behaviors overnight you normally discourage between dogs during the day in multi-dog homes
Saves you expensive vet bills. If your dog is in a crate overnight, they can’t destroy and/or eat something unsafe.
Keep dog safe inside your house overnight by restricting access to doors, windows, & doggy doors

For 1-1 help teaching a bedtime spot, book a 2-hr training consult with me.

Depending on the level of existing training, you might need 1 – 3 sessions; I won’t know until we get started.

Next time, I’ll tackle the hidden risks of doggy doors. Stay tuned!

Subscribe to my YouTube page for free training videos, new “Why It Matters” podcast episodes, and more!