# Bedtime Routines



## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

I'm just finished getting the dogs settled for bed and we have a very strict routine

8:45 PM: Outside for last bathroom break
8:45-9:00: Flirt pole fun or fetch with a ball
9:00-9:15: Upstairs for cuddles and treats then into bed

Delgado always has to have a drink of fresh water before he sleeps, he sits in his crate and won't settle until I'm back from the bathroom with the newly filled bowl (and it must be fresh or it's not good enough )

Jazzy has this large stuffed dog she HAS to sleep with on my bed with her, it's huge (large teddy bear size) and it gets annoying at times because it takes up space. I've tried hiding it in the closet and in my dresser but she always sniffs it out and puts up a huge fuss until I give it to her  I can't even put it on the floor because she'll just try again and again to carry it back onto the bed but it's too heavy for her and she'll fuss at me to get it for her


Do you have a routine you follow each night or funny things you need to do for your dogs before they'll settle for sleep?


----------



## Kaiser2012 (Mar 12, 2012)

your fresh water comment made me giggle. Dakota absolutely REFUSES to drink after another dog, and heaven forbid her water isn't fresh out of the faucet...haha


----------



## GsdLoverr729 (Jun 20, 2010)

Dakoda's bedtime routine:
9:30 pm- Go on a 15 min walk, play chase/fetch for 15 min
10 pm- Go potty
10:15 pm- Get a drink. And I feel both of your pain on this, because she drinks it FROM THE FAUCET. As is comes out. -_-
10:17 pm- Grabs 3 toys (German shepherd and two wolves), gets on the bed and "nurses" them
10:25 pm- Gets between Matt and meon the bed, grunts/grumble for 3-5 min, falls asleep
11:45 pm- Wakes up, gives us kisses, checks the house for intruders
12:00 am- Moves to the loveseat in the bedroom (carrying all 3 stuffed animals in her mouth at once), falls back asleep


----------



## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

Score two for finicky dogs :rofl: You just help but love them, quirks and all :wub:


----------



## GsdLoverr729 (Jun 20, 2010)

Lol! They're winning for sure.
I do love her, especially her quirks. It's the CUTEST thing ever, IMO, to watch her try to nurse her 3 stuffed animals. And it's pretty amusing to wake up while she's moving them to the loveseat with her xD


----------



## NewbieShepherdGirl (Jan 7, 2011)

If I'm at my apartment (meaning it's during the school year) our routine is as such:

9:30ish- last potty
9:45ish- lovin'
10:00ish- I say "Time for bed", turn off all the lights and go back to my room. 
10:01ish- I say, "Dang it" get up out of bed to retrieve my cell phone (which I use as an alarm clock) I tell her "Stay", I search for my phone in the dark.
10:05ish- I find my cell phone, turn around, and Sasha has been a ninja who crept up on me in the dark without my hearing her. "AH!" I shriek, scaring both of us.
10:06ish- actually in bed.

At my mom's house (summer and breaks)

10:30- last potty
some random time- I say, "K", and Sasha walks down to the hall. I shut off all lights and go to the bathroom. Sasha waits patiently in the hall. 
A bit later- I say, "Dang it" and go back out to the living room to retrieve my phone. Sasha waits patiently either in the hall or my room. 
A bit later-we go to bed for real. 

LOL can you tell I'm not the most organized individual? What's really funny is Sasha can tell time, I swear! After 10:00 pm, she gets the crinkle ears, and is just rather grumpy. It's very comical.


----------



## Nikitta (Nov 10, 2011)

LOL I thought my old guy was the only dog who liked his stuffed toys. he would always sleep with one tucked between his cheek and his paw.


----------



## GsdLoverr729 (Jun 20, 2010)

Nikitta said:


> LOL I thought my old guy was the only dog who liked his stuffed toys. he would always sleep with one tucked between his cheek and his paw.


 Lol awww! Nope, he's not alone!!! Koda sleeps with all three shoved between her forelegs, under her chin. I actually asked her on her 2nd birthday, "Aren't you too old for those toys, now?" She crinkled her ears and gave me a very displeased facial expression, accompanied by a grunt and huff.


----------



## NewbieShepherdGirl (Jan 7, 2011)

Nikitta said:


> LOL I thought my old guy was the only dog who liked his stuffed toys. he would always sleep with one tucked between his cheek and his paw.


Oh no, not alone. This is Sasha and her stuffed, John Deer bone.


----------



## GsdLoverr729 (Jun 20, 2010)

Sasha is ADORABLE!!
This used to be Koda's favorite til it got too ruined:
















^ She blends in!!!


----------



## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

just before we go to bed one of us will
let the dog out. one of us can say "sleepy time"
and our dog will go to our bedroom and either
sit beside our bed or lay down on his bed. once
we settle in bed he'll jump on the bed and curl up
at the foot of the bed. once he's on the bed i sit
up and pet him normally telling him how good he is.
then i say "go to sleepy now".


----------



## KentuckyGSDLover (Nov 17, 2011)

I get off work at 11:30 p.m. and the nighty-night routine begins. Buddy just stares at me waiting. Rey gets all excited the minute she sees me take my headset off and lay it on my desk (yep, she knows I'm done then and sometimes gets so excited she barks). We go out for a last night potty. Then the wild stuff starts. So Rey doesn't crash the door when I put Buddy in my room while we do "tricks for treats," I open my bedroom door and point, Buddy runs in, I throw a treat down the hall that Rey runs after, I go into my room and give Buddy a few treats so he doesn't feel left out while I work with Rey. Then Rey runs to the refrigerator and waits for me to get out the livers. She starts giving me her paw, laying down, sitting, and alternating trying to get one before I give a command. I make her wait until I do give a command. We do a lot of "sit" and "down" then "stay" while I walk away, open doors, etc. and then say "okay," at which point she gets the liver. Like a "stay" game of hide and seek (which is actually working well). Then I tell Rey "it's time to go nighty-night" and she runs down the hall and dives into her crate waiting for her frozen yogurt Kong. One dog down! Then Buddy comes out and has a little plate of a chopped liver and him and I have Rey-free peace. Buddy's bed is right next to mine and we both go to bed at the same time. If I'm late going to bed, he'll stand at the bedroom door and stare me down in an attempt to herd me. I ruffle his head from my bed as soon as he lays down and tell him nighty-night. Both dogs have the routine down-pat!


----------



## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

The doggies sleeping with their stuffed animals is too precious.

We go out for an hour, usually come home by 9pm, sometimes we walk the cats together. Then in for treats, could be anything - tonight was a little kibble with chicken broth, last night was vanilla ice cream and strawberry cobbler. Then she stays in the hallway, being "on call" and alert for us.


----------



## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

Great stories . It's cute how they train US in certain routines just as well as we've trained them


----------



## KaiserBastiansMom (Jul 6, 2012)

930-ish is last potty break
945- A little playtime, I too have a water snob who will only drink fresh water (and he has to see me get it from the faucet) he takes a couple of drinks
10- I tap the top of his crate and say "Kaiser night night" and he goes inside along with his "lovey" a dragon named Targaryen.










Also a little brag, but my son has cerebral palsy and used to be TERRIFIED of dogs, but he and Kaiser have this really special bond


----------



## x0emiroxy0x (Nov 29, 2010)

KaiserBastiansMom---

I volunteer for a therapeutic horse back riding place every week. It was created FOR children with cerebral palsy but we also have children with other issues, such as anger issues or physical problems. I am not the expert on this condition by any means, but a lot of the children that we worked with got better week to week! My best friend who volunteered with me wrote her honor's thesis on how horse back riding can improve this condition. If you ever care to read it, here is the link:

https://digital.library.txstate.edu/handle/10877/3210

When you click this link, the title will be :

"Development of a Structured Horseback Riding Therapeutic Program for Young Adults with Cerebral Palsy" by Taylor Clark

At the bottom is the link to the pdf which you can read online


----------



## KaiserBastiansMom (Jul 6, 2012)

x0emiroxy0x- Awesome thank you! I will check that out. I am always looking for new types of therapies for him.


----------



## Scarlettsmom (Jul 12, 2011)

Scarlett MUST have a "baby" with her when she goes to bed. She has some favorites, but any one of the 15 or so will do. She's definitely a mother to them.

Does anyone else repair the favorite toys? If the squeaker blows or they get a hole, Scarlett will put them on my lap and look at me like, "Mom, will you fix this?" Of course, I let 3-4 pile up on the repair shelf before I tackle them. Unless it's the "yoga monkey" or the spider...those require immediate attention.


----------



## GsdLoverr729 (Jun 20, 2010)

Scarlettsmom said:


> Does anyone else repair the favorite toys? If the squeaker blows or they get a hole, Scarlett will put them on my lap and look at me like, "Mom, will you fix this?" Of course, I let 3-4 pile up on the repair shelf before I tackle them. Unless it's the "yoga monkey" or the spider...those require immediate attention.


 Oh yes. I have to repair EVERY toy within 48 hours, or Koda will fuss and mumble at me  She KNOWS when one is missing and she acts like her baby is hurt. It's cute, but high maitenance. She was absolutely crushed when her Bernese Mountain Dog toy (as big as she is now, she had it since I got her) was ruined. And all she did was glare at and grumble at me for days when I threw it out because it was beyond repair.


----------



## chuckh (Nov 20, 2011)

10-1030 is in bed but I take Zeus out right before every night. As far as quirks, i thought he had some quirks but from what I'm hearing now it sounds pretty common with these pups lol. He will absolutely refuse to drink his water if its been out for to long (that means less then one full day) so he goes to the bathroom and stands with his head over the bath tub and whines until my girlfriend or I come and turn the faucet on for him to drink out of. He loves his stuffed animals also but the most interesting thing is, he destroys most of his toys but he keeps his stuffed animals intact for months at a time, he just lays/sleeps with them - 
7 weeks 








5 months 








8 months








12 months









I cant think of one night since i've had him that he hasnt taken his stuffed animal to bed with him haha


----------

