Most dogs will fall in love with the blissful comfort of their new BuddyRest bed right away. However, just like a new mattress for yourself, there can be an acclimation period for your animal when they get their new bed. Memory foam can be a little strange at first and it can take a few nights to a few weeks before they understand that this is their new heavenly haven. It can be difficult to break bad habits like allowing them to sleep in your bed, or on furniture. This is what we do. We build dog beds and we are the best at it. We have compiled this tips based on our experience and coupled that with recommendations from some of the world's top dog trainers. If you follow these tips your dog will be having the best nights sleep in no time.
1. When your new bed arrives, encourage the dog to lay on it and stay on it. Getting them on the new comfort and support can take a little encouragement. Let them know that this is their new bed, and it is a safe place for them.
2. Remove old bedding permanently. A lot of people want to do a experiment and place old bed and the new bed side by side. This approach is flawed. Your pet looks at the old bed as theirs, the new bed is simply a foreign object. It is imperative you remove the old bedding. Give it some time for your dog to make the adjustment and learn this new bed is for them.
3. Open cell memory foam has a break in period. It will feel a little firm until it had some wear and tear on it. If you want to expedite the process walk on the bed to add some stress and it will soften up a little. Also it is a temperature sensitive material. If it is located in a place under 67 degrees, it will feel slightly firmer than it does at room temperature.
4. Place the bed near where your animal is used to sleeping. Many dogs love to sleep close to their owners. Place the bed close to you if this is the case. If your ultimate goal is to get them to sleep in a laundry room, or just out of your room, start with placing the bed where they are most used to and move it where you want once they are acclimated to it.
5. The floor can be drafty and cool in some climates and especially older houses. Place your new BuddyRest bed somewhere that is a comfortable temperature, away from drafty doorways.
6. Give it some time. We often expect our animal to jump onto their new bed and start sleeping right away. This is the case a lot of the time. However, be patient with your animal. Once they understand the orthopedic bed feels good, and more importantly how they feel after laying on the support for a few hours.....they will be comfortable and content.