Quote: lori hall

The derma vet thinks it's probably due to his environmental allergies, which are many.
We don't let him sleep on the furniture at all.
Our house is only 3 bedrooms and a livingroom. Two of the bedrooms are taken, so he can sleep in the 3rd bedroom which is right next to ours, or the livingroom which is only 6 feet down the hall from us. I'm thinking about putting his bed in the 3rd bedroom and putting a gate across our bedroom door so he can sleep anywhere he wants besides our room!

Your house sounds like mine, except I have one less bedroom, so like I said, I do understand space being at a premium. The reason I asked if he was allowed on furniture is because I was going to suggest just closing your bedroom door and letting him decide where to sleep. Is he the type to sneak up on the couch after you've gone to sleep?

I think putting his bed in your spare bedroom is a great idea, and you could either put the gate across your bedroom door, as you mentioned, thus giving him a choice of where in the house to sleep, or you could put the gate across "his" bedroom door. If you decide to confine him to that room only, I think the gate is a better option than closing the door, as the door may make him feel really isolated from you. Beware, though, if you put the gate across your own bedroom door. You have to remember it's there (for late night bathroom trips, etc.!!!).

Wherever you decide to set up his bed, I would get in the habit of encouraging him to get on the bed with some special word or phrase, then mark it with a nighttime treat. In my experience, my dogs would lie down instantly anywhere I wanted them to when they knew a bedtime biscuit was coming. I'm not saying they stayed in one spot all night, but at least they quickly got in the habit of going to the new location.