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Please to forgive the long post. I used to visit this forum a lot when my basset Winston was younger, and we were learning all about this wonderful breed. But, I haven't been on in awhile. So first let me say greetings and hope everyone is doing well.
Now about my situation. We love Winston. He is like our child, and we have given him a great life. We rescued Winston about 10 years ago. He is around 11 years old now. We believe he was badly abused because he has always been agitated by people sneaking up on him and being near feet. He is now starting to slow down (has a little bit of arthritis and minor cataracts) so he hates being moved.
Lately, he has been sleeping with us every night, and let's just say it is not always a good situation. We joke that Winston wants to touch us but does not want to be touched. He growls when you move or roll over. And my husband comes to bed later than me, and Winston often growls or snaps when my husband tries to move him. I think it may partially be the dark and/or the fear of being moved b/c it hurts (arthritis), but its hard to tell b/c he is very stubborn and has always had a little bit of fear aggression due to his background.
Last night, he growled at my husband and we kicked him off the bed. I wanted to not let him back on the bed at all last night. But my husband felt that we would be punishing him beyond his memory. So we ended up letting him back on the bed after a half an hour, and he was a bit better. Also, my husband has noticed that the more we punish him about the bed the more he gets agitated when my husband comes in b/c he anticipates being in trouble. So, its creating a vicious cycle. Since we can't have an intellectual conversatoin with him, I'd love to get the next best thing--your thoughts.
So my question is what do we do? What's the best way to handle this? How can we make it clear that he is not King of the bed but that we allow him to be on the bed and where he can be on the bed? We'd rather not banish him permanently if we don't have to.
One thought we had is that we move the pet stairs and only allow him on the bed when we want him to (most likely when my husband comes to bed).
Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
Now about my situation. We love Winston. He is like our child, and we have given him a great life. We rescued Winston about 10 years ago. He is around 11 years old now. We believe he was badly abused because he has always been agitated by people sneaking up on him and being near feet. He is now starting to slow down (has a little bit of arthritis and minor cataracts) so he hates being moved.
Lately, he has been sleeping with us every night, and let's just say it is not always a good situation. We joke that Winston wants to touch us but does not want to be touched. He growls when you move or roll over. And my husband comes to bed later than me, and Winston often growls or snaps when my husband tries to move him. I think it may partially be the dark and/or the fear of being moved b/c it hurts (arthritis), but its hard to tell b/c he is very stubborn and has always had a little bit of fear aggression due to his background.
Last night, he growled at my husband and we kicked him off the bed. I wanted to not let him back on the bed at all last night. But my husband felt that we would be punishing him beyond his memory. So we ended up letting him back on the bed after a half an hour, and he was a bit better. Also, my husband has noticed that the more we punish him about the bed the more he gets agitated when my husband comes in b/c he anticipates being in trouble. So, its creating a vicious cycle. Since we can't have an intellectual conversatoin with him, I'd love to get the next best thing--your thoughts.
So my question is what do we do? What's the best way to handle this? How can we make it clear that he is not King of the bed but that we allow him to be on the bed and where he can be on the bed? We'd rather not banish him permanently if we don't have to.
One thought we had is that we move the pet stairs and only allow him on the bed when we want him to (most likely when my husband comes to bed).
Any help would be greatly appreciated!!