How To Stop Your Dog From Jumping Off The Bed (Answered By Trainer)

When getting a new dog, owners must decide whether or not they want to allow their dog onto the furniture. While many owners opt to keep their dogs off the bed, it seems that even more owners choose to let their dogs get comfortable on their bed or furniture.

After all, part of the fun of owning a dog is getting to cuddle up on the couch and get cozy under a blanket. 

While snuggling on the couch with your pup can be comfortable, there can be a concern if your dog starts jumping off the furniture on their own. When dogs spontaneously jump off the bed or couch, there can be a risk of them getting hurt.

So, the question is – how do we stop a dog from jumping off the bed? 

In most cases, the easiest way to ensure that your dog doesn’t jump off the bed is to choose low furniture or use items like ramps or pet stairs. While you could train your dog to get off the furniture gently, it’s easiest to choose the right furniture setup from the get-go. 

In this article, we’ll discuss several things you can do that will stop your dog from jumping off the bed to decrease the risk for injuries. 

Why Your Dog Is Jumping Off The Bed

Just like with people, dogs need to get up every so often. Sometimes they just want to get up and move around to get more comfortable.

Other times they may need to fulfill another physical need, like going outside to the bathroom or eating their food. They may also get startled by noises or simply want to follow you if you get up to go into another room.

As you can see, there are several reasons why your dog might suddenly jump off the bed. As much as we want our dogs to be comfortable, we should make sure that we’re setting our homes up so that our dogs can move around freely without the risk of injury.

Is It Okay For My Dog To Jump Off The Bed?

Now, you may be asking yourself why it’s so important to prevent your dog from jumping off the bed. Jumping up and down off a bed can actually pose serious concerns and risk of injuries for your dog.

Even though your dog may willingly jump off the bed on their own, that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea for them to do it repeatedly. 

Jumping puts stress on your dog’s joints, and when your dog jumps, they’re at risk of falling or landing wrong. Either of these options could end up in serious injuries, like torn ligaments or even broken bones.

Making sure that your dog doesn’t jump off the bed, but instead, exits the bed in an easy, gentle way will ensure that they aren’t putting themself at risk of injury. 

While your dog will likely be fine if they jump off the bed once or twice, that shouldn’t be something you encourage or allow to happen often. The safest option in the best interest of your dog is to prevent them from jumping off the bed as much as possible. 

Ways To Prevent Dogs From Jumping Off The Bed

As we mentioned above, in most cases, the easiest and most simple way to ensure that your dog doesn’t jump off the bed is to set up your bed and furniture in a way that inherently prevents your dog from jumping off. 

Now, let’s unpack these simple furniture arrangements that will make it safe for your dog to be on the bed to cuddle and naturally prevent them from jumping off the bed. 

1. Add Bed Rails

Installing bed rails on the sides of your bed creates a barrier that prevents your dog from jumping off the bed. However, most bed rails are only a few inches tall, so some dogs may disregard them and be tempted to jump over them, especially larger breeds. 

Alternatively, you could try to create your own barrier or makeshift rails out of pillows and blankets. Given that these are soft items that are easy to step on, they may not fully deter your dog from jumping off the bed, so you should monitor your dog closely.

Additionally, bed rails could pose a risk to both you and your dog while your dog is sleeping on the bed. You and your dog could accidentally hit them while getting into bed or even hit your head on them during the night. 

2. Use A Ramp or Pet Stairs

Perhaps one of the easiest ways to ensure that your dog doesn’t jump off the bed is by providing an alternative way for him to get off the bed by using a ramp or pet stairs. 

You can purchase a ramp or pet stairs that lean against the end of your bed. While you may have to train your dog to use these initially, this is usually an easy thing to train that just involves repeatedly rewarding your dog for going up and down correctly.

After that, most dogs happily use their ramp or pet stairs reliably since they’ve been rewarded for it, and it’s easier on their body. 

While both pet stairs and pet ramps exist, it’s important to note that your dog will likely have their own preference for one over the other.

Dogs can perceive a pet ramp and stairs to be very different, and some of the pet stairs on the market are very narrow and could be scary for your dog when walking down them in a dark bedroom. 

If you decide to try one of these and your dog is still having difficulty, give the other one a try before writing these off. Ramps and stairs are very different to every dog, so it’s likely that your dog will find one much easier than the other. 

3. Create A Routine

Establishing a consistent routine will help keep your dog in the bed all night and prevent him from jumping off. If you establish a routine where you and your dog sleep soundly through the night, then unless there’s an emergency, it’s unlikely that your dog will jump off the bed. 

It’s important to ensure that your dog has a final opportunity to go to the bathroom before bed and a consistent wake up time in the morning. This consistency will help your dog sleep soundly through the night in a comfortable spot on the bed.

How To Stop A Large Dog From Jumping Off The Bed

While all the ways mentioned above for how to prevent a dog from jumping off the bed could be applicable to both large and small dogs, there are unique things to consider that would work only for large dogs. 

While large dogs still shouldn’t be regularly jumping off beds, their risk of injury isn’t quite as much as a smaller dog. 

If you have a large or extra large dog, you could consider using a bed that is lower to the ground. When a bed is positioned lower to the ground, a large dog is much more capable of slowly inching off the couch.

For larger dogs, this is more of a sliding movement for them to put their front two paws on the ground. There is no real jumping movement involved, so their risk of injury decreases. 

How To Stop A Small Dog From Jumping Off The Bed

In most cases, it’s going to be the most difficult to prevent a small dog from jumping off the bed. Small dogs are fast, and they could easily start jumping off the bed before you could even try to stop them.

For small dogs, adding something like bed rails or a pet ramp is the easiest way to ensure that your dog doesn’t jump off the bed since they are permanent furniture solutions that your dog is likely to choose on their own. 

If rails or a pet ramp or stairs aren’t an option, you could train your dog to wait. If your dog is comfortable with being picked up, you could train them to wait at the end of the bed until you’re next to them and be able to pick them up and then place them on the ground gently.

This method of picking your dog up naturally only works for smaller dogs that are light and easy to pick up, though! 

This would take some consistent training, because your dog is likely eager to jump off the bed either when he needs something or when it’s time to get out of bed in the morning.

Teaching your dog to wait in that moment of excitement could be difficult, but all dogs are capable of learning! 

Other Options To Prevent Your Dog From Jumping Off The Bed

Sometimes, we have to act in the best interest of our dogs to keep them safe and healthy.

For dogs that continually try to jump off the bed no matter what, the best option may be to prevent them from getting on the bed in the first place. 

Place A Comfortable Dog Bed On The Floor

While you might initially feel sad about missing out on some snuggle time with your dog, keeping them healthy with no injuries takes precedence.

Sometimes, making the decision to keep them safe by keeping them off the bed altogether may be the best decision.

If you’re struggling with preventing your dog from jumping off the bed, establishing a comfortable, safe, and quiet corner of your room with a comfortable dog bed on the floor will provide them a cozy place to sleep while keeping them safe and not having to risk them jumping off the bed. 

Final Thoughts

While most dog owners do enjoy quality cuddle time with their dog on the bed, above all else, it’s important to keep our dogs safe and healthy. Jumping off the bed could cause serious damage to your dog or even aggravate current medical issues, like arthritis.

It’s important to prevent your dog from jumping off the bed, and in most cases, adding something like a pet ramp is the easiest option that allows your dog to cuddle on the bed while keeping them safe by preventing them from jumping off the bed.