Intro
Teaching a puppy the “bed” command sounds simple until you actually start doing it. For Ralphie, my Working Cocker Spaniel pup, it’s been weeks of shaping calm behaviour around his crate and gently introducing the idea of having his own bed space on the floor. We’d been guiding him towards it, rewarding him when he settled, but yesterday he did something that honestly made me proud — I said “bed” without thinking, meaning his floor bed, and he went straight into his crate instead.
No luring, no pointing, no second command — just heard the word and made a choice based on what he already knows. That little moment might seem small, but it’s huge progress for a young dog learning to generalise commands between different environments and places.
So while he’s not fully there yet, this post is about how we’ve started shaping the “bed” behaviour from his crate routine — how I’m teaching him what “bed” actually means, why it matters for a working pup, and what’s been working (and not working) so far.
How I Started Teaching the Bed Command
So with Bertie and Frankie, this was so easy. At 17 weeks old, they were fairly chilled. Don’t get me wrong, they still had their loopy moments but they’d settle so easily. With Ralphie, my Working Cocker Spaniel puppy, he’s full on 24/7 like he’s downing 10 Red Bulls a day; thankfully, the wings aren’t coming. I keep saying it in life: Ralphie doesn’t need sleep, Ralphie chooses to sleep, he chooses to settle and that comes from my Crate Neutrality training. So obviously, Ralphie wants to be out all the time, running riot and causing complete havoc in the house. So the bed command hasn’t come as easily with Ralphie. His brain is going wild 24/7 so his ability to be lured around isn’t as sharp yet. Initially, I started luring him in when his head was literally in the crate. Whenever he was having a high drive treat (Rabbit ear, pate, pig ears, etc), I’d lure him towards the crate and then give it to him through the side of the crate. By doing this, he could only get the treat by being in the crate. This was a complete game-changer. Eventually, I began to add the ‘bed’ command to it once I knew he was committed. As with any form of dog training, when teaching and using actual words, you need to be 100% confident they’re committed to doing the command. That way, from day one of saying the word, you know your puppy is associating the command with the correct action and you’re not blurring any lines.
The Biggest Milestone
This literally happened yesterday and that’s why I’m eager to get this post live! As Ralphie, my Working Cocker Spaniel, is getting older, he’s being allowed more freedom out of his crate since he isn’t as destructive and wild when out anymore. I usually give him chews and toys to enrich his time and make sure he keeps ‘winning. I’d got an ostrich knuckle out (a very hard treat so he’s only allowed this 10/15 minutes at a time, a few times a week), and without thinking, I said bed, as I would for Bertie and Frankie, my older Maltipoos. Only this time, I meant the bed on the floor (I haven’t even thought of a command for this for him yet), and little Ralphie went straight into his Crate. No luring, no pointing and I didn’t even bloody mean it! I was shocked, to be honest. Rewarded it with extreme excitement and then allowed him back out. This shows my training on How to Train a Bed Command is actually working. Those little wins come so unexpectedly and they feel great. It shows that he’s actually progressing day by day!
What I’ve Learnt so Far
I think the main thing here would be this: Working Cocker Spaniels are so intelligent, even underneath their craziness and chaos. They come along so quickly, one day it feels like you’re talking complete gibberish and the next day their little ears open up and they’re fluent. I’ve noticed this with everything: from Training with a Placeboard, Training my Puppy to Stay, Sit, Down, Stand. Literally everything just clicks overnight. At the same time, however, they also forget everything overnight. The key with training a puppy is to be consistent, day after day persist. It’s so frustrating and breaks you down every day but the little wins are just so bloody rewarding! He made me rethink ‘how to teach a puppy the bed command’ completely. He’s my first proper Working breed so naturally, things are slightly different here.
What’s Next for Ralphie’s “Bed” Training
From here, it’s just about building distance and clarity. I’ll keep working on sending him to the right “bed” without pointing or guiding, and slowly start mixing up where the bed is so he actually learns the word, not the location. It’s early days, but this week’s progress showed me that consistency really does pay off — even when it feels like you’re going nowhere. I’ll post a follow-up once Ralphie is confidently choosing the right spot on his own and the “bed” command is fully nailed down. This’ll be a little series on all my little wins in my Working Cocker Spaniel training and my puppy obedience training at home. I’m not a professional but there are hundreds of them out there, all trying to sell you with different advice. I’ve never been to an obedience trainer and never will. I truly think training a dog is all about you and your relationship with the dog. Nobody is with your puppy as much as you are. As long as you’re competent enough and confident, you can do it!
