How to get your pet in its own bed?
I have a 5 lb. tiny toy poodle that is 6 years old. He has always slept at the foot of our bed, however now as he is aging he gets really grumpy (even snaps and growls) at us when we roll over, pull more covers up etc. He is in a pet taxi during the day when we work and I would like to put him in that at night. But I feel really guilty for kicking him out of our bed!
What’s the best way to "teach an old dog a new trick", so to speak.
Let me say that my dog gets let out of the crate once a day on my lunch break. And I only work 3 days a week. All other days he is free to roam where ever. Actually his days are usually spent on the couch sleeping! 
He is "snappy" by nature. Unfortuanatly I can’t say he is a kid dog nor does warm up to strangers right away. My vet said this is typical for poodles and really small dogs.
I tried leaving him out of the crate all day for a little while but he marks his territoy. Don’t know why.
Also one day I came home and he had a broken leg so I feel he is safer in the crate while I m gone.
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6 is hardly old! You should have another 10 years left with this pup. Perhaps he’s in pain and something else is bothering him entirely!
That aside, get an x-pen and a nice soft bed. Section of a corner of your room close to the bed so he can still be near you. Expect a couple sleepless nights until he learns that his bed is his, and yours is yours.
Six really is hardly old, I highly recommend you see a vet for a standard check up. Make sure everything’s okay.
You could just pop the pup outside your room with a doggy bed and a baby gate at the door to keep him from getting in. If the dog is crated ALL DAY then you don’t want to do that at night as well – he needs room to move around.
Maybe try exercising before bed a bit to remove excess energy? The pup will be more likely to sleep.
Don’t feel guilty first of all; dogs can sense that. You need to do what is best for you and your dog. I would buy a bed different than the crate and put it outside of your door at night with him on it. The first few hours he will cry and annoy you but eventually he will get used to it and use it. After a few nights out side of your room move it into the room a few feet and keep moving it until it’s where you eventually want it. If he jumps on the bed, take him and his bed outside your door and start over. He isn’t too old to learn.
staple him to his own bed
Put him in the crate at night.
He needs to learn to not be a mamma’s boy anymore! Here’s a training trick to help it work:
Put the crate beside your bed the first night and make him sleep in it. Then the next night, move him a little farther from your bed, then the next night, a little farther, keep moving him farther every night until you get the crate to where you want it to be. Then both you and he will have the independence to sleep on his own.
Good Luck!
Nothing wrong with crating a dog at nite.
You have a 6 yr old poodle and you keep him in a pet taxi all day while you work? And now, you want to put him in it at night too? For one thing, a pet taxi is just what the name implies…a device to use to taxi your dog from one place to another; and not intended for staying in all day! That is so cruel! To begin with, if your dog is 6 yrs old, surely he is house trained by now, and why does he need to stay in a cramped and dark little pet taxi?
As for no longer wanting him in your bed at night because he is starting to growl and snap, that can be stopped. When he growls or snaps, simply walk toward him on the bed, on your knees, not stopping no matter what he does, until he jumps off the bed. And, rather than face you head on, (since you will be displaying dominance with this maneuver) he will move backwards until he has no choice but to get off the bed; as you say "Down". If he growls, continue and don’t stop. Do this each time he gets on the bed, and slowly he will learn the bed is no longer his domaine.
But, please, don’t put him in that stinking crate at night yet! That is just too cruel. I cannot believe this poor little dog has spent 6 years of his life stuck in a dark ‘cave’, instead of having the run of the house, and some freedom. What a life…or should I say, lack of one!
Number one your letting him be the boss because u feel guilty, 6 years is teenager for a poodle I’d just close him out of the room but you can’t handle a pet taxi, start introducing him to a doggie bed in the pet taxi during the day that way it won’t be foreign to him at night and BULL you can’t teach old SPOILED dogs any kind of manners/sorry new tricks> It disturbs me when I hear some one say BUT I CAN"T. Your animal is training you to conform to it’s behavior. Size this up and let me know.
I would suggest putting his crate him your room, so that from the crate he can see you. He should sleep here at night. He will cry, wine and put up a fuss for a week, maybe more, but eventually if you stay with it and make going in teh crate at night a happy time, he will get used to it and accept it.