Dog wakes in the night - often!

[CHowland56]

We have had Amber for almost two years. She is a rescue dog and we think she is about three and a half years old.

She is a first generation Whippet Greyhound cross and is a very lovable dog.

She has developed the habit of waking us once or twice a night. She bounds up the stairs and then badgers us until one of us wakes up. She is well exercised - three or four times per day and well fed, even if she is a picky eater. I always take her out at about 10-00 in the evening to make sure that she wont want to wee in the night, but she wakes us up anyway.

Both my wife and I are worn out. We need to find a way to change the dogs behaviour so that we can get a good nights sleep.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Chris

[Natalie]

Is Amber waking you to only go to the toilet or could it just be for attention?

Maybe she's just uncomfortable where she's sleeping. Having a radio on quietly might help calm her or maybe placing something with your scent on it where she sleeps will make her more comfortable without you.

My friends dog does exactly the same but just putting a scented piece of clothing there did the trick after a few nights. might be worth a try.

[wayalex2@gmail.com]

Hi,

I am having the same sort of problems.
my dog is 9/10 years old and i have been given her from a friend (who i no longer speak to). She sleeps through the night fine when she is sleeping in our room but when she is downstairs during the night in the kitchen (shut in with a stair gate) and wee's and scratches all night long!!

Any ideas????
This is driving me mad!!

[gavin]

Well dogs are naturally pack animals so having them sleep alone can unsettle them a bit as i understand. If it doesn't affect you at all then having them sleep in your room might stop the problem. Many trainers say this increases the bonding with your dog because of them being around your scent for longer.

Other things to try might be tiring them out (wayalex2@gmail.com) or just waiting for them to grow out of this stage if they are only you and just do what Natalie said and keep them as happy as possible with a radio and scented clothing.

[admin]

As dogs are meant to be brought up in a pack, they also need a clear leader (alpha dog), when there's no one else around they feel they need to take on this role. This makes them panic and start being anxious and noisy in your case.

So sometimes just making it clear that they don't need to be the alpha dog may work so a good firm 'NO' might just be enough asure them that someone else is in charge still.

[wayalex2@gmail.com]

Ok thanks for the advice, ill try the blanket/thing smelling of me (poor dog) tonight!
Luckily my house is small enough to give her a shout from bed to say 'stop it' or 'no' and she does.
Its really just the wee-ing that is driving me mad! not fun first thing every morning!!
Do you think the blanket will help this?

[gavin]

To stop dogs weeing at night there are a few things you can do, make sure you walk your dog enough and give them all the exercise they need (its stimulates bowels), and make sure you feed them and give them water at the same time each day. This all helps them become like clockwork when they pee and toilet.

[CHowland56]

Thanks to all that have replied.

When she wakes us, she doesn't always want to go to the loo.

She sleeps downstairs on the sofa. She likes to sleep there, I think because it is comfy and because she's off the ground a bit. We bought her a basket when she first arrived, which she didn't take to. I've even tried the basket in our bedroom and while she initially settles she soon gets restless and then pads down stairs only to come back spot on 3am again.

I mentioned that she is a rescue dog. She was pretty much done for when Just For Dogs took her in. They left her in a very quiet kennel to see if she would come round and fortunately she did. She has bonded with all of us very well. She doesn't like any arguing in the house and will defend the wronged party (how she decides who that is is still a mystery!) by pushing her way between us. She never bites.

She is by no means an alpha dog. She is walked four times a day, with the last walk after 10. The last walk of the evening is always about 15 to 20 minutes and I try to ensure she is 'peed out' by the time we get home. When she is out after dark, she is however a very different dog, sniffing and tracking and very much 'in the zone'. She pulls on her lead and is hard to communicate with.

We do cover her up at night since she is quite short haired. She is restless and we have wondered if she simply gets cold in the night. It is warmer upstairs but she wont stay so there isn't a lot we can do.

My solution would be to simply close the bedroom door, but then again, I don't want to make her feel that the pack has excluded her...

I will try leaving some item of clothing for her and see how things go for a few days.


Chris

[admin]

Ok Chris let us know how things go and in the mean time i'll try and find some info for you, and ask around a bit.

Let us know how things go!

[mac.]

Just a quicky, you said you cover your dog up at night cause short haired, dogs don't need to be covered there hair will keep them warm this could also be the problem your dog could be over heated remember they are dogs not children.