Dog unhappy at night in new house

fashionvictim

We moved house about 6 weeks ago and our dog is still playing up at night. He runs about pants, barks at any noises outside, whines and is generally distressed. We try to ignore him but it's very hard to sleep. Of course if we do let him in our bedroom he is fine immediately, but we know this is rewarding him and it's equally hard to sleep with him on the bed.

He will not stay on the floor or on his bed if we have him in the bedroom.

We have a dog gate on our bedroom so he can see us, this is the same as at place we have moved from. We have not changed any rules.

We do the same routine as before 'bed' let him out, treat to get into his bed.

He is neutered, in good health, not over weight, has two off lead walks a day in a variety of places/diff routes, access to garden. We play with him with toys. Some days he has treat dispensing toys or we do training. He is not left on his own very often and will sleep in a variety of places in the day with no issues. He either comes to work with one of us or is at home with us in day.

I literally have no ideas what to do? We have got one of those plug-in things in desperation, to no effect.

We did crate train him as a puppy, but at about 6 months we got him a normal basket and used a dog gate to stop bedroom access.

Any ideas?

Person_one

Can you get a crate for your bedroom?

If you'd be happy to have him in the room but not in the bed it should only take a few sleepless nights to sort! You just have to be firm and consistent and every time he jumps on the bed you remove him (with a command or physically) and put him on his own bed, then praise when he lies on it. You'll probably be up 50 times the first night and 20 the second but by night three or four it should click!

He's feeling unsettled in a new environment, he'll adjust, but at the moment you're his certainty and security and all his instincts are telling him to stay close to you.

questionss

Often bringing back a crate for a short while can help

fashionvictim

Person_one wrote: »

You just have to be firm and consistent and every time he jumps on the bed you remove him

Had tried this when took his crate away at 6 months, it's remarkable the amazing staying power he has to keep jumping back on bed. It was literally 'command' OFF and he would, then he immediately jumps back on. Repeat all night. So about 2 times a minute. So that's why ever since we've had a dog gate on our room.

I need to buy a new bigger crate then, and then crate him short term in [STRIKE]our bedroom[/STRIKE] in the hall outside our bedroom at night. Maybe the smaller space he will feel more secure?

krlyr

Could be worth a vet check, might be something not so obvious.

My girl began to get distressed overnight when we moved house, she also developed seperation anxiety as well as some other anxious behaviours (e.g. reacting to other dogs). We tackled the behaviour, with the help of a local trainer/behaviourist, at first, but progress was very slow and often one step forward, two back.

In the end, I was ready to consider veterinary medications for her, as she was so stressed, but I asked them to do a full blood panel first to make sure she had no underlying health issues (either as the cause, or to make medication unsuitable) and, on recommendation of someone else, had them include a full thyroid panel. It turns out she was borderline hypothyroid - we trialled medication, and her behaviour improved hugely.

It's never something I had even thought about, but opened my eyes to how much health can affect behaviour. Any sudden change in behaviour, even if you think there's an environmental trigger like the house move, is worth checking out - especially if it's a persistant change.

Frugalista

My sisters dog became very distressed at night when she had her house extended. The bedroom (and bed) were exactly where they had always been, only the room was larger.


Long story short - turns out that the new loft hatch produced a very low level whistling in the dead of night when the wind was blowing. The dog was totally freaked out and would jump on the bed panting and shaking, waking her up.


1 roll of draught excluder later - problem solved!


At what point during your bedtime routine does he start getting anxious? Does he have the run of the whole house at night or is he confined to the kitchen? Is your fridge/freezer making a different noise when it powers up (floor level?). Does the central heating boiler sound different to your old one? Try to think what possible triggers there might be.

fashionvictim

Frugalista wrote: »

At what point during your bedtime routine does he start getting anxious? Does he have the run of the whole house at night or is he confined to the kitchen?

He has the run of the house, which maybe is too much, as before we moved, the space he had at night was smaller.

His basket is just outside our bedroom behind a baby/dog gate. We tried putting him in the kitchen a few times, but he was even worst being further from us.

He gets anxious with some whimpering about 10 minutes after bed time, but usually settles. If noises are outside, or one of us gets up in the night he starts and can literally whine and bark for hours. He seems to be on high alert for guarding at night.

Sometimes saying "it's ok" will silence him, sometimes that makes it worst. I know the theory is not acknowledge them if they are making noise. It's very hard and I worry the neighbours will be woken up.

I am getting another dog/baby gate so I can stop him running up and down the stairs at night.

I will look at ordering a fully grown dog crate, if that doesn't make him feel more secure. I'm not that keen on crating dogs although he was crated as a puppy.

A friend suggested putting the radio on to stop him hearing noises outside, but not sure I can sleep with that on. Although I'm so tired, I might try it !

fashionvictim

krlyr wrote: »

It's never something I had even thought about, but opened my eyes to how much health can affect behaviour. Any sudden change in behaviour, even if you think there's an environmental trigger like the house move, is worth checking out - especially if it's a persistant change.

Good call, yes something to consider.

He's only 2 and in seems in perfect health, but I will consult the vet if this continues, it can't be good for him to be so wound up each night. His breed is known to be needy! I am used to owning this breed of dog, but this is getting out of hand.

GBNI

Is there possible to make the amount of space he has access to at night to be smaller? Dogs can get more stressed if they feel they have a larger area to 'guard' and can be very unsettled. And what plug in do you use? I find the Adaptil ones are no good for my dogs, but the Pet Remedy ones are.

Person_one

When you get the crate, try draping a blanket over the top and three sides, just leaving the side open where he can see you. A lot of dogs like a 'den' type space and if its full of comfy bedding he may well take it to quickly.

fashionvictim

GBNI wrote: »

Is there possible to make the amount of space he has access to at night to be smaller? Dogs can get more stressed if they feel they have a larger area to 'guard' and can be very unsettled. And what plug in do you use? I find the Adaptil ones are no good for my dogs, but the Pet Remedy ones are.

Yes adaptil, I will look up pet remedy too. I will reduce his access tonight by shutting some doors and putting in an additional dog gate