Not Sleeping Thru The Night-help!

[Guest gapeach1]

Hi Ya'll,

 

I've had Pookie for about six months now and she is a bounceback. She has the absolutely most sweet disposition, but for some reason won't sleep thru the night. We have had a few nights when she has, but those are few and far between. I try and run her and exercise her to wear her out,but she's just like the Everready Bunny. I thought that maybe she was starting to bark in her dreams, but it was a continual pattern. I've tried giving her Melatonin and Benedryl. She's just 3 1/2 years old. The rest of us--DH, and my other two greyhoundies are barely keeping our eyes open with toothpicks--if anyone has any reasonable suggestions, please help me.

 

[ahicks51]

What does she do? Does she get up and want to play? Does she have to pee?

 

Unless it's something like having to poop/pee, it's probably a behavioral thing- she wants *you* to get up because SHE is. Then it becomes a self-rewarding behavior. But we have to understand more about what she does before we can help.

[turbotaina]

Agree with Ahicks.

 

Exactly how much exercise is she getting? Some dogs (yes, even greyhounds!) just require more. She should be getting a minimum of 1 hour per day and probably more if she's as high energy as you make her out to be.

 

Assuming she's clear of medical problems (uti, parasites) and she's not getting up to poo or pee, I've found the following works with high energy pups: LOTS of exercise, including a very brisk 20 minute walk before bedtime and if you keep your house cool, put some PJs on the pup. Some dogs get cold at night and just can't sleep well.

[Chicocat]

Does she sleep in your bedroom? If not, that usually makes a huge difference.

[Guest gapeach1]

Yes, Pookie is getting exercise. She runs with her brother, Bullet and also runs by herself. It isn't that she isn't capable of making it through the night without having to go to the bathroom to pee/poop because she does her business, this is happening within two hours of putting her to bed. She is crated nearby her younger brother who also sleeps in his crate, because he is happiest there. She is too destructive to leave loose in our bedroom at night because she is a chewer and can be very destructive. She has lots of chew toys, but somehow the wood on the furniture is much more interesting. My bedroom suite is brand new and I prefer to keep it in one piece. We have one other grey, Murphy who sleeps on the floor in the bedroom and never moves during the night. You never hear a peep from him.

[ABCgreys]

When we first got Callie, she was waking us up every night. We'd let her out and sometimes she'd do some business, and sometimes not. It finally dawned on us that she wanted the treat that they get when they come in. We started giving them a bedtime snack (usually some leftover waffles or a bite or two of a pancaek) and she started sleeping through. Good luck!

[lothianjavert]

ah. AJ nailed it then. She's up, and wants to be with you, or you to be up and with her. It's worked for her a couple times, so now she's going to keep trying it. The exercise and the jammies are great ideas too. Tired dogs are always better behaved, and I know my guys don't sleep well if cold. Sully will actually "borrow" the quilt off of our bed. (he pulls it off of us and covers himself up!)

 

Often, they do prefer to be in the bedroom. Can you put a dog bed in the BR, and Xpen the area so she can't get to your furniture? That way, A. she's with you, and B. your furniture is safe. You should also work on teaching her that wood is off limits-- Sully tried to chew on one of our chairs when he was new, but he figured out pretty quickly that it wasn't allowed, and he hasn't chewed furniture at all in the past 4 years. All 3 of mine sleep on dog beds in our room with us.

 

The other option, if she is just vocalizing and not soiling/trying to escape her crate is simply to put up with it. It'll be a few long nights, but she'll eventually realize that her vocalizing will NOT bring you, and the behavior will die out. Caution, some dogs can be stubborn, and it often gets a bit worse before it gets better! (also, don't run down and yell "no", because even though it's negative attention, it is STILL bringing YOU AND attention!! -- and therefore, the vocalizing WORKED, at least in her mind!)

 

[turbotaina]

Rachael's advice is good. Increase her exercise by giving her long walks, if at all possible. Zoomies around the yard won't do too much to tire her out for extended periods. You can also work on training to tire her out mentally.

 

Good luck.

[Guest Ola]

When we go to bed, I cover Mayhem with a blanket because he gets cold at night. Unfortunately he moves around while he sleeps, so sometime during the night (usually around 4 am) he finds himself without his blankie. He usually gets up and paces around (he's gotten up on the bed with us to warm up even! this didn't impress DH ) so I get up and cover him back up. He's just chilly, and this way he falls right back asleep. I do make sure not to give him too much attention though - I tell him to lie down on his pillow, cover him up, and give a little pat on the head.

[ahicks51]

Often, they do prefer to be in the bedroom. Can you put a dog bed in the BR, and Xpen the area so she can't get to your furniture? That way, A. she's with you, and B. your furniture is safe.

 

Or- if the OP has a muzzle- that will thwart the chewing at night.

 

In time, once she gains stability and routine in her life, it is possible the muzzle may no longer be necessary.

[Chicocat]

Agree...if it's being crated that she is protesting, a muzzle would be a good alternative so she can't be destructive. They are just too smart sometimes, aren't they. *sigh*

[Guest Pookie]

I just want to say that Pookie is a good name for a hound, not that I'm biased or anything

 

It does sound like she is bored or just wants you up. Rachel gave some good advice

[Guest vahoundlover]

Curly did this for a couple of months...or it seemed that long He didn't want to go potty and he would lay back down when I told him to...then he would get up again..and so on till the alarm went off.. I finally had a communicator talk to him...he told her there was something loose (dog/coyote) hanging around outside...anyway..she told him he needed to sleep till we got up and so far so good!

 

Good luck!

[Guest gapeach1]

Well, Pookie was up again, during the night last night. And there were what seemed to be at least twenty or thirty dogs howling in the distance. (We live in a rural area). Her ears completely perked up as we walked outside and she did tinkle. We went back inside the house and I put her back to bed. I put on their lullaby cd again that I use for when they sleep. I am so exhausted I can barely function and I have to go to get my tire fixed. I don't know what happened, but when my DH looked at my car last night inside the garage, I had a flat. (

[Batmom]

Is she in the bedroom with you?

 

What I did for Joseph was to set the alarm for @ the time he tended to get up, refuse to respond to him until the alarm went off, then gradually moved it later. It was a Painful Experience -- for me LOL -- for a few days until the alarm got back within the range of reason. But it worked.

[Guest vahoundlover]

Is she in the bedroom with you?

 

What I did for Joseph was to set the alarm for @ the time he tended to get up, refuse to respond to him until the alarm went off, then gradually moved it later. It was a Painful Experience -- for me LOL -- for a few days until the alarm got back within the range of reason. But it worked.

 

We've had good luck doing this as well. Particularly when the "time" changes.

I know what you mean about being exhausted, sitting at a desk in a quiet office became quite the challenge.

[patricia]

We went through this for a good 6 months with the Flashman. Interestingly~he did not start this behavior until he had been home over 6 months. With him~it was let's get up and play. He would get toys and make noise. So we made sure he had none of his toy buddies with him when we went to bed. Well then he would get up on our bed and vocalize about his toys not being there. We were very fortunate in the fact he did not chew or destroy. We finally started sleeping with the baby gate open and allowed him to "do his thing" Always between 2-3 am we would hear him running through the house and pouncing on his toys. He would do this for about 30 minutes and then come back to bed and crash. After 6 months or so he stopped and now I have to darn near tip his bed over to get him up in the morning.

Flashman: Whoz da man!

[Guest CaroleWithRunningDogs]

My big boy used to get me up in winter, I think because our walks weren't of the quality that he was used to because of the cold/snow. I worked harder on exhausting him and he sleeps through the night just fine. Letting dogs out into the yard as "exercise" wouldn't cut it for my dogs. I do know there are dogs like that but more often, particularly younger ones, want more. Exhaustion is going to be your friend. If you could kennel her in the bedroom I bet that would help too. When the weather is particularly nasty we attend more meet and greets, and the dogs come along in my van for all the errands. I purposely spread them out over the week so they get a car ride...though who knows what I'll be able to do if gas goes up to $4/gallon. Winter used to be very challenging when my dogs were younger, and I'm guessing that could play a part here? I didn't see where you are from, so maybe you don't have to deal with the elements like some of us do. Good luck. I've been there and it isn't fun. Fortunately I can easily fall back asleep. Better that Patch no longer feels the need to have to wake me. Carole