Guest Cardiffcouple Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 We could sure use your suggestions. Our boy, Ben, whines all night – no exaggeration. We have tried ignoring him and he still doesn’t stop whining. Background: Ben has high blood pressure. He drinks water all night and has to go outside right after. He used to whine only when he had to go outside and we would get up and let him out. The past 3-4 weeks Ben has started to whine all night. We tried ignoring him. He just upped the volume of the whining. We don’t want to ignore him and take the chance that he actually does have to go outside; we don’t want him to go in the house. It’s gotten to where we take turns sleeping on the couch with his bed and water in the living room and we just leave the slider open. This way the one in the bedroom with the door closed gets a good night’s sleep and the other (the one in the living room) has a chance at some sleep. Ben has had every test imaginable. Fecals done at a several week intervals. Ultrasound. Blood tests galore. Poking. Prodding. We are trying to see if something internal is wrong with him that is causing him discomfort. Our vet says the whining must be behavioral. He is taking daily ½ baby aspirin, 1 Enalapril and 4 EFAs. What do we do? We need to stop the whining but we want to be sure Ben is ok. Should we try doggy sleeping aids? This is kind of convoluted; sorry! We are kind of groggy here due to lack of sleep! Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryJane Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 (edited) I'm so sorry, it sounds like your situation is a tough one to deal with and I have to mention that it sounds like you are doing the best that you can. Is there anything that changed 3 weeks ago that might have precipitated his starting to whine all night? With the slider open is he still whining or is he just going out to do his business and coming back in? If leaving the slider open fixes the problem then maybe consider a dog door - others on the forum used them. Any chance that he could have some stomach irritation from taking the aspirin -- maybe ask the vet if he needs to take it with something else to coat his stomach. You might also try giving a cookie before bedtime and see if that makes a difference. Does he whine during the day too? Just curious, when does he start whining? Is it random or is immediately when you go to sleep or is it at 2am - is there any common link to when he starts? This might be a little far-fetched but, you might want to try and let him sleep in your bedroom for one night and see what happens. It could be that he is restless because he is not close to both of you, although this is a little far-fetched because one of you has been sleeping in the living room with him ... but, it might be worth a try. Hope others on the forum have better suggestions ... Edited August 20, 2011 by MaryJane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alannamac Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 (edited) Hmm, run this by your vet first because I don't know about blood pressure med interactions, but consider giving him a pain killer (low dose tramadol) in the evening and see if he's still whiney all night. If he's not, then it will let you know right away that something physical is hurting not behavioral. Tramadol is a narcotic so it can make him a little more groggy too so not a perfect experiment, but nonetheless it may be helpful (stay away from NSAIDs as a pain reducer in case he has tummy upset issues, they have the potential to make it much worse) Hope your pup is feeling better soon and you all are able to get a good night's sleep. Edited August 20, 2011 by alannamac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cardiffcouple Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Thanks to you both for your input. Your suggestion about the baby aspirin hurting his stomach is a good one, although hw gets it with a wet food meat ball at dinner time. Usually we all sleep in the bedroom. We always want the whole "pack" to be together. Mercy, our other grey, is in the bedroom when Ben is out in the living room. One of us goes with him to the living room so that if a robber tries to come in the slider at least one of us will hear him before he gets to the bedroom. (Silly thinking, I know.) Ben takes himself out during the night when the slider is open. No whinnig. We had to get more food today so we went to our vet and told her Ben is still whining all night. She suggested Benedryl to take the edge off for him. Couldn't find any actual Benedryl. It's been pulled off the shelves here for "re working." Had to buy generic. We will try it tonight. I also like the idea about the pain killer. Even though we have checked everything inside and out there could still be something that is causing him discomfort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remolacha Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 How old is Ben? Have you had his eyes checked? I ask the first because I had a cat that started randomly meowing at night. Vet finally determined he had "kitty Alzheimers", he was 15 yrs old. The second suggestion, I don't have personal experience with, but some people here have had dogs with vision problems that started with night time whining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cardiffcouple Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 How old is Ben? Have you had his eyes checked? I ask the first because I had a cat that started randomly meowing at night. Vet finally determined he had "kitty Alzheimers", he was 15 yrs old. The second suggestion, I don't have personal experience with, but some people here have had dogs with vision problems that started with night time whining. First, because I am his mother and I "know" these things, I know Ben has discomfort SOMEWHERE! So we started him on pain relievers last night. Every 12 hours. He slept until almost 4:00 am with no whining other than to go outside. YIPPE! We shall see if this is a long time fix. Second, it is interesting that you mention his eye sight. Rarely he will jump up on our bed, but when he goes to get down he squints and teters and is very careful about it (vs Mercy who gallups up and gallups off!). I wondered if maybe he was losing his sight. I have wanted our vet to take a look in his eyes but never think of it when we are there. Hmmmm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 I had a dog who had night vision problems. He was the bravest, toughest boy--until it got dark out, and then he stuck to me like glue! He was fine inside--he knew where everything was, after all, but when I walked him at night he got nervous. I find it hard to believe a dog in pain would whine only at night. Is there anything else? Like a ceiling fan you run when you sleep? Anything like that? Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cardiffcouple Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 I had a dog who had night vision problems. He was the bravest, toughest boy--until it got dark out, and then he stuck to me like glue! He was fine inside--he knew where everything was, after all, but when I walked him at night he got nervous. I find it hard to believe a dog in pain would whine only at night. Is there anything else? Like a ceiling fan you run when you sleep? Anything like that? Hmmm, yes, we do have a ceiling fan that I turn on at night (much to my husband's dismay!). What are your thoughts? I had a dog who had night vision problems. He was the bravest, toughest boy--until it got dark out, and then he stuck to me like glue! He was fine inside--he knew where everything was, after all, but when I walked him at night he got nervous. I find it hard to believe a dog in pain would whine only at night. Is there anything else? Like a ceiling fan you run when you sleep? Anything like that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rschultz Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 i had an older dog once that would whine at night and vet told me to give him very small dose of benadryl. That seemed to calm him and help him sleep. Quote Lexie is gone but not forgotten.💜 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhead Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Every ailment seems to feel worst at night, for both humans and pets. Have run this by a couple of vets and they both confirmed it. Quote Mary with Jumper Jack (2/17/11) and angels Shane (PA's Busta Rime, 12/10/02 - 10/14/16) and Spencer (Dutch Laser, 11/25/00 - 3/29/13). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kudzu Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Every ailment seems to feel worst at night, for both humans and pets. Have run this by a couple of vets and they both confirmed it. My experience seems to support this. Hope you've found the solution, at least for now. Wishing all of you many good nights of rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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