Middle Of The Night Whining

[Guest karilynn]

Hi all!

 

Hoping to find some advice for a recent issue with my boy, Bullet. I've had him for almost a year and he's always slept through the night, but for the past week or so, he wakes up after 4-5 hours and starts digging around in his crate and whining.

 

A little info for you:

-He sleeps in a crate because he was having some potty accidents during the night, even when he was let out right before bed. Luckily, he likes his crate a lot and willingly sleeps in there during the day when the crate door is open. Ideally, I'd like to give him free roam again but am still using the crate as a tool for house breaking. (He's 2, so still pretty young, and he came from a farm - not the track)

-He was given a clean bill of health at the vet recently, so no medical issues that I can think of.

-He is fed dinner a few hours before bed and always poops right before bed.

-He gets plenty of exercise.

-I've made sure that he isn't cold.

 

Here is what I've been doing: (and feel free to critique me here, because he is my first dog and I am not a perfect dog owner by any means) The first night it happened, I got out of bed and checked out him because I was concerned that he was hurt or something. But nope, just appeared restless. I let him out of his crate because I thought maybe he needed to have a bathroom emergency, so outside he went, where he peed a little and sniffed around. No poops. When we got back in, he drank almost an entire bowl of water. So I thought, ah, ok, he was thirsty. But the thing is, we've had the same routine this entire time and it's never been an issue. After he drank water, he went back in his crate, I closed the door, and we both went back to sleep until it was time to wake up. Next night, same deal, 4 hours in and woke up to him restless and whining. I thought maybe I should just ignore it because if I let him out, he will learn that if he whines, he gets out. I ignored it for a while, but he kept going, so I let him out again and sure enough, took him out, he peed a little, came back in, and drank tons of water. This has been happening consistently for the past week, every night. He is eating the same amount, no increase in appetite, and I haven't switched his food or anything like that. We go out at all the same times, eat meals at the same times, and have the same walk/exercise routine. I really can't figure out why all of a sudden he's so restless at night other than being thirsty.

 

So what's the solution? I've always been told not to have water in the crate. And currently, I need to use the crate. I feel badly that he's waking up restless and whining and would like to figure it out so that we can both sleep through the night.

 

I'd appreciate any advice. Thank you!

[Feisty49]

My suggestion is to not crate him at night, but you say that currently you need to use the crate because of his history of messing in the house. Do you know if he still does that? Maybe it's time to give him a second chance. You've had him for a year and he's 2 years old. That's enough time and he's old enough to not P&P in the house.

 

My second suggestion is to try again ignoring him. He may whine and carry on, but you're reinforcing his unwanted behavior (whining) by responding to it with letting him out. I think any dog let out in the middle of the night will pee. They will also hold it if they don't get the opportunity to go out. My Annie goes 10 to 12 hours at night without going outside.

 

As far as water in the crate, when I adopted my girl in July 2011, my group told me to have water in the crate. It wasn't a big deal, though, because Annie hated the crate, never slept it in day or night so it was put away in the first week.

[Guest karilynn]

Thanks for the reply, Feisty. Perhaps you're right and I should try leaving him out of his crate at night. It's been a few months since he had his night time potty accidents and we were in a brand new apartment, so I wonder if the move had anything to do with it because he was perfectly house trained prior to moving. He also only peed on a green rug in my living room that almost looks exactly like grass. And he had peed there before. I used Nature's Miracle, but I'm wondering if he can still smell it, because she's never peed anywhere else but that rug.

 

Here is a picture of him, just for fun, because he's so cute and I adore him:

[Feisty49]

Yikes!! I love B&W dogs. He is really cute! Another thought, but not about his whining. Do you leave his Martingale on him all the time? Most of us, if not all, consider it a choking hazard. There are a couple of people here who can relate stories of their hounds almost choking to death because their collars got caught on something.

[Guest karilynn]

Yikes!! I love B&W dogs. He is really cute! Another thought, but not about his whining. Do you leave his Martingale on him all the time? Most of us, if not all, consider it a choking hazard. There are a couple of people here who can relate stories of their hounds almost choking to death because their collars got caught on something.

 

Oh, no, I definitely do NOT leave it on all the time. This picture was taken over the summer and he had just come back in from outside and grabbed his hedgehog, I thought it was cute so I snapped the picture. I actually don't leave it on at all inside anymore, not even for a minute. Also, I moved the tags off of the D ring, too.

[Hubcitypam]

He is beautiful! Maybe consider baby gating in your bedroom at night.

[3greytjoys]

Bullet is a handsome heart melter!

 

If you don't already add water to his main kibble meals, you could try that to help curb his excessive need for water during night. Not sure how warm he gets overnight, but if any of our hounds get too warm, they drink more water at night. Try feeling his head/body at different times of day to learn his comfortable body temp.

 

I assume his bedding is thick and cushy enough so he doesn't feel a hard surface pushing against his bones.

 

If you try baby-gating the bedroom, be sure to completely dog-proof your bedroom. (Even an ingested sock is enough to cause internal blockage.)

 

Certain treats might increase thirst.

 

He might wake up hungry. A small divided portion of his daily kibble could be given just before bed (only about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of kibble but without extra water). We only dampen our packs' bedtime snack kibble to prevent a need to go out during middle of night.

[BatterseaBrindl]

Are you sure he's not cold?

My dogs like to be warm and we keep our house cool, so they all wear jammies.

The boys like to be covered over as well, and if they're cold they will sometimes wake me so I can put their covers back on. They go right back to bed.

 

 

But if you're sure Bullit is not too cold, then I think he has figured out that if he whines, he gets some attention.

 

Perhaps the first night it happened he had to potty/ was cold/ hot / thirsty and you got up and let him out.

Second night... maybe the same thing...

By then he discovered that if he whines, he gets attention.

 

 

So, now, I would totally ignore him.

Do not look at him or speak to him.

At all.

No matter how loud the whining/barking gets.

 

 

Nigel used to bark like crazy every day at 4:30, knowing it was getting close to his supper time.

It only took a few days of totally ignoring him to get him to stop.

It was hard...very hard...to not look at him or tell him to SHUT UP, but ignoring him totally does work.

 

Good luck!!

Edited February 22, 2013 by BatterseaBrindl

[Guest karilynn]

Wow, thanks for the advice! I had a hunch that ignoring him was going to be the ultimate solution. I never shush him or tell him to be quiet. I learned with my cat that even bad attention is still attention, so I ignore her when she's whining. I guess now I will ignore Bullet when he does the same!

 

As far as doggy gating him in a room, that is unfortunately not an option because I live in a studio apartment and I don't have a bedroom. lol

 

I think I'll try leaving the crate door open and maybe put a belly band on him, see how he does with that.

[BatterseaBrindl]

Wow, thanks for the advice! I had a hunch that ignoring him was going to be the ultimate solution. I never shush him or tell him to be quiet. I learned with my cat that even bad attention is still attention, so I ignore her when she's whining. I guess now I will ignore Bullet when he does the same!

 

As far as doggy gating him in a room, that is unfortunately not an option because I live in a studio apartment and I don't have a bedroom. lol

 

I think I'll try leaving the crate door open and maybe put a belly band on him, see how he does with that.

 

 

Took us a while...and several dogs... to learn this, too.

 

Get some ear plugs!!!

[muddgirl]

FWIW I crate both my dogs all night - it keeps them out of trouble and they settle down much faster in the crate.

 

When my dogs whine at night, it seems to roughly correlate to them not getting enough exercise. If it's the first time they're whining in a long time, I might muzzle them, leash them, and take them outside in case it's the onset of a health problem. But really, 90% of the time one of them is just more rambunctious than normal because I've been slacking in my walk duties.

 

ETA: Ignoring them is hard, I know, but I hope at this point I can tell the difference between "I'm bored/minorly uncomfortable" whining and "I'm in serious pain/agony" whining. If I ever hear the second I check on them right away.

Edited February 22, 2013 by muddgirl

[Riverhound]

I think he may have a urinary tract infection -- and they don't always show up when the vets test for them. If this were my dog, I'd insist on a two week course of antibiotics. There are other problems that can lead to increased thirst, so trip to the vet is in order, anyway. (Or he's playing you! Handsome devil!)

[Ragsysmum]

I wouldn't ignore him in case he really does need a wee or a drink but I would be worried about the increased thirst.

[Guest 2dogs4cats]

I would keep track 0f how much water he is drinking per day and make sure it's not excessive. Increased thirst can indicate a medical issue.