Sleep Deprivation...advice Needed :(

[Guest chas2016]

Hello I've read through lots of everyone's posts and had a little laugh to myself as some of them sound like they're talking about our greyhound! 😄

 

So a bit of background... Chas has been with us 7 weeks now. She is wonderful, 4 years old, black/brown, calm but goofy . She has come from Ireland, she was a racer. She is our first dog (as adults)

Toilet training took about 4 weeks, honestly because not once did she do an accident in front of us so very hard to correct, she now holds up to about 9 hours. ... She is OBSESSED with food, she's quite lazy, and she absolutely adores humans. Rescue said she was great with other dogs...we find that she is absolutely not! In particular she hates other greyhounds!

 

So our main issue is night time. We allowed her to stay in our bedroom in her own dog bed for the first 4 weeks as she had mild separation anxiety to begin with (which is now fine, we have been recording her and she understands the daily routine), she was incredibly noisy and we are both light sleepers, she would wake us several times an hour and whine for breakfast at 5 am.

 

So we then tried her in her crate in the lounge, she was an absolute diamond for about 9 nights.... and then she had an upset stomach and diarrhea so she was barking to let us know she needed to go out many times through the night. She is now on pro kolin and doing great. However...she has cottoned on that her barking / howling / whining = us getting up and seeing to her. There is absolutely no pattern to her barking, it's not at a specific time each night, she has even gone a night without making a sound between the disruptive nights. We have ignored her completely, but she cries and cries for HOURS! We have ear plugs and can still hear her, we are just waiting for a noise complaint any time now!! We are exhausted!

 

We need to find some solution to this, at the same time we do not want to confuse her or encourage this behaviour further.

 

We have moved our parrot into the bedroom so we do not want to start her back in the bedroom again, she was too noisy anyway..

 

I have thought about going to sleep on the couch next to her crate when she gets bad, but only want to do this as a temporary measure, but is it possible this would only further encourage her to bark at night?

 

Any suggestions and advice welcome!

[GeorgeofNE]

Stop putting her in the crate.

 

 

Sometimes the most obvious answer is the correct answer.

 

Truthfully, dogs want to sleep where their people are. But if that's really not in the cards, you're going to have to let her get used to being alone. Remember: she's never been alone at night in her entire life. She also KNOWS you're in the bedroom, and that's where she wants to be. When she barks, you can try putting her on a leash, taking her outside briefly, saying only things like "let's go potty." If she doesn't have to go, right back inside, back in the crate, and go back to bed. Don't give her ANY attention whatsoever beyond that. Eventually she'll learn that barking doesn't get her anything.

 

If she's housebroken at this point, why do you feel she needs to be in a crate? She probably won't be as noisy if she's not, although I can imagine her whining outside your bedroom door!

 

I couldn't sleep if my dog WASN'T in the room with me. It's the kind of noise you get used to--he's my family, and I like knowing he's right with me. But of course that really is up to you!

[Guest chas2016]

Thanks for your reply GeorgeofNE

 

I should have said we have now let her have the lounge to roam free, her crate is in here and she goes in and out at her wish, the first night we did this she was silent and waited for us to come down to her in the morning. From then on the barking has continued though . So you think it's a case of just ignoring over and over until she finally gives up? Sometimes it's hard to imagine she will ever stop.

 

Ive had a dog as a child and she slept in my room he was so silent. I guess as an adult with many things on our minds we don't sleep so good and hear every little thing. She is an absolute darling though and such a wonderful dog

[claudiav]

I can't imagine sleeping without my dogs either... I actually don't sleep with my BF because he doesn't want the dogs in the bedroom, and i won't sleep without them...

 

Chas is alone 9 hrs a day while you work, and then you leave her alone all night long, too??? i can't imagine how lonely she must feel... these are pack animals, they want to be with their families all the time...

[Feisty49]

Now that she's been alone in the lounge and has discovered she doesn't like it, perhaps it will work out if you let Chase back in the bedroom. Though many Greyhounds don't want to bother to learn "tricks," they are very smart and she might get it now that being in the bedroom requires relative silence.

 

My girl half wakes me up a couple of times a night when she changes position and, as usual, has to paw and scrape at the bed to make it just right. If she keeps it up too long, I say, "Annie, enough!" and she stops.

 

I think that over time, it will all work out for you. Good luck!

[Guest chas2016]

Claudiav yes we must work full time to live and we must be able to sleep to work, wanted to give a forever home to a retired dog who needed it, she has a dog walker a few times a week during the day, and spends all other times with us.

 

Feisty49 that is quite a helpful reply thank you and maybe you are right, I have considered maybe baby gating the stairs and seeing if she favours sleeping on the landing outside our bedroom any better, we just don't want to continue moving her around incase it is unsettling or confusing

[rsieg]

Another thing that can help is to get Chas tired out before bed. Can you set up a walking schedule where you walk her shortly before bed (probably not right before bed, since that might make her more restless)? My guys walk about 2-3 miles per day: about 1-1.4 miles in the morning, and 1-2 miles in the evening. if Chas is high energy (sounds like she might be) then longer walks might be needed to really tire her out. If you have a backyard, maybe try to get her into some sort of running game in the early evening (again, not right before bed, you want her to calm down after exercise). If she is tired enough, she should sleep through the night.

[Hubcitypam]

Do the people at the Greyhound Trust or where you got her have advice?

Honestly, some dogs are just not meant to be only dogs and one is under my desk right now. I'll take Pitou to the vet or groomer and they'll say "What does Barkley need?" I tell them "Barkley doesn't need anything - he's just here so I have a couch when I get home". He went through a crate, two couches and chewed up the bottom of a metal door his first few years here as he had been abandoned and just thrown food for about 9 months.

Hope it works out for you but please talk to the agency you got her from.

[Guest xengab]

Hi.

Im fellow light sleeper too. So I want to ask what noises is she making that wake you up when she slept in the room? IF it was just getting up, you can teach her to stay on her bed. We keep our door shut at night and that also helped stop night time explorer.

IS it the bed she sleeps on making a noise? then change it to another one or add a quilt or crate mate on top.

Claws on the hardwood floor, socks and keep the nails trimmed.

A white noise machine can also help deal with sounds until she gets used to being settled all night.

 

Long walks, a small snack before bed and making sure she isnt too hot or cold can be big factors in a hound staying in bed.

[GreytXpctations]

In addition to a night time walk, a bed time snack might also help. We had a foster that was restless through the night and food obsessed through the day, but once we started the snack at bedtime (1/4 cup of kibble) she would sleep through the night at the foot of the bed. Some dogs get upset stomach when empty we were told, so we tried the snack and it helped.

[smurfette]

7 weeks is not a long time. Maybe you need to get used to the sounds your new roommate makes. I am a very light sleeper but my subconscious knows exactly which sounds belong to the house and it's inhabitants and which are not normal.

[Guest OPointyDog]

One of ours went through a phase when he barked all night. Our other grey was nearby, so he was not alone. We had already had him for a year and a half, and he learned that he could get attention by barking in his crate - it was incredibly frustrating, so I know your pain. He would bark and whine for hours. We had him checked by the vet and even took him to a professional trainer, who said that it was attention seeking behavior and not separation anxiety. I got a lot of the same advice you have - let the dog out and let him sleep by you. Not possible in our household because the dogs are not trustworthy with our cats, unfortunately. Plus he is super-destructive and chews up and eats everything.

 

In the end, we tried a spray collar that is activated by barking. It has compressed air in it, and makes a sound and sprays the dog in the face with air when he barks. Worked like a charm - it sprayed him exactly once, he HATED it, and he stopped barking. Never had to use it again. He sleeps in his crate with no problem now.

[Guest chas2016]

Thanks everyone for your replies, I feel like I should have mentioned that Chas does love her crate so being crated isn't the issue.

 

We decided last night in our desperation to move the crate into the bedroom and see how she was. She was relatively quiet all night except for whining for attention at 4 am, I've started making a sharp clap with my hands when she whines and it shuts her up for a bit. I took her for a pee and straight back to bed and she was a little grumbly about it, whined a bit more and several claps later she left it.

 

The evening snack sounds like a good idea because she is absolutely food obsessed and I swear her stomach is just an endless pit!! We will definitely try that.

 

I think we are just going to have to keep her in the room and continue training her to keep quiet and start moving the crate bit by bit out of the bedroom. We both wore ear plugs last night but they just don't block out everything. White noise machine also sounds like a good idea for us light sleepers

[Hubcitypam]

I think we are just going to have to keep her in the room and continue training her to keep quiet and start moving the crate bit by bit out of the bedroom.

Toss arrows at me if you will but why can't she sleep in the room with you if she learns to settle?

[Guest chas2016]

Because we would like to eventually get rid of the crate since it is massive and we don't have space for it, and the parrot for the parrots safety is in our bedroom. She wouldn't be able to be trusted out of her crate in the room

[Guest xengab]

I'd say parrot out, dog in.

Took mine a year before he'd sleep elsewhere the whole night, mostly he tries to stay out all night like a naughty teenager, then sneaks in at 4 or 5am sniffing my arm on the way by. So we make sure he's in with us each night. weekends my hubby goes to bed after midnight so dog gets to decide.

[BatterseaBrindl]

I'd say parrot out, dog in.

 

Yup.

 

I have had caged birds and dogs that co-exist in the same room for many many years.

Chas will get used to the bird...if he is in a cage. Surley you do not sleep in the same room with a parrot that is loose

 

Chas has been quiet now for a few nights while in your room. Obviously this is where he wants to be.

"if it ain't broke, don't fix it"

Edited September 17, 2016 by BatterseaBrindl

[Banjoman]

No matter where your greyhound sleeps it will really wake you up when it dreams and lets out a looong, loud howl. It'll scare the pants off you the first time and still make you jump every other time.

[Guest chas2016]

So she has been in our room now for several days, we are both absolutely exhausted I just don't know how people sleep with their dog in their room. No barking at least, thank goodness, I guess sleep deprivation is just our life now!

[Hubcitypam]

I just don't know how people sleep with their dog in their room. No barking at least, thank goodness, I guess sleep deprivation is just our life now!

Matter of perspective. I sleep with two small dogs on my bed every night and have shared same bed with many eighty plus pounds of greyhounds over the years. In contrast my sister had a blue and gold macaw and cockatoo that drove me crazy even when covered in their cages at night.

 

I sort of think the world is cut out for dog owners and non dog owners, cat and non cat owners as well as bird and non bird owners. If it's stressing you out as much as it appears to be there no foul in returning the dog to the trust if it's obviously not a fit. Might make all of you happier.

Edited September 20, 2016 by Hubcitypam

[DocsDoctor]

What is it that she is doing to disturb you, if she is not barking? Has she not yet got the message yet that nights are for sleep? They do go to bed and get up early in kennels and it may be that she has not yet reset her clock.

 

If she is is whining and it is not because she is cold/ has an empty tummy/ needs a loo break you need to be firm and consistent about telling her 'quiet' or 'settle' and ignoring her until she does. Keep the room dark should help too.

 

It may take a little time, but you will get there. Usually now I only hear my dog (he sleeps next door but with the doors open) if he has a dream, and does a bit of yipping as he chases a dream-squirrel. Or if he wakes and gets up to shake himself before resettling. Either sound might wake me momentarily, but are actually rather nice to hear. And in the morning he has learnt to lie quietly waiting for the alarm clock goes off - then he comes zooming in to greet me. We both enjoy that.

[Guest chas2016]

hubcitypam I think it's a very poor excuse to return a very much adored dog just because we are light sleepers and she enjoys a good fidget about and grooming through the night!

[GeorgeofNE]

Have you considered ear plugs?

 

Seriously! I think you'll get used to the noises of a dog moving, but ear plugs might help. And the white noise machine too. I sleep with one of those.

 

I bet you can buy inexpensive ear plugs at any drugstore. Maybe worth a try??

[Trudy]

All of my dogs have quickly learned "Stop licking"

Doesn't mean they don't do it and wake you up in the process, but as soon as they are told to stop, they immediately stop and go back to sleep.

 

What is your night time routine?

I toss and turn all night so I expect many others, including the dogs, do the same.

As they say, a tired dog is a good dog. If you aren't already, do a walk a little before bed, play in the yard, play in the house. Mentally and physically tired your dog out and that should help with some of the fidgeting at night.

Have you considered ear plugs?

 

Seriously! I think you'll get used to the noises of a dog moving, but ear plugs might help. And the white noise machine too. I sleep with one of those.

 

I bet you can buy inexpensive ear plugs at any drugstore. Maybe worth a try??

 

They have been using ear plugs.

[Guest chas2016]

Docsdoctor thanks for your response, it was one of the more helpful ones. I feel like from a few responses to my post people are implying that if you cannot allow your dog to sleep with you on your bed or that if you are light sleepers then you should not own a dog...just baffling to me, really.

 

She is just a fidget really and gets up shakes about, digs around her bedding, has a little whine or grumble, has a lot of dreams, and she likes to tell us when it's time to get up. We are doing our best and wearing ear plugs, but overall like some people cant seem to grasp we are just light sleepers and it just wakes us. Not her fault, not ours, we just tried to find a solution, which is why she was downstairs for a while with absolutely no issues, until she had the upset stomach and learnt that the barking got her attention.

 

Anyway she is here to stay no matter what, we absolutely adore her to pieces and she is wonderful.