# Night time grumblings!



## Pauly (Apr 6, 2011)

Hi Everyone, 

I wonder if anyone can help with something we have been experiencing over the last few days. 

Our pup Tilly (1 year old tomorrow!!!) has out of nowhere started to not settle at night and we want to nip it in the bud before a habit develops. I will give you some background...

We have never had any major separation anxiety with Tilly. She slept in our room the first two nights then in her crate in the kitchen from then on. She used to cry when we left the room when she was tiny but we used to go in when she was quiet and this soon stopped. She would actually happily play with toys when we left her alone for a while. We also work all day (with a big visit from one of us around lunchtime) and she has never had a problem whatsoever. To summarise she is generally a confident if very excited little dog. She knows lots of commands and is often praised by friends for her obedience for a dog her age.

We plan to move her over to a normal bed for her birthday and just use the crate intermittently (to prevent her disliking it) so we have been leaving her crate door open overnight and have had no problems. However on Tuesday it was blowing a gale and there were all kinds of crazy noises in our garden. This set Tilly off a bit and she started barking and grumbling. 
Tilly has only recently discovered the joys of barking but this can be controlled swiftly with a firm ‘enough!’ This wasn’t working on Tuesday. I went downstairs (during a gap in her barking) and let her out so she could see that there was nothing bad and could do a wee etc. When I was there she was totally fine. I went back up and it started again, I repeated my ‘enough’, which again didn’t work. She was getting more wound up so I again waited for a gap in the barking and whining then went downstairs and shut her in her crate to settle. By the time I got upstairs she had started again so it became apparent that, although the wind started her off, she really just wanted us downstairs. We opted to ignore after this and after 5-10 minutes she stopped and went to sleep.

The following day we apologised to the neighbours who kindly said we can feel free to ignore or whatever we need to do as they love Tilly as well! 

Wednesday was fine all day and evening and we were confident it was just a blip due to the weather. We decided to just do everything as normal. This was fine until we went to bed and it started again, barking grumbling and whining but no wind had set her off. Very Frustrating. We used ‘enough’ and ignored her and she soon stopped the barking. We could however hear her pacing about and messing with the bin etc. We waited for silence then popped her in her crate. After another grumble she settled. 

Yesterday I upped the exercise and went for a really good run and game of fetch in the park. I don’t know about Tilly but I was exhausted! Again we had no problems until bed time. There was no barking, just whining and grumbling. We waited for quiet then went and closed the kitchen door (in case this would make her think we couldn’t hear her and make her stop. Plus the door is shut when were out during the day) instead she started flinging herself against the door and scratching at it while grumbling. We waited for quiet and popped her in her crate. 

It is probably worth noting that we were off work a lot over August on holiday, therefore she saw a lot more of us. We stayed in a cottage for a week and she slept in her crate in the next room. We also stayed in a caravan for a long weekend and she slept in our room with us as the walls were thin and noises were setting her off a bit. Again though we waited until she was quiet then took brought her through. I assumed this would be ok as it is out of her usual routine and not at home? Also this was at the recent bank holiday and she had been fine at our house since then? Its literally just been the last couple of nights.

It seems clear that she is doing this for attention as there are no longer noises outside. Also we are certain that she isn’t poorly or anything as she is absolutely her normal self all of the rest of the time. Also she hasn’t really displayed any separation anxiety when left on her own when were around during the day? There’s no evidence she’s getting stressed when were out either as she hopped out of her crate wagging her tail and stretching when I opened our front door on lunch today? It’s just when we go to bed at night.

I think it’s a combination of her getting used to spending a lot of time with us recently, getting spooked on Wednesday, getting attention for this (us telling her off and putting her in her crate) and maybe adolescence?

We plan on going back to putting her in her crate on a night again for a while so that we can just ignore any noise without worrying about her damaging anything including herself. We hope that in doing this she will get used to being on her own at night again pretty quickly and learn that any noise doesn’t bring us down. I’m hoping this will crack it quickly as the correct foundation is there?

If anyone has any insight, feedback on what we plan to do or any advice at all it would be readily accepted from us and a surely very tired Tilly!

Apologies again for the massive post, it turned into a stream of consciousness! Please bear with me if I don’t always answer very quickly. It’s very sporadic when I can get online I’m afraid!

Thanks for taking the time to read. I have attached a pic of the cheeky little monkey!

Paul.


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## lady amanda (Nov 26, 2010)

Hi There! and Happy Birthday to Tilly....my Lady has her birthday on Sunday, I would chalk it all up to the change with the crate, I would just go back to crating her all toghether for a while and maybe try the full change when you are off for a week and don;t mind being woken in the middle of the night, if all else is fine with her I am sure it all has to do with the change of crate situation. 
Take care, and Wish Tilly a Happy Birthday!


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## wilfiboy (Sep 18, 2010)

Im no expert and can only say what I would try and to be honest i would say the same as Amanda and would be inclned to go back a step and re-use your crate. If she feels safe and secure in there then maybe the noises wont unsettle her as much as they did. Hopefully she'll soon remember that everythings ok . Good luck x


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## ali-s.j. (Jun 6, 2011)

:iagree: good luck, and happy birthday Tilly


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## Pauly (Apr 6, 2011)

Hi there, thanks for reading the longest post ever! Thats great about Lady! What a coincidence! Birthday wishes from Tilly! You may well be right about the crate. Its just that she has been fine with the crate door open for a while before and even since our holiday, however the fact she settles when shut in there is interesting. 
Perhaps we just need to remind her that shes perfectly safe in the kitchen but from the safety of her crate. One step forward and two back eh!


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## lady amanda (Nov 26, 2010)

Pauly...you just used Eh, like a proper Canadian!!! where are you from??? 

And yes very cool about their birthdays....I guess with all training it is a little one step two step kind of thing.


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## wilfiboy (Sep 18, 2010)

Perhaps Paul is your side of the pond  or a Yorkshireman x


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## lady amanda (Nov 26, 2010)

do they say Eh in Yorkshire??


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## wilfiboy (Sep 18, 2010)

Ehs and ees and loads of dropping h's... eee bah gum x


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## Pauly (Apr 6, 2011)

Thanks for the replies. I think we should definitely pop her back in the crate and perhaps just leave the door open the odd nights for now. The wind probably set her off initially so we'll rebuild her confidence and maybe pre-empt it next time the weather is bad. Just dont want to shelter her from new noises and things too much but i guess she is still a pup.

And Amanda my 'eh' was actually an English, Yorkshire one!


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## lady amanda (Nov 26, 2010)

OOOO Karen you called it! 

Yeah she is still a pup, and a cute one at that!


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## wilfiboy (Sep 18, 2010)

lady amanda said:


> OOOO Karen you called it!
> 
> Yeah she is still a pup, and a cute one at that!


 Yeay....Sorry to hyjack your thread Paul... any where near me ???


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## Pauly (Apr 6, 2011)

Haha. Good guess! Were in South Yorkshire actually. Sunny Sheffield to be precise!


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## wilfiboy (Sep 18, 2010)

Not been too bad today... hope Tilly settles and has a lovely birthday tomorrow x x


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## Pauly (Apr 6, 2011)

Yes its calmed down a lot since Tuesday fortunately. Fingers crossed a couple of nights in her crate will see her right. That and a fun packed day tomorrow!


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## MillieDog (Jun 1, 2011)

Hi Paul
I read it  Gold star for me! No it was good to read and get a thorough understanding.

Now, like Karen I'm no way an expert, but I can offer you my thoughts.

I think Tilly probably enjoyed having you close at night, when you were on holiday and she had a disturbed night because of the wind etc. Others on here too had disturbed dogs that night too.

You could try leaving Tilly with one of your used shirts/T-shirt/fleece etc, so that she feels close to you.

I tried this on holiday the other week. Millie sleeps outside our bedroom door and is fine. But one night we had guests staying and she decided to start barking  Now these guests were already a bit raised eyebrows about her sleeping upstairs and I didn't want to give them anything extra to comment on. So I quickly put my t-shirt on her bed. It worked a treat  She was silent immediately. Phew


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## Dawny (Mar 28, 2010)

bless her the wind can be scary! :behindsofa: im not much help cuz we have wispa in her own bed in the corner of our bedroom!  hope she settles soon for you. xx


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## Pauly (Apr 6, 2011)

The t-shirt idea sounds like a good one! I'll pop something in tonight and see how we go. I'm hoping that a Tshirt, a few treats or her kong with a little peanut butter in should help her settle with the door closed. It really is unusual so were hoping she starts enjoying bed time again soon! 
Its great to be able to get peoples opinions on this kind of thing. It can be hard to keep things in perspective when you arent getting enough sleep!


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## JoJo (Mar 2, 2011)

Good luck Paul .. it looks like Amanda & Karen have given you some reassuring help and good advice... along with a good giggle too ... Happy Birthday Tilly

Karen & Amanda you still make me laugh just as much as you did when I first joined the forum ...   keep it up gals, Eh! Ee's. xxx


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## Pauly (Apr 6, 2011)

Yes definitely. I'll make sure I let you know how Tilly gets on. We can forgive her for not sleeping tonight tho if shes caught a glimpse of all these birthday presents we've bought! haha


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## lady amanda (Nov 26, 2010)

hahahha I know exactly what you mean!!!! I have been sewing and making gifts for Lady and we have bought manny more!! spoiled cockapoos this weekend!!!


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## wilfiboy (Sep 18, 2010)

You're all making me feel quilty its Wilfs birthday on wed and Mables the week after and have nt bought a thing.....


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## lady amanda (Nov 26, 2010)

Karen....just keep your eyes on the post!


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## wilfiboy (Sep 18, 2010)

arty2:Ooooo how exciting I knew it was nt my birthday.....even more excited now Amanda arty2:


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## Pauly (Apr 6, 2011)

Morning everyone. We put Tilly in her crate with one of our shirts and a few treats and she didnt make a peep whatsoever. In fact she slept for nine hours and still refused to get up until someone half climbed in her crate with her and stroked her belly! haha

Were expecting her to be much wiser today now that she's one year old. Or maybe she'll just be the same daft, clumsy, mischievous puppy as yesterday!


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## wilfiboy (Sep 18, 2010)

Fab news Paul. A massive happy birthday:bday: to your grown up mature young lady... enjoy your pressies Tilly


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## Pauly (Apr 6, 2011)

She is loving her presents, especially the ball that drops treats when she rolls it! Her tail wags like crazy when she manages to get one out!


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## lady amanda (Nov 26, 2010)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TILLY!!!! and so glad you had a good night sleep! and That you were able to sleep to Pauly!!!


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## ali-s.j. (Jun 6, 2011)

Belated birthday wishes Tilly, glad you liked your pressies


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## Pauly (Apr 6, 2011)

Thanks! Tilly had a great day! Winds back up today and is forecast to get stronger but i'm sure she'll be fine. No problems since we started putting her in her crate again so we'll just build on that.

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Lady as well!


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## MillieDog (Jun 1, 2011)

A bit late Pauly, but :bday: to Tilly.

Glad you managed to get a good nights sleep, hope it continues.


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## Pauly (Apr 6, 2011)

Just as a closer to this the wind last night was even worse than when it set Tilly off last week and she didn't even seem to notice (apart from her desperate attempts to catch all the leaves in the woods as they flew around her!)

Anyway, thanks again for the advice and reassurance. We'll keep slowly trying to get her into sleeping in her bed and phasing out the crate. Slowly does it.


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## wilfiboy (Sep 18, 2010)

Will the bed fit in the crate Paul ? x


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## Pauly (Apr 6, 2011)

Hi Karen. We havent actually got the bed yet but were planning on gettin her her grown up basket / bed to move her to instead of the crate (which we would use when staying with friends etc). 
We had just been leaving the door of the crate open initially which was fine at first but when the weather was bad last week she got unsettled and wouldnt stay in her crate unless the door was closed. Instead she just wandered around the kitchen grumbling etc. Chances are if we left the crate door open tonight she would be ok but i want to transfer her to using a bed without it being stressful for her? 
The crate was only for safety and toilet training and she is fine with all this now.


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## wilfiboy (Sep 18, 2010)

Just thinking if her bed fit in the crate then you could put it in for a while and then leave the bed but take the crate away. When we got rid of Wilfs crate we left the door open, like you said then just put a bed where the crate had been and he was fine.... will have to do the same for Mable.... soon x


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## Pauly (Apr 6, 2011)

Hmmmm. She definitely seems to like the door shut on the crate but maybe she would like to sleep in a bed just as much? I wonder whether she just had a blip for a few nights and we're reading too much into it. She was fine sleeping in her crate with the door open initially after all. 

Knowing Tilly the excitement of something new being where her crate was would probably outweigh any stress anyway! 

I think we'll keep her in there while this weather passes and maybe try just switching to a bed for the night at the weekend. 

Thanks again Karen.


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## wilfiboy (Sep 18, 2010)

Will let you know how Mable goes on when we swao her... I think she'll be fine at night just not really ready to get rid of it if we are out for any length of time during the day as i think she'd look for something to do if she was bored


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