Night distress

[pkcrossley]

i had the same question as arseovrteakettl. since when do geologists know what can or can't bother a dog? animals do have sensitivities that we don't have and don't yet fully understand. the colliery might not be the answer, but surely it is a circumstance to investigate. not sure what you could do about it other than wait for her to be desensitized. 

[arseovrteakettl]

What would happen if you let her sleep on the bed with you?  Would she stay calm?  I know, once you start this habit....you won't be able to undo it    but...

 

Honestly this is the first thing I would try : ))

 

But then I sleep with 3 dogs, and find that to be one of the great pleasures of living with them.

[josie&holly]

Well, vet says the earthquakes are a very UNlikely cause and it can four weeks for tablets to show any effect.

As for sleepng on bed, my bed is quite high so would worry about Holly falling off, i get up a few times in Night so that would disturb her, she tends to be restless in night so that may disturb me - so am not sure whether would help!

[arseovrteakettl]

I was just thinking how way back when, when we got our first dog, the very naughty Annie, she was a terrible behavior problem, and worse if we tried crating her.  The books said to crate her at night and eventually she would come to regard the crate as a safe haven.  But after being crated she was simply horrible for an hour or so before she worked off the pent up energy.  And at night she cried and cried and carried on, for night after night after night.  We did not know what to do:  uncrated she was mouthy and destructive -  we never thought we would get an instant of rest if she were uncrated at night.

 

One night, out of desperation, my daughter took her out of the crate and into bed with her.  And the miracle occurred: they both slept like babies.  So we tossed out the crate, and while Annie was still a very naughty dog, she understood that being in bed meant sleeping, and I've found that dogs just know this intuitively.  She was never as hyper as she had been when we crated her.

 

That's one dog's story : )

 

I think if you slept with Holly you would both sleep better.  I get up a number of times at night and my dogs are fine with it.  The only time they disturb me at night is when something is wrong: they are sick or a raccoon is in the kitchen eating the cat's food (which has happened).  As for falling out of bed -- I thought Cairns were fairly good at jumping?  Fuzz has worked out the stairs and now can jump up and down from the bed.

[arseovrteakettl]

When I bought a new bed I looked all over town for an extra low one, because at the time my all-time-favorite golden Walter, had really bad hips and could not work out how to get up into the bed -- the doggies stairs are aimed at smaller dogs, I fear, and he was a giant, 120 lbs all muscle and bone and anyhow he also could not walk up the stairs.  So now I have this really low bed, though Walter is long gone, that I myself struggle to get into and out of, no joke with sciatica. 

 

More recently I have taken to sleeping on the floor with dogs when one of them is getting old, and, much to my surprise, discovered that it helped my back and also prevented my ipad from shattering when I fall asleep while reading and it falls out of my hands...

 

Necessity is sometimes a great teacher.

[josie&holly]

I have an expensive adjustable bed as have severe reflux at night s need to sleep slightly propped up and when I bought new bed 2 yrs ago decided would go for ths option rather than have three pillows along with blocks under bed. May try her on bed and see what happens!

Although am also tempted to try her in kitchen downstairs again.......

Edited January 23, 2014 by josie&holly

[arseovrteakettl]

She will love it, and so will you : ))))

 

NOT the kitchen though.  She wants to sleep with you!!

Edited January 23, 2014 by arseovrteakettl

[josie&holly]

Well, thought she may like a cuddle on bed when we went up to bed, so had that and then she struggled back down to her own bed!! Obviously decided that was her place!

However she was barking again at 3am!!

[Autumn & Lola]

Well, thought she may like a cuddle on bed when we went up to bed, so had that and then she struggled back down to her own bed!! Obviously decided that was her place!

However she was barking again at 3am!!

 

Josie - I missed some of the posts here so forgive me if this has been asked before. Have you asked dog owners on your street or in the neighborhood if they have noticed any strange behavior in their dogs? Perhaps not necessarily the 3 a.m. barking, but just odd/unusual behavior in general?

[josie&holly]

Have asked other dog owners but most have their dogs in kitchen/utility room so do not hear them much in night! However, a young lady I know with two cavalier king charles has told me that one of them has been barking a lot in the night recently. Unfortunately my walks seem to be a different times to others so not been meeting many recently!

Edited January 25, 2014 by josie&holly

[Autumn & Lola]

Hmmm. It certainly is a conundrum!  I truly hope it stops as suddenly as it started so you can get some sleep!

[pkcrossley]

even dogs who like being on the bed will want to get down for one reason or another. when my redmon had a back problem (so we thought) and I didn't want him jumping on and off my rather high bed, i contrived an unobtrusive ramp for him to come up and down without jumping, falling, or even disturbing me much. All I did was: buy a board at Home Depot about four feet long and 18 inches wide. buy two two-foot wide rubber-backed welcome mats and nail them to the board. put a dining room chair at the end of the bed, at one corner. prop the board so it ran from the floor to the seat of the chair. dogs walks up the ramp, turns at the top (propped on the chair), walks onto or off of the bed. if the board is placed on a hard surface, buy an additional rubber mat to place at the low end, protects the floor and keeps the ramp in place. very cheap, compared to the hundred or two-hundred dollars pets supplies want for their bulky and inconvenient ramps. when wanted out of sight, pick up the board and put it in the closet. worked terrifically. redmon could get on and off the bed with no problems, no noise. 

 

it is possible that being on the bed was a solution, but that holly needs to get down AND up again for the solution to be complete.

[josie&holly]

Well I have discovered tat Holly can get up and across and down from bed when she is in a panic/distress mode! She woke me last nightshirtly after going to sleep about 11.30 pm but then appeared to settle so I went to bathroom and suddenl I had a little dog bouncing in front of me! So thought as it was that time perhaps when she went out earlier she had not had a squat, so put some clothes on and took her down and let her out. So she went and had a squat, but then decided to sit in middle of gRden and was reluctant t cme back in! By now it was midnight and very cold. So had to entice her in with a biscuit, and decided to leave her in kitchen. Thirty minutes late, barking and crying! So brought her up but it took over an hour for her to settle and I went to sleep.

A friend feels should take Holly to a different vet for a another opinion.

[Autumn & Lola]

I'm just going to throw another idea out there, as dumb as it might sound. I know Lola (and it sounds like many others on here) have been rather restless lately with all the bad weather (snow in USA and rain here). Is Holly getting as much outside time as she is used to? Is she just bored and picks the nighttime to vent her frustration? Lola has been bouncing off the walls the past several days and it takes quite a bit to settle her down at night. She wants OUT, but the pouring rain and mud bath make it difficult, so she isn't getting as much outside time as usual. Last night she did not want to come in despite the rain. She had picked up on the scent of something and was very reluctant to let it go.  You may not *hear* anything outside, but perhaps some creature is coming out at night, who knows what, prompted by all the rain/sogginess and Holly has picked up the scent and is desperate to investigate, spurred on by winter restlessness/boredom??

[josie&holly]

Holly gets her two walks a day every day, they may vary in lenght according to weather. She is not one to spend much time out of doors otherwise, we have a couple of sessions of play a day indoors. Not sure thst she is bored as during the day she acts and does as she has always done. However, because of the muddy fields she has not had much time off lead but that again is something she has never had everyday.

Not skipping doses of tablets now.

Edited January 27, 2014 by josie&holly

[josie&holly]

Well last night had to go to a Church Meeting so we had a late night. when I got back we had some playtime and then  on TV there was a programme about animals so Holly had a bark at that!  Then we went to bed about hour and half later than normal.  But Holly still woke me an hour and half after that in distress.  But was able after a while to go back to sleep though she woke me again after a while.  But then she appeared to settle so I was able to.

I hate to say this but she has settled into a routine of her own and I am now not sure how to change it.

[arseovrteakettl]

Is it possible you have developed sleep apnea and she is alarming you about it?

[josie&holly]

Update - 

Well, thanks to my niece coming for weekend I have discovered what was upsetting Holly and I now have a calm dog again.
I know people mentioned smoke alarms but I only considered the one that worked which was the special one I had installed by Fire Brigade due to my hearing problem. However, the year before just after I moved here the local Fire Service offered a free alarm so they fitted a alarm in bedroom, said it would last five years and they would come back then and change it. In. Meantime of course the special was fixed so they never came back and it was six hears last October since put in. The one in bedroom stopped flashing the light several months ago so thought battery was dead.
My niece on Friday evening kept asking me what was beeping so thought it was the special alarm and she managed to reach and change batteries for me. But there was apparently still a beeping that she could hear!
Saturday when we came back from walk she had another look round and found the other one in bedroom and realised it was that was beepiing. I was surprised as the light had not flashed on it for long while. I could not hear the beep. When she opened it though it was discover you could not take battery out and could not find a screwdriver to fit. However, I found it next morning, Sunday,  so she took the alarm down and I took into garage and dropped it in a box! As I carried it through house Holly was barking like mad at it and shaking.
So Holly went to her bed area Sunday night and after a few changes of where she was going to lie, settled down and I never heard her all night!! And I slept undisturbed too.  And I had another good night last night.  
So having tried various remedies, having my niece for weekend had the bonus of solving the problem!! 
(

[Hillscreek]

Happy happy happy   

[_whits_]

What great news for everyone involved! I bet Holly is enjoying uninterrupted sleep as much as you.

[Autumn & Lola]

Well holy moly, that is fantastic news!  I am so happy for you, Josie, and for Holly, too!  Ah, blessed sleep!

[hheldorfer]

What a relief! I think we all figured it would be something simple but, geez, finding it was a real adventure, eh? Great news for you and Holly. Sweet dreams.

[mom42terrificgirls]

I have been following this thread intently and this is awesome news!!

[Roux's Mom]

Poor Holly, must've been driving her crazy. So glad you solved your mystery!

[jo_]

I've been following this topic but never had any advice to add. Just wanted to say I'm so happy for your and Holly...what a stressful time this must have been. And thank you for sharing your story. Your experience may help others with similar scenarios.

 

Sweet dreams!