disturbed sleep!

My seven month old dachshund used to sleep like a log, ever since the first day he came home. Recently he has begun to wake in the early hours and cry and howl. The first time I put it down to perhaps being woken by a loud noise or some sort of outside disturbance, but he has done it since for no apparent reason (I know there is always a reason!) I always make sure he's been outside before bed and he's well exercised every day. He refuses to get back into his bed in the kitchen, but if I take it into my room he'll sleep like a baby! It's not every night, so it isn't yet a habit, but does anyone have any ideas how we can overcome this?

I'm a big believer in making life easy - is there any reason why he can't just sleep in your room?

Even if you don't want to do that long term, I'd do it for a short while so you can settle him (teach a ”settle down” in daytime, so you can use it at night). Then, once he is sleeping through, you can start to move his bed, in baby steps, towards the kitchen again. But don't rush it, if he gets unsettled at any stage, go back a step for a few more nights.

Thanks Joanne! There isn’t really a reason why he can’t sleep in my room, just don’t want him to become too clingy so that I can’t leave him overnight with other people. Perhaps that’s a bit illogical

PatG said:

Thanks Joanne! There isn’t really a reason why he can’t sleep in my room, just don’t want him to become too clingy so that I can’t leave him overnight with other people. Perhaps that’s a bit illogical

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I look at it like this; by you being there for him, you won't make him clingy, you will help him develop his confidence by protecting him from the scary night time and he will grow in confidence as he learns there is nothing to fear.

JoanneF said:

I look at it like this; by you being there for him, you won't make him clingy, you will help him develop his confidence by protecting him from the scary night time and he will grow in confidence as he learns there is nothing to fear.

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I see your point! Will try that out, many thanks for your words of wisdom.

PatG said:

I see your point! Will try that out, many thanks for your words of wisdom.

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I have always had the dogs sleep in my bedroom with me and have never had a peep out of them, even when I had young puppies. Jemima, in my avatar, started out with her own bed, but now sleeps under mine and finds her way onto the bed at some point during the night.

With you, the dog feels confident and secure which makes him more confident during the day. You'll get a good night's sleep, so will be more patient with him during the day and he won't react to your tension.