4 month old not settling at night

[Kate75]

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Hi Everyone

This may be a bit of a long convoluted post so please bear with me!

Holly is a 19 week GSD and has been sleeping through the night (10-6) from about 13 weeks old. She is crated and apart from the first few nights after we brought her home at 8 weeks has had no problems going to bed, often putting herself in there before we go up! she has never wet or pooed in her crate and has had no accidents in the house for about 3/4 weeks now.

All of a sudden for the past week she has started almost rebelling against going to bed in her crate. The first couple of times it happened was just after xmas so we put it down to all the excitement of comings and goings but it has continued and now she has started waking up in the middle of the night again and not settling back.

I've been away for work this week and my husband was backwards and forwards up until about half midnight one night with her in the garden refusing to come in! I was a bit tougher last night and let her cry it out when we went to bed about 10.30 when she finally settled after about 15 mins and then she woke at 1.30am, went out and then didn't settle for another 20 mins whining and clawing at the bars.

I have several theories on what could be causing it - teeth, unsettled after xmas, doesn't like the back to work/school routine, possible rebellious phase.

Anyway we are obviously having a lot of broken sleep so I am toying with the idea at the moment of leaving her out of the crate at night. I knew that this would likely happen before we could leave her out of it during the day when we're out but I wasn't planning on it quite yet!

Over xmas when I came down to her at 6 I was letting her out and then going back to sleep on the sofa for couple of hours - she would happily go back to sleep too, alternating between the floor next to me, the open crate and in front of the back door which makes me think she would probably do the same at night.

My concerns are though that this may cause issues with her going in the crate while we are out during the day and possibly set back house training? We didn't crate our last GSD so this is all new to me! I'd really like to know opinions on whether we should battle on through with the crate at night or try her out of it!

 

[gypsysmum2]

I would try her out of it.

I think your instincts are right and that the upset of Christmas and other changes have affected her. Why do battle with her when you could make some adjustments and get her to relax?. Obviously make everywhere safe from chewing and just clear up, with a sigh, any toilet mistakes she has. If that all goes well then it may be that she will settle when left for short periods during the day. You might like to set the alarm for an early garden visit while she is still this young. Be very boring so that she does not miss you when you return to bed.

When leaving a dog it is best to be very cool towards them for about ten minutes before you and again when you return. You want her to be almost glad you are going out because you are a grumpy old so and so. She will miss you if you kiss and cuddle her before leaving her and this will cause problems. GSD's can be quite clingy and are a sensitive breed as you no doubt know.

 

[Kate75]

Thanks for your reply Gypsysmum, yes Holly is a typical clingy GSD particularly with me!

The last couple of nights we have put her to bed as normal in her crate and put up with the fussing and whining until she finally settles. She's then been waking around 3/4am and I have opened her crate and the baby gate to upstairs. We had puppy proofed upstairs as much as possible, shutting off rooms including the bathroom. We live in a compact 3 bed semi so we are all pretty cosy anyway - our room is more or less at the top of the stairs and she's in the kitchen diner at the bottom of the stairs.

When I left crate and babygate open she followed me up and in the early hours of the first night, had a good look around for about 15 mins before collapsing on a mat we'd put down for her and sleeping until 7.30am when I got her up for breakfast! This morning when she woke at 3.30am she was panting and wasn't bothered about going out she went straight to the baby gate and waited for me to open it then went straight upstairs, quick sniff and then straight back to sleep until up for school run at 7.15.

So I'm now wondering whether to just bite the bullet and leave her out from the time we go to bed? or carry on with putting her in her crate for the first part of the night. I always planned to have her out at night at some stage just not this soon and I feel like I've failed a bit in the crate training and I worry that in a way I've let her win.

The other alternative i know is to get tough and let her cry it out which is tough as I said our house is compact and she makes a lot of noise when she starts, we also have neighbours with small children who aren't dog people so it stresses me out more as I know how thin the walls are and how clearly we can hear their kids...after 10 days of her fighting her crate each bedtime I don't think its going to get any better!

Ideally I want Holly sleeping in the kitchen but I don't mind her upstairs, our last GSD slept with us from day one as we were in flats and crating wasn't really a thing then! She was two when we finally moved to a house and after a while preferred staying downstairs in the kitchen, my husband reckons Holly will do the same especially when the weather starts to get warmer and downstairs is much cooler!

On the plus side since she's been allowed to sleep upstairs she's a lot more relaxed about being downstairs on her own while I get on with stuff upstairs!

 

[gypsysmum2]

As long as she has positive associations with her crate you can always go back to it. If she builds up negative ones then your options will be limited.

Just be careful that she does not become too dependent on you as this can lead to separation problems down the line. It is good for a dog to learn to rest independently so do make sure, during the day and evening that she is encouraged to do that. Try not to allow her to seek attention all the time. Wait until she settles and then give her attention. If anyone gets up in the night and she is down stairs sleeping independently then a little visit to her might help her to be independent. No big deal just a fleeting visit to show you are still in the house

 

[Kate75]

Hi Gypsysmum

Many thanks for your lovely replies and advice, its been a couple of weeks now and Holly is out of her crate at night. She sleeps on the landing mostly but moves around to different spots during the night. We are all getting a lot more sleep and some lie ins on the weekend! She's happy to laze around until we are ready to get up! This was unheard of while she was in the crate!

I'm still making her go out in the early hours for a loo break when I get up for one, this is a bit of a step back as she was going 8 hours in her crate but I think I'd rather do that for a while until she's a bit bigger and I'm confident of no accidents. She's shown no interest in chewing any of her surroundings and has started to wander back downstairs on her own so we reckon once the weather starts getting warmer she'll probably end up back in the kitchen where its cooler.

Although I still feel a bit of failure over the night time crate thing I have to admit that I am much more relaxed and happier now she can be nearer us. The crate was definitely right for her while she was small and we did at least achieve one of its purposes and that was the toilet training! But maybe she has just outgrown it early. My mum reckons she could have simply been restless at night and the crate had become too small for her?! who knows!

We are still using it during the day when we have to go out although she doesn't like it! We did think she was wetting in it as her bed was saturated in some places but there was no smell or stain and now we've realised she is in fact chewing and sucking it! We are seriously thinking of letting her have the run of the kitchen when we have to go to work but that will require some more puppy proofing so for now she will have to put up with her crate!

Thank you again

 

[gypsysmum2]

Well done!

The chewing and sucking is a bit of a worry as it might be a sign of anxiety. Some dogs are quite claustrophobic and just cannot settle in a small space.

Other than that things are looking as though they are going in the right direction. Always a worry though because you just think you have cracked on problem and another will crop up. Let's hope not.

 

[Kate75]

The chewing and sucking seems to be down to the fact she likes the taste of her bed.... its new and I've caught her when I've been at home lol! No idea what that is all about but I've wrapped an old duvet cover around the mattress and then put the fleece cover on top which has seemed to have put her off a bit!

Now going through the night again as trying to get her up in the middle of the night was becoming a struggle! She was starting to pretend she was sound asleep!

Still in the crate during the day when we're out, we know she doesn't like it but she's not showing any other anxiety symptoms. I do think though she is just one of those dogs who isn't happy with a crate. We have decided to puppy proof the kitchen this weekend and start leaving her out for sort periods and then build it up, a bit like we did with the crate when we first got her!

Totally agree once you solve one problem another one crops up, thats puppies for you! and kids for that matter lol! My poor husband has me, a soon to be teenage daughter and a juvenile pup in the house! I haven't dared tell him Holly and our daughter will be going through adolescence together.......

 

[gypsysmum2]

Ha, ha. Your husband may well need counselling

Good luck with the puppy proofing of the kitchen. You might like to consider child proof locks on the fridge and cupboards. My brother's GSD managed to open them all and distribute the contents all over the floor!

Think about having a couple of sets of toys so that you can leave one set down one day and a new set down the next day. An Adaptil diffuser might help her to relax more.

Be quite cool when you are about to leave her so that she does not miss you so much when you are gone.

Fingers crossed for you.

 

[JoanneF]

I've come a bit late to this thread but what about a large pen in the kitchen to puppy proof it?

 

[Kate75]

Hi

We thought about a pen but if Holly is anything like our last GSD she'll be over it or have it dismantled in no time lol! That being said I haven't ruled it out as it may work if we need to keep her away from the units.

We're getting some key locks fitted for the two doors into the kitchen to stop her getting into the rest of the house and some child proof locks for the cupboards and some different toys we can rotate, she does love her toys so I think they'll keep her occupied for a while. She's never left for more than a couple of hours anyway.

We learnt with our last GSD that you can never tell what might take their fancy even when they are adults and supposed to be past the chewiy stage, but as long as we can make sure she can't hurt herself thats the main thing.