# Help my dog howls in the night



## Jo38 (Oct 3, 2010)

Hi,

I would be grateful if anyone can advise me....please, as i am in need of a good nights sleep.
About a month ago we moved into a rented house, at bedtime i put Ozzie my pug in the kitchen, there is no door on the kitchen so we put up a baby gate. He is ok to start with but about from 4,o,clock in the morning he starts banging at the gate crying and howling. I try to ignore him but i don't want to disturb the neighbours as the walls are paper thin. I have tried going downstairs and telling him off this only keeps him quiet for 10 minutes, then he stars again. 

Any suggestions anyone!!:


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## PennyH (Dec 30, 2008)

Hi there
Do you think someone nearby wakes him up - perhaps a neighbour gets up for work or something?
How about leaving the radio on quietly for him to stop him hearing other noises?
Might be worth a try?
If not, what about a crate upstairs on your landing or putting his bed up there? I know not everyone likes dogs upstairs but if it gets you a good night's sleep sometimes a compromise is necessary!!
Good luck.


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## ian1969uk (Sep 5, 2010)

We used a crate in the bedroom for the first few months for our Foxhound puppy, who hated being left alone. Then, when the crate became a place she was used to and secure in, we moved it downstairs and she was fine.


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Jo38 said:


> Hi,
> 
> I would be grateful if anyone can advise me....please, as i am in need of a good nights sleep.
> About a month ago we moved into a rented house, at bedtime i put Ozzie my pug in the kitchen, there is no door on the kitchen so we put up a baby gate. He is ok to start with but about from 4,o,clock in the morning he starts banging at the gate crying and howling. I try to ignore him but i don't want to disturb the neighbours as the walls are paper thin. I have tried going downstairs and telling him off this only keeps him quiet for 10 minutes, then he stars again.
> ...


Has it just started, very recently? If so it could possibly be foxes in the garden, mine know instinctively when they are there or passing through, and that is the sort of time it would be likely to happen at the moment. They have young I think at this time of year so are usually more active than normal and usually braver as looking for food.

One thing you could try is, leaving a radio down low on a talking station as voices can sometimes re-assure them. Leaving a tee shirt or old jumper you have worn in his bed as your smell can re-assure them too. Lastly a DAP Dog appeasing pheromone diffuser can help to calm and reassure them. You just plug it in like and air freshener and leave it on. Vets and pets at hom usually do them but cheaper on line usually. Vet-Medic - the same medicines as your vet at consistently low prices. is one place if you want to try one. Hope this might help.


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## Jo38 (Oct 3, 2010)

Hi,
Thank you everyone for your advice, it is appreciated.

I don't think Ozzie hears anything or anyone that wakes him up. I think he is just pining to get to me. In the morning he goes absolutley potty with excitement when he sees me which lasts about 5 minutes then the rest of the day he follows me everywhere, if i sit down he jumps straight on my lap, if i get up he gets up. so i think it is a separation thing. Just before christmas we very sadly lost our little chihuahua he was 15 years old. So Ozzie has spent his 4 years with him, so possibly he is missing the company of another dog. We are looking to buy a Jack Russell puppy soon but i am thinking i should try and overcome this night time problem with Ozzie first.

I will try the radio in the kitchen first. Fingers crossed.:thumbup:


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## fulwood (Feb 12, 2011)

You could have a one man dog. I have one like that. He's never more than a few yards away from me. He's anxious by nature, but since I don't mind him following me everywhere, it's not a problem for me or him .. so it's not a problem basically. It is a problem at 4am if your dog is scratting and pestering us to get up though. If it's not a fox or early riser (you don't have to have a neighbour who's a milkman ... my neighbour gets up at 4am every morning and goes to work at 8am - don't ask me what she does, cos I dunno?), then you might have an early riser yourself. Don't forget that your dog has now developed a conditioned pattern to waking at this time (whether there's an external stimulus like a fox or neighbour noise triggering it, or whether it's a habit born from your response to her fretting in the early days). I'd say these things to you at this point: 1) don't set out expecting and demanding an instant solution 2) get into the frame of mind of 'a process of elimination', 3) ignore her completely in the morning when she goes hyper for 5 mins, wait 'til she's calm before you attend to her ditto when you come home, etc). 4) have a think about the containment v's free reign of the house 'thingy'. If containment is your thing, go back to crate at the side of the bed, move it further away over time, and be consistent. If free reign is alright for you - and when or IF she's jumps on your bed to wake you at 4am (as mine did at first) - push your dog away and say 'bog off ... it's too early' and ignore them. They soon get the message.


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## logansmum (Feb 23, 2011)

Jo38 said:


> Hi,
> Thank you everyone for your advice, it is appreciated.
> 
> I don't think Ozzie hears anything or anyone that wakes him up. I think he is just pining to get to me. In the morning he goes absolutley potty with excitement when he sees me which lasts about 5 minutes then the rest of the day he follows me everywhere, if i sit down he jumps straight on my lap, if i get up he gets up. so i think it is a separation thing. Just before christmas we very sadly lost our little chihuahua he was 15 years old. So Ozzie has spent his 4 years with him, so possibly he is missing the company of another dog. We are looking to buy a Jack Russell puppy soon but i am thinking i should try and overcome this night time problem with Ozzie first.
> ...


You answered your own question- he is lonely. He has been used to company of another dog, loves your company and hates being left alone for long periods.
Whats the problem of him being closer to you at night upstairs?
If there is no aggression/dominance issues why not let him sleep upstairs where he has the company he needs?


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## Jo38 (Oct 3, 2010)

Hi,

Well i tried the radio suggestion and it has helped the last few nights he has slept through to 7am which is when i get up anyway.
As for letting him sleep upstairs, i would, but i like to think of long term situations as in his old age where health problems can arise. I have had two dogs in the past who have had heart problems and had diuretic medication for, it which makes them wee an awful lot so having them in the kitchen has been no problem to clean the floor but it would have been hard going if it was upstairs on the carpet every night, i don't think its fair on the dogs or me. 

anyway so far so good
Thanks for all your advice


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