# Adult dog started crying at night for no reason



## Indiebar (Feb 15, 2012)

Hi all,

Betsy the leonberger is now two years old. She's always been fine at night. We shut the kitchen door, she goes to bed and doesn't stir till we wake her up about 8am. Most of the time we have to make her go outside in the morning as she's glued to her bed. Until now!

In the last two weeks she has started whimpering and crying as we're just nodding off upstairs. At first, I went down to let her out in case she hadn't 'been' when I let her out before bed. But she doesn't need the toilet. She just skips around the garden sniffing stuff.

In the last week, when we go to bed and she starts crying, I don't let her out, I just go down and put her to bed, make sure she lies down. No talking, no lights. And then she's usually ok.

But as well as this happening, she is regularly waking us up barking, crying and howling at all hours of the night. Usually about 4am. At this point, I open the kitchen door and let her sleep in the living room as we're in a semi-detached and the neighbours can definitely hear it. But it was a good week of waking up before I resorted to this, and not every night, so I don't think it's that she wants to go into the living room.

Nothing has changed in her diet, routine or environment that I can think of.

I think when it happened a few nights ago, a cat or fox must have walked past our patio door where she sleeps as she went bonkers and demanded to go outside immediately. But I've got not idea what the cause of this is normally.

I've done a search for posts on here about it but can only find anything about puppies crying and separation anxiety and it's definitely not that. In the daytime she's the most chilled out dog; doesn't even get up when husband comes home, sleeps all the time, has a good walk, chews things, enjoys training, generally a happy pooch. But at night time, she's turned into a royal PITA!!

Any ideas? It's like having a baby getting up all through the night to see to them! I'd really like a full night's sleep now.


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## Twiggy (Jun 24, 2010)

I think that you could well be right that the incident with the fox (or whatever) has frightened her. Something clearly has.

Have you tried leaving a radio on low to see if it makes a difference or move her bed into a different room for maybe a couple of weeks whilst she recovers from her anxiety?


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Indiebar said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Betsy the leonberger is now two years old. She's always been fine at night. We shut the kitchen door, she goes to bed and doesn't stir till we wake her up about 8am. Most of the time we have to make her go outside in the morning as she's glued to her bed. Until now!
> 
> ...


Its possible it could be the fox. Ive got one, it will come into the garden for a few nights on the trot or pass through, and then nothing again. Ive had several spates of it, where these will be sound asleep and then all be up and reacting at the back door. Sometimes once satisfied its gone, they settle again only to start again a couple of hours later when they instinctively now its out there again. It often comes right up to the house as it sometimes leave presents outside the back or patio doors.

They tend to follow the same route too so it may not be always in the garden just passing through backwards and forwards at certain times in the night.
When it wakes these up they do the same thing, and sniff about the garden obviously following the scent.


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## Indiebar (Feb 15, 2012)

Thanks both. The thing with the fox/cat was last week but she's been crying for a couple of weeks now and it's different from the "I've seen something, let me at it" crying, more "where's everybody gone? I'd like to go to the toilet or else I'll poo in your kitchen" crying followed by "Ha ha just joking! I got you out of bed!"

I've seen the foxes near us so perhaps she could smell something before she saw it properly. Time to throw some hair at the back of the garden again or send the other half down to wee.


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## Indiebar (Feb 15, 2012)

Think I'll also put the washing machine and dishwasher on tonight to see if it helps. Shame I can't delay them to go one after the other.


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