sleep

[Shalista]

Okay you guys gotta help me cause this is driving me nuts. Occasionally (except now its the second time this week) Bax Wants Something at night. Im at my wits end as to what that may be.

we go to bed like normal after our long walk.... except bax never goes to bed. he crawls under my bed and starts to whine like he has to pee. no problem, we'll go again. take him back inside, i go to bed, he may or may not hop onto the bed, and then boom, back under the bed to whine. i've taken him out on long walks again, i've opened the bedroom door, i've kicked him out of the bedroom, i've fed him snacks, given him access to water and taken him on a hundred walks. Always back under the bed to cry. he eventually goes to bed.................. usually very late.

things I'm considering -

He has a UTI. he DOES pee every time i take him out.... but he always pees every time i take him out. and he's not peeing during the day or having increased need during the day.

Leaving him outside. I'm thinking about just not talking him to bed with me and closing the bedroom door but he needs his puppy pads sometimes at night (which hes not using these nights ) and he ALWAYS whines and scratches at the door if hes locked out.


After he woke me up again i took him out and im typing this and hes just chilling on the futon.

because of my medical condition i NEED my sleep and i just cant sleep while hes whining and CLEARLY wants something. HELP!

[JoanneF]

Just a stab in the dark but is it possible that something on his last scheduled trip outside is unsettling him? Maybe wildlife, a local female dog in season, a sound he is hearing that you haven't heard or picked up as a possible trigger?

Can you change the routine by making his last scheduled trip out slightly different, for example a different direction or even 15 minutes earlier or later to possibly miss the trigger?

Also, does he know a'settle down' cue that you could use?

[JudyN]

Does he ever whine at night when not under the bed? (Not counting when he has a genuine need to pee of course.) There's a small chance that blocking off under the bed would help.

[Shalista]

Does he ever whine at night when not under the bed? (Not counting when he has a genuine need to pee of course.) There's a small chance that blocking off under the bed would help.

I would but thats literally the only way he tells me he has to pee. he's done it all his life. I'm not sure WHY (in hindsight thats a rather odd way to say he has to go out) but thats his way. and he's never whined without a cause i can easily fix. 90% of the time its cause he has to go out. 8% of the time its cause im a bad fur mom and forgot to refill his water bowl. and then theres a 2% im hungry/miscellaneous/i've already barked and gotten my treat but I'm still upset.

thats why its just such a huge "HUH?" cause he's not the type to just whine for no cause/attention and certainly not in the middle of the night. even when he didnt want to be touched as a pup he was ALWAYS down to just snooze on the bed for a bit. if you recall when he was super barky at my rents house the only way i could get some peace for the household was to take a nap cause no matter how upset he was he'd always hop up and snooze with me.

Im tempted to say this calls for a vet visit but it's not consistent either. sometimes he'll go weeks without doing this its just this week that he's done it twice in a week and even then there was a day or two separating. if it WAS something like a UTI why the break between days? wouldn't it be constant every night? and why only at night? I'm tempted to say its behavioral and not biological cause he's not doing any whining during the day. his behavior is 100% normal.

[Nettle]

I am not quite understanding - does he or does he not have a UTI?

If he does, it will hurt him to pee, and he may need to pee a lot more than normal for him

which means he will be asking to pee and wanting to pee but stopping before he has emptied his bladder because it hurts.

If of course he does not have a UTI we must look at other causes.

[Shalista]

if it WAS something like a UTI why the break between days? wouldn't it be constant every night? and why only at night? I'm tempted to say its behavioral and not biological cause he's not doing any whining during the day. his behavior is 100% normal.

guessing no to UTI

[Shalista]

in the ongoing saga-

he was sacked out on the futon sleeping so i thought it would be the perfect time for bed. went to wash up in the bathroom and he put HIMSELF to sleep on my bed. perfect. went to bed. lay wide eyed for half an hr. crap. forgot to take meds. got up to take meds. BOOM. hes awake. i decided to ignor him and see if he'd stop whining. he whined for ten min straight and i caved and took him out. he peed (of course) i brought him in and watched him after i unclipped the leash. he nosed around a bit, saw me looking at him and sat, and whined. he DEF wants something and i didnt give it to him. fine i lay down and he hops up. i give him loads of snuggles and a lil bit of play time. then he cuts off mid snuggle, hops off bed, crawls under, whines.

WHAT DOES HE WANT!?!??!?!?

EDIT: I'm not at my computer in the living room and i can STILL hear him whining in the bedroom under my bed.

[Nettle]

I think you should get that UTI checked out rather than assuming he doesn't have one. Have you ever had it? It's like peeing razor blades, and often takes several sessions of ABs to cure - you think it's stopped and it flares up again.

Once health issues have been eliminated, we can look at environment and behaviour, but we do have to eliminate health issues first.

[Shalista]

We'll see, like i said in the previous post, i find it unlikely that he only has a UTI between the hours of 6pm and 5am roughly 2 nights a week.

[Lotsaquestions]

Is there something under the bed? He might have seen a spider creep there one night and he's been trying to find it since. To get distracted mid play is very odd.

[Nettle]

We'll see, like i said in the previous post, i find it unlikely that he only has a UTI between the hours of 6pm and 5am roughly 2 nights a week.

Then you need to figure out what can happen in his/your environment roughly 2 nights a week that would upset him to this degree.

[JudyN]

What would he do if you blocked off under the bed and he needed to go out?

If it increases at this time of year it could suggest that wildlife is involved, as JoanneF suggested. If you have a window open, shutting it might help.

As you're happy to use puppy pads in the day, could you use them at night too? Anything for an easy - or rather easier - life

[Shalista]

he has access to the pads 24/7 whether he chooses to use them or not..............

im currently testing to see if he just has spring fever. took him on an extra long walk, we're staying up a few hours later, and i have a kong stuffed with peanut butter and frozen ready to go at bedtime.... of course even if this results in a quiet night that might just mean he was going to be quiet anyway... but more enrichment isnt a BAD thing regardless so there's no harm in it.

[Shalista]

Nooooope not that. Kept me up till 12 which in hindsight (no matter what it FEELS lik) is about average for him now. So the good news is that he’s prolly letting me have about five hours of sleep. The bad news is that I need about ten to function.

[Shalista]

welp i gave up. i dont know what he wants. i blocked off under my bed and he still whined. I opened the door. still whined. i did what worked soooo well for his barking and kicked him out of the room. still whined.

so i turned up my white noise machine. couldn't hear him whine. best sleep i've had all week.