# Whining during the night



## rosscopeeko (Aug 28, 2009)

Our vizsla Bella, is 7 years old. Over the last 2 years we have had two kids. Our dog Bella is now sleeping in our living room rather than her own bedroom. She has been getting up whining outside of our bedroom door 4x's per night. We have tried taking her back to bed, letting her outside, telling her to go back to bed, and ignoring her. She will whine for hours. She is wrecking my wife and i's relationship. My wife is done with her. I need help. I'm going to take Bella running today and run her until she's dead tired. I'll see if this helps. Any suggestions are welcome.


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## Canadian Expy (Feb 27, 2013)

The more info you can provide the better. A few questions I have:

Did the whining start when Bella was relocated to sleep in the living room, or was it occurring before? 

With Bella's former sleeping arrangement in her bedroom (I am assuming this is now a child's bedroom?), was your door closed as it is now, or is this a new thing with 
the arrival of your children? Was this room in closer proximity to your room than the living room is (ie. bedrooms on same level, living room further aware or on different level all together). 

Since the arrival of the kids, is Bella's routine and physical and mental stimulation the same, or has it lapsed? 

Dogs, especially Vizslas, aren't great at adjusting to significant lifestyle changes without preparing them for it. Her whining could be that she is lonely and wants to be near you. If you've had one for 7 years, you know they LOVE their people. If so, I would relocate her bed/blanket, etc to your bedroom and see if that makes a difference. 

If she isn't getting the attention and physical/mental stimulation she was previously used to, she could be bored and is crying out for attention. It could be the two combined. 

Any other info you can provide will be helpful.


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## organicthoughts (Oct 9, 2012)

As Canadian Expy says more info is needed.... but you could try having her sleep in a crate in your bedroom. That way she would be close to you so that she won't feel the need to whine and you can get a good nights sleep.


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

I agree the all the above.

Too many changes, not enough prep. The solution here might be to let her in your room and be with you, she seems overwhelmed by being displaced from her space and perhaps by the two kids as well. I think at this point, you're doing damage control and not really working on adjustment.

Hopefully, she slept on her own bed in her room..or her crate..if so, bring those in. Otherwise, is there a problem letting her sleep in the bed with you?


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## emilycn (Jul 30, 2013)

I think those are all great possibilities. I've got a few other ideas:

--something hurts her that she's distracted from in the daytime or she gets a bellyache at night.

--there are weird sounds in the living room overnight that keep her up, and when she's awake she misses you guys. you could try something playing something soothing and strange-noise-disguising overnight. 

--she's otherwise uncomfortable. 

You could try playing some music or radio, getting a check-up to rule out physical health, and making sure there's a warm comfy place to lay. You could try leaving a kong or other entertaining toy out overnight so she's got something to do when she wakes up at night. If she doesn't sleep in a crate, you could try that---some dogs prefer sleeping in there as opposed to out in the open.

The way I see it, you've got two problems: One is that something is waking her up repeatedly overnight, and two is that when she's awake, she's having trouble self-soothing, if you will, and that's causing her to seek out your company.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Just a guess, but I believe its because of the sleeping arrangements have changed. 
You can try more mental, and physical exercise, so that maybe she will sleep sounder.
But keep in mind that when she is woken during the night, she may still want to come to you. 
Mine would be at my bedroom door whining, if they weren't crated. I know this for a fact, because if I forget to close a crate they will come to my door.
How would she do, if she got to sleep in a bedroom with one of the kids?


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## rosscopeeko (Aug 28, 2009)

Here's more info-

Bella slept in a bedroom on the spare bed. She has always had a bed that used to be in the bedroom where she slept. She has never been a great sleeper at night. She always wants to go outside to eat snow, her poo, or go pee. It's way worse now though, to the point that on most nights my wife gets no sleep. I can sleep through it until she gets really loud. My wife is always dead tired. Bella is healthy other than bad allergies. She scratches a lot. Of course she doesn't get the attention she got once the kids came along. I took her to the park and threw the ball for her. I'll see how this does. I work nights a couple times a week. I'll be back in the morning and I'll get the report from my wife.


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## emilycn (Jul 30, 2013)

also, earplugs. It won't solve the problem, but it should help you get some sleep.


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

Surely if she doesn't feel well it will interfere with her sleep, and if she's uncomfortable, she'll seek you out for comfort. This, now, in addition to the other issues (moving her room, the kids). This is looking very complicated.

You've got a vet involved for both the allergies and her scratching? Does she know about the extent of the scratching? It seems easier to medicate for that, so at least you can eliminate one stress here.

If she's used to both her own room AND her own human bed, then the loss of both is pretty significant. I'd like to hear what others think, but unless you can move that bed into another room for her, it might be best to just let her in your bed. Exercise and extra play time are always good ideas, but their absence isn't the cause of the problems, so the goal should be the awareness of, and elimination of the true stressors... I personally would go for immediate relief, especially if your wife is at her wits end. Let her in the bed with you and see how that plays out. And call the vet about the scratching.


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## rosscopeeko (Aug 28, 2009)

My wife says she can't wear earplugs and there's no way she will let Bella in our room because of her nawing and scratching. The vet is aware of the allergies and has her on a very mild dose of steroids. Her quality of life was terrible without the meds. Bella also has been getting into our bathroom garbage at night. We believe she does this in protest. Tonight her bed will be outside of our room in the hallway. Once my oldest daughter is a little over 2, we will put Bella's bed in her room. Thx for all the suggestions


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

> and there's no way she will let Bella in our room because of her nawing and scratching.


You answered your own question, on why she is up at all hours of the night. 
You might look into having her allergy tested, to see just whats causing the problem.
If its food related, you can cut it from her diet.
I would definitely look into a trying different allergy meds. Steroids alone aren't going to cut it.
If she is not on another allergy med, try benadryl before bedtime. It might cut down on the itching.


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

Where are you when all this is going on at night?


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## rosscopeeko (Aug 28, 2009)

I work nights a couple times a week as mentioned. We've had Bella since she was a pup and have had her at the vet numerous times for allergy related issues. She has food as well as environmental allergies. The vet has told me this isn't 100% curable without a lot of testing, and may not work. This isn't our issue right now. Bella never used to get up like this. Last night with her bed in the hallway outside the bedrooms, she wined just the same. Tried exercising her hard yesterday and didn't seem to help her nighttime whining. We'll see how tonight goes. I'm on days off.


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## emilycn (Jul 30, 2013)

Try the benedryl tonight. If it doesn't ease her itching, it should at least knock her out for a few hours. Plus, if it helps, you can kind of suspect that the itching is waking her up and making her whine for you guys. 

Also, what if you put her bed or crate in your room? I would give it a try at least once... if it doesn't work, it's not like you'd be sleeping anyway. 

At this point, we've all made some suggestions. What's your take on the situation now after consulting the group? Do you have new questions, or have we given you the information you're looking for?


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

The reason I asked where you were is to determine if she does this when you're home, to try to determine your role in this, if part of what she's experiencing is your absence.

I agree with Emily that we've all made some good suggestions, yet they seem unacceptable to you. I'd ask at this point what would be helpful for you, what type of suggestion are you looking for and perhaps what type are you willing to try?

In order to make this work, you and your wife might need to re evaluate the potential solutions that you've ruled out and give them a try. It might be easier to let her in your bedroom and then work with her to stop the behaviors you find objectionable, rather than leave her in the hallway howling all night. If these things are unacceptable to you, then you should consider Vizsla rescue and have her re homed.

Also, as I've said previously, giving her extra exercise won't resolve this issue b/c your intervention has nothing to do with the cause of the problem, and her being physically relaxed, although a good thing, doesn't prevent her from being emotionally stressed out.


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

A few other ideas for you...

Try putting whatever cover that was on the bed where she used to sleep on the doggie bed she currently has. The familiar textures and smells may help her settle. 

Savannah is 5 this year and has felt the cold more than in past years. Once I (finally) put an extra cover over her when it was time for night-night, she settled faster.

And finally, I'd recommend you look over the thread of puppy nighttime suggestions and see if any apply to the new sleeping location. Is Bella cold? Is the doggie bed made from polyester so it generates static and shocks her when she moves at night? Is the furnace loud enough in the new room that it might be startling her awake? Does the room have a window overlooking a street so headlights wake her up?

Hope you find something that works soon!


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## rosscopeeko (Aug 28, 2009)

I don't want all of you to think I don't appreciate your suggestions, because I do. Giving up our dog is not an option. We've tried Benadryl and it doesn't work for Bella. Her bed is a costco polyester type bed with 2 blankets. We cover her every night. I've been working on my wife to wear earplugs. She is a lite sleeper to start with and will not have Bella in our room because she thinks she will keep her awake. Once my oldest daughter is close to 3, we plan on letting Bella sleep with her. Bella is part of the family, but is making us all tired. Hopefully we'll figure it out. Thx again for your suggestions.


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## gingerling (Jun 20, 2015)

Not to beat the horse here, but for this to work, you might need to re evaluate some of the things you've already dismissed, you've fairly painted yourself into a corner. And speaking for Bella here, waiting until your child is 3 seems unfair to Bella. To say nothing of your wife. It sounds to me as if your wife's stubbornness is the result of feeling very challenged by her. Bella isn't doing this "on purpose", she's distressed. If your kids were distressed, they'd whine if they couldn't get to you too.

I'd try letting her in the room to sleep and see what happens. I really think it might be easier to address some of the anticipated problems than to come up with some other type of fix. And, if it doesn't work out, you can always reverse the decision. But it might actually work.


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## organicthoughts (Oct 9, 2012)

Gingerling said:


> Not to beat the horse here, but for this to work, you might need to re evaluate some of the things you've already dismissed, you've fairly painted yourself into a corner. And speaking for Bella here, waiting until your child is 3 seems unfair to Bella. To say nothing of your wife. It sounds to me as if your wife's stubbornness is the result of feeling very challenged by her. Bella isn't doing this "on purpose", she's distressed. If your kids were distressed, they'd whine if they couldn't get to you too.
> 
> I'd try letting her in the room to sleep and see what happens. I really think it might be easier to address some of the anticipated problems than to come up with some other type of fix. And, if it doesn't work out, you can always reverse the decision. But it might actually work.


I agree with Gingerling... Your dog is telling you her needs aren't being met.... You guys want a resolution for your sanity, but that's never going to happen if you don't find balance in your household. To do that, you will need to commit more time to Bella's exercise needs, health care needs, and need to be part of the pack.


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