# waking up at night/Peeing indoor/hiding in the closet



## DeftonyVizla (Aug 24, 2011)

Hello fellow vizla owners,
this is only my 2nd post since i joined so thankfully i haven't had many issues with my vizsla although i must say shes quite a handful.
i was hoping to get some feedback on some strange behaviour problem she started displaying... 

recently for the past week molly (2.5 years old) has started to wake up in the middle of the night around 2-3AM and she just starts walking around going in circles from our bedroom to the living room and back sometimes panting sometimes not, she sleeps with us in our bed so obviously she wakes us up and since we have hardwood floors her steps are quite noticeable. I want to point out that this behavior seemed to have started here and there the past month when we had strong storms in our area, she would wake up from under the covers and run into the closet, when the storms stopped she got over it for a few weeks but all of a sudden she started doing what i described, the past 3 days she has even started peeing in the living room which is weird because she had never done that! we take her out around 10 PM so she eliminates before bedtime. my wife seems to think the fact shes not spayed has something to do with it :-\ not sure if this is it. 

I also like to point out that im stil attending school, this semester since beginning of february for the first time since we got her my class schedule changed so that sometimes i can't make it home for lunch so she stays with my other dog (yorkie) alone for about 6-8 hours about twice per week, i have noticed that since she hides more in the closet, before this semester and the past 2 years i would leave them alone about 4 hours and would take long lunches at home, she would do great no destruction or hiding, not sure what is going on...the past week my wife and i have gotten a good 2-3 hours of sleep everyday...we need some help...and some sleep :-[


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I think there are two thing here. Firstly, I am very sure that Molly's problems have nothing to do with the fact that she is not spayed. It sounds to me like the day time problem is because she is getting stressed when she is left for such a long period of time. I personally think 6-8 hrs is far too long to leave a vizsla - you are asking for trouble, and I am sure this is probably causing her some stress. So is there any chance of you having a dog walker or friend come in and let her out, exercise her or spend some time with her.

You mentioned that the night time problems started after some severe storms you had. You didn't say whether this is a regular occurrence or a one off. Is she nervous when you have thunder storms or she hears gun fire. If this is the case you might try getting her a thunder jacket. These work wonders for nervous dogs. Do a Google search on Thunder jackets and have a read. Did the behaviour restart when you started leaving her for a long day? Is she getting enough exercise during the day? 

Now provide your dog doesn't have a medical reason for this behaviour I would try and break the behaviour pattern by getting an D.A.P / Adaptil diffuser. This is pheromone based product which really calms dogs down. Several forum members have had great success using Adaptil. You can usually get Adaptil from your vet or online and on ebay. 

Good Luck and I hope you get some sleep soon.


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## WillowyndRanch (Apr 3, 2012)

Not sure of the why's but here's my thoughts.

A. Make certain she doesn't have a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI). It's worth a trip to the vet to get a checkup as that or some other medical condition can manifest as increase urination.

B. Use a crate. Dog sleeps in a nice cozy bed of their own, in their own crate. If the dog is running to hide in the closet, they will love a good Hardsided crate they can call their own. Dog has a security place, Dog can't roam at night, you get sleep.

C. Intact has nothing to do with it, in fact the incidence of urinary incontinence in females is much more likely in Spayed females than intact.

Ken


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## DeftonyVizla (Aug 24, 2011)

thank you both for your responses, great ideas from both posts. As I was writing the initial post i was thinking to myself I might of answered my own question, so I called my young nephew and he's agreed to become our dog walker and pet companion, hopefully that relieves some of her stress/nervousness...I live in so cal so hopefully rain is gone for the year, I'm not sure why she became scared but even without thunder just the sound of rain scares her and she rather be in a dark closet even though she has a comfy covered crate. Thanks hotmischief I will definitely be buying her the thunder jacket i was a little skeptical about those things working but I am willing to try them...as far as exercise we take her to the dog park everyday at least 45 minutes, she loves to chase the ball so its constant running back and forth. up until daylight savings time a week ago I was waking up and going for a 30 minute run before work( I just need to catch up on my sleep one day and i will start waking up early again) i will take her to the vet and hopefully everything checks out OK as far as UTI and then definitely try Adaptil diffuser...the vet visit was coming up she seems to not be gaining weight and she eats 2/3 large bowl of dry food :-\


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## stryker (Dec 9, 2012)

Try a storm coat my friend uses one and it has worked wonders. I myself recamend a radio to drown out the sound of thunder it helps a lot 

good luck


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## DeftonyVizla (Aug 24, 2011)

So i was hoping last night would be different, i had her walk midday and i went for a 45 minute run last night, she seemed tired and like she was going to finally let us sleep...nope I was wrong she woke up again at 2AM did her usual circling between room and living room, i finally put her in her crate, she sleep for about an hour and then started whining and hitting the crate door to get out, i tought maybe she needed to go so i took her for a 10 minute walk at 3 in the morning, put her back in her crate and same she wasn't having it, after about 45 minutes of her whining i took her out and went to sleep in the couch with her at my feet, that only lasted about 30 minutes she then started her latest rutine. I think the whole crate would of worked maybe if i had earpluggs which im getting tonight thats for sure. finally i gave up around 4 in the morning i just put her in her crate in the living room, shussing her every so often so she wouldn't wake up my wife, turned on the light and waited til 6:30 so we could go for a run...i thought i was going to be ok but i am beat... :-[ not sure how long i can last doing this.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

If she hasn't used the crate at night for awhile, it may take a few nights for her to readjust.


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## BlueandMac (Apr 21, 2011)

If it isn't health related then it sounds like something has her freaked out. Since it seems to have started around the time of storms, could it be that car lights coming into your house at night are making her "re-live" the storms? Since she wants to go into the closet, seems like she is looking for a darker place than her covered crate allows. Did she settle down with the light on? If it is always happening around 2am is it possible that something in the house "comes on" at that time - furnace, for example - or some other noise (neighbor coming home for 2nd shift, etc) that might wake her up and then she notices lights and shadows? Just throwing some ideas out...definitley frustrating for you all but since it started all of a sudden, there has to be a trigger. Hope you find it soon!


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

Hope your vet check ruled out health problems!

And while this may not be the popular suggestion... If she is always waking up around 2am, you could try setting your alarm for 1:50am. Get up, gently wake her up, take her outside, then put her back to bed. That way you are controlling the circumstances of getting up and changing what sounds like a routine she has now established. You'll also be able to see if something like the furnace or the neighbor is disturbing her.

With that said, I liked BlueandMac's suggestion about her seeking someplace darker. Maybe try covering her crate with a thicker blanket and like TexasRed suggested let her get acclimated to the crate again. You might also try some soft white noise like talk radio or classical music if it won't disturb your sleep.

Good luck!


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## DeftonyVizla (Aug 24, 2011)

Just to follow up and anyone wondering what happened, things are back to normal. i started waking up early again and going for her usual 30 minute runs, then taking long lunches- (which included taking her do the dog park for about 20-25 mins) then my nephew would come a few hours later and walk her again, then the dog park at night for at least 45mins... - might seem like a lot but like someone mentioned here its all about breaking the habit she had picked up...it only took 2 days - i would sleep in the living room with her at my feet then around 12:30 or 1 when she would wake up i would walk her to her crate at first she would whine a little but a combination of earplugs and shussing her when i could hear her finally helped and she would eventually quiet down and stay in her kennel until 6:30 when it was time for her run, the second day same process but she was better, the third day I went back to sleeping in our bed she was on our feet and i was expecting her to wake up but she must of been really tired cause she slept through the whole night...and she has been since...i'm going to start crating her more i just want to catch up on my sleep i lost last week


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## DeftonyVizla (Aug 24, 2011)

oh and she doesn't go into the close as much, and she doesn't pee inside, i think she was just under alot of stress being by herself, but I do have her vets appointment in a couple days.


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