Veterinary behaviourist Dr Elsa Flint, of Animals with Attitude, has advice for a sleep-deprived puppy owner.
Q: Our family recently adopted a 4-month-old labradoodle. She is crate-trained and well-behaved on her daily walks, but she barks intermittently throughout the night. She then spends the morning sleeping under the couch. As
A: Your puppy is clearly not comfortable shut in her crate and is becoming distressed when this happens. Her preferred sleeping area is under the sofa, so why not go with that for now?
Purchase a pen that can be used to pen off an area around the sofa so that you have some restriction, preventing her from wandering to other areas and toileting there. This will also ensure that she does not chew cushions or anything else that could be at risk in the lounge.
Take her out as usual late at night for her toilet stop but set her up in the lounge as described. If you want to encourage her to be happy using the spare room and crate as an overnight area and possibly when you go out, you need to make it a very positive place to be, not a place of isolation and confinement.
Have a comfortable bed set up in the crate and leave the door open. Purchase Adaptil spray and spray the bedding with this daily, or get her an Adaptil collar. Purchase a snuggle-safe brick and use this under the bedding to make it warm and inviting. Provide a large stuffed toy for her to snuggle into.
After her morning walks, play with her in the spare room and encourage her to follow treats into the crate. Do not shut her into the crate or the room at this point. Play music in the room.
If you are home during the day, randomly provide treats in the crate throughout the day. Spend some time working in the spare room while she plays or rests in her open crate. Once she is happily spending time in the spare room and open crate during the day and in the evenings, you can try leaving her for short periods in that zone.
Use a baby gate on the door so she does not feel shut away and isolated. Start by leaving her with a chew or a Kong in her open crate with the radio on while you spend 10 minutes out of sight.
Gradually increase the time away by 10 minutes daily until she can rest or play in the spare room happily for two hours. Now you can try making this her overnight/safe zone. There is no need for her to be shut in a crate — room confinement should be safe enough. If there are concerns with chewing, set up a pen system around the open crate.
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Advertise with NZME.It may take several weeks for her to become comfortable in the spare room because she has been locked in the crate and become distressed, so the area currently has negative associations.
If she still gets upset being in that room overnight, you may need some anti-anxiety medication to help her settle and transition.
How to deal with pets vocalising at night
Puppies
Puppies prefer company to isolation and the adoption process is potentially very stressful for them.
New puppies do better with Adaptil collars which release a soothing pheromone at a constant rate. (This mimics the pheromone bitches produce when they have puppies and helps the puppies to feel relaxed secure and confident). Having a large stuffed toy to cuddle is helpful and warmth is important.
Some puppies settle into their own sleeping area very quickly but others find this difficult. If puppies are barking and crying overnight, it is not appropriate to let them bark it out. They are distressed so this is unfair. A small amount of whining or one or two barks of protest can be ignored but a puppy that is vocalising for one to two hours is very distressed.
It may help to have the crate or sleeping zone in someone’s bedroom initially until the puppy settles in and you have time to make a separate area a positive zone.
Young adult dogs
Young adult dogs may start barking at night in response to other dogs barking that are new to the area, in response to unfamiliar environmental noises, hedgehogs, cats outside, storms and many other triggers.
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Advertise with NZME.Try to discover what exactly the trigger is and see if you can minimise exposure by having the dog sleep in an area that is more sound-proof or with you so you can instruct and redirect. Make sure your dog has been well exercised in the evening so it is tired and so less motivated to react.
If your dog is sleeping inside routinely but starts barking to go out late at night, make sure there is no underlying health issue such as a urinary tract infection causing urgency or a tummy upset.
Elderly dogs
Older dogs may be unsettled and pace due to arthritis. They can also suffer a form of dementia which may cause them to bark to go out and then stand barking for no apparent reason or to stand in a corner inside and bark. If your old dog is restless at night, a veterinary check is necessary and then appropriate treatment can be given.
Young cats
Younger cats may vocalise if they are kept in at night but wish to go out to sort out an intruder or to hunt. If this is disturbing, consult a behaviourist for a management/modification plan.
Elderly cats
Elderly cats may vocalise at night due to ill health such as hyperthyroidism, diabetes, discomfort due to arthritis, or FCD (a form of feline dementia). If your elderly cat is crying at night, take it to your vet for a complete health check.
Dr Elsa Flint (MSc, BVSc, MANCVS, PhD) is a veterinarian who runs Animals with Attitude behaviour clinic, which takes referral cases from the Auckland area and beyond. Problem behaviours that she commonly deals with in dogs include aggression (both human and dog-directed) obsessive-compulsive disorder, separation anxiety and excessive barking. In cats, common problems include inappropriate urination, owner-directed aggression, inter-cat aggression, obsessive-compulsive disorders and destructive behaviours.
