The problem first started on Saturday evening where there were typically LOADS of fireworks flying around (despite the fact it wasn’t bonfire night).
We put Harry to bed around 11pm as he was shattered (a rarity in itself) but no sooner had we got upstairs and into bed ourselves, he was howling.
Fair enough, maybe he needed another wee, so I let him out and eventually put him back to bed, but again no sooner had my head hit my own pillow – Harry was off again.
A walk around the block, two or three more let outs later and it was still the same – so for the first time since the first couple of nights we had him, I caved in and Harry came upstairs and slept in our room. Did he make a sound? No he slept like a baby.
As I say, we did put it down to fireworks but on Sunday there were none and it was a repeat performance, although to be fair – the first time he barked he did need a wee as he hadn’t been out.
He settled down for about twenty minutes but again would not stop barking until he was allowed upstairs – and yes once again he slept like a dream.
Last night was a similar story, barking about twenty minutes or so after being put to bed. Yet I’m starting to think that it has nothing to do at all with fireworks, as he’s not really that phased by them – last night was the busiest night for fireworks and he slept all the way through.
Having Harry upstairs with us isn’t really a problem for me, but Em says she gets sore eyes and a sore throat in a morning which could be allergies. To be fair, the first few nights he was up here when he came into our lives I was the same – I also believe that a Dog should have their own, separate, sleeping space so that when they’re older they can cope with being left alone.
I’ve therefore read a few online forums and advice pages as well as buying and reading a Dog’s magazine “Dog’s Life”. One main theme about my recurring night terror is the fact that, like babies, puppies will cry and howl when they want attention – what you shouldn’t do is consistently go to them and give attention, after the first “let out for a wee” time anyway.
Now I’ll be honest, I’m extremely guilty of not being able to ignore Harry’s cries. I worry that he’ll wake up others and make the other dogs upset or that he’ll mess in his cage, and that’s NOT what I want to see first thing in a morning!! So yes, I’d much rather give in and bring him upstairs to us.
Fortunately other people on the forums that I’ve found have done the same, so I don’t feel as guilty about what could potentially mess up his development – yet I do know that it can’t continue for much longer, both for Harry’s development, Em’s potential health and also my sanity!
Our room is quite a busy place with stuff and even though Harry has his own bed up here, he doesn’t lie still in it, he likes to wonder and has a few spots. My worry if he remains inside all night with us is that he’ll find something to chew (like clothes/ paperwork etc) or worse, have a toilet based accident. This means that for the last three nights, I’ve only had pockets of sleep as everything I hear Harry move, I shoot up watching him!
To be fair, I shouldn’t have too much fear about the toilet thing as he is good as gold inside – he’ll bark at the door when he wants to go out, but having no formal training just leaves that ounce of doubt in my mind.
What I needed was a solution to my sanity problem, so this morning I have rigorously tidied up our room removing anything that he might take a chewing fancy too and putting clothes etc out of his reach.
I know that’s giving in too and so read more about the issue, basically I googled “My border collie puppy won’t settle at night, what can I do” and went from there. Personally it’s each to their own on advice, but I’m more than happy to try and follow a few of the tips and techniques that people have shared.
The first is food and water. Harry currently can access food and water whenever he wants, both in and out of his cage. Some owners say that this can act as a distraction for your dog, they wake up in the middle of the night and smell food so they eat it and have a drink afterwards, meaning that sooner rather than later they’ll need the toilet. The advice is to remove it and also to take away food and water bowls from the dogs immediate surroundings at least two hours before you would put them to bed, this is said to help settle a dogs digestive system and can lead to a better night’s sleep. I’ve already removed the bowls from his cage and tonight, will ensure I remove his other bowls around 9pm as he usually goes to bed around 11pm.
One person had used a hot water bottle (filled with warm tap water and NOT BOILING water) and cuddled it to replicate both the scent of them and the body-warmth. I would try the same thing, but knowing Harry he’d just chew it!
The third and final tip is common sense really, play time. A well exercised dog is a tired dog and so owners should take the time to tire out their pups just before bed. We do and we don’t do this. We do in the sense that he has a run around the living room chasing his ball around 9.30pm whilst one of us puts the kettle to work, but we don’t do it right before bed – simply because Harry flops and goes to sleep whilst we’re watching TV. Tonight though, he will be having a short run before bed – just to see what happens.
I’ll let you know what happens next week, and if his barking at night continues, I’ll put a camera in place to see if there’s anything I’m missing.
Talking of cameras, I STILL haven’t received his collar camera which I ordered ages a go. It has however been shipped from abroad (ALWAYS check where the seller is based kids!) and should arrive on November 14th, So I’m looking forward to seeing life through Harrys eyes.I did conduct an experiment a week or so ago with a hidden camera in the mail catcher downstairs, I have uploaded the clips to YouTube but keep forgetting to put them in here – so as a little extra, have a little look at what Harry get’s up to below!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE96fm7Cyiw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWdUS-msY8E
That’s about it for this week, although before I go I just want to encourage you to share your stories and tips if you are dog owners as I’m thinking of doing a YouTube Vlog in addition to this – I like video editing etc but never really have an excuse to film anything so help me out.
One thing I haven’t really done is share this blog too much other than on Facebook, Twitter and occasionally Instagram. It’s been getting a nice number of views but I’d love it to get a few more and get some feedback from dog owners, so if you know anyone please share the link and/or don’t be afraid to leave me a comment. I’ve also posted (well I’m going post once it’s done – ah blogging perspective kills my brain) the link in some puppy/ dog forums so if you are reading from there, hello and thank you!
Other than not leaving his cage open, is there anything I can do to make him understand that his cage is his bed and that he shouldn’t destroy it on the garden? Please help!
Thanks again for reading, and if you have done, leaving feedback - a new blog will be posted here next Tuesday!
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