Dog getting family up in the night

Good advice from Anja. Poodle crosses are bright and those crossed with cocker or cavalier spaniels can, in my experience, be a bit highly strung, prone to separation anxiety.
The owner needs to take the dog to the vet, get a health check and proper advice on the best way of helping her dog.

Take the poor beast to the vet, but I will lay odds the vet says this is separation anxiety.

Honestly, the cheapest and quickest solution is to squeeze a cheap dog bed into their bedroom and let the poor canine sleep there.

All my dogs have slept with me so no separation anxiety and a beautiful loving bond.

My friend with a new dog (about 18 months old) initially was determined it sleep downstairs. Eventually they gave in, and it sleeps outside their bedroom door on a small landing, in a bed.

It is happy as it knows they are very near. and they all sleep well now.The poor dog is really upset.

My staffie is 12 and was crated trained as a puppy by his previous owners, they had a young child and staffie puppies are very boisterous in fact he still is. So he was crated trained 12 years ago. I had a Boxer back in the '80's he was 13 when he died and was crate trained as a pup too. So crates have been around a lot longer than you think.
Actually the OP said the dog was quite happy in the crate until she had a phantom pregnancy. Whether the two are related or coincidence we don't know.One size doesn't fit all which is why 2 of my Pugs sleep on my bed. My Staffie does have a memory foam dog bed he just prefers the crate. So you're anti crate, you're not alone but that doesn't mean your way is the only way. I've offered suggestions it's up to the owner to decide what they want to do.

But that’s because you have trained him to do that ...how did anyone ever manage before this crating idea came about I ve never ever heard of it till the last few years Your dog has been trained to love it the dog in this story obviously doesn’t love it and the owner is in tears of tiredness so what’s the easiest resolution, forget the crate and let the dog be part of the family Dogs s are family members they need to feel secure just because your dog loves to be on his own in an indoor kennel doesn’t mean all dogs will like that I m sure not one size fits all
What’s wrong with a dog bed being it’s den why does it need to be shut in ...I d cry if someone put me in a cage
We spent lots of care in trying to sget wild animals kept out of cages in zoos etc because of fear, boredom, isolation and then approve them on a smaller scale for houses, makes no sense to me

Crates replicate a den for the dog and if used properly dogs take to them very well. My Staffie would not be happy if his crate was removed. He frequently takes himself off for a bit of peace and quiet and if I can't find him he'll be laying on his back legs in the air in his crate.

It's my understanding that they are companion dogs and therefore suffer terribly from separation anxiety.

No one ever used to crate a dog in my day if a dog is part of the family why would you not let it be part of the family at night time too I don’t understand this crating business is it a modern phenomena you wouldn’t put your husband or kids in a cage at night ...or would you

Your Daughter could try leaving the crate door open and put a baby gate across the kitchen door opening and that way the door shouldn't get chewed, some dogs really hate not being able to see out of the room they are in. Also try one of those plug ins for anxious dogs Adaptil I think they're called.

There is always a solution. My dog is attached to me, but if he sleeps on my bed, his constant moving about disturbs me. So I put a bed on the landing and I have a folding piece of garden trellis which I stretch across my open bedroom door at night. He can smell me and is happy to sleep on the landing. But I’d I shut the door, he would cry to get to me. Your daughters dog is trying to get out of the crate, trying to get out of the kitchen. Try putting the crate on the landing with the bedroom door open. See what happens.

Cavaliers are definitely people dogs and adore company.

I have to say I really dislike this new fad of creating designer dogs, you take two perfectly good breeds and inevitably get the worst of both . Just my opinion of course.

She plainly has got out of the habit of being caged at her home so maybe it’s time to start from scratch and show her the cage is a place where good things happen not that she gets locked up and left alone. Maybe start by leaving the door open and when she goes in , either on command or by default, don’t shut the door but lots of praise and a treat or toy that she doesn’t get at any other time.

If her Cavalier genes are dominant she’ ll be food motivated so that will help.

I don’t think it will be a quick fix but moving on from there , short periods in the cage with the door closed but always lots of praise and that special toy or treat.

Good luck with it - no sleep is the worst thing !!

"Cavapoo"...[GRIN].

Just wanted to add, that any of our previous dogs always happily slept downstairs when they stayed with a carer if we went away (sadly we don't have a dog any more)

We have always let our dogs sleep in our bedroom - not for everyone I know - we've never had a puppy as all the dogs we had were rescues between 2 & 5 years old. I think nightime is a bit scary for them, we found because they slept with us at night they didn't seem to mind being left for periods during the day

"Poodles are good family dogs — fun, energetic, smart and easy to train. They do best with plenty of exercise for both mind and body and prefer to be with people most of the time. They are not good kennel dogs."

Cavapoo - ? cavalier spaniel/poodle cross?
Poodles have boundless energy, need lots of human contact. Don't know about spaniels.

Maybe your daughter needs to relax a bit more around the dog, her anxiety is transmitting to him and they are both unsettled. I assume the dog is house trained so why not leave him to find his own space at bed time. You could close the door to any room you didn't want him to go in. What happens when he stays with you ? Could your daughter replicate that.

Radio on low maybe leave a low light on She’s obviously scared and unsettled. Perhaps the medicine doesn’t suit her

Thank you all for your replies. In answer to some of the things raised by them:- she is a Cavapoo. She has always slept in crate from word go apart from the break when she was poorly. She sleeps in it in our house. She is exercised, fed, watered and given loads of love and play. It is a very small house with limited space but she has been tried in kitchen, living room and conservatory. Upstairs is really rather tight even for a dog bed. Recently she has been given some calming herbal medication which she doesn’t like. Fingers crossed it is a phase. I will pass your advice on.

18 months is still very young. Perhaps he/she misses the children and wants to play with them during the night.
And I agree with grandetante - the breed is important. Memories of the last days of our border collie when all she wanted to do at night in her old age was sit outside and bark for hours on end. Protecting our house.

Has your daughter tried putting a jumper of hers in with the dog so she has a familiar smell?

If a dog cried I d think it was upset and bring it into my room just the same as I would do with a child I m too lazy to be insisting it sleeps where it’s unhappy I know some people use crates but I think it must be awful to be shut in andnot have the understanding to know it will be opened in the morning

How strange that the dog is fine when she's with you, where does she sleep? My dog sleeps in my bed and I don't hear a peep out of him all night....Could DD get a dog bed and put the dog in her bedroom and she if that helps? Poor thing might just have separation anxiety as someone has suggested.

Sorry, another thought: what breed is she? We had a collie who absolutely refused to sleep indoors after he was three months old. He was delighted when we repaired an old dog kennel in the garden and usually slept outside it, only inside in really bad weather, or when the cat joined him in it. In really cold or stormy weather he would consent to sleep in the coldest room in the house, but would really have preferred us to leave him outside.

Many breeds that traditionally have been sheep-dogs, trained to hunt or used as guard-dogs do find our houses too warm.