Acting weird in the night...

[powergc]

Tony has been getting up in the night lately (the last few weeks) and whining to go out. He goes out, pees and poops, comes back in and climbs into bed to snuggle with me until morning (usually he will only stay in the bed for a little while, then move to the floor, but lately in the night he wants to snuggle all night).
Nothing in his diet or routine have really changed. He goes out before bed (usually 10 pm or so), used to sleep right through and go back out around 6 am. Now he comes whining around 1 or 2 am, then sometimes again around 4 or 5. His poops are fairly solid for the most part.


During the day he has been whining more than he usually does, but nothing else has changed during the day.

I am thinking about taking him into the vet, but not sure that she will be able to deduce much from this little information?

 

[boogie]

Bring him to the vet right away

Sent from my GT-P3110 using Tapatalk 2

 

[musicdeb]

He's drinking, eating and playing like normal? Whining can be a mechanism to gain attention but it can also mean there is pain. He could have pano which resolves itself after a few months. How old is he again?

 

[powergc]

Thanks, Deb. He is eating, drinking, and playing like normal.

He is 9 months.
I was wondering if it was a trick he is playing to get outside to play in the snow, as he seems to LOVE being out when there is snow on the ground. I just don't want to write it off as that if there is a real issue...

 

[musicdeb]

Is he pottying like normal? I would say since he's playing, eating, drinking and pottying like normal, it's an attention getter. At 9 months, he could be in fear stage as well.

He'll enter the teenage rather quickly. Get ready for that stage. A lot of alcohol helps... Seriously, it requires returning to the basics on training. He will test every limit known to him. Remain calm, stern and consistent in training. Do not allow the pup to feel your frustration because he will shut down on you and stop listening. Do not yell at him either, that will also cause him to shut down.

 

[powergc]

He is pottying fairly normal. He does, however, pee and poop when he goes out at 10 pm and then again at 2 am, so an extra poop and pee each night. I am not sure that he really HAS to go, or if he is just going because he is out there.

Ahh... the dreaded teenage years. I will have to stock up on the alochol lol!!

Thanks for all of the advice, Deb!

 

[musicdeb]

At 9 months, pottying every 4 hours could be normal for him if he eats a lot and drinks a lot. If he eats kibble, he's drinking a lot. Kibble also produce more waste due to the processing of the kibble.

Maybe feed him his evening meal earlier so he can do his business and then sleep through the night.

 

[musicdeb]

I forgot to mention, if a pup holds their urine too long and on a consistent basis, it can cause an UTI. Pups at the animal shelter who were surrendered and used to go outside to potty would hold it because they rarely left their cages. They usually ended up with an UTI. Very sad...

 

[DennasMom]

Denna had a few stints of the mid-night potty breaks.
We made sure to keep them very low-key and on task. Outside.Potty.Return to bed. No funny business, no play time.
In the morning, the potty breaks are followed by some play time, so those are noticeably different.

If you think it really is just an attention-getter... you can try to ignore it. Denna would go back to sleep if we ignored her for a few minutes - unless she was serious about it. Then she would just move closer to my ear to whine a little more insistently. I've gotten pretty good at 'hearing' her different cues. Even her "I must vomit" cue, which is just licking her lips a lot (as the saliva gets going in prep for vomit) - we've gotten her outside for most of her latest vomit episodes (which are due to eating something she shouldn't have the evening before).

But, if energy levels are good, pees and poops look normal... I'd say it's just a phase (attention getter and/or a real need to go out at 2am), and he'll grow out of it.

 

[powergc]

Thanks for the extra info musicdeb. I sure hope he doesn't have a UTI. I think he would seem miserable if he did though... which isn't the case most of the time.

Thanks, DennasMom. I think I will try to do what you said and get out for a pee, all business, then right back to bed. Hopefully he will grow out of it quick!

 

[BlackShadowCaneCorso]

I agree with the above, have him checked out to rule out anything but we know he is a big boy so he could be getting a touch of growing pains if he is taking a growth spurt. The teenage stage is coming, the girls seem to have moved into it but the boys are a little slower If it is for attention and you don't relent then he will likely settle back, the offset though is if he really has to go you have a wet bed if you don't pay attention. I do what DennasMom does, grab a leash so there is no playing. Out to pee and poop and straight back to bed. No stopping for water or anything on the way so that he has a reason to wake me up again at 5am.

 

[NeSaxena]

I'm more in favor of the teenage angst here... If all else is okay, it just might be attention seeking behavior.. Boone started this crap at about 8 months old, and it looks like we're just getting out of the phase... And yeah, I agree, load of alcohol works wonders!

 

[Bailey's Mom]

We've recently gone through 2 - 3 am potty calls, and when we get up with her, she first heads to her water bowl and drinks like a camel, then she'll go out and have a good pee (sometimes a poop.). She then wants a biscuit for being good and runs upstairs AND, more to the point....probably is the point...makes a play to sleep in the big bed. We gently redirect her to her baby bed. Not a happy Mastiff. But, with each refusal, we're getting fewer attempts at the bed.

Last night she was snuffling and snorting into my pillow, doing the lip smacking thing, and I got up...she went to her bed, not downstairs. So, I went back to bed. Later...snuffling, sniffing, lip smacking into my pillow and I got up again, this time the reason was obvious...her water bowl was empty. After that she made a half hearted play for the big bed, but settled down with no problem.

Well, tomorrow is payday so maybe I'll try the alcohol. How much should I give the dog? Just kidding!

Oh, by the way, I agree with Black Shadow, the growing pains suggestion fits. My girl has had a massive growth spurt and from the way she's stretching before climbing up, it's not unlikely that there's pain in the bones. Add hormones and we're walking the floors most nights.

 

[musicdeb]

How's Tony doing?

 

[powergc]

Sorry, Deb... didn't see this until now! He continuted this stunt for quite a while, but is back to normal now! I think it was an attention getting thing, as when his whining went ignored, he didn't have any accidents and settled back into his normal routine! He is now good to go out at 10 pm, then sleep until 10 am (on weekends) with no pee breaks! God love him! I'm the only dog owner in my crew who has a dog who will actually sleep in!!

 

[musicdeb]

WTG Tony! Great update!

 

[powergc]

Yes, I am happy to report he is back to being his normal perfect self!

 

[BlackShadowCaneCorso]

LOL! you are spoiled, I think I need to switch out his brother for him!

 

[powergc]

Haha... thanks for the offer, but I think I will keep Mr. Tony. I have been spoiled for too long now, can't break the habit!

 

[rcnd82]

Originally posted by NeSaxena
And yeah, I agree, load of alcohol works wonders!

Percy is now 7 months old. For the last three nights, he is whining at 2am. He goes out. Takes care of business and back to bed. I have to say. I have had goldens, rotts, mutts, yorkies, horses, cats, guinea pigs, fish, geckos and even a piglet or two. Raising these BM puppies is very close to being a full time job.

Crate train, abandon crate, read volumes, join forums, wife asks -- you're more interested in the puppy than me, is the crate big enough, move to a floor bed, don't let him on the big bed, off the couch, don't eat the furniture or my limbs, up at 6am, out for a walk or bathroom, watch too much activity until a year or so, teach them to "sniff" so they walk beside you, change direction (constantly) while on a leash so they don't pull, "sit", "stay", "down", "walk", "speak", "look", "quiet", train spouse to do everything the same way you do, careful with food, how much food, what kind of food, vitamins or not, vitamin C, flax, phosphorus, calcium, chicken allergy, raw, don't give rawhide, watch the cowtails because they'll swallow them whole, antlers break teeth, control food, don't control food, be social but not until all shots, almost a hundred pounds watch the liability, dog training classes weekly, should I go more often, buy a ramp for the car, careful of his hips, welcome home from work-- glad to see you, watch your clothes, bark, jump, bite, "gentle", spouse complains BM bites her in the butt to get attention, child claims BM jumps on him when he is laying on couch and pushes him onto the floor, Yorkie claims he picks her up and carries her around like a plush toy, happy to see you home from work now pay attention to "me", "me", "me", lets go outside, where's the leash, oh its dark scared to cross the street, let me sit and watch this car go by, oh people lets go say "hi" in the pitch dark, why are those people running away, I'm just a brindle puppy, hit the golf course off leash at night, let me run, run, run, oops that is a golf course pond didn't know it wouldn't support my weight, poo is just another golf course hazard right? now I feel good, I think I'll chase you after all it is my castle guarding instinct and you're obviously a threat, wonder if I can knock you down and outrun in a 30 yard race, go inside let's play tug of war, chase me up and down the couches, run through the hallways, work at home at night no way, let show you how the Yorkie taught me to bark, oh its the cat, he'll play with me, 2am whine, whine, whine AND NOW YOU TELL ME IT GETS WORSE AS A TEENAGER........

How much alcohol do you give the pup? ray: