Unsettled Dog At Night

[jillybean]

My 4 year old beagle has always slept in a crate indoors, ever since she was a puppy. I usually lead her into her crate just before I go to bed, and she settles down for the night. In the past week she's been barking a lot as soon as I put her in there, or falling asleep for a short time and then waking up and barking a lot. It's never been like this before, and now she's barked every single night for the past week and it's driving me insane!! It's a loud agitated bark, like she wants to get out, and it doesn't stop no matter how much I yell at her, or try to ignore her. In the end I've been letting her out, and she's been sleeping on the floor of the lounge room on another mat - I don't mind her doing that, but I don't understand why all of a sudden sleeping in her crate has become an issue! I've checked out the room thoroughly, I've moved the crate around and flicked out the bedding to make sure there wasn't anything hiding, can't find a thing! Over the weekend I made sure she got plenty of exercise at the dog park to try to tire her out, yet she still wouldn't settle in her crate.

Any ideas or suggestions? I suppose it's okay to let her sleep in the lounge room but I'm still puzzled as to why the crate is suddenly such a scary place!

[dandybrush]

sorry i cant help with this

i just wanted to say that now you have rewarded the behaviour ie letting her out for barking she will continue to do it.

i really have no idea why she doesnt want to be in there. maybe you trained her to bark to be let out by accident and she has just escalated to bark heaps until she gets what she wants

[greytpets]

She could have got a fright while in there one night. It might not have been something you were aware of but it caused her fear that she could not escape so now she doesn't like the crate. If she is fine just sleeping in the lounge I'd leave her there. You could leave the door of the crate open & after a while she might return to it if she knows she can leave anytime she wants.

[Dame Aussie]

I don't know really sorry, but I would also be inclined to let her sleep where she is happy. How strange?!

It could be as greytpets said and she got a fright in there at some stage.

[Whippetsmum]

If it's happening at the same time each night it could be something like an appliance noise/ hot water service clicking in, or mice/possums in the roof.Bats were a poblem for us, the sound would wake the dogs.

Maybe your neighbout get up and flush in the night? Your dog would know :laugh:

If it's early morning, 4 or 5 am, it can be that things start to suddenly cool down at that time and the dog might be a bit cold.