Our Experiment Failed

[Stressmagnet]

So some of you may know that I'd decided that since Ernie my Labrador had reached the big boy age of 1 year old, I thought it might be time to start leaving the door to his bedroom crate open at night. I'd really like him to have the run of the place at night - makes the girls and I feel safer knowing there's a dog able to sniff out intruders. (Yes I knows he's a lab so his guard dog capabilities are NIL but I'm not necessarily rational.)

The first two nights were great. While the door was open, he stayed curled up quietly and was overjoyed to be able to come out like a big boy and join us all in the preschool hubbub without having to wait to be let out (usually after my coffee). The last 2 nights? Not so good. He'woke me up at 2am, 4am and 5am Sunday night. I took him out for a pee the first time - which he did - but that wasn't really why he woke me up. He's wanting attention and cuddles. The same thing last night (Monday) only I didn't take him out, just calmly put him back to bed with no interaction. Each time he went back into his crate without complaint but a cold wet nose and warm tongue woke me up an hour later.

Folks, I'm exhausted. The chemo wears me out at the best of times, but add 28kgs of wiggle bum into my night and yesterday after his walk I 'napped' for 6.5 hours. I love my boy but he cannot keep doing this or I'll be a wreck.

So question:

How did you transition your dogs from a locked crate to a crate that is merely a bedtime area? And how long did it take? his crate is lovely and comfy (it's been tested by my 12 year old) so it's not that he's cold or not comfy. He just wants attention and loving - and I'm not too loving at 3am. Sleeping in my bed is not an option - I'm in a lot of pain and can't do the extra weight of my boofa on top of me.

Look forward to hearing how you all did it.

(Note: ok. If he would stay at the foot of the bed and not try to physically lie ON me, I'd consider letting him up on the bed - but Ernie is a snuggly boy and don't think that is in his nature)

[Glen]

Why not let him sleep with the 12 year old boy. That is a great age for a kid to have a dog. And he is certainly old enough to do the toilet duty at night if it becomes necessary. And, don't write off a Labrador's guarding abilities. They have a big, big bark and the intruder doesn't know the great hulk thundering towards them just wants a pat. We are on our 3rd labby now. Wonderful dogs. All the best with your health issues.

[Roova]

Would you be willing to move his crate to the lounge and still leave the door open? You may need to close your bedroom door or chock it partially open to he can't push through though. He can then still wander and 'guard' but not bother you through the night?

[tdierikx]

My Lab has been taught to stay on her side of the bed... I don't like them lying on me either... *grin*

T.

[Stressmagnet]

I could definitely move the crate into the lounge room but there's SO much he could get into and while he's pretty good - he's still a bit of a naughty teenager.

I'd move him into my 12 year old DAUGHTERS room (:D) but a) he room is tiny and b) I think she needs her sleep more than I do. Eventually, I'd like him to choose where he's happiest sleeping - but I wanted to start him off in a room where he could be trusted. I've never unbabyproofed my bedroom so all breakables are up high.

So not shooting down your suggestions - I just think they are a bit farther down the training route than we are now. If he cannot be trusted not to wake us up every hour for a cuddle, I can't see putting him his best buddy's room (Miss 12), is going to help. She also has less of a leadership role with him - he and she are more playmates, so I think the nighttime waking would get rewarded not stopped.

Do I sound mean?

I just want him to get that just because he's free to sniff around my room at night if he feels the urge to stretch his legs, that does NOT mean I want him jumping on me for a cuddle. He's well aware he's not allowed on the bed during the day - knows what 'up' and 'off' mean - he's just a kissing bandit.

[Roova]

Hmmm, I'm thinking you should go the princess and the pea route and buy another mattress to lift you out of cold wet nose range? LOL

[Stressmagnet]

Roova - you're a gem. But Ernie leaps into the boot of my car with ease. I'd need a 4meter high mattress and he'd just get more determined. He's a snuggle ho my boy.

I think I may just keep the crate door shut for the rest of the week and see if he's grown up a little by the weekend. Failing that, I may have to start giving him a talking to when his cold nose hits my cheek at 4:14am and THEN recrate him. I think I'm a bit of a pushover when he's just so happy to see me. If he was a child, I'd have given him a stern talking to. I remember the days of transitioning my daughters back to bed like 'big girls' and I'm pretty sure I wasn't always sweetness and light. So far, they appear to be undamaged by the experience.

Or not.

Edited May 6, 2015 by Stressmagnet

[JulesP]

I am a really dodgy sleeper. If I wake up to takes hours to get back to sleep and sometimes I don't. So I never have animals free ranging at night. The dogs get shut in the laundry.

[Diva]

Are you a restless sleeper? All of my dogs have free range at night, I find if they are restless it is usually because I have been and it disturbs them. Usually we all sleep solidly through but if I am moving and making noise they want to engage. Otherwise theyare perfect all night. I would really hate to have to crate them at home, I like that they can wake me if they really need to and alert me to anything really odd happening outside.

Edited May 7, 2015 by Diva

[Taliecat]

I'm in this sort of predicament myself only we've got a dog that won't settle if the crate is in our room.

We're going to stock up on opshop blankets and pop the crate back in the living room on the weekend.

My back can't take a 35kg dog stealing my pillows and pushing me out of the way

[Pjrt]

Gruf was adopted at 9 months old. He had spent the two months previous to that in a concrete bunker at a pound, and dog only knows what he got before that. He came to me bouncing off the walls with no training or manners. For the first few months he was taught to sleep in the laundry with access to outside with the doggy door, and a 1 metre baby gate dividing the laundry from the house so not shut behind a solid door. He took to this like Labrador to a swamp pond. At the same time he had to learn to sleep in a crate a few nights a week when we are away from home for work. He also aced this. As he matured I transitioned him to being able to sleep on my bed. He went from thinking it was his personal jumpy castle with humpy pillows, to sleeping quietly where I asked him in about a week or so. He still sleeps in his crate when away from home a few nights a week because I only have a single bed in town and it's just not big enough.

He basically sleeps wherever I ask him to now, but even when he is on the bed, I don't consider him free range. If at any time he jumps off the bed he goes straight back to the laundry for the rest of the night. If he fidgets I growl at him and show him where I want him, and within a minute if he won't settle, straight back to the laundry. The other thing I think is important for an energetic dog is to never make the bed a fun play over the top cuddle type of place. To then ask them to switch that off isn't fair. It's on the bed go to sleep or else! As Gruf grows up and calms down, I will judiciously introduce controlled cuddle time on the bed!

I am a light sleeper and wouldn't tolerate being woken several times during the night.

Edited May 6, 2015 by GrufLife

[LisaCC]

I opened the crate, the first night he was fine and settled. Night 2 he woke me up to play, I put him straight back in his crate and locked it, tried again 2 nights later. That worked.

He would try to tempt fate maybe once a week for a the first 2 weeks, straight in crate if it was just for attention (And not to pee) for the rest of the night, it was pretty obvious what it was for.

If you don't behave with your freedom you get your freedom revoked.

[aliwake]

When Nixon decided he didn't want to sleep in our room anymore, we started closing the bedroom door, for exactly that reason! On the odd occasion we leave the door open, he'll come to visit at all hours and come nudge my arm for a cuddle multiple times per night! Super annoying. There's also the early morning wakeups which aren't suitable for a weekend sleep in, so the door stays shut! (doesn't stop him from breathing through the crack and making sad moaning noises though!)

Now, he only bothers to get up from his bed in the loungeroom if he actually needs to go to the toilet and I know if I hear him outside our door during the night that he needs to go out. He doesn't make any noise, but I'm a light sleeper and I hear his tags jingling :)

I was so paranoid about things getting trashed through the puppy stages, that it came as quite a shock to me to realise that I could actually leave him safely with the run of the house - and nothing gets destroyed! I now leave him inside on wet days too, and haven't had a single negative incident. still can't believe it :)

[The Spotted Devil]

I opened the crate, the first night he was fine and settled. Night 2 he woke me up to play, I put him straight back in his crate and locked it, tried again 2 nights later. That worked.

He would try to tempt fate maybe once a week for a the first 2 weeks, straight in crate if it was just for attention (And not to pee) for the rest of the night, it was pretty obvious what it was for.

If you don't behave with your freedom you get your freedom revoked.

Yup! You wouldn't give your teenager the keys to a Ferrari... :laugh:

Edited May 6, 2015 by The Spotted Devil

[Leah82]

Ours sleep in locked crates every night and are 7 and 9 years old.

If they're not locked in we can experience one or more of the following.

- play time at wee hours

- Collie barking at noises from neighbours or possums

- Sarah growling at Collie because he's giving her a midnight bath

crated dogs are quiet dogs :p

[brightstar123]

Do you want him to only sleep in his crate at night (with the door open) or are you happy to have him sleep other places so long as he doesn't disturb you?

Our Lab has her crate and her bed on the floor in our room, she knows that those are the two options (although we still crate her a lot overnight). If she bothers me I just say 'uh uh, on your bed', roll over, pull the covers up and ignore her. I found that if I got up to re-crate her I woke everyone else up and had a harder time getting back to sleep. It didn't take her long to realise that I'm an unfriendly grouch when I'm in my bed :laugh:

She was very good and never persisted for long, if she did then I would remove that freedom, as everyone else has mentioned. I had to gradually open up more rooms at night as, rather than disturb me, she would sneak around in the dark devising ways to steal all the cat biscuits and other coveted household items.

[Better Late]

Before we got her, Bonnie spent five months in the pound, and god knows what her sleeping arrangements were before that.

We crate trained her from day dot, although she seemed to prefer sleeping on the couch in the loungeroom as opposed to being in her crate of a night. Gradually though she warmed to it and will now ask to be put to bed if we have the sliding door between the loungeroom/bedroom closed. She has free range access to the house at night because she's explicitly trustworthy and prefers snoring her head off over chewing god knows what, the only reason we close the sliding door to keep her with us is if its stupid cold (we're in Central Vic) and I've got my worry wart hat on. I have a tiny bladder so when I get up to wee at about 4am, so does she, and then its back to bed for the both of us.

She does love cuddles but a queen bed with two adults and a 20kg snoring foghorn bedhog does not a comfy arrangement make, so cuddle time is limited to mornings and just after we've gone to bed. She knows what 'in your crate' means and will hop off the bed and go straight in, although its punctuated with pathetic grumblings, life is so hard.

Edited May 7, 2015 by Better Late

[Stressmagnet]

I want him to sleep at night - I don't care where. But I think the idea of putting him back into a locked crate if he abuses the freedom is a good one. Also not making the bed a play area.

I'll give him another go this weekend, with the suggestions you've made. Eventually, I DO want to give him free range as long as he is quiet and sleeping. If that means he settles better in his crate - fine. If it means he sleeps at the foot of Miss 12's bed - fine. But nighttime is not for cold noses and wet licks at 3an or I will get seriously cranky, I too take forever to get back to sleep so cannot be having Mr. Wiggle Bum deciding it's time for some loving. That's why I got divorced :D

Edited May 7, 2015 by Stressmagnet

[huga]

I am a really dodgy sleeper. If I wake up to takes hours to get back to sleep and sometimes I don't. So I never have animals free ranging at night. The dogs get shut in the laundry.

Same. Plus mine snore worse than any man. So they are crated in the kitchen. Works for everyone.

[RuralPug]

He is one year old - the average lab is still emotionally a teenager and will still be testing the limits for quite a while yet.

I would have drawn the line a lot earlier. Waking you THREE times for attention and cuddles in one night is not on. I would probably have locked him back into his crate after the first non-piddle excursion and not let him out until the usual time in the morning.

He has to earn the right to those "big boy" morning starts - eventually it will click that if he leaves his crate unneccessarily while you are still in bed then he won't have that privilege of joining you once you're up each morning.. But it might be some time until he matures to that level - and you are only going to find out by trying and being firm when he abuses the privilege.