I am wondering whether Murphy is starting on a night waking stage as he has slept right through the night for 2 months at least, but twice in the last two weeks he has been whining with the occasional bark in the middle of the night. The first time he did it I went down and let him out for the loo and he went but then would not settle back in his crate for over an hour with whining and barking so i ended up shouting no from upstairs and when that didnt work for some reason (i wasn't thinking straight as was half asleep!) i put his teddy in with him which i noticed was on the floor of the living room, and then he settled down and went to sleep! The same sort of thing happened last night and he went out to the loo and then wouldnt settle and eventually i put his teddy in with him and he went to sleep. The weird thing is he has never always had the teddy with him at night so i dont see why that is what settles him on the nights he wakes up! Shall i keep doing what im doing and let him out for the loo when he wakes or just ignore him? Thanks everyone
Re: Whining in the night I would go with ignoring him as this can quickly become a habit that, if allowed to continue , may be hardto break . If his teddy is safe ( no eyes !) then give that to him at bedtime and leave him to it, he has proved that he can do it . I know its not easy listening to them crying but its for the best in the long run, good luck
Re: Whining in the night Maybe because he can see the teddy from where he sleeps, he thinks, Oh I want that, and barks to get you to get it for him. If it's safe enough for him to be left alone with, give it a try. If it's possibly not, then I'd make sure it's out of sight in the eening when he settles for bed. I took none of this sort of advice, and now have two hounds sleeping in the bedroom with us! So it's worth sticking with it. x
