Hello, it’s been a while since I asked you amazing people for advice. Rufus is 2, nearly 3. He’s quite a handful, but we’re working on his anxieties and over excitement! One behaviour that I’m a wee bit worried about is the fact that he doesn’t seem to settle with us in the evening. He scrapes at the living room door and seems to want to chill out upstairs on his own on one of the beds. He’s done this tonight, but then returned back downstairs to snuggle on the sofa... It only ever happens in the evenings... Is he just being weird?! Trina
Hi I can’t really see that as a problem. If a dog has the freedom of the house then surely they will choose where they want to sleep. The issue is probably more that you feel he should want to be with company downstairs. Toby does the same. He is either in the lounge with us or he wonders off elsewhere. Sometimes I think he is getting away from the tv noise or wants somewhere cooler to lie.
I personally wouldn't see it as too much to worry about. Mia is super cuddly and will sit in my lap all day if she could but sometimes when we're sitting in the evenings she will take herself off to her crate to lie down, have a little nap then come and jump back up into my lap again. I don't really know why she does it, I just put it down to wanting a few minutes to herself for some quiet time and leave her to it.
With the exception of our Billy (huge idiot thinks he a lap dog), our other labs liked to toddle off for some time to themselves. Blind Dog Bruno makes sure we're in the living room and then heads for 'his' couch in the back room. Cookie (now passed) used to go and kip in the office, no windows so dark room and quiet. Faye (now pased) would go and kip in my room at the far end of the bungalow. Jassie (now passed) had her own piece of carpet on the coal bunker outside as that's where she liked to be at any time of day or night. She'd sulk when we'd tell her it was getting late and she had to come in. All of them could be at your feet in point zero of a second if they heard any sort of a packet being opened though
