New baby coming - dog(s) acting up!!!

[mamarabil]

Hello, I've been reading various posts and decided to post myself to get some help from the BB community - I'm due in the next few weeks and we need serious help to get this under control.

We have 2 lhasa/****zu mix dogs (one male 4 and one female 6 - both rescued over 3 years ago.) They are housebroken, listen well to basic commands (okay he does mostly, she's stubborn at times.)

The female has taken to barking/whining in the middle of the night usually about 1-3 am. She's been doing this for the last couple of weeks on and off and it's a) annoying as hell b) scares the hell out of you when the dog starts barking in the middle of the night.

Just out of the blue this has started. We started crating them about 3 months ago in the hallway right outside our door since the baby will be rooming in with us for the first couple of weeks/months. We started early to get the dogs used to it and before they were in our room in their crates but they woke up every time I got up to use the bathroom and wanted to get out.

We made it very positive and low-key when we moved them outside the bedroom with treats when they got in and then with positive praise. We have a nightlight in the hallway that they can see with. Both of the dogs were fine in the beginning especially her - she'd get in the crate and just go to sleep.

DH tried getting up and going out in the hall for 10-15 minutes trying to reason with her (haha - quite amusing to me) and as soon as he came back to bed she starts agian. We tried walking them at 11pm right before going to bed. We took them to the vet to see if it was a bladder problem - it's not.

I told DH as long as she's getting attention she's happy and that we should just ignore her - she likes attention and this is her way of getting it.

To complicate matters - the male has started doing a couple of times this week. We have started to closed the bedroom door which we normally keep open but when they bark we close it and they DID NOT like that - but they eventually stopped after about 20 minutes.

Can anyone shed some light on this? We really don't want to revert back to the dogs staying in our room (it's already crowded with the baby stuff as it is) or being out of the crates at night (I don't wish to be tripping over them and I don't want any "surprises" when I get up in the morning which led to the night time crating in the first place."


Unfortunately we can't put her anywhere else in the house for another month because of our house guest visiting from overseas. They get
plenty of attention/loving during the day (but not overboard as we read up on prior to a baby coming) I'm just at my wits end and need some help! Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.


Between the dogs and the baby will we ever sleep?? Also, please no "it's preparing you for a baby" comments - we've heard them all!

Thanks!

[lizajane]

i don't know if i can really help, but i can try to sympathize. i have two labs. one of them still pees on the floor, even though we have a new dog door that he is perfectly comfortable using!! and the dog is 3 1/2 years old!!! so i understand about the nightmare you are going through in some sense.

my dogs both sleep on the floor in our room, or one of them in the hallway right outside. the only thing i can tell you is that when i got preganant, my female dog moved from sleeping downstairs, to the top of the stairs, to the hallway, to the doorway in front of our room, to in our room, to right beside my side of the bed- all this as the pregnancy progressed. i think it was pretty clear that tyler had an idea that i needed some extra protection (she has always been very protective of us and our other dog.) she now sleeps in front of the crib, in between our door and baby's door, or at the top of the stairs. she is clearly still protecting me, and also schuyler.

and if you try to keep tucker, the male, from sleeping in our room, he would bark himself hoarse!

so, i guess what i am trying to say is that your dogs may know that something is up. they may "get it" that something big is going to happen, which makes them really want to be in your room more then ever. so the barking may be their response to their instinct that something is happening and they are being excluded from it.

hope that helps at all.

liza

[mamarabil]

Liza,

Thanks for the insights from someone who's been there. I think they do know what is going on. It's almost as if she wakes up and whines and then that turns into barking for about 20 minutes. DH of course has learned to sleep through it lately but in the last weeks of this pregnancy I'm uncomfortable and up anyway so I suffer through it seething and shaking my head!

The more I think about it - the male dog is very protective. Maybe now she is being more protective. Maybe we can put the crate in the doorway of the bedroom and she'll be more comfortable.

Who knows it's worth a try - I'll let everyone know what happens tonight! Thanks again!

Mari

[Momof3Labs]

I'll have to think on this one a little longer, but was just chuckling at the idea of letting the dogs BIO (bark-it-out)!

[dogmom]

This may not be the advice you wanted, but I would suggest calling your vet and seeing if you can get the name of someone who specializes in dog behavior that will come to your house for a visit or two. It sounds like you have a lot going on for the dogs to react too, which would make it hard for me to figure out what exactly is going on and what to do about it. We had a problem with one of our cats peeing in the family room, which everyone said was because I was pregnant, but it started before my pregnancy. So I am sympathetic to your response to "the dogs are just reacting to your pregnancy" line. Usually behavioralist can give very concrete suggestions that can really help. We have a great animal hospital that is affilated with a Veternarian school in Boston that I get names of specialist from, I don't know if you have something similar.

[nitaghei]

I'll try to do a first pass at this.

I'm assuming that there are no health problems (you say you've been to the vet) and the dogs hae been well crate-trained (they were previously comfortable sleeping in their crates and slept all night).

First, you're right. She's getting the attention she's looking for.

If this is the case, then "barking it out" really is the way to go. It will drive you crazy for a few nights, but it does work. Do NOT pay any attention to the middle of the night barking -ever. It will get worse before it gets better, this is the "extinction burst" of a behavior. Sort of like when you're waiting for an elevator, get more and more frustrated, jab that button over and over, and then decide to take the stairs! :) I think Karen Pryor uses this analogy in "Don't Shoot the Dog."

The key is to NEVER respond. Even responding once will destroy any progress, and make it harder to correct the behavior. Intermittent response is the most powerful reinforcer of behavior. That is why you are supposed to NEVER feed a dog from the table, if you want to end a mooching habit.

Trust me, this works!

We had to convince our alpha, slept on our bed cocker to sleep in a crate - AFTER the baby came, because the decision to partially co-sleep came then. We went through about 10 days of hell. Barking, whining and general carrying on like a prima donna. I truly love this dog - and it was really hard to do this. But consistent reinforcement worked. Treats and praise when he went into the crate and NO response until 6 am did the trick. And he actually is calmer and happier since then.

This advice is based on what I learned about clicker training. Ignore behavior you don't like, and the dog will stop offering it. Any kind of reinforcement - and attention of any kind, even negative attention, is a reinforcment.

It really is best to do this now, rather than after the baby, when the sleep deprivation is so much worse.

HTH

Nita

PS: If you would like more information on operant conditioning, or how dogs learn, let me know and I'd be happy to suggest some books.
I have dealt with my own two messed up rescues, as well several fosters, and I used to volunteer as an obedience instructor, pre-baby.

[Lori in NJ]

Hello,

I definitely feel for you!!! As if it's not difficult enough to be in the uncomfortable, final stages of your pregnancy, to have to deal with extra noise while you're trying to get back to sleep is just SO unfair. I'm not sure how big your place is, but is there anywhere else you can keep the dogs? Our dog stays with us during TV in the pm, but as soon as it's bedtime, he knows he's in the kitchen (downstairs) in his crate. Not to be gross, but I will NOT flush the toilet in the middle of the night for fear of waking him up.

I would definitely talk to the vet & find out if there is something/someone they can recommend to help remedy your situation NOW before the baby is home from the hospital. As much as our dog is our child, I constantly remind DH that I did not give birth to him and we have to learn to put him in his place (now give him a treat! LOL!)

Best of luck & please keep us posted.

Lori

[mamarabil]

Thanks everyone for the tips...

We have been ignoring her for the last few nights and as tempting as it is to tell her ENOUGH we don't. We just ignore her and after about 5-10 minutes she goes back to sleep and is quiet.

I was lauging about the bathroom thing...when we were younger we lived in this house that had the LOUDEST plumbing so we never flushed the toilet when we peed at night. First person in the morning just flushed it and that was that. DH was raised the same and as much as we pregnant women get up to pee at night we are probably conserving some water!!!

Thanks again!!

Mari

[lizajane]

would you please email me some of those book suggestions?? my 3 1/2 year old lab STILL pees on the floor, RIGHT in front of the door without asking to be let out with barking or scratching, and two nights ago, he did it right in front of the DOG DOOR! why didn't he just go OUT the dog door??? he uses it all the time!

THANKS!!
liza
[email protected]

[nitaghei]

Liza,
sent you PM. Will provide more details later. Major deadline at work!

Nita