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View Full Version : What do I do if my dog won't sleep through the night


Jackdog1
Jun 28, 2010, 07:20 AM
We have a 3 year old Border Terrier that we have had since he was 12 weeks old. He was really easy to train. This spring he quit sleeping through the night. He might, but when he doesn't, he'll wake anywhere from 1-3 times between the hours of 1-5 a.m. He doesn't seem to need to do his business, but would rather play. He eats at 6:30 a.m. and again at 6:00 p.m. He gets exercise during the day, but not usually at night. Being a terrier, we think we are the alpha "dog" in the family, but are there ways to tell if we aren't?

shazamataz
Jun 28, 2010, 04:51 PM
What do you do when he wakes up at night?
And where does he sleep?

My fur kids sleep in crates in our bedroom at night, a while back one of them started crying in the middle of the night. I made the mistake of letting her out to the toilet. All it did was reinforce the behavior and before too long she started crying every single night, and then twice a night.

Enough was enough. The next time she started crying I just let out a low growl "Prada, QUIET!"
It took a couple of nights of that but eventually she got the hint.

I find crating at night is the easiest way to get a good nights sleep. I use wire crates and put a heavy blanket over it to block out the light.
I prefer wire over plastic as even with a blanket they allow for better air circulation.