[SANDY DOBBELS]

Help haven't slept in almost 2 month. We have had ozzy (bulldog) for 5 months now. 3 months he was great slept had a great routine. Left him with my brither n law for 4 days . Came back to a crazy dog at night... what to do? Went to vet, thaey are at a lose... help me

[Lucky098]

How much exercise does the dog get daily? Make him tired! Tired dogs are happy dogs.

Put him in his crate at night. When he wakes up and causes a racket, ignore him. He'll settle down quickly.

How exactally does he act "crazy"? What does he do? Does he pace? Does he whine? Does he demand outside?. More details please?

[Aurora_Bell]

I'm with Lucky, more details, and more excersise. Sounds like you have a restless pooch on your hands. Crating could definitely help in your situation. Do you crate now? It may take a few days for Ozzy to get the picture, but it's worth your sanity!
I am assuming your Ozzy is 6 or so months old?
Puppies may miss the noise and warmth of a litter.Youc an try putting a ticking clock under his pillow at night, or even leaving the radio on softly for him. Dogs are creatures of habit-- a change of sleeping situation may be the problem. So the little vacation at your brothers could have upset his sleep pattern.
It could also be food related. Dogs absorb energy from their food differently than humans do. Generally, dogs get a big energy push right after eating, so if you feed your dog late at night, he may be too energetic to get to sleep. Try feeding him earlier, and be sure to let him relieve hiself before bedtime.

[SANDY DOBBELS]

Ozzy barks demandingly at night. I have tried to ignore him and he soils his crate and barks even louder. I will try the eating earlier. We do try to play as much with him as we can during the evening we are home. Do you think he may havedays and nights messed up? On the weekends he is up all day with us and play'n and still is up all night.

[Cat1864]

Have you asked your brother-in-law what happened while you were gone?

How old is Ozzy? Does he have anything to chew on in his crate to relieve boredom?

[Aurora_Bell]

Yes bordom could definilty create some less then disired tendencies. Where is the crate now? Could you put the crate in your room,and when he starts to bark, give him a loud SHUUUUUSH! Sounds funny but it worked a lot on the rescue dogs that come in and have restless nights. I fostered A cocker spaniel for a while who was very restless at night, the shuuushing worked great, so did the ticking clock under the pillow. I guess it could be possible that the days and nights are mixed up, but dogs don't really have the ability to measure time. How old is Ozzy? Is he neutered? I'd be interested to know if he paces as well. Does he seem to pant quite often? Does he exhibit any other strange symptoms during the day? There are some great toys you could introduce to him ONLY at night time. Two challenging toys are the hide-a-toy series where your dog is challenged to try to remove smaller toys hidden inside and treat toys such as the Buster cube where you can insert a dog cookie or other treat and your dog is challenged to reach the prize. To keep your dog from becoming bored with them, don't leave them lying around. Hide them during the day and only bring out at bed time. This helps to preserve the novelty factor.
Restlesness can be an indicator of pain or discomfort as well. When was the last time he was checked by a vet? Are the bowel movements normal and consistent, how about urination?

[Cat1864]

Until the new thread gets merged with this one:

I have had my english bulldog since the end of September of 09. He was on a great schedule until I went out of town and left him for 4 days with my brother-n-law. When we came home and later that night Ozzy was up every 2 hours. And since then he is up every 11/2 to 2 hours every night for almost 2 months now.. I need help!!!! I took him in to the vet and he had worms and the vet thought that might be what was keeping him up at night. But days,weeks went by and no change. So I called the vet again and told him no change. He thought maybe he has a kidney infection since he goes potty every hour or 2.So got him antibotics and again no change. He is perfect during the day ,crate trained . But at night if I ignore his barking he will poop and urinate in his crate everytime.This is getting out of hand NO SLEEP WILL DRIVE A PERSON BATTy......I really love this dog and would like to keep in and figure out what is going on with him.......HELP ME please.

[Aurora_Bell]

Thanks Cat!


Wow I think that this goes beyond behavioral. When there is an under laying medical issue, it can definitely bring out some unwanted behaviour issues that can last longer then the medical problem. So I would suggest taking him to the vet again, if you don't feel that your Vet is doing all that they should be, then by all means see another vet. Dogs are very social creatures, so when they are restless at night, it shows (to me) that there may be something a little more serious going on. Some medical reasons for restlesness that come to mind are allergies, and hormone imbalance. Is he scratching himself, or pawing at his face, chewing his paws? Is the food you are feeding him high in sodim nitrate? This is a huge factor in imbalences in dogs. Also hyperthyroid, which also happens to be the most over diagnosed as well.
I would like to know if he is nueterd?

[Aurora_Bell]

Also how many worm treatments did you give Ozzy? How often and where they for all worms and all stages of the fleas?

[SANDY DOBBELS]

Thank you for all of ya'lls advice. Ozzy is 10 1/2 months old. He currently sleeps in our kitchen ,we have tried numerous spots in the house. I just took Ozzy to the vet 2 weeks ago for the 2nd trip.First trip he had 3 kinds of worms. They treated him in office for that. 2nd was we were thinking kidney infection was treated with antibotics.

[carpenter-t]

I don't mean to get you off the subject but you made me wonder.can animals have allergeis to humans?

[Aurora_Bell]

Sometimes it takes more then one round of de wormer to get rid of all the worms. It's worth it for your sanity to bring him back for another once over.

[shazamataz]

i dont mean to get you off the subject but you made me wonder.can animals have allergeis to humans?

To a degree yes.
Dogs can be allergic to certain fibers of our clothes or perfumes/deodorants/even shampoos.

[Lucky098]

He could have anxiety. He's at the age where anxiety will rear its ugly head.

You need to speak with a vet about all the issues you are having including previous vet visits. His restlessness could be caused by something that is going on inside his body. If he has an infection, he's going to act abnormal. A lot of times dogs will hide their sickness, but if you notice him being annoying, restless, barky... And he's never been like this before, then you need to get him in and explain EVERYTHING to the vet... From this puppy visits, to him staying at your brother-in-laws house. Everything is a key factor to his condition right now. Don't hold anything back.. If you think he chews his kibble wrong, mention that to the vet. He's too old to be pulling these tricks.

[dynocompe]

If your dog is starting to urine in the crate, maybe the dog is depressed

[Aurora_Bell]

What??
Dynocompe, was that a serious answer? I mean about the sleeping pills?
Please do not give your dog ANY medication unless prescribed by a vet!

[Cat1864]

Have you talked to your brother-in-law about ANYTHING that might have happened while you were gone?

Did he have any behavior problems while you were gone? If so, how were they handled?

[friend4u178]

go get some sleeping pills, should shut it up.

Yeah , maybe permantly :eek:

[Lucky098]

Sleeping pills? Geez, sleeping pills are a touch and go with humans on correct dosage and how the chemical racts to the natural chemicals within the body and brain. Don't give a dog sleeping pills.. It would more than likely kill them.

However; You can give melatonin. Its all natural... one pill takes the edge off. Melatonin doesn't zonk the dog out or make them drool in a corner, it helps them relax.

But... I think the OP needs to take their dog in for a check up. I think she mentioned something about kidney infection... Which is why the dog is acting the way it is... He's uncomfortable. Melatonin will help the OP make it through the nights until she can see the vet. Melatonin isn't a cure all, but it can definitely help someone have a good nights rest with a restless dog.

[Alty]

Lucky, I had to spread the rep but I agree. I don't know about the drug that you mentioned but I trust that you know what you're talking about. Having said that, I also agree that a vet should be seen to rule out something physical. Also to make sure that Melatonin won't effect whatever is going on and will mix with any medications the dog is already taken.

Even with a mild sedative the OP still needs to figure out why this is happening. If this behavior is to end then you have to find the cause of it all.

Talk to your brother-in-law ask if something happened while the dog was staying with him. I really think it all started there but that's just a guess.