[Dailydrool] dogs waking you up throughout the night

[Valerie]

Aloha Melissa, we have been through this problem twice with the late Commander Bo--once before doggie dementia and once after. As you point out, correctly diagnosing the problem is necessary before designing a treatment. 

The first time Bo was waking me up through the night was for a different reason than the second so the solutions were different. The first time, Bo was waking us in order to get food. Insanely, I was feeding him a snack in the middle of the night. Sounds like this is what you are doing too. The solution? Feeding a snack at your bedtime (10 PM) and then no more food until breakfast the next morning--and breakfast only after you are already up and showered, etc., not as soon as the dogs get you up. The difficulty here, of course, is that initially when you stop rewarding a behavior (barking at night for a food reward), it gets worse before it gets better and disappears. (A principle of "extinction"). So how did we accomplish/stand this? I (the weaker link in our household) was called out of town for 10 days to help a relative, which left my stronger husband (who also sleeps more soundly) in charge of the dogs. he hardened his heart, and when I got home again, Bo had learned that barking got him no food at night and had quit the behavior. Then I absolutely vowed not to give food at night no matter what, and the solution held.

Until Bo became demented and then he barked at night and slept all day in a flip flop that sometimes occurs in dementia. He was also afraid of the dark and being alone, so being up by himself in the dark freaked him out. This second time the solution was leaving lights on all night and giving medication (Prozac and Valium).

The good news is that this problem IS solvable. Good luck. Val