Anxious barking at night....

She's killing me.....Put her in the crate at 11:30...she barked until 2:30 when I had to go back into her room and comfort her. She was a wreck---put her in after 15/20 minutes and she barks a few more minutes then stops until 5:45 this a.m. .
I don't mind getting up at 5:30-=5:45.....BUT I do need sleep over night.
The DAP infuser is not cutting it....PLEASE give me some suggestions....
SHe is now resting after her b-fast...wouldn't you rest too? BUT I have to go to work....and 20 5 and 6 year olds deserve a teacher with at least 6 straight hours of sleep !

Last night (5/18)she showed some progress.....
I am staying away from her now and trying to be strong. I ordered the Oxyfresh Mellow Out natural pet relaxant that someone on CC message board reccommended. It is coming in the mail.....so I went to Petco and picked up another herbal supplement with tryptophan...Quiet Moments.
Last night she only barked for 1/2 an hour then slept until 5:00 which is progress.

Am I doing the correct thing? She can't sleep in my bedroom as she would undoubtedly freak out on the nights I ride on the rescue squad....leaving abruptly in the middle of the night would mess her up.
Teddy sleeps with me and knows that when I go he strolls down the hallway and sleeps with my mother....she gets a wet nose hello then he settles down to sleep.

I am having company this coming weekend for the holiday....I think I will need to put earplugs on the bedside table along with some ambien !

As soon as we head upstairs to her room for the night, her heart rate increases, she spits out the treat I give her in her crate and she starts to bark.....I am determined to get her on the right track.
She is a smart cookie, she has sit stays and down stays PERFECT...she is playful and loves to go after balls and play with her toys and run outside on a long lead. She is spunky and reminds me of a high energy Jack Russell. Her personality is her OWN and this matched with my gentle and soft hearted Teddy makes for a great pair of dogs!

Please steer me in the right direction!
Thank you!
Nancy
Teddy and sweet, little Katydid

It should say "Last night (5/18)".....the editing I kept trying to do to get rid of the happy face did not take.

"May 18"
Why does that smiley keep showing up????

Do you fuss her before bed? If so don't.....I just put Oscar in his cage with a treat, close the door and give more treats with the door shut and he sleeps all night. He even decides to take himself up there and goes in his cage to sleep when it gets late. I think if I got up in the night and left he'd just turn over and go back to sleep (he's 4 months) so maybe it's worth trying putting her in your room?

This is a tough one -- the fact that she is getting better is a sign that you ARE getting somewhere. However: is she actually already fully and properly crate trained? EG did you slowly acclimate her to a crate or is she suddenly being put in alone at night? Has she been trained to stay an hour or two alone in her crate during the daytime, for example? Eeven if she has, I would think about starting the whole crate training process over again if yu want to keep her crated at night as she sounds terribly anxious about going into the crate if she is spitting out treats. Alternatively if she had the room to herself or was penned, this might help. Some dogs simply just hate crates. Also keep using the DAP -- it truly should work much better than herbal mixtures as it is actual calming hormone. It may take a while though.

Thanks for your response, Karlin.
Katy has always been crated at night and during the day when I am not home, she has an xpen downstairs with another crate and she is often found snoozing in the crate. Now, I thought about getting another xpen for upstairs BUT she has jumped out of the xpen twice. I think or am pretty sure she did this when she heard me arrive home in the garage and perhaps thought I was taking too long getting to the door.
I am hopeful but boy has it been ROUGH....I feel it is like a two year old who suddenly starts climbing out of bed or screaming through the night.
I am hoping she has made a break through...is it safe to leave a stuffed kong in her crate? I am a bit of a neurotic and worry about choking.
Thanks, again,

Nancy

Honestly, the only thing that worked for Zoey and I was to get Construction worker grade earplugs and let her sort it out herself. It only took a few days, and I never heard a peep (although I am sure she was howling like a banshee)

oops, I missed the bit before about the dogs being separated, and didn't know she was being crated during the day, too.

To be honest I think you have a problem that is the product of excessive crating. Don't forget, dogs are highly social animals, and cavaliers in particular want companionship and also, need to have some sort of stimulus during their day and hours in a crate just able to turn around is quite a limited life, even with access to a small xpen area (where is Teddy? In the crate/xpen with her or confined elsewhere? ). Also by your description she is a very smart, active dog, and needs more stimulation and companionship than confinement all day then again at night is giving her. Her skyrocketing anxiety levels you are seeing at bedtime says there are perhaps some larger problems needing addressing for her.

If I were you, I'd start by trying a different approach to their daytime confinement -- I'd try to find another solution than crating her all day, then crating her at night. Within the past decade or so, crating for many, many hours has suddenly become in vogue for dogs, which are such active and social animals! ). I am sure this is why she is reacting this way -- she is currently spending about 2/3rds of her life in a crate or small confined area if she is crated for a typical workday then put back in again at night -- consider the psychological ramifications for her, or to put it another way -- imagine locking a child in its room all day, allowing it a bit of interaction for a few hours in the evening, then locking it in its room again all night, so that life is reduced down to breakfast then a few hours of seeing the real world and having companionship in the evening. Sounds to me like the thought of going back into a crate all night and being further separated from you and Teddy as well, is causing her excessive levels of anxiety because she knows what it means -- more hours alone in a small, unstimulating space, without Teddy around for companionship either. I think I'd try them both together in your room -- you will likely find she just continues sleeping alongside Teddy when you go (mine, which can be anxious if I left a room during the day, do not even budge when I leave the room at night; dogs sleep pretty deeply in the dark and tend to not want to get up when disturbed). Or consider putting the two of them together in a crate so they are together, which would be more rewarding for her and probably fine with Teddy too -- mine are quite happily crated together when boarding or being kennelled so I know they are fine that way or with me.

Could you instead give the dogs a room for herself during the day, then crate at night? I just keep my three loose in a spare room when I am out. They curl up on the bed, sometimes play with some toys, can have a bark at the cats outside if they want. Sometimes one of the cats stays in the room with them for companionship as well. This has worked perfectly even since since Jaspar was a puppy and my solo dog. I have never had a single problem with them being loose in a room. I leave a radio with classical music on for them (known to calm anxious animals).

I think if you consult with any behaviourist they are going to tell you the same. On the other hand if you are only tlking about being out a short time daily then sorry for misunderstanding the situation. But I'd still consider some other solution during the day than a crate or xpen area, and also I would put the dogs together at night, whether in your room or in another room in a crate. If youhad three dogs and could put two together in another room it would be different, but having one in a room and one sent off, especially a smart dog who is already being confined a lot during the day -- that is very hard for that dog I think; I'd set aside my own preferences for sleeping with one dog and unite the two in another room, or bring them both in to sleep with me.

Thanks Karlin. Her house training is almost perfect and she will be a year old in the beginning of June. I keep her in the room we have as an office here in her xpen. Maybe I can start to see if she is reliable and can be left alone for periods of time. I am taking Teddy to be evaluated as a therapy dog later and perhaps I will gate off a small areas and give her a try out of the xpen. I'll leave her crate for her but take down the pen.
I really hesitate to change the night time arrangement although I know you are on the money with this. If I go out in the middle of the night, Teddy takes a trip down the hall and sleeps with my mom. At this point, I don't want to give that responsibility to Katy and I am not sure what will happen if I go and she is in her crate alone in my room....if she barks, I don't think she would be heard way down the hall by my mom. I am having company stay over for Memorial Day weekend so maybe I should not try this until after the holiday. In my heart, I know you have the problem completely figured out. But then I wonder about when I go away for a week on vacation ....would you think she would tolerate the crate in my mom's bedroom? She is quite active and I can almost predict what she would do...she would start body-slamming Teddy and getting him to chase her around (typical girl) at all hours if she were not in her crate.

On a brighter note, she barked for 15 minutes last night and DID NOT MAKE A SOUND until 6:30 this morning----she actually slept 'late' for her!

Thanks again for your feedback!

Nancy

Anxious Barking at night...update.

I think we have made progress...Saturday night-20 minutes barking then asleep til 7:00! Sunday night-10 minutes barking and up at 5:30 but I get up then, too! Karlin, re-reading your post---Katy is only alone for 7 hours a day only on Tues. Wed, and Thurs....otherwise someone is home. So I do not feel she is confined too much BUT maybe that is too much for her.
I will be done teaching for the summer at the end of June so someone will always be home through AUgust. I know in my heart that she would be best suited for sleeping along with Teddy in my room but I am not sure she is ready for that structure of staying on the bed all night ---she is an active girl. Plus she is not fully trained---reliable in the pee dept....she has an accident once in a while....at night in the dark I think she could easily sneak off into a corner and go. I do look forward to having her join us when she is a bit older.

And....my exciting news about Teddy who will be four on Wed. (23rd) ---he PASSED his therapy dog evaluation on Sunday!!!:rah: First time---just went to see what it was like and get a handle on it for the next try BUT HE PASSED! I am excited! I hope to work with alzheimers patients and hospice. He is such a love! You should have seen him! Everyone fell in love with him and the evaluator's comments on his papers said "very sweet dog"....well, we all know how sweet these guys are !

Way to go Teddy AND Katy!!!

I'm sure Teddy will make a great therapy dog!! Yippee!!!! :rah:

And wonderful that Katy is sleeping through the night and not barking so much.

Okay, Karlin......
I did it.....
The poor girl was barking again last night and I slept in her room.
She was such a good sleeper.
I was on the couch she took a chair and she was a completely different little dog this morning. Calm and serene... !
Tonight she will go to sleep in my room.
I will accommodate her and I think I am going to see a big difference in her behavior.
You were right---and in my heart I knew you were right. I was being selfish.

Thanks,
Nancy