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Fingers crossed! New sleeping regime MAY be working!

ourempire

Well-known member
Maybe I am now committing hubris by writing this. For the fourth night in a row I have had a full night’s sleep with the dogs, after almost three years with interrupted sleeping.

When we got Molly (almost 5 years old), we didn’t have that problem. She is a great sleeper and slept all night through with us. We began with her bed next to us, but later she moved up in our bed. Then we got Éowyn (almost 3), who is more restless with a higher level of energy to spare. She NEVER slept all night through. Several times she would jump up from the bed and start wandering around. Somehow dog’s paws against wooden floor are very annoying in the night. The pitter-patter of tiny feet can drive you crazy ;)

So very soon I had to take her to her crate in the middle of the night. I had to bring Molly, too, otherwise Éowyn would be howling for company! Of course I had difficulty falling asleep again, especially in busy periods, but I managed through and got used to getting up every night. We tried many things, but I always gave up due to lack of sleep. We also tried putting them in the crate from the night’s beginning, but then they were BOTH howling for me! :rolleyes:

This parody of lack of sleep had now lasted for 2½ years. So, now, we have three weeks of summer vacation, and we decided to give it a go again. We bought a small crate to place Éowyn in, when she started her endless wandering around in the bedroom. Of course we let the dogs use the crate and placed treats in it, but:

The first nights were difficult. 15 minutes sleep, wandering, locking in, growling from Éowyn (that low growling that only means one thing: I am NOT happy!), locking her out, asking her to lie down, sleep for 15 minutes, wandering again etc. We were rather tired but decided to keep the regime going, but without locking her in the crate next to me. And slowly the sleeping habits have improved. After 2½ weeks I have now had four nights in a row, where Éowyn slept until 6-7 o’clock in the morning. Last night she didn’t even leave the bed!

Of course this means that I sometimes find myself in the middle of a Full Body-bind Curse (Petrificus Totalus – Harry Potter-fans will know what I am saying); with one dog locking my legs, the other my right arm, but that doesn’t matter. Finally I can get some sleep!
Fingers crossed for continued success, please.
 
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