Dog whining at night but otherwise seems fine

[Spero]

Dog is a four year old staffy who is currently fast asleep on the bed as I type, which is ironic as all last night she was roaming about the house and then came and stood by my bed whimpering and whining.

when I pat the bed encouraging and call her to jump up, she just carried on whining. She eventually took herself off to sleep in her cage downstairs.

She has been doing this for a few weeks now - she has free range of the house and I am quite happy for her to sleep on my bed as it is cold now when the heating is off. She has never been ordered off the beds and knows she is allowed.

She seems absolutely find during the day, eats, runs around, chases balls etc.

the only other worrying thing is that she has also developed a habit of obsessively licking one paw - I have checked and can't see any cuts/infections.

I am taking her to the vets to see what they say but I wondered if anyone else had encountered this and if so, what is the likely problem?? She can be a very nervous dog and gets absolutely terrified of fireworks etc. Is it some kind of anxiety?

She is waking me up usually about 2am and whining for what seems like hours. I don't want to lock her up in the kitchen because it is so cold but I do want to get some sleep!

Sounds like she could be anxious. Does she need the toilet? Could she be hearing anything outside like cats or foxes that are unsettling her? It has been colder the last couple of nights where we are could it be that? Hope everything goes ok at the vets. They might have some idea.

I keep the radio on for my boy (very quietly) at night.

I'd put a fleece coat on her overnight so she's tucked up cosily, it could well be that she gets cold and then can't settle

Is it very windy where you are? My staffie X does nocturnal pacing when it's very windy and rainy outside - she recently chewed a hole in my wall during a bad storm even though I was upstairs in a bedroom that she had access to. Daytime wind and rain don't seem to bother her at all.

Sounds anxious.
Once you're confident that she's not hungry or thirsty, warm enough (Equafleece make gorgeous coats), doesn't need the loo etc, I'd tell her to go to bed as with a toddler.
Also remember that since dogs and cats don't "recreationally" drink cups of tea and coffee and glasses of wine like us, they pee relatively less.
I recently stopped for a newspaper at a shop where I was chatting to the shopkeeper and said "Gosh, I'm v tired, DS had me up twice in the night." "Oh, I was up for the wee dog three times," says Mrs Shoplady. "Oh, do you have a new puppy?" I asked. "No, she's six. Does it every night. Then sleeps all day."

I used a clicker a lot in training DDog and we both loved it. It seemed to develop his initiative a lot. One thing I used to click him for was when he'd go to bed himself, of his own volition.

She has access to the garden via a dog flap and she has always been very good - hasn't wee-ed in the house since she was a puppy. So I don't think it is a toilet issue.

I think she must be cold but I am happy for her to come under the duvet, I pat the bed encouraging and she just whines! There is no issue with jumping up on the bed as this morning she jumped up quite happily and has been passed out for two hours... I worry she is becoming nocturnal.

Weather hasn't been particularly bad so I don't think its that.

I don't think there is anything prowling in the garden as the chihuahua is the early warning system and reacts instantly to any intruders, and he was snoring all night.

I wonder actually if she is more anxious because of the chihuahua as he is sometimes very aggressive with her and she is immensely patient. BUT she also stands up for herself and stole his bone last night!

She is clearly upset about something, hopefully the vet can give me a steer. Thanks for your responses!

We had a Labrador who did this turned out to be an ear infection!

Our staffy girl is nearly 12yo now, and she does that whiney "talk" to us. I honestly think she's trying to speak. It has a particular tone and pitch and she maintains eye contact when she does it!

MolotovDog is a stressy girl, too. When she does this whine at night, she sometimes wants to go for a week but it is mostly to have a drink. To figure out what she wanted when she was waking us more than our children, I said to her 'what do you want?': cue more excited whining. I stood up and she she led me downstairs to what she wanted. We have to make sure she has been out and always give her access to her water (obviously). She has a massive drink at about 9pm every night and then generally settles.

Sometimes, she just wants company though and to sleep downstairs with one of us DH did that a few times before I said it was ridiculous! (I think he likes late-night sofa cuddles with her )

Just read your post about your chihuahua - do they sleep in the same area? Could he be bossing her out of bed? Is he the dominant dog?

There's lots of behavioural therapy possible to improve a dog's confidence. There are are also medications which can be immensely helpful for chronically anxious animals.
A good place to start though is with a health check, plenty of exercise and some enjoyable general training/ brainwork.

Interesting - she has just been treated for an ear infection and does seem rather prone to them. I thought her ears looked ok but there might be something going on I can't see.

The chihuahua is pretty bossy and always wants to sleep on my bed - but she has two other beds and people she can go to and she usually spends the night in another bed then comes to see me at about 6am.

I will take her out again this afternoon and try to give her a good workout and tire her out, so will be interesting to see what happens tonight and hopefully off to the vets on Friday.

Please do post to let us know how she gets on

She is back on the bed and is fast asleep but I am about to take her out to the field which is her favourite spot.

If I manage to make it back without sliding to oblivion in the mud, I will let you know!