Dog never sleeps through the night

[Laburnam]

We have a miniature poodle, she is 5 years old and is never settled at night. She wanders, she barks etc. We think she is deaf which doesn’t help.
She is well exercised every day, stimulated and not left for long periods.
We have tried calming drops, plug ins, etc
Has anyone ever used melatonin, was thinking of mentioning it to the vet.
We are shattered

That must be very difficult.
Where does your dog sleep? We had something similar and solved it by moving his bed up to our room. I know some people are really against that but if your dog is deaf maybe she would benefit by being able to see you? Maybe better than using drugs which might in the long term make her sleep worse.

We are on the sofa, take it in turns, she doesn’t stay upstairs in our bedroom. She can be fast asleep, wakes up and goes into full on bark mode. It’s like she’s had a nightmare

Oh my word you must be knackered. Have one of your slept on the sofa for 5 years?

First get a vet check. You need to rule out pain, illness etc.

What is she like in the daytime , where does she sleep?

Hi she was better as a puppy when she liked her crate but outgrew it and wouldn’t go in it.
She has regular vet checks and is fit and healthy.
Through the day she sleeps in the living room or on top of the crate in the kitchen, it has a thick dog bed on it. She almost sleeps with one eye open during the day keeping an eye on us!!
She does still do random barking at times through the day, where she will run into the kitchen going crazy, although there is nothing there . Tbf days aren’t really the issue

No I realise that days are not the issue but was just trying to see if she does have any behaviours that may be making the nights worse.

I would get some rl help from a behaviourist tbh once you have seen the vet he can recommend one. Insurance often covers it. I can make guesses but it would be just that.

Things I would be lookig at are making her a really comfy cosy den/crate. Encouraging her into this in the day and making it the place where she feels happiest. Let her choose the location (annoying as is may mess up your decor!) but if there is a place she likes put the new comfy bed in this place. Regularly put treats in to the bed when she can see and when she cant so she will get into the habit of checking it out reguarly. Do not encourage her in and do not draw attention to the area just put treats in it so good things always happen in this den.

I would also work a bit on her independence. Scatter feed her away from you. This just gets her used to being a bit of a distance from you and again at home good things happen. This helps generally to bring down stress levels and make her feel more confident away from you.

If you leave a room put a few treats on the floor and leave the room, let her be on her own for a few seconds and then return.

All these small things will help to bring down her vigilance and this checking on you. If she is doing this in the daytime she is also doing it at night.

Re the deafness do get this checked out. You may find that white noise helps her. If she can half hear something it will worry her but if this is disguised by the white noise that may help.

She has a bed that she never uses unfortunately, she is much happier on the sofa or chair . We still have the crate in the kitchen but she would never go in it, only on top. We have tried previously with treats and it’s covered. to encourage her but to no avail. I think white noise is a good idea if it could help but don’t understand how she goes full on ballistic from being fast asleep between our legs.

I can sympathise, my girl dog had a stroke two years ago and started to wake me up after that, she doesn't bark but whines and makes strange semi howl noises. Things have improved slightly but she is going though a bad patch at the moment as she had a UTI. I was sobbing on the sofa this morning at 0530 this morning as I was so tired and have just started a new job so very stressed as well. But before the UTI, things that helped were a black out blind for the kitchen where she sleeps, radio 4 on low, a baby monitor so I could reassure her without getting up, Pet Remedy diffuser (calmed me as well) and Denes Tranquil tablets. I have fitted a dog flap as well as she gets stressed if she thinks she can't get out in time to have a wee. Good luck.

Sorry if I've missed it, but is there a reason why you take it in turns to sleep with her downstairs instead of having her in the bedroom with you? It seems utterly bonkers to me to be sleeping on a sofa just to help settle a 5yo healthy dog.

Surely it would be best all-round to have her upstairs with you? Bedroom door shut, blackout blinds up and a fan or white noise machine on to minimise disturbances.

Thank you for the tips. She has always slept downstairs I have to have the door closed in the bedroom when I sleep there, it’s a massive trigger- closed doors!! Plus she will wake my child and worried about next door neighbours. Her waking up and going full on beserk barking is the real problem, this happens when she is laid next to us.

I really do think you need Behaviourist advice on this. Triggers of closed doors really need looking at. She does sound a very aroused dog. The night time barking is obvioulsy the major issue for you but this may be building up during the day to over arousal at night and by sorting out some issues in the day time will improve the night time

Yes perhaps a behaviourist is a good idea, thank you

You can get a 3mg melatonin supplement for dogs without prescription www.viovet.co.uk/Melacutin-for-Dogs/c21746/

Why don't you get her a bigger crate?.

Thank you if I’m definitely going to look into that

She’s just not a fan of the crate despite coaxing

@Laburnam

She’s just not a fan of the crate despite coaxing

If it's too small then she's not going to want to use it, though.

Has she ever been properly crate trained?

I would honestly have her in your bedroom - use a baby gate across the door if necessary to keep her in but there is no way I'd be sleeping on the sofa for weeks on end to accommodate a dog unless they were very unwell for some reason.

I think you've been a bit lenient and soft with her tbh and she perhaps now uses the barking to get her way as she knows you won't just leave her to it.

I think you've been a bit lenient and soft with her tbh and she perhaps now uses the barking to get her way as she knows you won't just leave her to it but when she is fast asleep with the owner why does she wake up barking? Is she ploting in her sleep! She is not in danger of being left?

don’t understand how she goes full on ballistic from being fast asleep between our legs

She doesn't. You may think she's "fast asleep", but no healthy, fit, five year old dog is "fast asleep" most of the time. Dogs may have made comfortable homes with us, but they still operate by the evolutionary call of the wild. Being "fast asleep" is the fastest way to get dead! Dogs of that age are alert even when asleep, and have the capacity to react to sound and smell as much as they would awake. Which is why they can wake fully alert immediately when a human would be groggy and half asleep still.

Equally, younger and healthier dogs won't sleep through the night. They might be quiet if confined, but they won't be asleep all that time. Put you in a box and you won't be moving around either! And this is especially true of, and you should bear this is mind, young, healthy working dogs. And I can see you thinking she isn't a working dog. Well she may be short in stature, but poodles are historically very active working dogs of high intelligence. Her miniature status only takes an edge off her full size robust and energetic counterparts.

I would certainly urge you to ensure that her hearing is properly checked, and it is possible that she is becoming more reactive to sound because she can't identify sounds as well as she used to. But something that people often don't realise about dogs is that they can also see on spectrums that humans can't. So she could be reacting to light sources / movement of light that you can't see. Barking at nothing may be a sound source you can't hear, but there is research that suggests that dogs react strongly to various ultra violet light movements - which we can't see at all.

I'd be another vote for creating her a space in the bedroom and allowing her to sleep there. Dogs are pack animals and sleeping alone isn't natural for them. Some get used to it. Others don't. And if she has additional challenges such as hearing loss, she may feel the isolation more. She may be your pet, but she has a "job" - like all dogs she has a collective responsibility for ensuring that the pack is safe from potential threats. In another room she can take no cues from you. If she gets used to what you aren't bothered about, it may well settle her too.

She was crate trained and used it for the first 2 years of her life, it’s still there, it’s the right size and she will not sleep in it anymore but on it.
Where she sleeps is irrelevant tbh, it’s the way she suddenly wakes up and goes crazy bonkers .
This is the problem.
My teen has to have a fan on her bedroom so she’s not woken through the night. Our party wall is also v thin . I would love her to sleep upstairs quietly but it’s never happened

She has a routine check up at the vets in a couple of weeks I will mention her hearing again although they advised previously there is nothing that can be done.