Sudden Change in Behaviour

[Kittybakes89]

Our wee shih tzu is 4.5 years old and has always slept well downstairs. She would occasionally sleep in our bed if one of us was away or if she was frightened of fireworks etc.

We work from home but would have gone out without her regularly to shops, cinema etc.

All of a sudden starting mid last week she is howling, crying and banging the living room door during the night. We do go down and let her out and she will occasionally poo but when we try and settle her back in and go to bed she starts all over again.

She's also started doing the same if we go out, and if we even shut the living room door when she's in there.

There's been no change in routine, no major life upheavals etc. We do have her booked in for the vet this week just to double check everything's OK.

Has anyone experienced this? We're worried this is just her now, and will need to accept broken sleep every night

Is she spayed?

Yes she was spayed a few years ago

Things like this are usually pain related or something like a fox etc has upset her during the night (if you have a garden). Ours started doing this in the night, every night and it turned out a hedgehog was tucking into his food bag which was just outside the back door.

The foxes are definitely out in force and have been rather vocal recently and that can set our dogs off, also any chance of there being mice in the walls? Animals can hear stuff that we can't so might be worth checking as we had some that had got into the garage and were going up inside the walls to the loft. Drove the poor cat mad for weeks.

Possibly noises although never seen foxes in the area.

We do have the vets tomorrow to check there's nothing medical.

She is fine if we allow her up to our bed but if not she will just cry and bark most of the night.

She's absolutely fine during the day and like her normal self unless we try to go out