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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

My cockapoo has lost the plot

39 replies

Lalalalalabambaa · 20/03/2024 02:33

Please can anyone help before I lose my mind.

I have an 8 year old male cockapoo. Once every few weeks he has an episode at night that usually starts around 11pm and goes on all night.

It starts by him getting in the shower and closing the door to shut himself in, and then scratching like mad to get back out. He's panting like mad, running around, jumping on the bed, pawing and knocking anything he can over like the laundry basket. He's very distressed and keeps us awake all night. I've put him in the utility room to try and get some sleep as I'm ill and he's just pulled the radiator off the wall.

This happens regularly, out of the blue, and then usually by around 7am it stops.
There's no changes at home, he's not a nervous dog, nothing obvious causing pain.

Every time this happens we go to the vets and we must have been at least 10 times about this, spending £100s if not more.

No one can figure it out. He's been given painkillers, anti itch medication and had his anal glands expressed. Last time it happened the vet expressed his anal glands and we thought we'd solved the problem as he calmed down, but he only had them done last week and here we are again.

I feel like I'm losing my mind with this. I have 2 young kids who wake up regularly through the night and this on top is tipping me over the edge!

Has anyone been through this before or has any advice?
We're going on holiday in a month and I'm so worried about what might happen in boarding.

Thanks for reading!

OP posts:
MaloneMeadow · 20/03/2024 02:35

The obvious answer would be to stop giving him unsupervised access to a shower that he can easily shut himself in

SpringSprungALeak · 20/03/2024 02:44

Firstly, don't worry about the boarding. It may not happen there and if it does it'll only be one night, they'll cope.

Shut the door to the area where the shower is every night. Dont let him 'get started'. That might be enough to break the all night routine!

how the hell did he pull the radiator off the wall, I assume it wasn't properly secured. When they are, you really can't take them off without loosening the fixings.

When did he start this behaviour?

Friend2023 · 20/03/2024 02:58

I have a cockerpoo who has cocker rage .
He literally only has it when we are on walks but he goes absolutely crazy for NO reason and usually mid zoomies . He starts biting ankles , ripping up sticks , he gets angry at the world especially me. He will try and push me over , launches at me to try and rip my coat , barks and just has evil in his eyes then literally when he isn't getting the attention he calms down and its almost like he snaps out of it and it's like it hasn't happened and he's back to himself again .

This isn't obviously the same coz his rage only happens for a couple of minutes not all night but maybe look into it ?

MMNB · 20/03/2024 03:17

MaloneMeadow · 20/03/2024 02:35

The obvious answer would be to stop giving him unsupervised access to a shower that he can easily shut himself in

Has the vet done bloods? Any other tests?

I know you say theres no change of routine, but is there anything at all? These ‘distressed zoomies’ are often stress related.

Has he had a slightly shorter walk, missed walk, been played with less meaning he’s not tired enough and isn’t ready for sleep, as you said it happens late at night? He might feel stressed because he not ready for the quiet of everyone sleeping.

Something like a neighbour making noise, anyone staying over or anyone not home that usually is?

Could you smell different, like you’ve used a different shower gel or something before bed? Anything different in the room he sleeps in on the nights it happens? Are you wearing anything different. Sounds silly but if I wear a certain dressing gown, one of our dogs barks at me until I take it off. It seems to ‘spook’ her and takes her a few hours to behave normally. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Some people think dogs pick up on female owners hormones, just thinking as you said it’s ‘every few weeks’.

That’s all my ideas. I hope you get to the bottom of it.

MMNB · 20/03/2024 03:18

Sorry, didn’t mean to quote the pp. 😬

marshmallowfinder · 20/03/2024 04:23

Is he hearing a weird noise that freaks him out occasionally and he's trying to hide?

lifebeginsaftercoffee · 20/03/2024 07:10

What happens if you let him sleep in your room?

RainStreakedWindows · 20/03/2024 07:45

Could he be reacting to something outside that you are not aware of? My dog goes bananas when a neighbour blows a dog whistle while she's training her dog.

Aria20 · 20/03/2024 07:51

Could it be a female dog on heat locally? Or like someone else suggested an outside noise. We have foxes in the woods opposite and at about 11pm they usually start screeching.

Devilshands · 20/03/2024 08:32

Friend2023 · 20/03/2024 02:58

I have a cockerpoo who has cocker rage .
He literally only has it when we are on walks but he goes absolutely crazy for NO reason and usually mid zoomies . He starts biting ankles , ripping up sticks , he gets angry at the world especially me. He will try and push me over , launches at me to try and rip my coat , barks and just has evil in his eyes then literally when he isn't getting the attention he calms down and its almost like he snaps out of it and it's like it hasn't happened and he's back to himself again .

This isn't obviously the same coz his rage only happens for a couple of minutes not all night but maybe look into it ?

That’s not rage.

Cockers don’t get cocker rage out on walks. TBH more likely you under exercise the thing and it’s going bonkers when it finally gets some. Or not trained. Rage isn’t ’evil looks.’ In fact it’s the bloody opposite. Completely dead behind the eyes and focussed on ONE thing. And it 99% of time happens when a dog wakes up from a nap etc. not on a sodding walk.

As someone who had a dog put down due to rage (agreement from three vets and two specialists and THOUSANDS in vets bills) it pisses me the hell off when people claim their dog has rage. And if your dog DID have rage, a responsible vet would tell you to PTS. As a responsible owner, you would PTS.

OPs dog doesn’t not have rage. This is not rage. No idea what it is, but it’s not that.

Sorry for derailing your thread, OP. But ignore the poster quoted. They have literally no idea what they are talking about.

thecanadianloon · 20/03/2024 09:32

Waxing or waning of the moon?
My Ddog won't settle if there is a fox 🦊 on the prowl, she's constantly asking to go out, and seconds later back in, she'll pace up and down, and just won't settle at all.

canyouletthedogoutplease · 20/03/2024 09:39

I'm sitting here visualising a Cockapoo who can pull a radiator off a wall.

Other than that nothing helpful sorry OP.

Original poster
Lalalalalabambaa · 20/03/2024 09:39

MaloneMeadow · 20/03/2024 02:35

The obvious answer would be to stop giving him unsupervised access to a shower that he can easily shut himself in

Obviously I close all bathroom doors at night, but he knows how to open doors

OP posts:
spiderlight · 20/03/2024 09:40

Epilepsy? Poor thing - it sounds awful for him, and for you.

Bovrilla · 20/03/2024 09:42

Rage is a form of epilepsy/brain disorder and it's very, very rare and really awful when it happens.

Is the dog distressed when ithappens? The vet could give sedative type medication but only once other things have been exhausted.

Is the dog crate trained? If not I'd consider doing it so that he can be safely tucked into bed in there so he can't hurt himself or cause other damage.

idontlikealdi · 20/03/2024 09:47

My dog had episodes like this, not quite as extreme, panting, pacing, stressed, up and down the stairs and then would just snap out of it. Turned out he has diabetes.

Still intrigued about the radiator!

Original poster
Lalalalalabambaa · 20/03/2024 09:50

Thanks everyone for your ideas. Just to answer a few questions, there's absolutely no change in routine, no visitors, no new smells etc. We live in a fairly remote area where there's no traffic at night and no one really walks past the house so I don't think it's anything outside bothering him. I can't hear any animals but I realise his hearing is better than mine, so maybe he can hear something.

The strange thing is it starts on cue soon after I go to bed, and it stops around 7am. He's laying next to me snoozing away happily now.

I close all doors at night and he always sleeps in my bedroom next to my side of the bed. He's intelligent and can open door handles and even sliding shower and wardrobe doors.

I know it sounds crazy that he can pull a radiator off the wall, but he can. He literally goes crazy and it's like he's possessed. Any small furniture like coffee tables or laundry baskets he will push over.

He's had tests at the vets and they've felt around his body to see if he's in pain, but they can't find anything at all.

I've owned dogs all my life and have never come across anything like this.

He's 8 years old and this started a couple of years ago

OP posts:
lotsofdogshere · 20/03/2024 09:52

Was he crate trained as a pup? If so he is likely to easily revert to sleeping in a crate. If he isn’t read Pippa Mattinson or similar on crate training, it’s never too late. Get him used to the crate before using it briefly when you’re out, then overnight. Leave Alexa soothing classics for dogs on in the background.
cockapoos are often sensitive. They benefit from good routines, excercise and mental work - scent training tires them.

luckylavender · 20/03/2024 10:59

Put a bolt across the bathroom door

lifebeginsaftercoffee · 20/03/2024 11:03

I would want a brain scan at this point, I think. Or even a full body scan to check for issues like tumours.

MrsKwazi · 20/03/2024 11:03

Some type of seizure? Can you try a diff vet for another opinion?

Hopebridge · 20/03/2024 11:09

Mine can open doors. I changed the handles to round rounds. He isn't impressed but solved that issue. Worth a try? Sounds like he's attention seeking. I love my cockapoos but they are certainly quirky!

Hopebridge · 20/03/2024 11:11

Lalalalalabambaa · 20/03/2024 09:50

Thanks everyone for your ideas. Just to answer a few questions, there's absolutely no change in routine, no visitors, no new smells etc. We live in a fairly remote area where there's no traffic at night and no one really walks past the house so I don't think it's anything outside bothering him. I can't hear any animals but I realise his hearing is better than mine, so maybe he can hear something.

The strange thing is it starts on cue soon after I go to bed, and it stops around 7am. He's laying next to me snoozing away happily now.

I close all doors at night and he always sleeps in my bedroom next to my side of the bed. He's intelligent and can open door handles and even sliding shower and wardrobe doors.

I know it sounds crazy that he can pull a radiator off the wall, but he can. He literally goes crazy and it's like he's possessed. Any small furniture like coffee tables or laundry baskets he will push over.

He's had tests at the vets and they've felt around his body to see if he's in pain, but they can't find anything at all.

I've owned dogs all my life and have never come across anything like this.

He's 8 years old and this started a couple of years ago

What good is he on? It may be worth seeing if he's reacting to that. Or feeding earlier in the day. Mine are now on a grain free fish based food. Food can change behaviour. You could also try a locket at bedtime as they find this calming?

Hopebridge · 20/03/2024 11:11

Food not good!

pickledandpuzzled · 20/03/2024 11:14

As an aside, my radiators hang on hooks. They lift off to facilitate decorating behind them. The pipes are flexible.

A strong dog that nosed determinedly could get one off. It would land with a hell of a bang though.