My cockapoo has lost the plot

[Lalalalalabambaa]

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!

Could you film him to show the vet? It sounds a bit like they’re not understanding how extreme it is. Otherwise, how much exercise does he get and does he get brain training?

Has he been done? Maybe there’s a new bitch in town and she smells incredible?

My working cocker spaniel has episodes like this usually when we have been walking with a certain friend and her manic dog. It's like he gets so hyped up he just can't come down. Other times it has happened is when he has been on a walk and got prickly things caught up in his long fur which we can't always see, some of them stick quite close to the skin and it drives him mad until we have got them all out. Could it be anything like this ?

I completely forgot but we actually did this in our old house and it worked a treat!
Will have to get that sorted here

@Hopebridge He has a special low fat, grain free diet as he has pancreatitis (but the vet has said this isn't linked to these episodes)

@pickledandpuzzled Yes that's what ours are like! They hang, and I can confirm there was an almighty crash at 3am 😂

@MaryLennoxsScowl He does get lots of exercise however yesterday he missed his evening walk as my husband was working away and I was too ill to go. So that probably didn't help.

@BoobyDazzler yes he's been done

@Babyroobs That's interesting. I do feel like it's something to do with his body that's bothering him. I was convinced it was his anal glands as sometimes he whips around and gets angry with his bum, but he did only get them done a couple of weeks ago so I'm not sure.

I'm happy to report that he's back to normal tonight and is fast asleep next to me!

Thanks so much everyone for your thoughts, there's lots of ideas here for me to explore

I think YOU have rage @Devilshands

Please have more empathy and consideration when responding to someone who is in distress and looking for help. This should be a safe space for people to be vulnerable and get support OK?

I was talking to the poster who posted unhelpful and potentially dangerous advice. Not the OP - I even said I was sorry for derailing OP's thread and to ignore the poster who was talking rubbish. Not sure what more you want...

Accusing a dog of having rage or even implying it is dangerous. Dogs with rage should be PTS and to even suggest that to OP was unacceptable - and could have caused OP to worry/act on something that isn't an issue with her dog.

People who give dangerous advice about conditions like rage, should be pulled up on it.

This doesn't sound like a rage. You could set up a camera in his sleeping area and see if he is asleep or still awake before this behaviour starts and you might find what the trigger is.

Just to add this sounds more like a terror. What's his body behaviour like? Ears, tail, head down, is he shaking, goes into submissive bow etc?
Does he act like he is trying to run/escape from something?

He doesn't look submissive, no shaking or head down etc. It's more like he's extremely agitated and in pain, so panting loads and suddenly bolting across the room. Also like he's desperately trying to tell me something by jumping up constantly.

But he's been checked out several times by different vets and they can't find anything wrong at all. They did prescribe doggy paracetamol but this makes no difference at all when he's on one, so I don't think he is actually in pain. And then weirdly, it just stops as quick as it came on, so whatever is causing this lasts for around 9 hours or so, always overnight, and then he's completely back to normal in the morning for a few more weeks. It's so random!

I think you might have to get a dog behaviourist involved. This is very strange behaviour to go on all night.
You should try get some video evidence first, especially from the start at 11pm.
Have you had him from a pup? Not ex-rescue? previous owner?

Mine was on grain free before but it was actually the groomer that mentioned being on a chicken and turkey free diet. She had seen issues in the breed with skin (mine had issues with eczema) and behaviour (anxiety). My dog's behaviour is completely different. I hope your cockapoo is more settled soon.