Getting rescue dog to sleep downstairs

[redfairy]

Adopted my lovely 4 old bichon 3 months ago. Happy little soul- loves people...and me. Can't get him out of the bedroom at night to sleep independantly either downstairs or on landing. He has a crate downstairs that he'll use sporadically to hide high value treats in and occasionally snooze but his separation anxiety is off the scale. I also can't go out without him barking his head off but the sleeping is time critical as I'm off on holiday in October and he's booked in to the boarders where he attends occasional daycare. He's failed one sleep trial by waking and barking in the early hours (admittedly I probably tried it too soon) so he will have one more chance before we go away to show he can settle overnight. So far I've tried the leave and go back like you do with babies, new bed and high value treats, longer walks, creeping upstairs without him. What has worked for you?

I have an anxious rescue dog, I have managed to quell separation anxiety during the daytime ( try Dog Training Advice & Support page on Facebook for advice) but I use home boarders who don’t ever leave him and who are happy for him to sleep where he chooses. This is generally in the bedroom with an occasional trip onto the bed, though with other dogs around he’ll sleep with them sometimes).
I think your timescale is quite short unfortunately . Initially I trained my rescue dog to sleep downstairs by sleeping down there with him (him in crate me on sofa). After a week or so I retreated to the dining room (next door but still downstairs) then crept upstairs in the middle of night but this went to pot when we went on holiday and tried to shut him in the kitchen as he scratched the door and barked and we had to let him in our room where he’s slept ever since

The problem is I suppose, u are not starting from scratch with a clean slate. What was the dog used to before they came to you. Bishops are gorgeous. Is it possible to get a pet sitter instead? Hope u find a solution.

What was his background before he came to you?
It's hugely unsettling for the dogs when they're rehomed, even if they seem happy some take a long time to adjust.
He's been with you for 3 months and it can take a lot longer than for him to be settled, sometimes you may see effects forever it depends on the dog.
Rushing him because he's booked into the kennels isn't ideal for him, ideally he needs time to adjust to his new home

@VeryStressedMum is right. You're just hitting the point where he's able to relax and be himself. On top of that, separation anxiety is notoriously difficult to resolve (as you're discovering) and it's all too easy to increase their anxiety by going too quickly. I think you should consider getting some professional advice, and also put a back up plan in place for your holiday. That will take the time pressure off and allow you to move at his pace.

Look for a trainer who specialises in separation anxiety, a lot of them do online work. Also Google 'door is a bore' for some ideas.

Our rescue dog sleeps downstairs, but we did that from day 1. Same experience as with my childhood dogs, first night crying all night, 2nd night crying sporadically, them much better after that.

Ours still cries the first night back after being away, but otherwise generally good now.

Our rescue sleeps in her bed in our room. She would have been so distressed and unhappy if forced to sleep downstairs - it’s just the way she is and what she has been used to. She also has separation anxiety and we are using an app/ coach (Julie Naismith’s SA Pro app) to build up the time we leave her.

Have you considered a pet sitter rather than a boarder? They come and stay in your home and most will allow the dog to sleep in the bed or bedroom if that’s their usual arrangement.

Unfortunately, your time-scale is likely to be far too short.

Bichon’s are clingy, like their humans and are prone to severe SA. If this one is a rescue then you’re already dealing with a mountain not a hill in terms of managing it.

It sounds like you’re doing all the right things, but this is a something that may take years to really get to a very good place. If you push him too fast too soon, you’ll end up in an even worse position that you started in

If I am honest trying to leave a rescue dog with SA - of a breed that is prone to SA in good times, let alone as a rescue - with strangers as a ‘sleep trial’ when you’ve had him only three months was a terrible idea and probably has made the road to managing this longer. If you press ahead with October you may well find he’s in an even worse state when you come back. Sorry, I know that’s probably not what you want to hear

We've had our little rescue for 3 years now. She was always a happy soul from the first day, but still anxious and nervous and had separation anxiety especially from me as she bonded to me very quickly.
She slept in my bed from the first day and we never left her alone even to go to the shop (there's a lot of us in the house so this isn't something everyone can do) probably for the first 6 months.
I'd say after a year I noticed a change in her and she seemed different maybe more relaxed and used to our routine and house. She was always happy and to people who didn't know her would have thought she was fine, a confident enough dog but she wasn't.
She still has issues which haven't gone but the first few years of her little life were not good so it's to be expected.
Putting a rescue into kennels after 3 months is not something you should do, especially as he's not settled yet. Even if he settles at home by October he most likely won't settle in kennels as he's just got used to the home routine. Find someone who will come to your house and stay with him.

Thank you for all your replies.Sadly we don't know much about his previous life but we were assured by the rescue that he slept downstairs. I get that I've probably tried to move him on too quickly with the early sleep trial. The holiday was booked before we got the dog and I naively didn't anticipate this issue as it felt such a long way in the future. I'll definitely be consulting a behaviourist in the hope we can crack this, if not in time for the holiday but certainly for the future. Good job he's a little smasher and we love him very much, nerves and all.