Last year we adopted two little rescue dogs, a 9 year old toy poodle and his rescue friend a poodle chihuahua cross, who is now 18 months. We have had no problems with them before the current one and they are well settled with us. We don’t like our dogs upstairs so they sleep together in a covered crate in the kitchen. They seem to like the crate as they wait outside it to be let in at bed time. They wake up about 5am usually and after breakfast and a walk are happy to stay downstairs quietly if I want to go back to bed.
For the last 10 days or so they have started to begin barking at between 2 and 3 am and carry on if we try to put them back in the crate or leave them downstairs. If we have them upstairs the young one settles down on the bed with us but the older one goes to sleep on a jumper or whatever he can find on the floor. Neither seem to actively want to be in the bedroom, they seem to want us to get up and play with them - which isn’t going to happen.
We are struggling with sleep deprivation now. I would let them stay upstairs if I knew they would sleep all night but I’m worried I will end up with dogs upstairs who won’t settle.
There is nothing obvious by way of noises etc. that is an explanation for this. Does anyone have any ideas to get them happy back in the usual routine?