Crying Dog

[thereare4lights]

Trying to work out what is wrong (if anything!) with my dog. He's a nearly 9 year old cockapoo who's always slept happily in the lounge/kitchen/dining room. For the last few weeks he's cried/barked for hours at night and I have no idea why. If I get up he will lie down next to me and be snoring in minutes. I've spent a few nights on the sofa but I refuse to have him in my bedroom as I am too light a sleeper. In the day he's normal - running around, long walks, chasing squirrels, eating and pooing normally. Any suggestions?

Sounds like he might be in the early stages of cognitive decline. Not wanting to sleep alone at night was the first symptom for my cocker spaniel. I started him on Activait and that helped for a few years.

It sounds like he’s anxious bless him.
Have you had a vet check recently? 9 is getting towards senior so he could be experiencing pain, hearing loss, sight loss etc that’s contributing to his worry. Maybe at night it affects him more because it’s quieter and darker.

If anything health related is ruled out then potentially something scared him at night, did it start around fireworks/new years? It might be something small that triggers them (for example I playfully threw a sofa cushion at my boyfriend once and my dog suddenly became scared of the sofa, it took me ages to realise the connection until he winced away when I picked up a cushion).

Try to modify the environment first, add a white noise machine or classical music. Keep a lamp on so it’s not dark. Does he have a cosy crate? Some dogs feel safer in a crate with a blanket over the top. You can get calming supplement and pheromone diffusers to help with anxiety too.

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I will try the vet to rule things out. I leave a lamp on in one of the rooms, so it's not pitch black anywhere. He was never a big fan of a crate, so we abandoned that when he was 18 months. I don't think he's easily scared - totally unfazed by fireworks. Will try some background noise and moving one of his beds under the dining table tonight as he does like to hide there.

No idea, but I could have written your post! I have a 4 year old cockapoo. She always slept in the utility room. Last year she just started to refuse to go to her bed. So we were either dragging her there or carrying her through. Then she started running away from us. At the point where every night involved chasing a cockapoo round the living room we gave up, and her Majesty spends the night on the settee.

Our old dog started doing this at the same age. We ended up having to take his bed upstairs put it outside our bedroom and we closed the door and he was fine with this.

Cockapoos are notoriously sensitive (my boy is a big wimp, and moreso as he gets older) - I'd discuss with your vet to rule out any possible medical issues just in case, but it's extremely possible he just realised he'd rather sleep with you and knows you're a softie who'll let him 😆

Hope you get to the bottom of it!

It’s possible he heard something that scared him a bit. I’d move his bed upstairs (but then I’m a softy!)