I’m looking for some advice regarding our 9-month-old puppy.
He’s a smooth collie (more like Lassie than a Border Collie in temperament), and generally a lovely dog. He gets 2–3 walks per day, with his lunchtime walk being at least 45 minutes plus some training, so I believe he’s getting enough exercise and stimulation.
Since we brought him home, he has always slept in a crate. Initially, he was unsettled when we had him in the kitchen, but once we moved the crate to the living room, he settled well and has been fine ever since.
Recently, we went away for a weekend and stayed in a holiday cottage. The first night he slept on the bed, and the second night he slept on the landing. When we returned home, he went back into his crate without any issues on the first night. However, since then, he has started whining, crying, and barking about 15 minutes after being put to bed (this is after everyone has gone upstairs, so I don’t think it’s FOMO-related).
His usual routine is that he naps on his bed or the sofa from around 7pm, then goes out for a final toilet break at about 10:30pm before going into his crate calmly.
After around 10 days of barking and crying at bedtime, I wondered if the change during our trip had affected him and that he might now want to be closer to us. So, three nights ago, I let him sleep in our room. The first night went well and he settled on his crate mattress on the bedroom floor albeit this was at 2am.
However, for the last two nights, he has repeatedly jumped onto the bed, wriggled around my legs and feet, barked occasionally, and generally been very unsettled. I haven’t slept properly at all and am completely exhausted.
Under normal circumstances I’d cope, but alongside everyday life (children, work, etc.), my mum is currently in the late stages of a terminal illness. At the moment, sleep is the one thing keeping me functioning, so this is becoming really difficult.
I’d really appreciate any advice or similar experiences on how to address this before it becomes a bigger, long-term issue. I'm not opposed to him sleeping in our room and have space for his crate in there too.