I swear I'm raising a 2 year old- bedtime issues.

[marcerella02]

Oh where to begin.

- Layla sleeps in her crate next to my bed at night
- has since day one- usually LOVES going in and it out cold before i can even say goodnight

So- four nights ago I put Layla in her crate and she went to bed like normal and I watched tv for a bit- i turned to look at her and she was wide awake right up at the front of her crate looking at me. I thought it was really weird because she is usually sound asleep but I turned the Tv off and went to bed.

- Next night- same thing.

Two nights ago- She was pawing at the door and I knew she hadn't pooped so I took her out and she peed and i thought ok- guess that is it- going to back to bed- Well could NOT get her back in her crate- so i thought maybe she does have to poop- so we went upstairs and she did what she does when she is hungry- which made sense because she played like crazy that night- so i fed her- she DID have to poop and then i thought ok back to bed- again-- could not get her in her crate- she clawed at my arm so much she almost drew blood. and she just seemed SO upset... so let her stay out because i had No idea what was wrong- well needless to say we didnt' go to bed until 1:30

SO last night- i had to FIGHT her to get her in her crate but i was NOT having a night like the previous night and she had pooped, peed and was fed- so i knew she didn't NEED anything.

Anyways- i have NO idea what is going on but it is tiring, frustrating and sad- Layla usually LOVES her crate- and when i go to wake her in the morning she is very happy to be in there- so much so that she doesnt' want to come out!

thoughts?

[loveyorks]

Sorry, I don't have any intelligent input but maybe someone else will and can give some advise..

[JoeyP]

Sounds to me like she's responding to an opportunity that You are providing for her
Of course she's going to want to come out and be with you
You had said that on the first night she was just sitting there being nice and quiet
You got into trouble when you took her out
Before she knew ..... in the crate means sleep
now she saw..... hey there's a whole new brave new world out there at night

Put her in her usual time
make sure she poops and has everything she needs and let her cry a bit
do not try and console her ... because your voice will reinforce her crying
after a few mins she'll calm down and go to sleep

[marcerella02]

Originally Posted by JoeyP

Sounds to me like she's responding to an opportunity that You are providing for her
Of course she's going to want to come out and be with you
You had said that on the first night she was just sitting there being nice and quiet
You got into trouble when you took her out
Before she knew ..... in the crate means sleep
now she saw..... hey there's a whole new brave new world out there at night

Put her in her usual time
make sure she poops and has everything she needs and let her cry a bit
do not try and console her ... because your voice will reinforce her crying
after a few mins she'll calm down and go to sleep

well she had to come out the time i let her out as she had not had her second poop of the day- even though she was given ample opportunity. and she did end up having to poop.

However, i'm not sure I agree that she is wanting out to "play"- She will go in her crate on her own at night because she is tired and she knows it is bedtime. Sometimes I'll try and take her out to cuddle with me in bed while I watch tv and she wants nothing of it. She's 3 and has been in her crate since she was 4 months old.

I'm not sure what the answer is but i'm hoping it doesn't happen tonight. It makes me really sad that she is so upset to go in her crate all of a sudden.

[mkawczak]

Do you need extra love and hugs sent to you from Aiden??? Lol. I don't think it's a play thing either. My pups go in their crate to escape,but I've noticed when my son comes home and they go see him,if he plays with them and gets them all exited,sometimes they have trouble settling down again...second wind thing. Hopefully tonight will be different. Good Luck! Happy Valentines Day Cutie Pie.

[kezza]

I have had the same thing with Pixie of late..when i'm getting ready for work, as soon as I put my coat on she will know that it is time to get in her crate and she will usually just hop right in on her own..she knows the routine...well, for a few days last week she started playing up..not wanting to go in and hopping straight back out given the chance and sitting in the corner of the crate looking at me with sad eyes and just not looking very happy at all..I felt so guilty leaving her like that though..I know that as soon as I have gone she will just snuggle down in her blanket and go off to sleep. I really do think these babies have got us sussed out and just like skin babies they will 'try you out' and push their luck to see what they can get away with! I think the best thing is to just stand your ground and try not to give in however hard it may be!

[xoxodoglover89]

My furbaby got this way when she was younger. She slept in her crate at night next to my bed. She'd wake me up when she had to go outside and then normally I'd let her on the bed with me after since I knew she'd be good for awhile. This went on for quite a few months until one night, she absolutely refused to go in her crate and I caved in to her sad puppies eyes when she looked at me. She has slept on my bed ever since. Of course now she's potty trained so it isn't a big deal.

[Shelby&Seymour]

This may be coming from "left field", but is there something that has SCARED her while she was in her crate? Dogs seem to have a great memory and maybe she was scared by something while in there..... do you have a "spare" crate.... or maybe it could be placed in a different location in the room? Maybe a changed in the blankets or bed in the crate? It may be worth a try.

[spr377]

Originally Posted by Shelby&Seymour

This may be coming from "left field", but is there something that has SCARED her while she was in her crate? Dogs seem to have a great memory and maybe she was scared by something while in there..... do you have a "spare" crate.... or maybe it could be placed in a different location in the room? Maybe a changed in the blankets or bed in the crate? It may be worth a try.

[JoeyP]

Oh no ... it's not a "play" thing at all
It's just attention
Dogs Live for our attention ... and they will take bad attention over none at all everytime
You said you felt like you were dealing with a 2 year old
well ... just like with a child when they come out of their room whinning
Mommy, I want a glass of water
You unceremoniously get them the water and traipse them right back into bed
no stories no pudding pops ... just in bed
same here

[Zeus08]

Something must be in the air because I am having the same problem. He used to go into his crate with out whining after potty breaks in the middle of the night. Now he is barking and crying and this lasted for over an hour on Saturday at 4 am. You guessed it! I totally caved in. That was so miserable. I can handle 5, 10 minutes of crying but over an hour! I took him out and all he wanted was to snuggle up with me and he passed out almost immediately. We slept until 9 am! Bad habits forming already!!

[marcerella02]

Well i think it is the crate- Last night we were in Ohio and i brought her travel crate which is soft sided- almost like a tent- got it at Target- and she went in there NO problem at 9 pm and my dad and I watched tv until 11 she could have cared less- i just can't figure out WHAT it is about her regular crate that is bothering her- I don't want to change crates- that is her night time crate and it has to stay that way but i'm really puzzled...