I need sleep!

[Corea99]

Firstly, my bully turns four (4) this week!
Here's the issue- every night around 2 am, my pup is awoken and runs downstairs to bark. It has been going on for at least 6-months. He will not stop or return to bed until I intervene. My human eyes and ears searched high and low inside and out. Unfortunately, I cannot source the trigger. As you can imagine, the ongoing sleep disruption is a huge problem for me.
I welcome all suggestions. Please help!

A second question- what brand of winter shoes do you suggest? This winter, ice melt/salt is problematic. The salt has got into his paw and interrupted walks, causing whining and hobbling. I want to prevent this and thought shoes. After each walk, I thoroughly rinse paws and apply paw wax.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read. Eager to receive your recommendations.

 

[anatess]

Hmm...
If I was in this situation, I'm going to go ahead and kennel him at night and see if he would still bark at 2AM.
If he's still barking in the kennel and you just can't find a reason he's doing so, my next step would be to go ahead and put him in another room just to get some uninterrupted sleep.

Sorry, I can't help you on the paws. We don't need it here where I'm at.

Hope this helps.

 

[oscarmayer]

Yep...kennel him in another room(downstairs) with a cover. He may bark at first but should eventually(it may take days or even weeks) settle down and sleep away. Right now he is setting your schedule. It should be the other way around. About 1 in 4 rescues we bring in are not kennel trained. Of those that aren't, most ARE within a few days...some a bit longer.
As far as the shoes are concerned...thankfully we rarely get snow/ice so chemicals aren't needed. I cannot help with this issue.

 

[Corea99]

@anatess @oscarmayer Thank you kindly for responding. I’m giving your recommendations a go.

 

[2BullyMama]

@anatess @oscarmayer Thank you kindly for responding. I’m giving your recommendations a go.

I tried the shoes, and they didn’t stay on more than four steps. I do as you do, as soon as back from a walk, rinse and dry paws then put musher’s secret on them

 

[rjisaterp]

Firstly, my bully turns four (4) this week!
Here's the issue- every night around 2 am, my pup is awoken and runs downstairs to bark. It has been going on for at least 6-months. He will not stop or return to bed until I intervene. My human eyes and ears searched high and low inside and out. Unfortunately, I cannot source the trigger. As you can imagine, the ongoing sleep disruption is a huge problem for me.
I welcome all suggestions. Please help!

A second question- what brand of winter shoes do you suggest? This winter, ice melt/salt is problematic. The salt has got into his paw and interrupted walks, causing whining and hobbling. I want to prevent this and thought shoes. After each walk, I thoroughly rinse paws and apply paw wax.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read. Eager to receive your recommendations.

Has any of the above recommendations worked?

 

[anatess]

I tried the shoes, and they didn’t stay on more than four steps. I do as you do, as soon as back from a walk, rinse and dry paws then put musher’s secret on them

2BullyMama, I was just at Disneyworld last Friday and... I couldn't believe it... a Great Dane service dog was walking right next to a lady in a wheelchair and they had MATCHING SHOES! The Great Dane was wearing this bright red shiny boots that strapped between his foot and his hock that matches his companion's boots. And he was wearing Mickey ears. Unfortunately, there were sooo many people, I couldn't stop to take a good photo. I'm thinking the dog wore those boots to protect his feet from the hot pavement all day long!

 

[2BullyMama]

2BullyMama, I was just at Disneyworld last Friday and... I couldn't believe it... a Great Dane service dog was walking right next to a lady in a wheelchair and they had MATCHING SHOES! The Great Dane was wearing this bright red shiny boots that strapped between his foot and his hock that matches his companion's boots. And he was wearing Mickey ears. Unfortunately, there were sooo many people, I couldn't stop to take a good photo. I'm thinking the dog wore those boots to protect his feet from the hot pavement all day long!

I would think that as well.. pavements are brutal on their paw pads

 

[Corea99]

@helsonwheels @1Chumly @anatess @oscarmayer @rjisaterp @2BullyMama I found resolution with a hybrid of the suggestions. First, I stopped going to him. No more getting out of my bed, poking around to source the trigger, and corral him back to bed. Next, ignored or commanded quiet. If the barking continued, a well-timed millisecond of compressed air. I timed the puff of air to release with a bark. Within a week, he returned upstairs to bed before I reached for the can. Amazing and all from my bed. Many thanks to everyone!

 

[oscarmayer]

I’m glad you were successful in modifying his behavior. Seems as though you have a smart dog.

 

[benny]

If the barking continued, a well-timed millisecond of compressed air. I timed the puff of air to release with a bark.

“Make a loud noise” is an hilarious solution that works great for us as well. A squirt of the air horn never occurred to me how convenient.

Similarly when Millie won’t come back inside sometimes all I need to do is bark at her and she runs over. Now if I could only make “come” work as well as “RAHRuFF!”

 

[Mayra]

Has any of the above recommendations worked?

you could maybe have him lay next to you to sleep. & i'm pretty sure he'll sleep the whole night..