By the time a foster dog comes to my house, she’s been shuffled around a few times. It’s no wonder she has trouble falling asleep at night.
Unfortunately, if the foster dog ain’t sleeping, nobody’s sleeping.
Perfect Dog Except for One Little Thing
Most foster dogs cry the first night or two.
We put their crate right beside the bed and dangle a hand or finger in the door so they can smell us as they go to sleep. For really tough cases, one of us will lie on the floor with our face right next to the crate door until the dog falls asleep.
Usually it only takes a few days until the dog feels safe enough to sleep on his own.
But I have a feeling Ginny is going to be a tough case. She wants to sleep on the bed. And she wants to sleep on the bed NOW, darn it. And if she can’t sleep on the bed, she will whine-bark-bay until… until… well, until we’re so worried the neighbors will hear that we try something new.
Yes, she would go right to sleep if we put her on the bed. But we don’t let Honey sleep on the bed and we don’t want to encourage jealousy. And if we don’t deal with this, we’re creating problems her future family will have to deal with. They might not be as patient as we are.
It’s tough, Ginny. But you have to learn how to comfort yourself at night. Just like you have to be calm when you’re left alone in the house (something she does just a little bit better).
And if you don’t learn, Ginny, I’m going to have to… to… ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Sleep-Deprived Ramblings
I’m too tired to be coherent.
Here are a few reminders.
If you or your family have decided to do something more meaningful for the holidays than buy each other one more chia pet, can I make a suggestion? Give a gift to help senior dogs needing hospice care through Frankie’s Fund.
Frankie’s Fund was set up by Edie Jarolim as a way to give her recently passed dog a great sendoff while helping others at the same time. Please click the last link to make your gift to GreyMuzzles.org.
Edie is trying to raise $5,000 by Christmas and she needs your help. So please spread the word by sharing her post and give as much as you can.
And while we’re thinking about giving, Kate of Slim Doggy has shared compliments, encouragement and link love with her Pet Blogger’s Gift exchange partner, Duke the Dog. I know a few others of you are working on secret projects to thrill and surprise your partner. But if you’ve been linked to another blogger, you have until January 4 to write your encouraging post and post it to the linky list.
And if you were sleeping (I’m so jealous) when we first announced the Pet Blogger’s Gift Exchange and you don’t know what it is, check out my co-host’s, Pup Fan of I Still Want More Puppies, description of how it all works.
Now let’s see some non-material gift giving, folks.
Your Turn: Do you have any good advice for helping an adult dog sleep at night? Please use short words. I’m too tired to read anything too complekated compli hard.
You are doing Dog’s work, Pamela! There is a reward on earth, knowing this, seeing wonderful dogs like Ginny find great homes because they’re well behaved as well as cute. But ooooh, sleep deprivation sucks!
Thank you so much for finding the energy to write about Frankie’s Fund again, even in your tired haze.
That’s a tough one since she is recuperating from surgery. It’s not like you can walk her for a hour before bed. How about right before bed, a PT session followed by some obedience work to tire her brain, followed by a dog puzzle (more brain work), followed by warm milk 😉
Ginny sure is cute. I remember being sleep deprived. Its no fun. I hope she starts sleeping in the crate soon!
Poor you and Ginny. How about a kong stuffed with peanut butter and frozen to keep her busy. Hope the sleep comes soon.
Oh, I’m so sorry. Sleep deprivation is just awful. It looks like you’ve gotten some great suggestions already. We faced a similar issue with Cooper, so we started our bedtime routine a bit earlier, then tucked him in his crate with a sheet draped over top and a Nylabone. About 50% of the time, by the time I clicked the light off, he had chewed himself to sleep. That’s definitely not a fail-proof solution, but when you’re facing the possibility of another night without sleep… it’s worth a shot!
I am so sorry to heat you are not getting any sleep. I think Beagles are notorious for their baying when unhappy and they love to sleep on the bed and under the covers. Hopefully staying consistent and firm will help.
Oooo that’s tough. I hope she gets settled down soon so you can sleep. And how on earth can you tire her out when she is trying to recover from surgery?
We’ve never had an adult dog that didn’t sleep. We had the puppy which caused sleep deprivation, but it didn’t last long thankfully.
Try the CD Through a Dog’s Ear. I can’t explain it, but it works.
She is a little cutie!
I’ve had only one Beagle in my life and she always slept on my bed. To be honest, I didn’t know dogs ever slept any place else. Oh, the things i learn from bloggers…
We sleep with Elka, so I have no non-sleep-in-the-bed advice, I’m sorry. At least she’s cute? 😉
Short words = Puppy Crack
Recipe:
1/3 cup goat’s milk + 2 tablespoons local, organic honey
Heat to somewhere around body temp. Give 30 minutes before bedtime after wearing the dog out physically somehow.
Oh, I’m no help. If it was us, the hubs would TOTALLY just let her up in the bed. I wouldn’t stand a chance to keep her off. Hope she settles in SOON!
Oh gosh I don’t know what I’d do. That dog would be long since cuddled up with us at night. I agree with what you’re doing though given that she’s a foster dog–and that in the long run it will set her up for success in a new home. I just would not be strong enough to implement it myself!
Maybe some supplements? I’m putting together a blog post on dog calming agents; just offhand, for sleep I might try Benadryl! That’s kind of cheating but might get you all through a few nights while she gets more comfortable.
I wish I could help! But all 3 of my girls were puppies when they came to live with us. Callie & Shadow were 7 weeks old. Callie was very good — quiet from the first night — and Shadow was a female Houdini who had to be allowed on the bed because she kept getting out of the kitchen. Ducky was 7 months old, but like Callie, she was also quiet from the first night. Shadow still wants to sleep in the bedroom, but rarely stays on the bed for long. Callie usually stays all night unless she gets hot.
Ignore her. Sounds (!) difficult but it will eventually work. She is just looking for attention. Then buy a pair of ear plugs.
It’s good that you’re not giving in to Ginny wanting to sleep on the bed. When she finds her forever home, I’m sure they’d appreciate that she’s already crate trained. I have no advice for you. Maya is the only dog I’ve ever crate trained… not really. I didn’t actually have to train her. She took to the crate very naturally.
Keep up the good work, you will get there in the end! Sorry I have no advice I can give you, good luck!
I don’t envy you. All I know is Jens and Gins alike are difficult to deal with! *sigh*
Yayyyyy! I have absolutely no advice. We have littermate puppies in the house again and although things are going swimmingly well, I’ve been sleeping with them, because my boyfriend has a righteous cold and this is going to create problems next week when I don’t sleep with them.
I’m sleepy.
I love that you’re thinking of your foster’s future family. That’s so important.