Rescue howling/crying at night!!!!

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BID

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So mother in law has got a rescue springer, he is approx 6 years of age and almost completely deaf. I suspect he has been in kennels a while as his pads are smooth and he has bald pathces from where he would have been on concrete. He is housetrained and he is a very good boy in every way except he howls/cries at night time and she ends up sleeping on the sofa. He refuses to go upstairs and she won't ignore him as she is worried about him waking up the neighbours, so he is getting his own way by her sleeping on the sofa. He is a very timid fightened litte chap, any tips much appreciated thanks.
 
Have you tried wrapping a ticking clock in a towel? Sometimes it reminds them of a heart beat and comforts them. When our dog was a puppy he cried a lot at night and we gave him a cuddly penguin which he used to suck on and it really comforted him. Couldn't go anywhere without this reeking penguin for a while! He wasn't a rescue though and didn;t have the issues this poor little fella has. Would it be safe to put a couple of drops of rescue remedy into his water to help him sleep?
 
I would say it is fine to put some Rescue Remedy in his water. It will help him relax, also the clock is a good idea or a small radio. Also a small toy could help him.

If he has been in kennels for a while he will have had company and it sounds as if that is what he wants.

As for not going up stairs, he may have been taught that he does not go up so he is being a good boy in that respect.
 
I would create a space downstairs where by you mother can be with him during the day when he is in this space, to teach him to become comfortable at her being around when he is "in there" so he does not wonder around looking for her at night.
It may be she spends most of the day in his company and at night he finds him self alone and (seeking ) her out, I would downsize the space he has and introduce something like a crate (door open at first) or a doggy igloo (google) or look on ebay, with a nice cosey bed, feed him in which eve one you choose and give him treats in there (positive association).
He needs his own little bedroom.
 
She has had him 6 days so its very early days but the poor little man was in 3foster homes in the space of 4 days before that so he must be so bewildered and I really think he must have been in kennels for quite some time before that. Thing is I am worried that if he doesn't settle soon she will feel that she can't cope and he is so perfect for her, if she leaves him during the day her neighbour has told her he howls for about half an hour and then stops which is promising. She has created a little area just for him with his bed, toys treats etc but he won't go near it.
 
Well the house is quite small and open plan, he likes to lay on the rug in front of the sofa and on the carpet at the bottom of the stairs/entrance.
 
BID said:
Well the house is quite small and open plan, he likes to lay on the rug in front of the sofa and on the carpet at the bottom of the stairs/entrance.
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So could she set 'his' area up in either of those places to allow him some choice. Rescue remedy worked very well for my neighbours dog.

Please, please, please encourage her to give him time and not to give up on him. He will turn around, but it will probably take quite some time.
 
When B refused to go near her crate I got in it!! (Obv my fat backside didnt fit all the way in) I gave her loadssss of treats and fuss in there to make it a good place. Might be of some help to your mum?
 
amymay said:
So could she set 'his' area up in either of those places to allow him some choice. Rescue remedy worked very well for my neighbours dog.

Please, please, please encourage her to give him time and not to give up on him. He will turn around, but it will probably take quite some time.
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I may be underestimating her as she has been walking him like mad to try to get him really tired but she can't let him off the lead as he can't hear her call him, hopefully that will change once he has bonded with her, she got all upset the other day because another dog who was off the lead attacked him so I think she is pretty smitten with him but she is on her own and you know what it's like when you are deprived of sleep. I think she is just desperate for him to settle into a routine, he is such a good boy but he is so sad.
 
littlemisslauren said:
When B refused to go near her crate I got in it!! (Obv my fat backside didnt fit all the way in) I gave her loadssss of treats and fuss in there to make it a good place. Might be of some help to your mum?
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Lol, communicating with him at the moment is very difficult because he is deaf and just so sad if you try to communicate with him he just lays down and lifts his leg to have his tummy rubbed :(
 
My old boy is deaf (Apparently.... Though he can somehow hear a crip packet being opened from the other end of the house!) He knows hand signals for sit, wait and come. We taught him them when he had more hearing ability though.
 
Clicker training works wonders with timid dogs because they can choose how much progress they are comfortable making. Your mum can use it for general training and for desinsitising him to the things he is scared off, i.e. helping him make his way up the stairs, or helping him explore the downstairs and 'target' a sleeping area.

A DAP difuser/colar may also help.
 
Booboos said:
Clicker training works wonders with timid dogs because they can choose how much progress they are comfortable making. Your mum can use it for general training and for desinsitising him to the things he is scared off, i.e. helping him make his way up the stairs, or helping him explore the downstairs and 'target' a sleeping area.

A DAP difuser/colar may also help.
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Thanks Booboos but he is almost compeltely deaf unfortunatley.
 
BID said:
Thanks Booboos but he is almost compeltely deaf unfortunatley.
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Sorry I should have clarified, being deaf is not a problem at all. I have seen two clicker trained deaf dogs and a fish! All you do is replace the clicker with a visual cue, the easiest is a mini flash light you switch on and off to indicate the desired behaviour. The rest is all the same.
 
He sounds like he has seperation anxiety and poss the reason he has been passed around.
He is to used to company and when the company leaves, he becomes distressed, taking him upstairs would possibly just heighten the anxiety when she leaves the house, as he is still spending "more time" in her company, unless she introduced a crate upstairs and down stairs to create his space where he goes, (when she/you mam is there) by allowing a dog with SA to pace a large area when left alone the problems become worse, hence why it's best to start small and gradually increase space as the dog becomes settled in it's own company.
If she intoduces a crate/igloo, she can encouage him to use it with positive reward whislt she is chilling out, watching tv and doing housework, he can then settle somewhee without following her everywhere, she can then cover the crate with a blanket (making it more den like/less view to see her) and she can come and go more freely without him stressing and he is unaware of he whereabouts:D she could be in or she could be out, because she has gradually built the time up, it's not such a huge deal as him seeing her walk out the door and leave him alone in a lage space, whee he will ty and "seek he out" or vocally loacte her (howling) or barking in distress.

She can introduce the small area, (even a baby gate) on the kitchen may do the trick if a crate is out of the question, but he must spend time in their when she is in and he can see her through the gate pottering about.
He can not associate the place with "him being placed in" and "her leaving"
Tire him physically and fill a kong with goodies (food mixed with sardines) chicken/cheese, raw bones and swap and change so he does not become bored .
He will not take them in an anxious state but given them whilst you mam is there will lerrn him to take them in a non anxious state and once settled in a routine he will take them when she pops out.
She should never make a fuss of him when she returns home, no eye contact or touch "Im home fuss" and she should withdraw any forced attention he seeks when she is home but instead give it when he is calm and settled.
You can as suggested plug in a DAP diffuser so help with the anxiety.

You can get past this with a good routine in place, ayoung couple contacted me 2 weeks ago to say there staffi was ripping the house apart when left, now only 2 weeks on, he is settled and is not displaying any destructon as they created a new routine to better prepare him for staying alone without becoming anxious.
 
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