Training old dog to sleep downstairs

[Count Oggy]

As the title says really. We've had our dog for 4 years and has always slept on his own bed in our room. Yesterday he had 7 seizures in the space of 24 hours. Hopefully we'll be able to control them with medication but the time for him to sleep downstairs has come. He also has fairly advanced arthritis so won't be able to cope with the stairs eventually but this has forced my hand into making the decision, I'm worried he'll have a seizure on the stairs and really injure himself.
Does anyone have any ideas on how to retrain an older dog so he'll be happy to sleep alone. This is a very clingy rescue Labrador.

 

[bonny]

I would sleep downstairs with him, at least for a while. If he’s having fits he shouldn’t be left on his own any more than you can help and it’s certainly not going to help to stress him when what he needs is peace and consistency

 

[windand rain]

Sleep near him until he is settled if crate trained it shouldn't take too long for him to treat his crate as a safe place but I would have a monitor to make sure you can hear him if he does struggle in the night

 

[Count Oggy]

I would sleep downstairs with him, at least for a while. If he’s having fits he shouldn’t be left on his own any more than you can help and it’s certainly not going to help to stress him when what he needs is peace and consistency

Totally agree. I'm on the sofa again. Lucky I'm short lol. He's very happy to sleep downstairs when I'm with him but eventually I'll want to go back to my own bed. He's not fitted in 24 hours so hopefully we've broken the cycle. Yesterday was very distressing for everyone.

 

[Count Oggy]

Sleep near him until he is settled if crate trained it shouldn't take too long for him to treat his crate as a safe place but I would have a monitor to make sure you can hear him if he does struggle in the night

He isn't crate trained but he may take to it. I have a huge crate in storage which was used recently for introducing kittens. After I'd stared leaving it open he often went in for a snooze and it only had a few bath mats down for comfort. He really hates being apart though and will often whine if I'm on the loo for too long.

The baby monitor is an excellent idea

 

[meleeka]

I’m no help because I ended up carrying my old Spaniel up to bed each night and put a baby gate at the top so she couldn’t fall down again. I used to come down in front of her so if she stumbled she’d only get as far as my legs.

 

[EllieBeast]

I’d be putting a baby gate at the top of the stairs so there’s no risk of him falling down. If he’s having seizures the last thing I want is him on a different floor- and in his old age I’d want him to have all of his creature comforts- my girls sleep in my room and I’ll be carrying them up the stairs when they’re too old to do it themselves (massive soft touch right here ?)

 

[Clodagh]

I think he needs to be with you while he is struggling. I assume, perhaps unfairly, that you want him downstairs so you get a better nights sleep.
I would gently suggest that if he is having fits he needs to be with you and closely monitored and it is not the time to change his routine.

 

[tda]

I think you will struggle, with our oldest dog even if you've left the room and he then wakes up he's straight up and looking for you.
Sometimes he is reluctant to attempt the stairs but I can still persuade him up .
I cannot carry him up or down the steps, so sadly that will be his time to go if he can't manage alone .

 

[AmyMay]

I think he needs to be with you while he is struggling. I assume, perhaps unfairly, that you want him downstairs so you get a better nights sleep.
I would gently suggest that if he is having fits he needs to be with you and closely monitored and it is not the time to change his routine.

I 100% agree with this. At the end of his days changing his routine actually seems terribly unfair.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I sympathise because I have had a Lab with epilepsy, although my dogs have never slept upstairs. I would put a baby gate at the top of the stairs, get him stabilised and *then* organise crate training him. You might find that the cause was an infection rather than a long term condition. I had a different Lab who had a seizure aged 11, which she would not come out of. She stayed at the vet's over 3 days, she was so subdued that the vet thought that she had permanent brain damage but sent her home on the 4th day. She was delighted to be back home, checked everywhere was the same and never had another seizure again, with no sign of long term damage. Good luck!

 

[Count Oggy]

I should have given more information. The dog is old but if you asked me on Saturday I would have said in very good health, the start of kidney and liver disease but really nothing you'd be concerned about. Normal liver and kidney function for a 12 year old dog. He's more enthusiastic about life and healthier than my previous lab was at 7. On Sunday he started fitting and continued for 24 hours. The vet is hopeful that we should be able to control them even if idiopathic.

My house has spiral stairs which, if he did have a seizure while navigating, could be very dangerous for him. I can also see a time when, for other age related reasons he may not be able to make the stairs safely. While it may be the opinion of some this is a good reason to PTS it is not mine. I'm a pragmatic animal owner with extremely pragmatic large animal vets who are very good at deciding the right time for an animal to go.

What I would like to do is train my dog now, who has all his faculties, to accept a change of routine to enable him to live out his old age safely and with a little stress as possible.

We already have a stairgate fitted to the bottom of the stairs as he'll go wallowing in the stream then sneak upstairs to dry off on my bed. I'd also forgotten but in the winter, he'll often stay on his bed in front of the fire as it's much warmer than our bedroom so he'll choose comfort over companionship when it suits him.

If anyone has experience of training an older dog to accept a small change in its routine I'd love to hear what worked, what didn't or even if you failed completely

 

[Count Oggy]

I sympathise because I have had a Lab with epilepsy, although my dogs have never slept upstairs. I would put a baby gate at the top of the stairs, get him stabilised and *then* organise crate training him. You might find that the cause was an infection rather than a long term condition. I had a different Lab who had a seizure aged 11, which she would not come out of. She stayed at the vet's over 3 days, she was so subdued that the vet thought that she had permanent brain damage but sent her home on the 4th day. She was delighted to be back home, checked everywhere was the same and never had another seizure again, with no sign of long term damage. Good luck!

Thank you. I hope this is the case. The cycle of seizures has been broken in that he's not had one now for 24hours which is apparently the key in controlling them. He has had one before. Maybe 18 months ago so I fear it will be an ongoing issue

 

[Petalpoos]

Poor dog and poor you, it's horrible having to change a dog's routine when they are not well.

Just one thing to look out for, hopefully it won't apply here, but my lab started having fits and then also had post fit aggression. For the last few days of his life I slept downstairs with him on a bed in the kitchen and me the other side of a child gate on the living room floor. He weighed 40kg (muscle, not fat) and it was quite scary the way he would stare at me after a fit, so please keep an eye out for that.

 

[Count Oggy]

Poor dog and poor you, it's horrible having to change a dog's routine when they are not well.

Just one thing to look out for, hopefully it won't apply here, but my lab started having fits and then also had post fit aggression. For the last few days of his life I slept downstairs with him on a bed in the kitchen and me the other side of a child gate on the living room floor. He weighed 40kg (muscle, not fat) and it was quite scary the way he would stare at me after a fit, so please keep an eye out for that.

Thanks, I will. Not seen any signs of this as yet but good to be aware. He comes round and wants a stroke or even just goes back to sleep.

 

[deb_l222]

I’m no help because I ended up carrying my old Spaniel up to bed each night and put a baby gate at the top so she couldn’t fall down again. I used to come down in front of her so if she stumbled she’d only get as far as my legs.

Yep, I've done this with all my older dogs

I've now moved to a bungalow so stairs are no longer an issue for any of us.

 

[alibali]

I've never changed an old dogs routine so feel free to disregard this suggestion however reading your second more detailed post made me think if it was me I would use his love of comfort to my advantage.

If retraining him could wait a month or two until the weather gets colder and you were able to make his sleeping spot downstairs much more comfortable and warmer than upstairs he might chose to sleep downstairs of his own accord. Then when the weather improves he just stays downstairs which is already normal for him. Obviously if he gets to sleep on your bed at the moment then my cunning plan is a non starter but I was thinking along the lines of deep fluffy bed at a safe but warm distance from the fire downstairs versus thinner bed on the floor upstairs and letting him take his pick....

 

[danda]

My old golden now sleeps downstairs after having slept upstairs all his life. With age it became more and more difficult for him to climb upstairs so a gate was put at the bottom of the stairs so he would not get stuck half way and fall fall back down. He seemed to accept this easily with almost a sigh of relief that he no longer had to try. We no longer need the gate as he can no longer climb at all, though ok on the flat.

 

[Count Oggy]

I've never changed an old dogs routine so feel free to disregard this suggestion however reading your second more detailed post made me think if it was me I would use his love of comfort to my advantage.

If retraining him could wait a month or two until the weather gets colder and you were able to make his sleeping spot downstairs much more comfortable and warmer than upstairs he might chose to sleep downstairs of his own accord. Then when the weather improves he just stays downstairs which is already normal for him. Obviously if he gets to sleep on your bed at the moment then my cunning plan is a non starter but I was thinking along the lines of deep fluffy bed at a safe but warm distance from the fire downstairs versus thinner bed on the floor upstairs and letting him take his pick....

He's not actually allowed on our bed but he's quite naughty. Also his upstairs bed is an old cot mattress which had definitely seen better days. His downstairs bed cost more than I'd like to admit and is a 5 inch thick memory foam XL dog bed. You could almost offer it to a visiting child for a nap it's so comfy ?. Hopefully this will be an incentive and make the transition easier as he didn't have it last winter. Thanks ?

 

[BallyJ]

I moved my dog downstairs when we moved into our first house. Would babygate the top of the stairs then start by moving his bed onto the landing for a couple of days or until settled then slowly move away.
Then to bottom of stairs (gate the bottom) and finally to where you'd like the bed to be.

 

[Red-1]

I feel for you.

We are glad that Hector is only a terrier, as we now have to carry him upstairs and onto the bed. We also have to lift him onto the sofa. I am glad he isn't a lab as I couldn't physically manage that.

I even took out mattress insurance when I just got a new one earlier this month. It is covered for stains, as an elderly Hekkie on a brand new, expensive, mattress was too much to think about! That is as well as a stain resistant cover.

 

[splashgirl45]

if you do decide to make him sleep downstairs it may be worth getting a camera which you can view on your phone so if there is a noise you can look without going downstairs and disturbing him... ive got one as my young terrier suddenly decided she couldnt cope if i went out so i used it in conjunction with training so i could see what she did and when and it helped me to gradually leave her longer and now she is fine but i have kept the camera on and when i cant sleep its interesting to see the 2 of them swapping beds etc

 

[ara]

if you do decide to make him sleep downstairs it may be worth getting a camera which you can view on your phone so if there is a noise you can look without going downstairs and disturbing him... ive got one as my young terrier suddenly decided she couldnt cope if i went out so i used it in conjunction with training so i could see what she did and when and it helped me to gradually leave her longer and now she is fine but i have kept the camera on and when i cant sleep its interesting to see the 2 of them swapping beds etc

agree! we have 2 dogs and we let the other sleep downstairs so he could accompany his brother and we put cameras so we could still monitor them

 

[Auslander]

My old setter has separation anxiety, and despite never being allowed on my bed/in my bedroom - went through a phase of being convinced that he would die of a broken heart if he wasn't allowed in my room. I folded, and moved his bed into my room, and all was well for a while until he started climbing onto my bed when I was asleep (and hogging the entire mattress).
I moved his bed out of my room, and made it, and the sofa, really comfy - and had nothing comfy in my room. He decided very quickly that the living room was much nicer than my bedroom, and moved back in there off his own bat.

 

[pistolpete]

Mine wouldn’t settle not with us. She’s was ok maybe until 5am on a good night then the whining would start. I agree with suggestions that staying downstairs with him initially is your best bet. Make him the cosiest den you can and use all the tricks in the book. Ticking clock warm water bottle fluffy blanket. Spiral stairs must be tricky and crate also sounds a good idea but be prepared it may not work. Good luck.