If there's one thing to be said about Lucky the Shih Tzu, it's that he loves attention. Night or day, this sweet boy will never turn down an opportunity for a good snuggle. So I can understand how being in a new place with restricted access to the human bed can be a pretty traumatic experience for a well-loved pup who is used to sleeping in Shih Tzu Mom's bed every night.
I noticed Lucky had nocturnal tendencies the first night of his extended sleepover. Lucky was in the master bedroom in his comfy travel crate when he began picking away at his food. His dog tags clickety-clanked against the porcelain bowls. Because Lucky free feeds, this occurred seemingly like clockwork on the hour throughout the night. The second night was met by constant sighs - clearly the little guy missed his Shih Tzu Mom.
It was the third night I broke down and slept in the guest room with Lucky, Heather and Mr. K by my side. I wanted Lucky to be happy during his stay at the Scottie House and if that meant an all-night snuggle, so be it! Lucky slept by my face, Mr. K up against my stomach and Heather at my feet. I thought for sure we would enjoy a long night's rest.
Heather and Mr. K were fast asleep. It looked to be the same for Lucky at first but every two minutes or so he would sit up, readjust for optimal Shih Tzu comfort, bark at phantom noises outside the window or even jingle his dog tags for what I'm convinced was no other reason than just for fun. Needless to say, none of us slept that night.
The next night, Lucky was allowed to roam free in the master bathroom. Food, water and easy access to his beloved travel crate were available. Not long after I had gotten Lucky settled and gone to bed, Scottie Dad came upstairs to wash up for the night. What did he discover? Lucky had shown his distaste for his new nighttime accommodations by decorating the place yellow! After a midnight hour clean up, I retired for the night hoping it wouldn't be another instance of being up all night...and not for, as Daft Punk puts it, "good fun." How do you get your dog to settle down at night?
Oh dear... Hmm... Doesn't lucky know you is good people?
ReplyDeleteMy house, my rules. The first few times that Dixie slept over,, we put her in a crate. I'm not used to noise in the bedroom. She moaned and groaned. It was a pain. The last time, she slept in the big bed with Sid and Shelby. Collars are removed at night. There is no food or water available. The next two weeks were very quiet. Dixie is now sleeping in the big bed in her house.
ReplyDeleteOur problem is not getting to sleep-it's staying asleep. Since, in Arizona, we don't go on daylight savings time, at this time of year, it starts getting light at 4:15 and the youngsters think it's time to wake up the peeps and me.
ReplyDeleteI always settle down at night now, but I didn't when I was a puppy - they used to sit by me and stroke me gently until I fell asleep.
ReplyDeleteWe take off their collars so all the adjusting and moving about is quiet. They stay on the bed till I turn off the light then they are on their own. One usually sleeps on the bench by the bed and the other in her bed in the living room. Sometimes one or the other sleeps on the bathroom rug, so we've learned to shuffle during the night to avoid stepping in the middle of one.
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