Maggie Strikes Again, Can someone help me sleep?

[frogyoga]

Huge thank you again to all who replied to "Liability on a Leash" that I previously posted. However, I have one more question... (please go easy on me, I know I am the problem on this one...):o

I have had Maggie for several years, she has always slept in bed with me. My wonderful behaviorist I hired corrected me for allowing her to sleep at my head level or higher and since then she sleeps at arm pit level or below.

HOWEVER... (quick recap, she is 12 lbs or so, is a Female Rat Terrior, spayed, about 6 years old) starting at about Midnight and going until 6am she is up and down all night. Under the covers, settles down, above the covers, settles down, gets up and shakes her ears, settles down, gets up bounces around the bed, settles down. This happens between every 15 minutes and hourly.

I have been dealing with this by ignoring it and pretending I'm sleeping. I really don't want to have her sleep downstairs apart from me, so does anyone have any suggestions on corrections I can do to myself or her when this happens this evening?

As always, thanks for your time!! :)

[Dogwise]

Ok here's the short version without going into all of the details. However, later, if you would like me to, let me know, and I'll go into detail all the reasons a dog should not sleep in your bed. That being said, just because the dog doesn't sleep in your bed doesn't mean it can't sleep in the same room in its own nice, comfy bed. Let me know why you think it would need to sleep downstairs if it's not in your bed and you'd like more detail on why it shouldn't sleep in your bed.

Did I take it easy enough on you? LOL

[DiggityDogs]

IF it were me in this situation- I wouldn't let miss maggie sleep with me until all of the behavior problems are resolved. Like DW said, you can give her a comfy bed in your room (or a crate;)) and she can sleep with you in your room, without disturbing your rest. You'd be surprised at how much it will help- In my experience it's not the position on the bed that makes a difference, it's the height from the ground. If your dog is sleeping on the bed next to you, she's got the choice sleeping spot with a view of everything that's going on- the alpha dog watchtower. so whether she's above your head or below your armpits shouldn't make much difference, because she's still at the same 'level' as you are. However, I've never heard anyone give advice on having a dog sleep below your armpits, and I've never tried it, so I'm not sure if it's a good fix or not. As far as getting her to stop moving around- the first thing I do when my dogs start doing that is push them off the bed and let them find their own place to sleep :D I'm not sure if there's anything else that would work.

[frogyoga]

Bless both of you for your replies. Actually I hate to be a nuisance, but if I could have the long version of the reply I would greatly appreciate it.
I haven't had time to reply, but have been able to pick her up and put her on the ground when she starts bouncing. This has minimized it, but it has become apparent the time has come for her to have her own bed LOL

I don't know why I think she needs to sleep with me. I have previously crated all my dogs. For example, my larger well behaved dog who was crate trained, and eventually instead of going to a crate goes to his couch (bed whatever) sleeps downstairs, does his own thing and whines in the morning if I sleep too long bc he is fed in the a.m.

Maggie on the other hand is my first dog that doesn't outweigh me. Maybe I'm nesting LOL Seriously though, never had a toy dog before so I think I stopped thinking of her as a dog and this is when I made the first cardinal mistake.

Someone needs to reintroduce her and I. Maggie the dog, meet your owner and vice versa.

[Rio&Nickysmommy]

Oh I feel for you I loose sleep due to my Husbands snoring - sorry off the subject. My guys start the night on the bed and then move to lower ground. Rio will sleep over my head a 35lb cockerspaniel when I am sick, or upset. One of the best things we did was put a hopechest on the side of the bed instead of the front. Now they both take turns sleeping on that. Also have a dog bed right next to were I sleep so they can look up at me anytime they want and they are close by I can reach down and pet them. When the dogs are moving around to much we just go to bed and leave the door open for a while they go out play with their toys and I mean do they make a rukus especially Rio. Rio does this noisy crying thing when he plays with his toys anyway within a few minutes they come in and get settled in. I keep a small bowl of their dog food in the bedroom and a bowl of water they both eat a kibble or two and go off to bed. I wish you luck I sure know what lack of sleep is. That armpit thing sounds weird wonder if it works.
Rio&Nicksymommy

[DiggityDogs]

Don't get me wrong- I'm probably a rarity among dog trainers when I say I love to have my dog sleep in my bed, but when you're experiencing problems as you are with Maggie, it's a good idea to cut the pillow talk, at LEAST until you get her other issues under control. Here's how the two problems are related- Maggie acts crazy on a leash because she doesn't respect any authority. As any good dominant dog will do, she will also try to take control of certain other areas in life that make her feel like boss dog. The alpha dog gets choice sleeping spot, which is usually high up, also eats first, controls entry and exit to the 'den' and also the toys. When you allow her to sleep in the bed you are sending her a clear signal that you are NOT her alpha because you do not sleep at a higher level than she, and you are also allowing her to share that prized sleeping space, which would never happen with an alpha- If there were not a question of who was boss this wouldn't matter as much. Let me ask you- around the house, is maggie possesive with her toys? How does she react when your other dog comes near her if she has a good bone? what if you try to take a bone from her? Even a behavior as seemingly innocent as covering up the bone so she appears to be hiding it from you when you try to take it can be a sign of serious posession agression boiling under the surface. Also, do you feed her on a schedule, or is food available to her at all times? Also, does she try to dart out of doors before you when you open them? Often a bossy dog will bark excessively when someone walks in the front door, although you have to know what TYPE of barking you're looking for. Just because your dog barks when someone comes in doesn't make it a 'door controling' type of bark.... some dogs are just yippy because they're excited and it can be quite difficult to tell the difference. Also, how does Maggie react if you try to shoo her off of furniture? does she get off readily, laze around so that you have to push her, or has she ever growled? Most dominant dogs start off as just being balatantly defiant- not wanting to give up the toy, refusing to get off of the furntiure, etc. So if any of these behaviors are present, I would consider them a flag and start to take action immediately. If they aren't, then I would still either crate her or get her her own bed, so you can get some sleep! ;)

[frogyoga]

Again, thanks to everyone!!

For Rios Mommy, I never thought about putting a bed or crate where she can see me, this is KEY for Maggie so I have no idea why I didn't think about this, thanks!

Diggity: You have been giving me the greatest stuff to chew on so to speak. :) What you are saying totally makes sense. ARGH, I am so not in control LOL. Okay, I know this is serious, and given I have none of these other problems the Lab bc I actually trained him and treat him (respectfully) like a dog, you are making sense.

Maggie, fortunately does not hide food, her and Buddy are on a feeding schedule. They eat every morning at 6:30 this is 7 days a week. In the evening, they will get treats which they have to sit, shake, etc to gain. Buddy know sign language that I had to teach him as I'm a therapist so I can't interrupt a group to say "sit." Instead I put my fingers to my lips.

Maggie's barking when people come in, is not the typically barking, She does the rushing up and barking and then sniffs them. Maggie actually defers to Buddy and she does growl at him. He's the only one she growls at. She bares her teeth and bites his face, but it is gingerly and then she starts grooming his mouth and cheek area.

What is up with that?

[DiggityDogs]

Could be just a little warning to say 'don't forget who's boss.' However, I'd have to see it happen, as the face licking she does afterwards tends to be a submissive behavior. Hard to tell without actually seeing it, and sometimes our domestic dogs don't do things exactly by the 'dog behavior book' so I'll ocasionally see a dog that sends mixed signals, usually because at some point in the dogs life the behaviors were modified, either intentionally or unintentionally, by a person. You don't have to feel bad about making the mistakes- most of them can be fixed. Even professionals can sometimes forget we're dealing with dogs! :rolleyes: Glad the advice is helping, though...