I have encountered and worked with dogs which exhibit abnormal behaviors at night. Here are some examples.
1.) Midsized dog, otherwise normal in every way. I had them get a veterinary exam on their dog, everything checked out as normal. But, when the sun went down, the dog became aggressive.
2.) Chihuahua, otherwise normal in every way. I had them get a veterinary exam on their dog, everything checked out as normal. But when the sun went down, the dog became suspicious of strangers. We could start a lesson in public before the sun set, and the dog would be happy and normal, taking treats, doing attentive obedience, playful. After the sun went down, and the darker the environment, the dog would stop being happy, would no longer take treats, became hypervigilant of his surroundings, and was no longer playful.
3.) Small white fluffy dog, otherwise normal in every way. I had them get a veterinary exam on their dog, everything checked out as normal. But, at bedtime, and into the night, the dog starts to panic and scream all night.
4.) Small dog, otherwise normal in every way. I had them get a veterinary exam on their dog, everything checked out as normal. This dog wakes up several times every night to urinate.
In every case, I start out with the development of a full background evaluation. Most times, as you can see, I ask the owners to have their veterinarian run tests to see if a medical cause can be determined. Once medical causes have been ruled out, then the puzzling out starts. In each of these cases, there were different circumstances leading up to the problems.
In the first case, I couldn’t identify the trigger. I told them that I still suspected a medical cause, even though the vet couldn’t find one. Because that wasn’t yet proven, I developed a behavioral protocol for them to implement.
In the second case, we switched all the training until after dark and focused on changing how the dog felt about night work. Since this dog was in training to become a therapy dog, we needed to sort this out. Eventually we worked through all of this, and the dog successfully passed his therapy dog evaluation and became a therapy dog for hospice.
In the third case, we are working on that right now. I have a theory on how this started and what it is going to take to turn this dog around. Temporarily, we are working with the veterinarian and have the dog on a drug combo which has tamped down the panic attacks. We are also working on a protocol to reverse what is happening.
In the last case, I am scheduled to meet with them in the next couple of weeks to see what is going on. Healthy dogs should be able to sleep through the night without having to wake multiple times to urinate. Apparently, this has been going on for several years, so a pattern has been set and will need to be turned around. A few years ago, I worked with a woman who had 2 Dachshunds that woke up several times per night and defecated all over her living room furniture and floor. Some small changes, and we turned that around.
In all these cases, I start with getting a full background on the dog. In most cases, I have the owners request a full workup from their veterinarians to rule out medical causes. Then, it is puzzle out time… trying to figure out the triggers and coming up with a solution. Sometimes, I work in conjunction with the veterinarian to lead the dog and owners to a solution. Nighttime behavioral problems can be challenging for everyone, and in most cases the dogs are seriously struggling. Solutions usually involve some creative thinking and some knowledge what is and isn’t normal behavior.