Dog Community

Please help....

Posted : 6/12/2006 11:18:55 AM

Toby sleeps on the bed..and lately he would wake up in the middle of the night and start growling and biting...He usually sleeps under the cover and for no reason would just growl. He only does it in the middle of the night. Any ideas? Thank you.

tashakota

Posted : 6/12/2006 11:28:12 AM

Is he biting you? How old is he? What kind of dog? How long have you had him?

Yvonne S

Posted : 6/12/2006 12:07:47 PM

Toby is 7 year old Silky Terrier....Had him since he was 1...He does bite on occasions. He growls when the vet touches him. I am really concern at night, when he would just out of nowhere..bite! He won't sleep on his own bed. He would whine the whole night for me to pick him up to the bed...Thank you...

tashakota

Posted : 6/12/2006 12:24:59 PM

Oh he's cute! Have you asked your vet about this? Sometimes behavior changes can be medical. He may be in pain or not feeling well. I would rule that out by asking your vet. Aside from that I would probably not let him sleep on the bed for a while. Get him used to sleeping alone, in a crate or some other room. To do that you will have to tolerate the whining for a couple nights so I'd start on a Thurs night if you work Mon-Fri, because you will probably lose sleep because of it.

I hope you can find out what's going on...

Yvonne S

Posted : 6/12/2006 12:26:19 PM

Thanks..I will ask the vet...

Sherry

Posted : 6/12/2006 3:51:05 PM

I agree! Try to get him use to sleeping in his own area... like a crate. Might have growing pains or some thing and at night might be when they act up and not knowing it react to whos closest. For the pups safty and yours until things work out I would start crate training if you have not already done so. Will help in future if you need to solve issues to have the crate intraduced early on before its tooo hard for the adjustment.

loveukaykay

Posted : 6/12/2006 3:57:33 PM

Sounds almost like hes getting annoyed with you when you move or something and disturb his sleeping. If he is biting you he needs to lose bed privledges right away. You need to establish yourself as leader with him. Maybe in the future you can let him back into the bed, but sounds like he needs to learn his place first. Good luck.

Shannon O'Neill

Posted : 6/12/2006 7:49:23 PM

Gertie has similar behavior. When she is sleeping I can move around or touch her slowly and it has no effect on her. But if it is a sudden movement or noise she reacts like a tasmanian devil. I think she gets startled and it scares her. It hasn't bothered me enough to keep her out of the bed. I think it is one of those "little dog" behaviors. She is about 1 1/2 years old and a terrier too.