hiding under the bed

My dog does the under the bed thing too, I think he thinks its a game.  or that he's getting a bath or toenails clipped, etc.  Try closing the bedroom door when you take him out so he can't get under there when you come in, and see what he does then.  might give you clues as to why he does it. 

Usually, when a dog displays new behavior that is troublesome, there's a reason, either physically, or mentally.  My guess is that your dog has become either frightened by, or nervous about, something that happens in the evening.  Does your baby crawl yet?  Have you changed your evening routine?  Do you shoo the dog away to feed the child?  Does anything smell different? (Smell is the dog's primary sense, not hearing or sight.) 
Please don't drag your dog out from under the bed - much better to coax him out with a treat or just leave him there.  If he's frightened, and you force him, he may become even more resistant to come out.  This sounds like the kind of dog that may not do well with the attentions of a toddler, though.... If I were you, I'd police their interactions completely when baby gets around to motoring about the house on his own.  

I have two questions . . .

1) whats going on in the yard at night?  Winston used to be afraid of the dark for a while.  He would go out at night, but be quite skiddish the entire time.  We have a huge yard and my guess is that his night vision had not yet fully developed . . . . noises on the other side of the yard where he couldn't see probably freaked him out.

2) Have you tried going out at night with him?  Does that produce the same behavior when he comes inside?

I do not think I would block the door by the way . . . if that's where your dog feels safe, then you need to make sure that you continue to provide that safety for him.

This may sound silly but Scout used to come in from her nighttime pee all riled up, hair standing up, and prancing all around the house. I finally figured out that every night a cat was hanging out in our hedge and that's why she came in all worked up.
 
Maybe something similar is going on in your backyard at night, and your dog just has a different way of reacting to the "intruder"? Maybe go outside with him and play fetch or a game after he goes potty, to reiterate the positive feeling of being outside.

Thanks to everyone who has replied. Here's some added info:

This is usually happening around the time that the baby is being put down for the night. He sleeps in our bedroom, which is the same room the dog is hiding in (the dog sleeps in our bed with us). My wife wondered if he thinks that the baby going to bed means it's time for all of us to go to bed, so he's upset that he didn't get enough nighttime playtime. I suppose it's a possibility.

I've watched him go out several times, and nothing ever seems to go on while he's out there. He usually just pees in a couple spots and maybe poops and then comes in. I think tonight I will try going out there with him to keep a closer eye and to look for anything scary, and then I'll try playing with him outside a little bit to see if that helps.

One more thing I forgot to mention in my original post: Before the baby came, the dog spent his days in his crate. Now my sister-in-law comes over to watch the baby, so Buster is out of his crate all day. It has occurred to me that he may miss that alone time and that's why he's hiding under the bed, but I worry that it's something else.

Oh and Buster has been suffering from allergies for a little over a year. We cut corn out of his diet and it's helped a lot, but he still gets itchy. Doesn't seem like something that would cause him to go under the bed, but I'm trying to mention everything, just in case.

Again, all comments are appreciated, so please keep them coming if you have something to add.

Thanks so much!

what happens if you shut the door to the bedroom before he goes out, so he can't go under the bed? does he still act scared and agitated and seek a different hiding spot?
It's possible that he used to sleep all day in his crate, and now he's out running around, so he just gets really tired and goes under the bed for a nap in the evenings now.

Has anything negative ever happened during the time the baby was being put to bed? Like maybe the dog being noisy and keeping the baby up, and you or your wife possible yelling or sternly telling him to stop? Or maybe does the baby cry alot overnight, and the dog is confused and nervous about it?

There have been times when we've been playing after the baby has gone to bed, and he's gotten too carried away and barked, so we've hushed him. But he's not a typically loud dog, so it doesn't happen often.

I think we are on to something. I was going to ask the same question in this forum until I saw your post. My 4 year old female lab just started doing the hiding under the bed thing a week or so ago. I just got married 4 weeks ago, and there is also now a 4-year old in the house (who is very gentle with her BTW) which may have disrupted the pecking order.
 
She is used to sleeping on the bed with just me or in my 12 year old's room. She has been losing this privilege for walking all over us at night and we've been trying to get her to sleep in her dog bed in the corner of the bedroom with little success. Instead she has chosen to go under the bed.
 
I finally had to yell at her last night because the huge racket she was making under there (wooden floors) scratching and clawing her way around. We tried coaxing her out but she wasn't interested. After commanding her to get out, she then slinked to the closet and hid behind clothes. I went in to pet her and talk to her and brought her outside, and she happily went. Upon return she went for underneath the bed again. We gave up for the night. I feel like a slept about an hour total. This is perhaps the third or fourth night with the dog under the bed and we aren't getting sleep!
 
On several past nights we also tried just shutting the door to our bedroom, hoping she would go down to her downstairs bed or in the window seat where she used to spend a lot of her night time, but she just layed at the door crying all freakin' night.
 
She also has been hiding under the desk at my feet when I am in my home office. This is new behavior in the last few weeks as well.
 
The final thing I guess is her general lack of compliance. She has always been a happy, compliant dog (sit, stay, out, , off, kennel, no, etc). Now we tell her "out" or "off" and she just looks at us like "what, you talking to me?"
 
Any dog shrinks out there think they can help with this one?

I think you answered your own questions.
There have been a lot of changes for the dog, dogs react in weird ways to changes.
You say the dog used to sleep in a crate?
Is the crate still available to the dog? I know in my experience, two of my dogs are crated and they feel safe in them.

It definitely seems like pheobes_owner and I are experiencing the same thing, so it would stand to reason that the changes at home are to blame. Since I last posted, we've been extra careful to make Buster feel like he hasn't been forgotten. Specifically, we've been trying to increase his walks, and that seems to be helping so far.

I think its the crate thing too.  My dog goes in his crate on his own every night around bedtime (11-ish) - door opened, even after being in it all day.
 
If your dog is use to having a "den" (his crate) and now you have taken it away then under the bed would make sense for him to retreat to.
 
 

ORIGINAL: mtobey

Thanks to everyone who has replied. Here's some added info:

This is usually happening around the time that the baby is being put down for the night. He sleeps in our bedroom, which is the same room the dog is hiding in (the dog sleeps in our bed with us). My wife wondered if he thinks that the baby going to bed means it's time for all of us to go to bed, so he's upset that he didn't get enough nighttime playtime. I suppose it's a possibility.

I've watched him go out several times, and nothing ever seems to go on while he's out there. He usually just pees in a couple spots and maybe poops and then comes in. I think tonight I will try going out there with him to keep a closer eye and to look for anything scary, and then I'll try playing with him outside a little bit to see if that helps.

One more thing I forgot to mention in my original post: Before the baby came, the dog spent his days in his crate. Now my sister-in-law comes over to watch the baby, so Buster is out of his crate all day. It has occurred to me that he may miss that alone time and that's why he's hiding under the bed, but I worry that it's something else.

Oh and Buster has been suffering from allergies for a little over a year. We cut corn out of his diet and it's helped a lot, but he still gets itchy. Doesn't seem like something that would cause him to go under the bed, but I'm trying to mention everything, just in case.

Again, all comments are appreciated, so please keep them coming if you have something to add.

Thanks so much!

My guess is that you wish that there was any reason except that baby that would make the dog hide under the bed.  I'm thinking that the appearance of the child is the only thing that has substantially changed in that dog's life.  He is now hearing screams (crying), smelling strange smells (baby urine, sour milk, baby powder), and seeing you attend to this new pack member while ignoring him (where's my evening play time?).  I would advise you to have someone in the household toss some treats to him whenever you are attending baby, or when baby is crying.  Make all his associations with the child positive.  But, be aware that a fearful dog that gets cornered is one that could bite, no matter how nice he is normally, and please supervise all the interactions between your dog and the baby (like a hawk).

I have to agree with Anne....the only thing that has really changed in this pups life is that the baby has arrived and with the baby, changes in his routine.  If he goes under the bed, leave him be.  I agree, a cornered dog, no matter how docile, is likely to nip.  He might also be feeling left out when you are with the baby so tossing treats is a great idea.  My babies always had a dog in their faces or sniffing their butts and we never had issues with jealousy or anything else because we allowed the dogs to be part of the infants life as well.  And I would also leave the crate available to him during the day in case he wants to go in there.  Open doors are wonderful things.....