Q&A: Is my dog on higher alert when my husband is gone?
Question by summer m: Is my dog on higher alert when my husband is gone?
When my husband is home, our dog sleeps like a baby at the foot of our bed, snoring all night. He has never growled in the middle of the night, or even gotten up. But my husband sometimes travels for work, and every time he’s gone, my dog growls in the middle of the night and seems a little on edge.
Is my dog on higher alert because he knows my husband is gone? I’m having a lot of sleepless nights because his growling freaks me out! Plus, I’m pretty edgy myself when my husband is gone… could my dog be picking up on that, putting him on higher alert?
And finally, if he’s just growling to growl, how can I get him to stop? It’s midnight and I’m writing a question on yahoo instead of sleeping because I’m too wimpy to go back upstairs to bed!
ps. This is the most pathetic miniature schnauzer you’d ever see. Not exactly a guard dog.
Best answer:
Answer by Michael
He’s picking up on your anxiety, and you’re probably reinforcing it by giving him attention when he does it.
Also, your husband is probably the alpha in your pack, so when he’s gone there is less leadership, which can also cause anxiety in your dog.
Give your answer to this question below!
Because it’s different, your routine is probably different, he senses how you feel, he misses him too!
You are his leader. If you act like you want him to act. He will pick up on it.
If act relaxed and calm, he will. If you act freaked out. He will act freaked out.
This is probably a family member type dog to you, but if you are really getting sleepless nights, my advice is to give him a comfortable bed somewhere else in the house.
I also really agree with Micheal. He is picking up on your anxieties.
My advice. Sit crosslegged on the floor or on your bed with him and have him lay down and massage him. Do this every night before you go to sleep. He will be a lot calmer….and so will you.
Good Luck! Just be calm. Oh yes….yawn around him when you are in bed. Dogs do this in the wild to calm each other down. I do it with the nervous dogs I train and it always calms them. If he wakes you up. Yawn so he can hear it…this will help.
As others have said, your dog is taking over the role of ‘protector’, doesn’t matter how big or small he is, he will do anything to protect his pack members until the alpha (your husband) comes back
Yes, your dog may be on “high alert” while your husband is gone and your anxiety could very well be contributing to his.
Whenever my dog growls at something outside, I clap my hands loudly and tell her to leave it. If that doesn’t work, I get out of bed, because that distracts her.