Roaming at night

[Batman19]

Hi everyone! I have an 18 month old male Doberman. He is literally the best dog we have ever had. The only issue we have with him is that he roams the house all night! We usually crate him at night but he is so restless. He was keeping us up all night moving in his crate (he sleeps in our room).He is trustworthy and I’m not at all worried about him going to the bathroom in the house, so we decided to leave the door to the crate open and see what happens. He doesn’t get into anything or really do anything wrong, he just roams ALL NIGHT LONG. He will sleep for an hour or less and then he will go to the kitchen, the kids rooms, and back to my side of the bed, where he shoves his nose in my face and scares the crap out of me! Then he lays back down for another hour and repeats the whole cycle all night long. Does anyone else’s dog do this!? Looking to see if anyone has any suggestions. Thank you!!

 

[Ravenbird]

I think as long as you give him a choice he will do as he pleases. During the day can you tell him to go to his bed/place and he complies? If so, do the same at night. If not, more basic obedience is needed. If he feels like he is pack leader, he may feel the need to keep watch over his family all night. If you convince him that you have control, this may actually relieve him of stress that is making him pace at night. You tell the kids to go to bed, and surely there was some whining about it some nights, right? But eventually they just learned that when you said time for bed it meant just that. Many times taking charge with the tough love commands actually builds your dogs confidence in you.

 

[Maja Rocks]

While I agree with Ravens suggestions..
A few thoughts...
Generally dogs pace for a reason.
Pent up energy due to lack of exercise, they need to relieve themselves, to relive boredom or anxiety.

Also consider..
Has he out grow his crate and is it still comfortable?
We had a similar problem with restlessness in the crate. We discovered that over time the foam had broken down and her bed was hard as a rock. Adding a layer of memory foam under the crate pad solved the problem. Nothing worse than spending the night tossing and turning in very cramped and uncomfortable bed. This is an easy fix.

What is his activity level before bed time?
Has he just spent several hours happily cuddling or sleeping at your feet while you chill and watch TV? Or has he been engaging, interacting and playing with you and your family members?
If he has just spent several hours sleeping it makes sense that when it's your bed time he is now fully rested and isn't sleepy and restless.

I suggest start with more exercise and mental stimulation before bedtime. Tired dogs just like people need lots sleep...Duhh.
A nice long walk combined with some leash training before bed time will accomplish several beneficial things.

A) Establishes a bed time routine and you spend some quality time together.
B) Gives him a last chance to relive himself.
C) Provides an outlet for any excess mental and physical energy.
D) You may find it helps you both sleep better and certainly won't hurt.

Dobermans are high energy / high intelligence working dogs.
They need especially when young lots of exercise and mental stimulation.
Notice I said need.. not like or prefer.
Dobermans that don't have these needs met will develop behavioral issues.

Ever feel exhausted and wiped out after engaging in a difficult mental task?
Mental stimulation wears dogs out just like us.
It doesn't have to be some over the top difficult task.
We play "Find it!" a lot. I tell Maja to sit / down stay while I go hide her toy.
She must wait for me to sit down and give her the "find it" command, then she searches for it till she finds it.
Each time she finds the toy she is praised and I switch out the toy with a different one and hide it in a different room & place and we repeat the process.

This serves several purposes. It develops & reinforces the sit ,down and stay commands.
While the searching develops her sent work and stimulates her mentally...She just thinks it a fun game!

My guess is making sure the crate is comfortable along with proper exercise and mental stimulation will solve the issue.

Once you are sure the crate is comfortable I would return to crating him at night.

And as Raven suggested teach your dog to " Lay down /Go to sleep"
Maja knows this command well and don't mess with me when I am trying to sleep or I get very grumpy!


Hope this helps, keep us informed on your progress.
Cheers
MR

 

[Kaiser2016]

where he shoves his nose in my face and scares the crap out of me!

Ya, that would scare me too! I agree with the others that pacing is probably because he is not tired enough. 18 months also seems a bit young for that free roam lifestyle, especially for a male. My male wouldn’t truly settle at night unless he was crated, I think this was because the crate door being closed made it clear to him that his only option in there was to sleep. We tried letting him roam free around 2 years old, but found that he really only could handle the freedom after 3 years old.

Is Batman his name? They really do look like Batman with their mask and ears lol.

 

[LifeofRubie]

Ah, my last boy did this; his rounds. I lived in an apartment. His preferred sleeping place was the couch but he would come into the bedroom which was adjacent to the living room to check in on me several times a night (hardwood floors and clicking nails!!!).

 

[obbanner]

Does anyone else’s dog do this!? Looking to see if anyone has any suggestions. Thank you!!

Our little Sheltie wanders around the house at night. If I get up in the middle of the night, she's likely to appear from anywhere. But she's quiet like a pussycat and it doesn't bother us.

 

[Oh Little Oji]

Hey there!

My first reaction was: Well, that sounds like an excellent natural sentry dog! Now, the waking you by getting in your face, or even touching you, in the night is a major no no.

@Ravenbird 's advice, though, is great and more deeply and fully explores the issue.

All of my Dobes so far have been so good about laying down and resting/sleeping when I lay down. I have made it clear from the very start that when I close my eyes, you do NOT touch me (this perhaps helped save my life twice – once from fire, and once from freezing – because both times I was awakened by my Dobe's cold nose which was a totally foreign sensation when sleeping).

The only significant moving about that Oji, here, does is if he's too hot he leaves his bed/sleeping area and moves to another spot on the floor and Doberplops! on the floor – a sensation that can be felt at least a room away.