OK, so Max turned ONE on 12.28.09 and the very next day he started howling at night....WHAT?! WHYYY?

[Kathy (Max's Mom)]

Max has been in a crate ever since he was a puppy and has done very well. When he was a puppy, the first few days were hard for him, but he learned and got used to the crate.

Now Max just turned the big "01" (hahaha) and has now decided to start barking/whining at night. He NEVER did this before. He normally only started whining around 7.30ish am since this was the time I normally took him out of his crate to go outside...other than that I've never had any problems with him.

The only thing that I can think of is that the following day (12.29.09) I took Max for his first haircut - which FYI was a COMPLETE DISASTER as they did a 'shave down' on him which is NOT what I wanted...so now he looks like a skinny dobermin to me....needless to say lots of tears were shed and I will NOT be having that done again - but all of that is for another discussion..hahaha.

In any case, that night when I brought him home he started whining/barking in his cage; first at around 1230am so I let him out thinking he had to go potty....which he did, but I think he could've waited...then again at around 430ish.

So my question is this: Is he traumatized from his horrific haircut (which at this same appt they did give him a sedative to do as I also had him ''chipped'' and his bordatella shot was given)? OR Has he simply had it with the crate? (i'm guessing it may be this one since he is in there a lot, but he'll destroy my house if he's out by himself...plus he'll bark like crazy if i'm not down there sleeping on the couch to be near him).

I'm hoping maybe I should just give it a few days and see if he calms down from the vet "incident". Anyway else have this problem when your labradoodle hit the age of one???

[Kathy (Max's Mom)]

Oh my goodness Shelly, that all sounds horrible too! Thankfully Max never got "throw-up sick" but he sure acts like it.

I ended up calling the vet on Monday and going back in to get more meds for Max because he was STILL not well! Very frustrating I might add. He appears (to me at least) to have a "cold". He sneezes all the time, does this wierd kind of sniffle noise with his nose and I even saw his nose dripping on Sunday when he was laying on the couch with me. He's still not 100% by any means as he sleeps quite a bit, but at least I have meds for him now...which I personally don't think they're doing a darn thing for him, but whatever.

It just seems like to me that vets give out more "generic" medicine than anything....like pills that cure colds, infections, earaches, broken bones and whatever you can think of all in the same pill - that to me sounds like they (the veterinary field) haven't been able to do enough research for our pets like they do humans and be able to give our furry friends more specific medications to cure specific issues besides 20 sicknesses all in the same pill! - but that's just me going off on a soapbox i guess...ha!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Kathy - we went through this with Peri in early fall. Two vet trips, still sneezed, nose would be really dripping...got pretty gross. Anyway, she had a temp too - not as high as Max's first one. This was all around the time when the leaves were falling here. We were taking daily hikes with Peri and realized this was irritating her. Finally got a really heavy antihystamine (I cannot spell!) and benadryl - did the trick. It took about 2 weeks. Sounds very familiar to Peri's condition. She wasn't herself either - way toooo calm.

[Kathy (Max's Mom)]

....but I'm enjoying the calm....ha!

Not that I want Max to be sick, but it's been so nice being able to watch a tv show, or 3, and not have him acting 'all crazy' every 20 minutes...he just naps on the couch with me. I'm gonna miss 'sick Max' once he feels better...hahaha....but of course I want him to feel better, poor honey. :-( - but thanks for the comment.

[Jane & Tessa]

HI. I just joined this site but have a suggestion based on a bad expereince I had too. Check that the clippers weren't too hot and that your puppy doesn't have a razor burn on his body anywhere. Also, I'd check the sedative. Some dogs react differently than expected to certain sedatives. Also, if you have the room, put the crate next to your bed at night. Tessa sleeps all night and very calmly next to the bed... snores lightly sometimes. I got this tip from a great new book called "Good Dog 101" by Cristina (?) Dahl. She also explains the two basic styles of dog training (Pack/dominance vs behavioral) and what works and what doesn't work and why. Also provides a lot of problem resolution tips.

Hope he's happier now. Good luck and Happy New Year.

[Sarah Georger-Clark]

We are having the same problem! Gilda was spayed 5 days ago and is whining to go out at night ever since, which she hasn't done since day 1. What to do???

[Jane & Tessa]

Hi Sarah,
Ah Puppies! Tessa was spayed recently too at 6 months. I learned a couple of things that might be relevant. Bladders are relatively close to the uterus. See drawing at: http://www.peteducation.com/images/articles/Female-Repro-System.gif. Depending on the surgery Gilda may have had a lot of blood vessels going to the uterus, as Tessa did. So Tessa's incision was a bit longer than normal. And it's possible her bladder was slightly irritated by the surgery, hence the need to go out more at night. If she doesn't stop whining, I'd have it checked out at the vet. It's really important to keep them quiet until the incision heals properly, and it's hard to do. I was told to be very careful, assisted stair climbing and no jumping or running the 1st few days, and no wild behavior for 10 days.


Good luck.. she looks like a real sweetie

[Kathy (Max's Mom)]

Thank you everyone for your comments and suggestions...I'm going to close this discussion now since it's been a few weeks...i'm not sure if you're supposed to leave them open or close them...so contact me directly if you have any other suggestions i guess. thanks again everyone for your thoughts and suggestions. :-D