[ToughEuroMix]

I am kind of confused my Rug dog is 5 years old now and is fixed but he goes crazy at night with barking and acting BiPolar.The house I live in is very stressful my mom has MS and alot of times my parents are arguing,he was raised like a little baby with the utmost love and care and he is a very good dog except for at night he bothers my mom in bed,taking her sock on and off constantly,barking and everything else,my dad and I can't get near the bed to pick him up he just goes mental,he gets plenty of walking and activity during the day though,could this be a more serious problem that needs to be tended to?

[cigwyllt]

I think the clue is in what you have said there - "he was raised like a little baby". He is a dog and treating him as a baby has given him ideas above his station. Your mum is poorly, your dad is probably too distracted to give him any positive attention and you are doing well to be looking for help with him.

To start with I would put him on a house line - just an ordinary dog lead with the handle cut through so that it won't catch on anything. This will make it easier to control him in the evenings.

For the time being he should only be allowed in the bedroom in the evening when someone can hold the lead. If he goes mad then he should be taken out of the room until he has calmed down. If this behaviour happens overnight when you are all trying to sleep then he should sleep elsewhere.

[millsandbones]

I think your dog needs some serious obedience training.

[Todd]

Do you just let the dog go wherever at night? You ould shut your doors at night. Point is he was raised like a little baby and thinks he is in conteeol of the household. What you need to do before anything else is establish yourself as the alpha pack leader with your dog. Here's a link explaining how you can establish yourself in this role. Don't use the alpha role either. His energy typ wouldn't do well with that;

Establishing Yourself as Pack Leader

Your main issue seems to involve the bed so establishing yourself as the alpha will eventually allow you to tell him when he's aloud on the bed. Only when YOU say it's ok. Like what was suggested above, you may initially want to start alpha training with the bed on leash so you have more control. Eventually he won;t need the leash.

Good luck!

[Lara's mom]

I think your dog is reacting to the stress that's going on in your household and attempting to protect your mom because she sees her as the vulnerable one. Maybe if you all stop shouting and focus on your mom, not only will the dog behave better but, your mom will be happier.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Lara's mom

I think your dog is reacting to the stress that's going on in your household and attempting to protect your mom because she sees her as the vulnerable one. Maybe if you all stop shouting and focus on your mom, not only will the dog behave better but, your mom will be happier.

u make a very good point. dogs can be very protective. this very well may be a contributing factor.

[bpwriter47]

Although you suggested your dog had been raised as a baby, there could be more happening since you seem to suggest it just started recently and your dog is 5 yrs. old.

Some things you might consider is when did your mom start to have symptoms of MS? Some dogs react to these things differently. Also, although you should consider seriously all these suggestions because they can help, you might also consider speaking to your mom about her going to get a check up at the doctor.

Some dogs can sense something physically in a person and that person might think the dog is acting up, but really they may have more physical issues going on than they know. You said the dog even wants to pull her sock off. The dog may be trying to get attention but also may just be trying to get your mom to pay attention to her body, maybe there is more than the MS going on. Maybe not. It's a possiblity.

So, even though your house is stressful, as many are, you might want to think of when these actions started and see if perhaps the dog is trying to tell your mom something.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by bpwriter47

Although you suggested your dog had been raised as a baby, there could be more happening since you seem to suggest it just started recently and your dog is 5 yrs. old.

Some things you might consider is when did your mom start to have symptoms of MS? Some dogs react to these things differently. Also, although you should consider seriously all these suggestions because they can help, you might also consider speaking to your mom about her going to get a check up at the doctor.

Some dogs can sense something physically in a person and that person might think the dog is acting up, but really they may have more physical issues going on than they know. You said the dog even wants to pull her sock off. The dog may be trying to get attention but also may just be trying to get your mom to pay attention to her body, maybe there is more than the MS going on. Maybe not. It's a possiblity.

So, even though your house is stressful, as many are, you might want to think of when these actions started and see if perhaps the dog is trying to tell your mom something.

Some people even say dog's have a 6th sense like a psychic sense or something. I don't know about that but they def. r aware of things us humans aren't. Makes sense that they would have other advantages seeing as though we obviously have ours.