Can a dog have seperation anxiety when she's in the same room as you?

[Chrissytree]

My silly doggy Amber is becoming a pest!  The three dogs have a 10pm bedtime when they all go out to pee then get put in their cages.  Amber doesn't like to do this anymore.  She barks about ten past nine and won't stop until you open her cage... then she'll bark to get back out.  I can't leave her cage open because Gizmo, my sister's boy Pomeranian, will go in her cage and chew her bed then she won't want to go in.  If I let her out she'll also just bark for me to put her back in... she knows I'll give her a small treat when I close the door so I haven't been doing that.  I'm not sure if she's moaning because she wants the treat, the attention or for some other unexplained reason.

I can stop her barking by sitting with her on the sofa when she'll be perfectly happy and sleep until bedtime but when my sister is home she uses that chair so we can't.  She's also better when she can see me but her cage is just out of sight of where I sit. 

When it gets to 10pm I have to force the other two outside and when they come in they're all happy to go to bed and sleep... except Amber who will also sometimes bark.  It's like she wants to stay up later than the others, she'll mostly sit on an armchair and behave nicely.  She'll usually go to bed ok after a while too.

Her bed was wet one day when she'd been licking a paw and she settled right down after I replaced it with another.  Right now she has a soft one that's a padded piece with padded back and sides but her original one is just a thin flat bed.

I'm not too sure what I should be doing to get her to go to sleep when she's in bed. 
She's becoming a nightmare! 

[kaoskat]

Have you ruled out health issues? Ones that may be making her crate uncomfortable? Has anything traumatic or frightening happened recently that could cause her to be afraid when you are out of her sight? If you've ruled out health and emotional issues, she could be acting out because you are giving in. I know my pack will take full advantage once they figure out they can get their way through some negative behavior. They get crated when we leave, well 2 of the 4 do, and when we would get home they'd bark like crazy to be let out and wouldn't stop until they were. It was really a nuisance when we'd come home with groceries or something. So a new rule was put into place. They didn't get to come out until they were quiet. It took a few times and some extended annoying barking but they figured it out pretty quick. Now they bark a bit of an excited greeting and then they get quiet and wait. Also, my youngest, who is super spoiled, knows if he's a pest long enough I give in. So, needless to say, he is a pest when he wants something. You need to make sure there isn't something else going on before proceeding with trying to correct the behavior. If she's actually afraid/stressed, you could make things worse and if there's a health issue, she needs treatment not behavior modification. I'd suggest a quick vet visit and consultation first. Any behavior change, especially a sudden one with no obvious cause, is always a reason to see a vet.

[Eviecorn]

I think Kat has some good points.  Good luck!

[Chrissytree]

She always looks very comfortable when she's settled and doesn't stir at night.  She had her check up at the vet a couple of months ago and there was nothing wrong.  Nothing has frightened her.  I guess I'll keep a closer eye on her.  Nothing else in her behaviour has changed.

I think she's probably acting out.  It's not a new problem but it is getting worse.  It used to be just before 10 that she'd moan but it's got earlier and earlier over time.  She's very smart so she probably just wants extra treats for being good and going to bed... over and over again.  I wonder if teaching her "settle" would work starting with her out of the cage then moving her in...  We should certainly teach all of them "settle" for when the doorbell rings, they get a little excited.  I might start working on that tomorrow!

[kaoskat]

If it's been a gradual progression, then it probably is learned and she's just discovered it gets her what she wants. Settling would be a good thing. You'll also need to quit giving her what she wants when she barks. It will be a pain at first, because she won't stop for a good long while, but eventually she'll understand. Also, reward her when she doesn't bark or once she stops barking. She'll realize not barking is what will get her what she wants rather than barking. Most important is being consistent. If she's supposed to go to bed at 10, then she needs to go to bed at 10 and stay there even if she barks.

[hathorcat]

I agree with Kat...it sounds like learned behaviour of some kind.

I had the same issue with mine although thankfully he used to do this sometime between 9:30 and 10 and never really brought the habit too far forward in time.

Around 10/10:30pm is when he gets his evening treat because that is when my mum heads to bed. However, over time he has learned that something he wants happens at that time. His eagerness to get what he wants means he feels the need to not just wait for it to happen but to instigated it actually happening. So over time and then from around the 9:30 mark he started doing anything to gain attention - sometimes subtle sometimes not subtle and as time progressed he got more insistent. He started by starting to cry around the 10pm mark or sitting on your knee staring at you then it became sitting on the back of the chair cleaning against your neck trembling or just plain old barking. Anything which would get someone to move because when you move around the 10pm mark he figured that meant a treat.

The only way we found to break it was ignore him - let him tremble or bounce, whine or woof a little but dont move until the normal time he would be getting his snack. All that is, is putting in place another learned behaviour. He learned at 10 he would get something and now he has learned that being noisy or naughty or forceful doesnt get him what he wants. [He is still the cheekiest dog I have ever had and alas somethings cannot be conquered but on this one I feel as though I won the battle a little ].

I hope its something as simple as this with  yours as it does sound similar - good luck

[melodys_angel]

How old is she? It may be something affected by age too, depending <3

[Chrissytree]

She's 2 and... ten months. 

This evening I set up her old flat bed in front of my chair and when she came over to tell me she wanted to go to bed I go ther to lay on the bed and wait.  If I'm on my laptop she'll scratch at the keyboard to get my attention so I sat on the edge of the chair so she couldn't.  She was very good   She wandered off at times and when she came back I got her to lie down again.  She didn't make any fuss.  It got to 10pm and they all went out then my sister put her to bed (so I don't know if she got a treat or not) and she hasn't stirred since! 

I'll have to see if it'll work again tomorrow!  Oh and Gizmo is learning "settle" but Amber wasn't in the mood to be sitting down.