Bedtime Rebellion?

[caretaker9]

Jackson will soon be 8 months old. A great Yellow Lab, crate trained, does well with my three sons (14, 11, and 7). He can stay crated all day (approximately 6 hours), and stays crated at night - all with no accidents. He's been really good about this, as has my family in making sure he is taken outside as often as he needs to be when he is out of his crate... maybe more.

He gets good exercise; he loves playing fetch, and tug of war with his toys. Well loved for sure.

In the last month or two, if he has gone poop and pee outside, we let him roam free in the house - he's a good boy, and rarely gets things he's not supposed to, and the list is getting shorter and shorter... with maybe the occasional boys sock being carried around in his mouth (but a quick 'Leave it', and it drops!).

That said, recently, he has began to 'rebel' when I try to take him out for his last pee, before I put him in his crate for the night... If I call him, and he's upstairs, he'll look to see... but won't listen. He'll sit, and look around, as if he's hearing me, but isn't about to comply! Eventually, he'll slowly make his way down, reluctant to be leashed and led outside... he ended up peeing on the stairs! He's now done this behavior about 3 times in the last week (one of the times he was already downstairs). He looked like he knew he was doing wrong, and he looked like he knew he would be scolded. Sure enough, I have to scold him, and rush him outside (to his 'spot'), and he finishes peeing... then goes to his crate looking guilty and remorseful! Is this a form of rebellion?

My thinking was that this was his way of telling me that he didn't want to be in his crate at night... that he wants to be by his family. He does real well when he spends time with us outside of his crate, supervised, of course.

When is a good time to let him sleep outside of his crate?

Am I misinterpreting this behavior?

I've thought of letting him sleep in our room once, and see how he does. We are, after all, upstairs while he is in his crate downstairs (which is right in our living room, visible from the kitchen as well). Again, there has been no problems up until this past week.

Thanks for all the great advice here - this is my 'go-to' guide for my dog!

[Nova]

I let Barley sleep outside of her crate for the first time last week and it went great! She's 9 months and I was feeling like it was time to give it a try. I moved her dog bed into my room, and placed it where it crate used to be (the crate was relocated to the living room). At bedtime, she curled up on the dog bed, and went right to sleep! She didn't move from the bed the entire night! I suggest that you give it a try on a day that he's been well exercised, that way he'll be more sleepy and less likely to roam around the house at night. Hope it goes well and helps the situation!

[Isis2007]

I would give it a go. I started letting Isis sleep out of her crate at about 6 months with no issues. She now sleeps in my DD's room quite happily. We recently put the crate away (hopefully for good). It's been two weeks now and she's doing great.

[Benelli_my_lab]

I would let him sleep outside of his crate too. It seems like he knows that the last pee means in the crate. They are smart little cookies!!!

We've let Nelli sleep outside her crate a few times, but she spins on the bed too much, and she really prefers her crate. As long as he's in a closed room, and can't get into trouble... chances are all he'll do is sleep!!! Give it a shot!!

Good luck...

[bejonline]

I'll be the devil's advocate...

I have an eighteen month (Maggie) old and a nine month (Boomer) old. Maggie has slept outside of her crate two or three times and done fine; the first time she slept outside, she was probably a year old. I would never let Boomer sleep outside his crate! He would absolutely get into something he shouldn't. So, it totally depends on your dog, but I do think that you keep him in his crate until at least a year old. Maggie still sleeps in her crate most of the time, and she probably always will because she likes her crate.

[caretaker9]

Very interesting... I'm glad to know that Jackson's behavior is somewhat normal for his age. Thank you all for your advice!

I will probably gauge his 'attitude' for a week or two, then give it a whirl one night to see how he handles it. We can close the door to our bedroom and he can sleep in there - without getting into too much trouble! I like the idea of tiring him out his first night out, to ensure he sleeps solid.

Thanks again for sharing your experiences and advice. I'll keep this thread updated...

[Holly's mom]

Holly started sleeping on our bed at about 6 months. She does great. Occasionally she will get up during the night, and jump down, and if she does, we put her in her crate which is in our bedroom.

[Whiskey'sMom]

We also use a baby gate to stop Whiskey from roaming the house but allowing him the comfort of his bed and the cool floor. Never had any incidents.

We kept Marleys crate in our bedroom and she slept great in it. We let her out to sleep with us around 6 months old and she did great. As soon as the lights are out she knows it means it's bedtime. One good thing, is that when she sleeps in our bed she sleeps till we wake up. When she's in her crate she'll wake up early on the weekends and we have to get up with her. When she's cuddled up with us she'll sleep till we get up at 7 or 8.

[Alisson]

I don't have any insight into his 'rebellion'. I can say that we transitioned to no crate at night before no crate during the day... our theory is that it is a calm quiet time when he is accustomed to sleeping and therefore would be less likely to be rambunctious or to look for trouble to get into. So far that is going great - no a single incident. We started out with one of us sleeping on the couch for a couple days and then when it became apparent that he was pretty chill at night we simply went upstairs at bedtime. I am a pretty light sleeper and did peak down a few times... and found nothing but a sleeping labbie. Based on that success we are looking to expand his out of crate times to when we are at work (two 4 hour blocks).

[caretaker9]

I suppose rebellion is a misleading word in this instance... actually I was amused at the way he was acting like he didn't hear me! Thanks for the replies.

One thing he knows not to do is jump up on our couch or on our beds. He'll stand on the edge of our beds to coax us out to play in the mornings, but has never been allowed to hop up there. He is quite content to lay at the side or foot of the bed though, when he has gotten to 'stay up late' - and fallen asleep in our bedroom. He just loves being nearby, and we love having him nearby... no disrespect to all of you that allow your dogs on your beds to sleep; I actually believe it is fine, just not for our household.

I think we'll try him outside his crate one night here real soon... in our bedroom for starters. From the sounds of all your experiences, I think he'll do just fine!

[caretaker9]

Well, last night we granted the freedom... sort of!

Jackson pulled the whole 'reluctant-to-go-out-for-the-last-pee-before-bedtime' act again... So, I gave him a treat, we went outside, he did his business. When we came back in, he automatically went to his crate - which I had closed. He looked a bit puzzled, like 'How am I supposed to get in there?'

I asked him if he wanted to go upstairs, he went... confused at first, then happy when he understood it was OK. I watched TV for a bit, and he laid by the edge of the bed. When I closed the door, and turned off the TV, he looked a bit confused; I told him just to lay down and go to sleep.

I found it interesting that after about 5 minutes, I heard him squeeze under the bed (a big California King with plenty of room under the bed). I don't think he was so much 'hiding', as he was seeking that 'den' vibe, maybe? Anyway, long story short, he laid with his head peeking out from under the bed, didn't get into anything, awoke early, but stayed very mellow until we woke up to take him out!

Success! Again, thanks for sharing your experiences, and apologies for the long post... A puppy milestone!