What could be causing my Basset Hound to stop sleeping through the entire night?

Question

Our dog has been completely fine and content on a night, when he's just had the one walk and sleeps through the night almost always.

However as of late, he has been getting up and wandering around at 3am in the morning until we let him outside, and then again at 6am - after a few days this gets incredibly tiring! We have hardwood flooring so the tapping of his feet is enough to keep us awake..

The only real change we have made in the last few weeks is a change of food: from Kirkland Chicken to a Kirkland Duck with beans. Could changing his food cause behavior like this? or could it just be a coincidence, the only other change that is apparent is the weather had turned to snow and -10 most nights, so the heating has been coming on intermittently through the night.

He usually sleeps on the foot of the bed, and he is a 2 year old purebred Basset.

What could be causing this restlessness and what can be done to stop it?

Answer 1

Are you open to crate training? For sleeping sometimes as dogs age they just want their own sleeping space. Providing a crate for sleeping gives your dog a designated sleeping spot. There are many other benefits of crate training as well such as safety for young dogs (especially chewers), the dogs tend to have more restful sleeps (they wake up less), and you will sleep better. It is also helpful if you're dog has to ever stay somewhere else, their crate gives them a familiar place to be.