i agree with candi , and i'd like to expand upon it . . .
i think you should re-introduce the crate back into the dog's life , this time with the door closed .
try to bring the crate into the normal routine of your day , even if for only 1 minute at first , and change it's location frequently . close the door .
what i have observed with my dogs now is that they are quite happy to be confined in the crate , door closed , because it has come to mean " hey i can kick back , sack out , when dad wants me he'll come and get me " , whereas if he is in there with door open , he wants to keep an eye on the action because " dad might call . . . "
the goal should be for the dog in the crate , all night , door closed .
I am reminded of an English Setter I owned in l974. A gentle sweety with bad hip dysplasia. In late middle age he started to get me up at night. Sometimes he seemed frantic, panting,subservient even. The vet at CSU told me it was pain.
I gave him aspirin (back in the day) at night and it seemed to help for a time.
So maybe he is awakened by some sort of pain.
Or, perhaps he's being naughty--he's learned he can get you guys up, can see you, and he's started to just do that, like a crying baby who used to sleep thru the night.
Just to add in, I agree with Betty on checking for pain, would also suggest having his airway checked if his "snoring has gotten so bad" snoring is caused by a blockage to the airway, poor positioning, etc, and it could be that it is relatively minor but scary to him now that he's not in the same room. The other thought I have is that if he's been sleeping in your room since he was a pup, maybe now when he's separated and wakes up from a deep sleep he's lonely for you. I would suggest putting some items that have your scent on them with him at night and see if it will help reassure him that you're still there. Good luck.
My animals are not "like" family, they ARE family.
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Took Kasey to the vet and had his senior checkup done. Total blood panel (ugh $$$$), exam, etc. Everything came back looking perfect. All obvious causes of pain were ruled out. She said that dogs can start having 'senior moments' like people do, where they wake up and feel a little confused at first, and they don't understand it like we would, so it can make them anxious. Don't know how they really know that, but I guess I makes sense since this behavior didn't start until he was 7. Which btw, I've been trying to be in denial about!
We moved him to a different room last night where there's a chair he likes to sleep behind sometimes, and he seemed to like that better. We left a small light on too because my husband seems to think he doesn't like it dark anymore (he gets a little antsy when we walk him after dark now). So between the light and the new space he didn't do the anxiety thing last night, but we'll see if it continues to make a difference.
i appreciate all the ideas you all shared. Thank you!
I'm so glad things checked out fine. If you're interested the confusion is called canine cognitive dysfunction and its akin to dementia in humans. A friends senior dog had it.
My animals are not "like" family, they ARE family.
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