Are your dog’s licks, slurps and compulsive itching costing you precious sleep? Are you nudging them all night long in a futile attempt to stop the on-going ruckus? Read on for the root causes of their incessant, after hours activity…and how to reclaim a full night’s sleep.
Arthritis and Joint Pain
Arthritis and joint pain isn’t just an issue for older dogs. Though 80% of dogs over eight will show signs of deterioration in healthy cartilage, 20% show signs as early as their first year.
It might not be entirely obvious that they’re experiencing pain and swelling in their joints. Maybe their hips have begun to stiffen up a bit on their daily walks or they’re a little slower to rise in the morning. You may even have noticed them taking more time to sit or lie down, shifting their weight from side to side as they lower themselves to the ground.
The most obvious telltale sign may just be that they’re keeping you up at night, moving around in an attempt to find a comfortable position long enough to fall into a deeper sleep. All of these changes in their behavior and physicality signal potential pain in their aching joints that you can alleviate in a number of ways, so that they (and you) can get back to a better night’s rest.
- Massage: Rubbing and kneading your dog’s muscles and joints helps them feel better. In fact, canine massage is actually prescribed by veterinarians to reduce pain and help with rehabilitation and post-surgical recovery. Generally speaking, for both people and their pets, massage increases circulation, reduces adhesions (scar tissue that has improperly adhered to surrounding bones, connective tissue and even organs), relaxes sore muscles, diminishes pain, stress and anxiety and more.
- Keep Them Moving: Depending on the age and condition of your dog, you may want to consider a low impact exercise plan. Low impact exercises for dogs in need of joint support include walking and swimming. Both of these activities build strength, keep ligaments and tendons from becoming brittle, help maintain a healthy weight, and increase circulation around the joints. Plus, swimming has the added benefit of buoyancy. When walking a dog with arthritic pain, the rule is to keep walks short and walk them often.
- Soft Bedding: We all love a comfy, cozy bed. Unlike a hard floor, a dog bed will give our four-legged friends a warm place to rest that offers support for arthritic pain and helps prevent the formation of calluses. It also gives your dog a place to retreat to when they want a little solitude and keeps them off spaces where you don’t want them lounging all day while you’re away. Laylo dog beds feature portable, dig-proof, machine washable orthopedic beds with ever-changing designs. Every few months, they release a new capsule collection inspired by cultural and design trends from around the world. Just keep the insert and snag a new cover design anytime.
Dry Skin & Allergic Reactions
If your dog’s compulsive itching is keeping you up at night, there are two likely reasons for it.
- First, the condition of their skin might be a sign of imbalance. Some reasons your dog may have dry skin include seasonal weather, a wood-burning stove, too much dry food, nutritional deficiencies (such as not enough essential fatty acids or enzymes), and excessive bathing (especially in chlorinated pools). Signs of dry skin are flaky, red spots or dandruff.
- Second, your dog may have allergies to dust mites, their bedding or the detergent you use to wash it. Or they may be having a reaction to flea products and shampoos, a medication (see more on this below), an infection or external parasites. If you’re looking for dog itching remedies, KING KALM™ Soothe For Pets can help alleviate itchy skin due to dermal abrasions, hot spots, and dryness. If you’re dealing with mites, mange or ringworm, use KING KALM™ CBD Mange & Mite Management Spray, a completely eco-friendly and alcohol-free antiseptic topical solution made with a combination of full-spectrum CBD and soothing antibacterial ingredients.
Itchy Paws
If they aren’t showing signs of allergies and you’ve ruled out other physiological causes, such as infections, eczema, injury, joint pain and other deeper health conditions, dog paw itching is often a sign of boredom and anxiety in the same way nail biting is in humans.
Compulsive licking or chewing can be a result of PTSD (emotional trauma), separation anxiety, stress, habitual behavior, under-stimulation, stimulus-specific anxiety (when they lick or chew their paws in response to a specific threat).
Support for itchy paws can include KING KALM™ Balm – Dog Paw Balm, a CBD-infused (THC-free) paw (nose & elbow) moisturizer made with all natural ingredients to protect your pup’s skin from rugged terrain and harsh weather. King Kanine also offers Kombos, such as the 150mg CBD, Soothe & Balm if you want to take a more comprehensive approach.
King Kanine combines highest-quality organic CBD oil and the extremely beneficial krill oil, an Omega-3 fat, known for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that work together with CBD’s own therapeutic properties to promote a healthy immune system, while reported by pet owners to decrease anxiety, discomfort and more. If you’re new to CBD and unsure on how much to give your dog, here’s a dosage chart.
Itchy Ears
Waking up every few hours (or even worse, every few minutes) to your dog shaking their ears can feel torturous. There are several reasons why your dog might be itching their ears, such as yeast or bacterial infections, allergies, ear mites, polyps, tumors… even something caught in their ear.
Whatever the cause, if you’ve ever had a dog incessantly itch their ears at night, you know what a disturbance it can be when you’re trying to sleep. To soothe itching and irritation caused by infections or Allergic Otitis due to parasites, food allergies, drug reactions and foreign bodies in the ear, try Ear Care Gold to encourage natural immunity, prevent recurring ear problems, and restore calm and comfort once irritation subsides.
Medications
We all know that medications cause side effects, but we may not consider that the prescriptions we give our dogs are contributing to a poor night’s sleep.
For example, corticosteroids, a medication related to cortisone, prescribed for a variety of issues, such as allergies, itching and inflammation is known to increase thirst and urination, as well as nervousness and restlessness—all of which interfere with a peaceful night’s sleep. Similarly, the drug THYRO-TABS CANINE (levothyroxine sodium tablets), prescribed as a hormone replacement therapy is known to cause nervousness, excessive thirst and an increased appetite if the dosage is too high. Tramadol, an opioid drug prescribed for osteoarthritis, cancer, post-operative and other pain can cause anxiety, tremors, upset stomach, constipation, vomiting/diarrhea and other side effects that interfere with sleep as well.
We can’t provide a comprehensive list of medications and their side effects here, but the gist is that if your dog’s on meds and restless at night, you might want to research side effects to see if they’re at the root of the problem. If they are, a more natural remedy may be a good solution.
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