bedtime behavior

Question
QUESTION: I live alone, and during winter months I bring my three dogs inside to sleep in the bedroom.  Two have mats to sleep on & the youngest has a kennel. They are quiet and well-behaved inside.  The oldest, a 5-y.o. GSD, is as smart and loyal and intelligent as they come.

In the past week or so, the GSD has begun standing beside my bed after I turn off the lights at night.  She refuses to lie down, but sits or stands, alert, right beside my head--apparently for many hours, since she is there whenever I wake up during the night.  Because she usually is so good at knowing exactly what is expected of her, and doing it without question, this stands out as very unusual behavior.  

In the past she has come to my bed if I talk out in my sleep, but usually she is happy to lie down again when I assure her I'm fine.  I can't think what has initiated this change.  Her posture is similar to that when we are out, just the two of us, in a place she doesn't know: the alert but calm listening mode.

Last night she surprised me by putting her forepaws on the bed and literally standing over my head, breathing on my face, as soon as the room was dark.  Paws on the furniture is something I have never allowed.  No gentle words would convince her to get down, and I was hesitant to scold her until I made sure there was no serious problem.  When I turned on the light and asked her what was wrong, she scrambled up on the bed with me--something she has never tried to do since her puppy training months.

I let her sleep there because the behavior was so unusual.  Now I am wondering whether I should be worried.  If it hadn't been prefaced by several nights of standing beside the bed, I would have assumed she was just being a bit cheeky and playful last night.  As it is, I am concerned that I may be overlooking some need she has (or something else she's trying to tell me).  I did, of course, let her out the first night she stood beside the bed, just in case she needed to potty; she didn't, but looked at me as though I was batty because we never go outside after everyone is inside for the night.

Please help me understand this behavior so that I can respond to it appropriately.

ANSWER: This is a unique (to me!) and perplexing problem and I am going to give you my two first gut reactions.  Because I am very experienced in my field and I am also very intuitive, give both serious consideration.

My first reaction is that your dog experienced something (unknown to you, might have been a sound, a light outside, a scent -- a mouse in the wall, a backfire outside, who knows) at a crucial moment during her normal bedtime rituals.  Whatever that "something" might have been, it created a strong conditioned response and, being the marvelous example of her breed which she apparently is, she's responding appropriately.  If this is the case, you need to retrain her to go to her bed ("go to place") by using positive reinforcement training: clicker, treat, the whole shebang.  You would have to observe every step of the way any physical signs that she is on alert or fearful (ear set, tail set, hackles, whites of the eye, yawning, sneezing, any physical indication of stress or emotion.)  You do NOT want to click/treat her emotions; you want to click/treat her compliance to your cue to "go to place".  If you don't know about using a clicker, go to karen pryor's website; she introduced clickers to dog training and is the most reliable source of authentic information.  Now, this will take time and patience (and at bedtime that's hard to come by) but it is well worth the effort.

My second suggestion (not knowing your age or health condition) is that something might be occurring with YOU during the night.  Your dog might have begun to "generalize" -- meaning, she has connected your going to bed with what happens after you are asleep.  Dogs are being trained for all sorts of things these days, including recognizing seizure related problems in humans, blood sugar levels, heart arrhythmias, etc. and the GSD is the quintessential search/rescue/guarding breed.  You might want to go to your health care professional and have a complete checkup.  You also might want to put a tape recorder near your bed during the night and see if you are doing/saying anything unusual in your sleep.  Please repost with any further information as I am both intrigued and concerned by this very unique situation.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your quick response.  I am 34 years old and feel quite healthy--no family history of seizures, heart conditions, etc.  I haven't had a complete checkup in several years, though, so it's past time to make an appointment for one.  The tape recorder is a good idea; I think I'll try that.

Last night it occurred to me that the GSD may be reasserting her position as top-dog of the three.  This past October I found a puppy under my house; she was obviously a stray, nothing but skin and bones, and too weak to stand.  She is healthy and active now, and is filling the role of puppy-of-the-pack quite well.  The kennel where she sleeps has been by my bed, toward the foot, since she first came.  I wonder whether the GSD has decided that it's time to reassert herself as the privileged one who sleeps by my bed.  Since she can't move the kennel, she may be standing alert to "guard" her position and demonstrate her role?  

Last night I moved the puppy's kennel away from my bed, and added padding to the GSD's mat beside my bed.  I had to reiterate several times that she belonged on the mat, lying down.  I didn't wake up last night, but she was there this morning.

Further information--I don't know what would be relevant.  I'm not aware of anything that may have upset her bedtime routine, but I'll watch for the signs you mentioned.  The second dog is the son of the GSD; he's half chow.  I have two inside cats.  All animals have been spayed or neutered, except the puppy.  I live in the woods, with no near neighbors.  The dogs stay outside during the day, in a fenced-in area; the GSD and GSDxchow have been kennel trained inside.  I have a very good relationship with the two older dogs.  We play, go for walks together, and they are quickly obediant when I give them instructions.  The puppy is a work in progress, and I'm pleased with how far she's come since I found her.

I have the closest relationship with the GSD.  She spent her first year by my side almost all the time. She's excellent at understanding my verbal and (sometimes unintentional) nonverbal communication.  She's well-socialized, friendly, and generally of a calm, stable temperament.  

I rely on the two of them to alert me when someone comes onto the property, and allow them to patrol the surrounding wooded hills (which my family owns).  I ring a large dinnerbell to call them back to the house, and they come running.  This just to say that they are very familiar with what goes on outside and have a strong sense of territory.  (When the puppy crawled under the house, for example, they knew quite well she was there and were willing to let her stay.)

I'm not sure what else you'd like to know.  At no point during her unusual bedtime behavior has she appeared seriously upset--no hackles or growling or whining, no snapping at the cats or the puppy.  She doesn't seem to be more needy of attention at other times during the day.  She's getting along well with the other animals.

Last night she looked meaningfully at the bed, as though she were about to jump up; I intercepted and quietly told her to lie down.  During the activity of getting ready for bed, she got up and went to a corner.  Before I got in bed, I had her come lie down on the mat again.

Answer
Your observation regarding her behavior as possibly dominance related might be apt, but the fact that she stands at attention at your bedside all night long (or so it appears) is what concerns me (and then subsequently has found it necessary to actually crawl into bed with you.)  You've obviously  done a marvelous job with your dogs and your youngest member is certainly quite fortunate to have found you.  She's obviously quite bid-able and very sensitive to your leadership (from the description of her response to your command when she looked at the bed) but the going to the corner response doesn't fall into line with rank opportunistic behavior.  Something is setting this dog off.  Continue maintaining what you have begun by replacing her bed next to yours and moving the pup's bed farther away, but do get that tape recorder.  It's possible you had a disturbing dream or event during your sleep which you don't recall, and that she's responding to that.  Having the checkup can't hurt; stories regarding dogs discovering illnesses in their owners (even young and apparently healthy people) are ubiquitous.  I tend to think this is more a behavioral thing, something you inadvertently did in your sleep, though.  One more thing: alter your bedtime routines so as not to cue her.  Please repost after a week or two have passed.