I personally would let him sleep on the floor, maybe with his age he is having some issues with dementia or other problem. Sure wish our fur babies could talk sometimes......Poor guy.

He's old and maybe losing his hearing and sight and might be afraid. Let him sleep in the bedroom with you at night. Take him to the vet for a checkup and have a senior bloodwork panel done on him to check for any medical reasons for this.

He's lonely? A hot water bottle and a ticking wind up clock next to him used to be what you'd do for a small puppy. He's now considered elderly. 2nd childhood?

A LOT of people love crating. I'm against it. It's not natural for a wolf = domestic dog relative to be caged. I think unless it solves a problem, ie: chewing? restless walking around all night? Chasing the cat? Fighting with other dogs in the house? Peeing? None of those...? Then what does crating your dog solve? Let him out no matter who's house he's in.

If need be, put the crate in your room and leave it open. He may go willingly.

His crate is in my office and like I said, I work from home. He goes in and out of it all day long.

I really have no problem leaving him out of his crate at night, I just don't want to cause trouble for my in-laws when we go out of town.

Does he need to go outside? Asking because my elderly lab started whining in the middle of the night because he needed to out to pee. Turned out that he had developed diabetes.

My money’s on it being a need to go potty like cilantro said. I would definitely take the pup to the vet, though, to see what’s going on.

Nope - doesn't need to potty. Once we let him out of his crate, he just bolted to our room and laid on the floor.

It might also be that he is starting to get hip dysplasia and is no longer comfortable in the crate. All of my labs started showing signs of it around 11 years of age. It sounds like you didn't let him out to pee last night so apparently that wasn't what caused the barking. A wellness visit to the vet is probably a good idea if he hasn't been recently.

Or maybe he is just having bad dreams. I have had dogs bark in their sleep.

Dogs and other pets can sometime sense things we have no idea of. He wants to be close to you for some reason.

I've noticed an increase in anxiety when dogs get older. They are nervous when you are not around. He sounds like a good boy, I don't think he will cause any problems at your in-laws if you allow him to sleep in your room. You could always find a pet sitter if you don't want to try this new arrangement with your in-laws.

We have had 2 dogs go through something similar, both were elderly (one was a chihuahua who was 18, the other a Min-pin who was about 14) and both developed dementia. The min-pin was totally blind and had been since he was about 3 and the chichuahua went blind as he got older (he also started to lose his hearing the last year of his life). Our vet basically described it as Sundowning ... https://www.senioradvisor.com/blog/2017/03/how-to-help-your-dog-with-sundowners-syndrome/

We eventually had the chihuahua euthanized because his quality of life had deteriorated so much... we had to euthanize the min-pin at the recommendation of a specialist because of tumors- both within the same year. It was a sad time.

Last night, after an hour of barking and crying we let him out. He came into our room, laid down on the floor and was quiet the rest of the night.

It seems you don't need us, you answered your own question. Let him sleep in your room.

As far as crating at night, just like kids with divorced parents, they learn quickly that different homes have different rules. So do what is best for you. I do crate at night, I have a small chihuahua and vision problems, should I accidentally step on her when I get up to use the bathroom, she would be severely injured.

First it's a great idea if you find out whether it is a physical comfort thing or not. Then I would consider putting the crate on wheels. I would wheel it about the house wherever you are but then I'm a bit dog centric. At least that way the crate could be wherever the in-laws are sleeping. Or even buy a second crate. That's what we did for one of our upstairs downstairs dogs.

When I'm very old and grumpy I hope I have someone around me who comforts me. Your dog is very lucky to have you!

I also vote for (once your vet rules out health issues) letting him sleep in your room. Provide a nice, cushy bed so he'll be comfortable and he should be fine, and quiet too.

Behaviors can change as our pets age. My boy, now 11, has recently developed an aversion to cell phone texting 'tweets'. If he hears them, he comes to me and is obviously distressed, paws me and sits at my feet and shivers. Took me days to find a text alert tone for my phone that doesn't bother him but they still pop up on the TV or when we are out and about and he still displays the same distressed behavior. btw, other sounds do not bother him - sirens, fireworks, thunder, etc.

I'd just allow him to sleep with you if that is what he wants. Frankly, one of the great joys of having a dog as a best friend is that warm, furry body cuddled up next to you!

Aw, sweet boy! You know what to do. ;)

The first night in our home, our very easy going 6 mos. old Newfie mix let us know in no uncertain terms he was not going to be crated. We were fine with him finding a place in the house to sleep. We'd never been crate people anyway. Eventually, as he grew, he opted to sleep outside (we said no to outside but o.k. to the garage with the door cracked a bit.

The only other thing he was adamant about was not wanting to be around kids. We eventually figured out that 15 y.o. was the cut-off point; no kids under 15 near him. Before we got him he'd been adopted (and then returned) by a family with small kids who apparently were unsupervised or taught how to behave around dogs. They said he was "vicious and undisciplined". <eyeroll> . He was the most easy going, sweet boy.

I realize this isn't your story but they do tell you what they need. I think the "sundowner's" could also play a part. I'm sure we've all witnessed this in elderly humans; I know my dad had it.

First thing I would do is take him to the vet and make sure he's not suffering from any health related issues.

Just like people change as they age, so do dogs. Things they used to like to do, they may no longer want to do because of arthritis pain. Old teeth may make favorite foods difficult to eat. Hearing loss or vision loss can cause anxiety. Mental abilities begin to decline and things that used to easy are now hard.

We used to have two labs and at night they slept together in their own room. That worked fine until one of them died and the other became lonely at night. We figured it out when she started to howl and howl and howl until we brought her into our bedroom where she settled down and peacefully slept the night away. From that night on, she slept on the floor in our room and everyone was happy.

Hopefully, his issue is simply that he no longer wants to sleep alone at night. Best of luck in coming up with a solution that works for all involved.

If he's perfectly healthy, short of letting him sleep in your room, you might try buying a teddy bear, sleep with it a couple of weeks and then put it in his bed every night. I did that when I got Georgie as a puppy so it would have my scent on it. After a week of sleeping on the sofa next to her crate, I put Georgie in the laundry room in her crate with teddy bear and never had a problem. Even brought it with her when she went to the kennel despite their objections because they said she would just rip it apart. Yes, you can put a piece of your clothing in the crate, too, I just liked the teddy bear. For the first two years, she always took the teddy bear with her (wouldn't let me) when it was time to go to bed. Once she turned two, she never took it to bed again. It was like, I'm a big girl now, mom, I don't need that anymore. To this day (she's ten) it's the only stuffed animal she hasn't shredded and every now and then she gets it and brings it to me. It's just a little stuffed animal I bought in the baby department at T.J. Maxx, not a dog toy, but from the baby department I figured it wouldn't have anything she can pull apart and choke on.

My dog chose her own 'baby' the first week after I brought her home when she was 4 months old - a stuffed Eeyore. I had to remove its plastic eyes, the ears, and the tail - they were all too easy for her to chew off and I didn't want to risk that. After removing all those things, I sewed up the holes so she couldn't pull out the stuffing and eat that either, and to this day I will routinely perform 'restorative surgery' with a needle and thread - stitching up any parts that have reopened with time and dog gnawing. :P

She's 13 now, so she moves a little slower and a couple years ago the vet told me that she's developed a heart murmur (according to the vet, it happens sometimes as chihuahua and chihuahua mixes age, but in the absence of other symptoms it's not a big deal that needs to be worried about). She does occasionally bark at nothing in particular more than she used to, but my focus is on doing my best to make the most of every day I have with her because who knows how long we'll have! Dementia does occur in dogs, and while I'm not entirely sure that this is something my particular dog is experiencing, it could be worthwhile for OP to inquire about at their next vet appointment. Definitely think about going in for a wellness check in the near term, since dogs are on a shorter time table and things can progress quickly.

Good advise all around. You need to talk to the in-laws. It really was nice of you to think about them when training your dog. But things have changed.

Hopefully they will at least let your dog be crated in their bedroom.

Dogs go where they go most comfortable. Mine have always been "free-range." I used the crate with our Golden only for the first year. Our dog now is a rescue and he wasn't crated and older.

I am a big proponent of crate training. I believe it is cruel not to crate train for reasons I won't go into now. However once my dogs exhibit the maturity to roam free in the household without doing damage they are no longer crated unless necessary to keep them out of the way or safe. They also crate when staying in hotels. Once destructive puppy behavior is past the crate stays but the door is left open. I have had dogs that love their crate spending hours inside by choice and those that merely tolerate it. But there is no reason to keep an adult family pet crated unless one never took the time to civilize them into members of the family. The latter shouldn't have dogs IMO.

Have you installed a motion sensor alarm that is activated when you go to bed? Some of those emit a high frequency sound that is above your hearing but dogs, cats, mice and bats may hear it.

One of my kids, when young, could hear above 15,000 hz and the hallway monitors in his high school were miserable for him.

I’m not sure why he’s doing it but I would for sure be letting him sleep in the bedroom with me every night for the rest of his life. Dogs are pack animals. They want to be with their family.

Two crates.

lots of good advice here. i am pro-crate training if for no other reason, your dog may have to be left overnight at the vet's office for one reason or another and being familiar with being confined in a kennel will be easier on him if he's familiar with being in a crate.

i'd definitely have a wellness check done to rule out any health issues and then i'd let him sleep in your room. he sounds like a really sweet guy! i have 4 great danes. they all sleep in my room. i usually have at least 1 or 2 in bed with me. my guy who runs in his sleep never gets on the furniture, his choice. i'm thankful for that as i'm pretty sure i'd be explaining numerous bruises on my body! lol

My dog has always slept in my bed, and continued to do so even after the addition of the mister into the mix. Yes, he's generally always had to share his pillow with her, but at least now she doesn't make him share it with her booty? :P She's 13 years old, a chihuahua miniature pinscher mix who weighs all of 12lbs. I found it easy to train her to use a 'dog equivalent of a litter box' to go potty, which was a tray with newspaper in it - the shelter had kept her in a kennel with newspaper lining the bottom - eventually moving on to the tray with absorbent 'puppy' pads. This has been exceedingly helpful after we moved to Nebraska, as she absolutely refuses to go outside when there's snow and ice on the ground - which means we need an alternative option from mid/late November through April. Thankfully she's never simply chosen to find a spot in the house and go potty, whether in SoCal or Nebraska! :P

@Ninapearl When we knew for sure that we'd be moving it was June 2017, and up to that point my dog had never been in a carrier (trips to the vet entailed her wearing a harness that connected to the seat belt). I purchased the carrier at that time and from June through the first few days of August, I did my best to get her acclimated to one because I would be bringing her in the cabin with me on the plane, which the airlines only allow if they're in a carrier that fits under the seat in front of you and each flight can only have a certain number of animals in the cabin which involves not just including that info when you make your ticket purchase, but getting to the airport and collecting your tickets/boarding passes early enough to make the cutoff. My dog did NOT like being in the carrier, and was already upset by the time we got to the airport. Getting her back into it after going through security which required us to take her out and let them inspect the carrier...was difficult. The mister was responsible for zipping it back up while I kept her reasonably calm and her head from popping out of the top so he could do his part. :P I suppose all of this could have been made easier if I'd crate/carrier trained her from puppyhood, but back then I thought I'd live in SoCal forever, and had found acceptable ways of keeping her safe for the various transportation experiences that I'd encountered or assumed I'd encounter. When I brought her home from the county animal control shelter I'd adopted her from, I could carry my purse, a 12 pack of soda, and my dog without problems or dicey juggling all three. Over time she's grown in size and now I can only manage my purse and my dog. Lol

jenn, that's too funny! the smallest dogs i've ever had were welsh corgis.

@Ninapearl My brother has a corgi of some kind (she might be a mix?) named Penny, after the animated character with one from "Inspector Gadget". My SIL insisted on having the dog crate trained and the crate is set up in the dining room area that is open to the kitchen. Dogs here in Nebraska generally range from corgi sized to REALLY BIG, lots of medium to long fur, very few short coats like my chihuahua miniature pinscher mix. The few toy/small dogs I've seen are Yorkies, Maltese, and the like. So they're small dogs but more furry (requiring lots of regular, extensive grooming. I can run a brush over my dog and be done!). I anticipate getting another dog down the road, when Molly is gone and I feel ready...Where I'll find another small dog with the characteristics I'd be looking for and the right personality out here in Nebraska, I don't know. Especially since I'll want a puppy, ideally under 9 months but up to a year old. Basically the age group alone is in short supply at the local humane society that the county/city contracts with for animal control services, and it's hard to find a small dog (up to 20 lbs) out here. They're the only game in town for animal adoption services, though if you're willing to pay several hundreds of dollars there are breed and breed mix specific rescues in the area who will put you on their waiting list. A dog with a short coat is relatively important, since I try to be realistic about the grooming commitment after all. ;)

@Jenn TheCaLLisComingFromInsideTheHouse corgis are great small dogs with big personalities! the proverbial "big dog in a small dog body" describes them perfectly. i loved my 2, they were awesome dogs but if you're looking for something that doesn't shed much, you'd be barking up the wrong tree with a corgi. they shed volumes! every time i brushed mine (which was often), it looked like i had another dog. SO. MUCH. FUR!!! lol

@Ninapearl

Oh, my chihuahua miniature pinscher may have a short coat, but just running my hand down her back from neck to rump is enough to kick a veritable cloud of shed fur up! :P Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring, she sheds. Brushing her every day (she tolerates it, as long as it's just her back and sides - no tummy, no head, not one leg or paw and definitely no tail! :P) at least means that much of what she sheds the rest of the time is kept to collecting on the two throw blankets that I have on the sofa or the one on our bed. Those I can wash and then dump into the trash once they've formed into a roughly inch thick layer on the dryer filter. ;)

I find corgis adorable, but I worry that their long bodies might be prone to spinal issues with injuries from trying to jump up onto the sofa or bed. My brother's doesn't seem to have too much of a problem, at least not when compared to what you'd see with a dachshund. Corgis always make me think of Queen Elizabeth II (the mister would probably say that the last thing the household needs is its own QE II. Lol)

It is probably loneliness but we had a midnight issue with our dog that turned out to be a raccoon that was visiting the house every night. He could hear it poking around on the patio, although we didn't.

I'm a great believer in crate training for any dog. Dogs are by nature, "den animals" and the crate becomes the "den" very quickly. It's truly a safety issues. If I have plumbers or other workers in my house, my dogs are crated. If the tornado siren goes off, we all go to the basement and my dogs are crated in a large crate, the smaller ones also being in the basement garage. If we were to have to go to a shelter, the rules are usually that ALL pets be crated!

I would never leave a dog crated for 10 hours during the day and then crate them again for 8 hrs at night, but then if I were gone that long, I most likely would not have a dog. When I go out, I normally leave my dogs in the kitchen (NOT open concept!) with a gate up. One sleeps in the bed with me at night, the other in his crate (all he's ever known in his 6 years). When he is oneway an "only", he'll be given a "try-out" in my bed to see if he's a good bedfellow. If he is, he will join me. I like having something warm next to me at night and don't want another husband!

There are breeds of dogs who are prone to separation anxiety, who if not crate-trained in puppyhood, will become so anxious they will destroy a house, trying to get out and get to their owner. BY that point, they cannot be crate-trained and will also be unadoptable. My next door neighbor had such a dog and he finally had to be put down, but not before he destroyed fencing in my yard (trying to get out of his in to mine, and then another fence to get out of mine, too!), and he killed two pet cats in the neighborhood, sunning themselves in their own yards. I've never seen a dog as terrified as this one was - he was truly psychotic. If he'd been crate-trained as a puppy, he would have been fine.

@Jenn TheCaLLisComingFromInsideTheHouse

I find corgis adorable, but I worry that their long bodies might be prone to spinal issues with injuries from trying to jump up onto the sofa or bed.

corgis are pretty stout little dogs. mine didn't have any problems jumping on or off the sofa but i did have steps for them to get up on the bed

i would love another corgi someday but not until i find a breeder who tests their breeding stock for the gene for degenerative myelopathy. most do not and i won't put myself through that agony again.

@Ninapearl

When I first brought Molly home, I started using a step stool so she could get up onto my bed without needing to jump from the floor with no intermediate 'booster', since she was so small and wouldn't get all that much bigger I knew a day would come when age made the jump all that more difficult. She continues to use that step stool, even though I've since purchased TWO different products designed like stairs but smaller and she has no interest in using either under any circumstances. I tried taking away the step stool and setting up the stairs, rather than using the new option she simply went to the side of the bed next to them and jumped from the floor onto the bed. During daylight hours she'd successfully make the leap, but at night there were a few attempts that weren't quite on the mark so I just decided to put the step stool back out rather than see her get hurt. She's 13 now, when I tried switching things she was 10. The step stool has prevented her from having further problems from getting up onto the bed, and I've got two stair-like things being stored (after spending all that money I decided to keep them around, one is at the back of the master bedroom walk in closet, the other is on the floor underneath the lowest shelf in the pantry/storage closet off the kitchen/living room and behind where the fireplace is. Since I want another small dog down the road, I'll start their training in using these stairs from the beginning.)

Minorad, I hope you come back to tell us what solution you used and how it's worked out.

Some good advice given here, but like others, I think it's age related.

I have a senior dog, 14+ years, and his sleeping habits have changed over the past 2 years. He used to sleep with us but weakness in his legs made it more difficult, and dangerous when he would jump off. Over time he went from his beds, to a carpeted floor, or a rug on the hardwood. I've learned he has difficulty moving around on, or getting up from, anything that is extra soft.

You may want to check the firmness/softness of the crate bed. Plus, it's also possible, in his old age, that the crate is not large enough for him to get in comfortable positions. Most likely he's dealing with arthritis.