If your dog has been waiting for you to go to bed, this post will show you likely reasons why and what you can do about them.
So, why does my dog wait for me to go to bed? Likely reasons why your dog waits for you to go to bed are that it has separation anxiety, it wants to sleep, it prefers being in your bedroom, or that something is causing it to be anxious.
There are actually a number of possible reasons why your dog waits for you to go to bed and it might be due to a combination of reasons. However, there are some things you can consider when figuring out the main cause and there are some things you can do about it.
Why does my dog wait for me to go to bed?
Below are likely reasons why your dog waits for you to go to bed and what would make each of them more likely.
Separation anxiety
The reason why your dog waits for you to go to bed might be that it has some separation anxiety. This would be more likely if your dog tends to get anxious when you are leaving it alone and if it also follows you around the house. In this case, it likely does not want to fall asleep and to be left alone.
It wants to sleep
Another possible reason is that it wants to sleep but it wants to sleep in your room. This would be more likely if your dog tends to go to sleep as soon as it goes into your room.
It prefers to be in your bedroom
It could also be the case that it just prefers being in your room. This would be more likely if your dog only waits for you to go to your room when the door is closed and if it just sleeps in the when the door is already open.
Something causing it to be anxious
It could also be the case that there is something causing your dog to be anxious that it is trying to get away from. This would be more likely if it does it more on certain nights such as when there are loud noises in the room or when a certain pet is around.
Things to consider
Below are some things to consider to help figure out the main cause.
If your dog has always waited for you to go to bed
If your dog did not always wait for you to go to bed, it would help to consider what else happened when it first started doing it. If it started doing it suddenly, it could be the case that there was an event that caused it to start such as if you started getting it to sleep in a different room than you or there was a change in its environment.
What is different when your dog does not wait for you to go to bed
If your dog does not always wait for you to go to bed, it would also help to consider what is different when your dog does not wait. For example, if it does not wait when it can already freely enter the bedroom, it would be likely that your dog just likes to sleep in there.
What to do about your dog waiting for you to go to bed
Below are some options you have when dealing with the behavior.
Limit reasons why it might be anxious
If your dog is anxious at night, it would help to limit possible reasons why it might be anxious. Ways to do so could include letting it pee or poo before bed and letting it stay in a cool and quiet room that is not too bright.
Let it into your room sooner
If your dog seems to like being in your room, and you do not mind it being in there, another option would be to let your dog into the room sooner. If you do not want it to be in there, another option would be to give it another area to stay in.
Let it do it
If your dog seems to be just waiting for you to go to bed because it wants to sleep with you, another option would be to just let it wait but to let it sleep elsewhere if it wants to.