Yes, I agree @S1969. Also, when my dog had her episodes, I would go out and sleep on the couch to give my SO a quiet bedroom (dog would follow me). She would continue her anxiety attack in the living room, so it wasn’t a reaction to something in the bedroom. She also had them occasionally at our vacation rental. My friend’s senior terrier had episodes in her city condo and down in Wellington.
Yup. Totally possible that it’s not wired correctly, or has wires that aren’t grounded correctly. Some people are very sensitive to high levels of EMFs, and this can cause anxiety, high blood pressure, sleeplessness, and yes, that feeling of ‘being watched’/paranoia. It doesn’t matter how old it is, either; plenty of new construction houses have wiring that isn’t up to code and if it’s an older house, it probably does have some bad wiring.
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OP, how close do you live to your neighbors? Could one of your neighbors have one of those anti-pest devices that emits a high pitched noise that they only turn on at night?
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Just thought of something.
My co worker has dogs and one of the older dogs developed Cushings.
He said that she would have episodes out of nowhere and would have anxiety attacks and after a while she would come out of it.
He took her to the vet who diagnosed Cushings.
It took a while to get the correct dosage, but qs long as she gets her meds, she’s fine.
I don’t know the exact age of this dog, but she is older. I believe she is a mixed breed of two smaller dogs .
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I did go inspect around the screens that lead to my crawl space, one screen is actually flush on top of some concrete so no getting into there. The other has about an inch/two space between it and the ground. I’m certain mice/rats could get in there but not likely anything bigger without actually digging out some dirt, which has been undisturbed.
The idea of Cushing’s is a thought, he’s always had thin hair problems and recently he has recurring skin infections. I’ve changed his diet up because the vet thought it was mostly just allergies causing his problems. He’s also developed multiple fat tumors in a short space of time on his stomach, and a few other growths I’d like to get looked at.
The thing about poor wiring makes me wonder as well, I’d had a couple issues where my house would lose power randomly during the day so maybe when I call my builder to do some final adjustments I’ll add that to the list.
So many things that could be going wrong here 
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Last summer our dog would jump out of bed agitated and would go sleep in the basement. At first we couldn’t figure it out, seemed random. Turned out the compressor in the freezer was failing. Initially it only bothered her at night when the house was quiet. Then it started bothering her during the day as well. It wasn’t very loud, I wouldn’t have noticed it if it wasn’t bothering her.
I wanted a new one anyway so I replaced it. It was at least another month before she comfortably slept upstairs with us.
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Have you tried removing the nightstand from the Room?
Thinning hair, could that be an indication of Thyroid issues?
Also, do you have a furnace, or heat pump? My heat pump has auxiliary coils that kick in during colder weather. I don’t know that they make a noise, but it could be too high pitched for humans. Thr furnace fan might be making a high pitched noise too.
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I know this is a major PIA, but is there any way to sleep in a different room for a night, ideally far away from the offending one, to see if he exhibits the same behavior?
I personally would try crating him in another room of the house if I just wanted to get some sleep. But a better “experiment” would be to keep all variables the same except the one most likely to be causing the behavior (the room). If he still does the weird behavior in another room, then it’s almost certainly not the room.
My late dog hated the sound of a garbage can being dragged across the pavement on wheels and (this is really weird) and a specific blimp that used to fly over the house during the summer. She had no fears of storm, thunder, barking dogs, and so forth. So what irritates one dog may not be the same thing that irritates another. (And I agree it may be on a pitch that’s virtually inaudible for humans).
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One of my dogs suddenly became terrified of any flying insect, flies, bees, etc. My guess was she was bitten or stung, and remembered it.
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Has he ever reacted fearfully to noises from mice/rats during daylight hours? Interesting that he specifically tries to get in the nightstand and not, say, under the bed or into a closet. Any theories as to why? Does he seem to be gazing at any fixed point during these episodes? Is it possible to set up a night-vision camera so you can see what happens leading up to the episodes? Could you be dreaming & startling without realizing it? Could the dog be?
I’m with @Alex_and_Bodie_s_Mom – an EFT detector is a great idea. I’m neurodivergent & super-sensitive to EFT issues. I can hear wires humming in the walls, for example. I, too, have disconnected my hard-wired smoke alarms (reminds me, I need to test to make sure they’re still running ok on battery power alone). I cannot handle the noise of them nuisance alarming. The landlord probably thinks I’m nuts. I’m also wondering about the possibility of static electricity discharging or him smelling a chemical change in your body? As others have noted, a developing medical issue afflicting the dog is also a possibility.
Last suggestion – are you comfortable with the idea of asking the dog? It’s not for everyone but can sometimes work. If you’d like to try it, treat it as you would a delicate conversation with a human partner. Pick a time during daylight when you’re both relaxed. Ground and calm yourself as much as possible. Try to let thoughts enter & leave your mind without judgment. Some people also prefer to ask the animal for permission or otherwise explain they want to talk to them. There’s no right or wrong there. Whatever you’re comfortable with. Then, start picturing things in your mind. In your case, I’d try visualizing 1) rodents chewing wires or playing in the walls 2) wires buzzing & your ears hurting 3) looking up at a smoke alarm & ears hurting 4) scanning his body for pain or illness 5) scanning your body for the same 6) him in the nighstand versus under the bed. Don’t worry if nothing immediately comes to mind. It may take several hours or even days. Just remind/reassure him that you’re there for him & want to help. Then just keep “listening”. He may well not answer in the form you anticipate, either.
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I find that if I move the nightstand to a different place he’ll just plop himself on the ground where it was, or if he makes his way around it he’ll try to shove his way behind it. The nightstand thing is not new, at my old house he would try to do the same thing when there was a thunderstorm. He used to put himself in my closet and shut the door before he did that. If I leave the laundry room open he will run out the doggy door and sit himself clear across the yard. It must be something that’s happening in the middle of my house around my bedroom. My ac went out (I live in the Deep South so it was 80 degrees last week) and this weird behavior may coincide with that? I’ll see what happens when it gets fixed, but that won’t be until next week.
In the mean time, someone suggested I try hemp calming treats, so I’ve been using some of those. I’ve used them for the last three days and he just seems to snooze, he had a weird moment where he went over to the nightstand and I shooed him away and he just plopped down next to the bed and went to sleep. So at least a little relief for both of us while I try to sort things out.
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We moved to a different room in the house at the insistence of our dog, and we sleep in the living room with the lights on when he’s truly terrified.
He was found tied to a tree at an abandoned house, starving, and I think he has PTSD.
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Oh no, the poor thing! And poor you, as sleeping in the living room with the lights on does not sound fun for human sleeping! Does the different room help?
Did you ask your vet about anti-anxiety meds? I would definitely be looking into that if you have a dog that is so terrified it can’t sleep on a regular basis.
Yes, the downstairs bedroom helps immensely! He sleeps in the bathroom across the hall, where he can guard our door. The upstairs bedroom has skylights, which make the rain and wind Very Scary!
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We’ve tried all sorts of different meds, but what seems to work best is melatonin and CBD treats.
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And as long as it’s not stormy, he’s fine, luckily!
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Wild animals breeding?
Until we knew what it was, we called the fox scream the Xville Monster.
Some animals are much quieter, but they get my dogs attention.
Nevermind, I see this is an old thread…
