Dogs and closed doors

[Natasha]

I have two Havanese who are both very sweet, loving dogs. I've been away at college and missed them terribly, but upon coming back home I've realized a serious issue I never noticed before. They cannot stand having the door closed. This means that I cannot sleep with it closed at night and can't have a single second of time without them right there. Two dogs in a twin bed is not fun, especially since one of them won't jump up on the bed and whines next to it to be picked up until he is.. something I don't want to do at 3 in the morning. If I attempt to keep the door closed so they don't disturb my sleep, they will both sit and whine, scratch, and occasionally bark at it - this morning for 2 hours straight until I finally gave up.
Don't get me wrong, they get plenty of attention, care, and love.. but at times I need my space and a good night's sleep. Does anyone have any suggestions for getting them to accept an occasionally closed door?
Thanks in advance :)

[Sweet72947]

That sounds like it could be mild separation anxiety. Can you shut the door for a very short period of time without them getting upset? If so, shut the door, then open it again before they get upset and praise for being calm. Slowly increase the amount of time with the door closed.

Another thing to try, is to ignore them until they stop barking/scratching/whining and then open the door once they are calm. Then they learn that calm=attention instead of freaking out = attention.

Good luck with whatever you try!

[lizzybeth727]

this morning for 2 hours straight until I finally gave up.
It could be separation anxiety, but it sounds to me like they're just spoiled! They have learned that no matter how long it takes, as long as they don't give up the whining/barking/whatever, you will give up and give in! Probably the only way you're going to stop this behavior now is to go about 4 hours with them barking/whining/scratching/etc., and ignore it the whole time. It might take less time, might take more, but they've learned that it will take at least 2 hours, so they'll keep it up at least that long next time!

I'd suggest exercising them a LOT before bed tonight - at least one or two hours of running, playing, training, etc., that will make them more tired and maybe give up faster. When they do finally get quiet, wait about five seconds, then open the door if you want to.

Good luck!

[Natasha]

thank you both! your suggestions were wonderful. I'm going to try a combination of the two and see how that works.. it already started improving a bit yesterday!