Doggie Nightmares

[Carol and Banjo]

About four o'clock this morning Banjo (who was asleep in his chair beside our bed) let out the eeriest, most sorrowful/plaintive howl.  It lasted just a few seconds, but woke us with a start!   He was seemingly fast asleep didn't move a muscle and all was quiet once more.    I really shook me though.    I laid there for quite a while thinking what could have prompted such a sound.      He has always had the classic doggie dreams....you know, the paws twitching, the funny muffled barking that almost sounds like he's chuckling.    I always imagine he's having a ball running around chasing squirrels or something equally as fun.   This was different.    It really rattled me to think he was having a nightmare....poor guy!

Has anyone else experienced this nighttime howling?

[Gail and Bailey]

Bailey has done that "howl" in her sleep and it is indeed upsetting to hear.  I just stroked her and spoke softly and she was fine. It does make you wonder what they are dreaming when it happens!

[Carol and Banjo]

I'd love to know, Gail.

[Nancy and Georgia Brown]

That would freak me out too! I have never encountered that.
Georgia, does run and give muffled barks in her sleep.

Often when Georgia is sound asleep her tail will start thumping against the floor. Like she's wagging her tail happily in her dreams. Please don't tell me it means something else.

[Stella]

I'm pretty sure that is happy dreaming! My Chase has the twitchy, wuffly, tail wagging, bunny chasing dreams too. I know when he is having a bad dream because he starts crying, it is a totally different sound, but he always settles when I start talking to him. He is a very fearful, anxious dog and it makes me sad that he has bad dreams.

[Carol and Banjo]

The happy thumping tail has woken me on some nights.    

[BG and Gavin]

Gavin has vocal twitchy dreams with woofs and growls every single day. Occasionally he howls just like you describe. I guess he lets it all out at night, because he barely makes a sound when he is awake lol.

[Carol and Banjo]

Awww....Gavin.....the quiet man!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Murphy recently started having nightmares where he was crying (not whimpering but actually crying) in his sleep.  It totally freaks me out when he does that, because the way he's crying is more like a night terror than just a bad dream.  I wondered what he could have possibly experienced during the day for this to happen.  His world is so tightly controlled because of his other "issues", that he doesn't really encounter stress.  I thought it possibly could relate to Daycare, but now I don't see that it necessarily occurs on his Daycare days, and he always looks really happy on the Daycare videos.  I googled it and found some information.  Now I don't actually try to wake him.  I softly say his name....sometimes he wakes up and sometimes that's enough to change his sleep cycle.  Here's what I saw online that made sense to me....

"Understandably, if you think that your dog is having a bad dream, it is only natural to wonder what you can do to help them through this, much as you might with a child going through night terrors. It might seem instinctively obvious that the best thing to do is wake your dog up from their nightmare, but in fact, this is not recommended for a variety of reasons.

First of all, if your dog is ripped from an involved dream state back into normal wakefulness, they will be confused and disoriented, and in their head, still very connected to the dream. This can cause them to respond aggressively or lash out, as well as exacerbating their unhappiness by the process of confusion. Added to this, you will interrupt your dog’s normal sleep pattern, which is never a good idea. A dog dreaming, even through a nightmare, needs to complete their sleep cycle, and in some cases, playing out their dream or nightmare naturally is an integral part of this.

There are various things that you can do for your dog to help to direct their nightmare to a nicer place or reassure them, without waking them from sleep. First of all, consider using a DAP (dog appeasing pheromone) collar or diffuser in the area where your dog sleeps, to instil a general sense of comfort and peace in your dog before they go to sleep.

If your dog appears to be in the throes of a nightmare, try calling their name softly and warmly from a safe distance, as dogs will register the sound of their name even when asleep, and this comforting, grounding process may help to re-direct their nightmare to more positive thoughts."

[Carol and Banjo]

Thanks for sharing this Jane.     I hope Murphy's nightmares don't continue.    It's a helpless feeling....we can only guess what might be going on.

[Kaitee and Orwell]

Orwell occasionally has bad dreams and he has howled as you describe. However, the most frightening dream he had, in my opinion (maybe not his, lol), was when he yelped, whimpered, and then bore his teeth and growled. I had never seen him bare his teeth. He play growls all the time, but I know it is never in an aggressive manner. I still wonder what images in his brain could have provoked that response. 

Stupidly, I did calmly wake him up from that dream, but he didn't lash out at me at all. He just sighed and went back to sleep again. Thank you for the info, though, Jane. I will keep that article in mind if it happens again.

[Carol and Banjo]

It does make sense to me to not awaken the dog from such a dream.    I'm thinking of people who suffer from PTSD and have night terrors.    Some have actually lashed out in their sleep.         I'm fascinated at the whole concept of doggy dreams.     I wonder if all animals dream.

[Kaitee and Orwell]

It does make sense now that I think about it. I've even almost punched my brother when he woke me up for dinner once. I was really tired that day.