Nightmares and Anal Glands ?

[nate]

Our 18month goldendoodle occasionally has a bad nightmare.  

It's pretty easy to tell it's a nightmare and not a dream (which are plentiful) because:

1- He seems like he's being chased, not doing the chasing

2- His yelps are more 'scared' and fearful

3- His legs shake a bit before they start running (in his sleep)
4- He wakes himself up from the yelping

5- His anal glands expel

We can deal with the emotional pain of 1-4.  It's that last one that is physically painful.  He had a nightmare under my desk when I took him to work the other day.  We had to mop things up and clear the room for a few hours.

When he was about 6 months old , he had a bad hotspot on his ankle and freaked out at the vet.  He shot his anal glands all over me ( i was helping the vet tech hold him down ).  he just seems to shoot them when he's terrified.  that's his thing.

His glands are otherwise normal.  No blockages, they drain with poop, we had them expelled once just to be sure.. and they weren't very full or infected.  He just has this horrible fear reaction.

Anyone have tips on minimizing nightmares or helping him control his glands better?

[a.k.a. Rodney]

Not sure if this will b helpful, but I have seen at the vet an Anxiety t shirt for dogs... Maybe this could b the answer

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Rodney, The Thundershirt is what you are referring to and it should only be on for 20 minutes at a time, then removed.  I would not let a dog sleep with one for an extended period of time just in case one of these episodes occur.

Have you tried a better food to help the anal glands expel on a daily basis?  This might lesson this experience.

Good food, will create firmer stool, thus expelling the anal glands naturally and daily

[nate]

He's got firm stools. We have him on Orijin Adult dog food, which is one of the best options available.  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Dogs do express their anal glands in situations where they are experiencing great fear, so that part is not unusual. Your dog seems to be unusually fearful, however. All dogs have nightmares occasionally, but these seem to be very frequent and very intense. The terror at the vet seems a little extreme as well.  If this was my dog, I think I would talk to the vet or maybe a behaviorist about how to help him with the fear issues. 

[nate]

a behaviorist is a good idea. he's generally the sweetest, most playful, loving guy in the world.  he just gets *terrible* separation anxiety, and is as scared of needles as I am!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I agree with Karen.  This seems totally extreme to me.  A Behaviorist should be able to give you strategies to help your Doodle handle the anxiety.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

No suggestions here, just sympathy for both of you. That does seem so severe and I feel so bad for him having to deal with such anxiety. Especially because he can't help it, and when he's sleeping you don't know what it is in his head that's causing the anxiety so you can rectify the situation. Hope a behaviorist can help you.

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

Poor guy!  I wonder if a dog can differentiate a dream from reality-tend to doubt it.