Puppy dreams

[Amy & Bernie]

It's been a long time since I've had a puppy so perhaps my memory is just failing me - but have any of you witnessed what seem to be some pretty intense puppy dreams? Bernie is quite vocal when he dreams and twitches like mad, sometimes with his eyes part way open, so much I actually entertained the thought that he was having seizures! It scared me! I know he's totally healthy so I've lightened up with the overprotective momma act but it still catches me off guard when I hear him whining and grunting across the room with his legs flailing!

My older dogs rarely dreamed, an occasional peep or twitch, but nothing like Bernie. I know dreaming is info processing, so I suppose it makes sense my new little boy has a lot more to go over in his sleep.

Any of you experiencing this?

[Lori]

I did when Casper was little - it was so WEIRD because the pooch I had before him was epileptic and would have HORRIBLE seizures, and they were always at night. So the puppy dreams would scare the HELL out of me : ( the noises, the twitching, the flailing...it really freaked me out. The good news is that he doesn't do it anymore!

[Amy & Bernie]

Thank you Lori, I don't feel so overprotective now =)

[Amy & Bernie]

Geez! Okay, good to know. He generally doesn't wake us up, his craziest dreams seem to be while he naps during the day. I work from home so I see all the little things I guess I would miss out on if I had to leave him during the day. Thanks!

[Maxwell & Lilly's Page]

My puppy (9 weeks) has really intense dreams too. During the day, he hardly barks, but when he gets into a certain state of dreaming, he barks with his mouth closed, whines, and jerks around quite a bit. I have seen puppies dreaming before, but not quite this actively!

[Amy & Bernie]

Isn't it bizarre Linda?! I guess we should be glad they're lives are fulfilling enough to encourage such activity in their puppy brains!

[BG and Gavin]

Oh my goodness - Gavin had crazy puppy dreams and still does. They are less frequent now, but just as intense. I catch him dreaming at least 4-5 times a week. The legs are pumping, her growls, barks and snorts. He is 14 months old now. I did not realize that they are processing information through their dreams. Gavin must be a flippin' genius!

[Amy & Bernie]

That's so funny! I'm sure he's a genius, did you have any doubt? =)

[Jamie Petro]

My dachshund is 7 and she has "bad dreams" all the time. Our doodle Wrigley is a year and a half and she doesn't have them often, but she had one yesterday. Same symptoms, whining, eys opened a little, legs twitching.

[Jaime and Barley Barker]

Based on these posts, I think puppy and dog dreaming is perfectly normal. Barley is 10 months old now and still has dreams in which he whines, cries, and flails around while his eyes are half open. Our four-year-old doodle Daisy still dreams loudly at times. We now have a four-month-old St. Bernard puppy who does a combination of snoring loudly, kicking, and whining. So, no worries! Maybe they dream about chasing cats or bunnies, or they have nightmares about their food dishes being empty. Who knows the inner life of dogs?

[Amy & Bernie]

Such a busy house Jaime! I'm jealous! It's admirable how complicated, yet simple our canine friends can be =)

[Hunter and Daisy's Doodle Mom]

Oh my gosh, my two get into their dreams so much, I've been kicked in the middle of the night while they're having one of their "running in the meadow" dreams. And Hunter snores so loud, sometimes I don't know if it's him or my husband at times. Their legs will flap around and the paws will be moving back and forth and at times I'll get a small howl or bark while their mouth is still somewhat shut. And Hunter sleeps with his eyes 1/2 opened quite often.