Kelly_Louise Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 I was watching Sash snooze on my lunch break. She kinda sleeps with her eyes open and her eyes roll around in her head, mostly showing the whites. She very frequently starts shaking, her eyes, ears, nose and lips quiver, her legs start thrashing, she starts breathing erratically, sometimes she cries out (sometimes not)... and her eyes blink really quickly like someone is hitting her... Has anyone read anything about what dogs dream about? I always feel so sorry for Sash she looks so scared and uncomfortable, like she's being beaten OH says I'm being silly and overly dramatic... which is a good possibility! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic oh lah Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 I think Sophie is chasing rabbits or tennis balls (-: And telling off baddies - this i deduce from her sleep-running with paws in the air with little snuffles and snorts. I remember not long after we were married my husband was making weird little noises and shuffling round in his sleep and in the morning i said to him jokingly "were you having fun dreams about chasing balls" and her looked at me deadpan and asked how i knew that was what he was dreaming about! Apparently in his dream he'd made it into the Richmond Tigers and the team was depending on him to win the Grand Final! Lol. I don't know what's funnier, the idea of my hubby having puppy-like dreams, or the delusion of the Richmond Tigers making it to a Grand Final -lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Has anyone read anything about what dogs dream about? I always feel so sorry for Sash she looks so scared and uncomfortable, like she's being beaten OH says I'm being silly and overly dramatic... which is a good possibility! No one can possibly know what dogs dream about. If your dog is consistently being unsettled in sleep then you might like to consider something like Rescue Remedy or Valerian prior to bedtime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NaShAd Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Maybe worth asking the dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted March 16, 2010 Author Share Posted March 16, 2010 I just meant that I wondered if any random research had been done or something... or whether dogs can suffer what we would call a nightmare or something. Not to worry, obviously a dumb question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubiton Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 The eyes moving quickly is REM (dream) sleep. The rest just sound like the dog is chasing something or running around madly. They can only 'imagine' what they see during the waking hours - that would be the difference with us since we can imagine stuff from tv etc (eg the posters OH richmond dream) whereas dogs could only imagine chasing whatever they have seen/chased. Sometimes the dog does make very odd sounds like whimpering but a click of the fingers wakes her up out of it - if you are worried just make a sound that wakes her up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted March 16, 2010 Author Share Posted March 16, 2010 The eyes moving quickly is REM (dream) sleep. The rest just sound like the dog is chasing something or running around madly. They can only 'imagine' what they see during the waking hours - that would be the difference with us since we can imagine stuff from tv etc (eg the posters OH richmond dream) whereas dogs could only imagine chasing whatever they have seen/chased.Sometimes the dog does make very odd sounds like whimpering but a click of the fingers wakes her up out of it - if you are worried just make a sound that wakes her up. Thanks Rubiton... that's exactly what I meant. I assumed that a dog can only dream about what it's actually experienced, rather than dream about random things. More like 're-living' scenarios it has been in. I generally do try to gently wake her up, especially if it goes on for too long or is getting worse... which is usually greeted with first the acknowledgement she's awake, then a tail wag Do other dogs sleep with their eyes half open as well? I've not noticed it before. Sometimes when she's dreaming it seems like she is staring straight at me, but I know she is asleep and can't see me... and boy do her eyes roll! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 I just meant that I wondered if any random research had been done or something... or whether dogs can suffer what we would call a nightmare or something.Not to worry, obviously a dumb question. Don't roll your eyes at me....you're the one who said it! How can anyone research what dogs dream about, we can only assume really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenni87 Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 No expert but I think the eyes open thing is to stop being snuck up upon while sleeping kind of thing. I have often wondered if they dream as we do, like about things and places they've been. The first time we took her to the beach she slept very figity and made a few whine noises so I was paranoid it was like a nightmare of what she just experienced. Otherwise when she sleeps she is out like a log and looks so peaceful. Wish I could sleep like that!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted March 16, 2010 Author Share Posted March 16, 2010 Wasn't at you sas... I understand what you're saying, perhaps I didn't word my OP correctly - just expected everyone to know what I meant. I thought maybe some expert might have done research on what part of the brain is active during sleep or something... not to know exactly what they are dreaming about, but whether it comes from memories etc... which I assumed it would. Anyway, I'm not in the mood for sarcasm today sorry guys. I'm having a bad day and just trying to escape it by talking about dogs. Jenni87 - LOL that's a good point - however, if it's true then Sash would have been well and truly eaten alive if she were out in the wild!!! Sometimes I get up close to wake her up and it takes me a while before she realises I'm there (however I am gentle). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Anyway, I'm not in the mood for sarcasm today sorry guys. I'm having a bad day and just trying to escape it by talking about dogs. Bloody Hell...go take a chill pill love! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pollywaffle Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 My little girl often lays there with her eye balls seemingly rolled to the back of her eyes..with lots of white area showing..rather disconcerting actually. She also shakes occasionally and seems 'troubled'...which I have difficulty understanding, because to the best of my knowledge she's never experienced anything more unpleasant than having a treat taken away! Perhaps as has been said, she is reliving an activity she takes part in when awake....Whatever the initiator, I don't let it go on too long...hate to see her suffer in ANY way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W Sibs Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Hmm... I've never seen Charlie react to a dream like that. He twitches and stuff... but I like to make up little stories on what he is dreaming. But, lately when he is sleeping now, he is in a deep sleep and he lays very very still... sometimes I have to put my hand on his belly to see if he is still alive! My problem with him is his snoring. Him and the boyfriend are in competition right now on who can snore the loudest.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparkyTansy Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 I don't know what they dream about, but James makes the most hilarious noise when he sleeps... kind of like a throat bark that sounds like it's underwater - "flugh flugh" brilliant makes me laugh every time! I can only assume they dream about their own experiences... Ari's main actions are running, and the setters are less active in sleep just like in real life, with noise more than action Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SchnauzerBoy Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Aubrey is worse than Thomas when she is asleep... her eyes show mostly white as she enters REM and then it is as if she is running and barking at people or other dogs. OH and I joke about it when we see it, but we often make sure she is ok and give her a little rub to gently wake her if it gets a bit much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDR Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Timmy runs sometimes, sort of lying flat on his side, his little legs going fast and he looks really excited. I like to imagine he's chasing birds in his dreams, OH prefers to imagine him in some James Bond type scenario chasing down the baddies! Occassionally he'll let out a super contented sigh or groan too. Thankfully, he hasnt ever seemed distressed in his sleep (that I've been awake to see! ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted March 16, 2010 Author Share Posted March 16, 2010 Okay, sounds like Sasha is going through many of the same things your own dogs are experiencing. I've just not seen it with Chloe, who moves her legs a little sometimes or her muscles may twitch a little - but that's it, and it's very infrequent. Some of the stories gave me a good laugh though!! I agree that sometimes it can get a bit disturbing and I feel the best thing is to gently wake them... I can now tell OH I'm not the only one that worries!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenni87 Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 Nope you're def. not the only one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted March 16, 2010 Author Share Posted March 16, 2010 I guess it worries me because I suspect Sasha has been hit in her life... if you lift your hand too quickly she assumes you are going to hit her and cringes - and her eyes flutter like she's been hit about the head/face before. It's quite sad to see... and it seems she does this in her sleep too - but perhaps it's just the REM eye flutter instead... well I can only hope so anyway. The mental images that some of you have painted have me giggling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDR Posted March 16, 2010 Share Posted March 16, 2010 I guess it worries me because I suspect Sasha has been hit in her life... if you lift your hand too quickly she assumes you are going to hit her and cringes - and her eyes flutter like she's been hit about the head/face before. It's quite sad to see... That's very sad, thank goD she fell on her feet and into a loving home with you. Timmy used to cower as a manipulative thing. Trust me - we got him from doting breeders and he's never been physically disciplined, but he had the really sad cower down pat. A lot of training to build confidence and he hardly does it now, it used to break my heart even though I knew he'd not been hit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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