BAD NIGHTMARES
These few weeks have passed by and she had one again tonight, and it's worse. When I look at her, it's almost as if she's petrified of something or going through bad night terrors. The strangest thing of all is that she doesn't wake up until you call her a few times. Any suggestions on how I can help Cheslea??? This poor thing.... I've never seen this happen before in all of my years owning dogs/cats. Very odd. Thank you |
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| Hmmm.... without seeing it, I'm not sure I'd classify it as a nightmare! She might be chasing rabbits and having a great time.
On the other hand, dreaming was also seen as the brain's attempt to sort through the days events and thoughts, so, perhaps this will pass. When she wakes up, does she seem ok? |
| If you don't wake her does it pass? If so I would be inclined to just let her sleep through it. If you think about your own "dream life" the most disturbing dreams are those which are not allowed to culminate. I remember most vividly those dreams which I wake up in the midst of. The ones which are completed during a sleep cycle are generally forgotten. So it would seem (not that I know alot about dogs and dreams) that as Ron said dreams are a way of processing the activities of the day and what ever is going on is Chelsea's dream may just need to work itself out.
Of course if she wakes herself up I would be there to calmly reassure her that everything is ok. |
| Have there been any changes in her day to day life? Any family members stressed more than usual? She may be picking up on something .... |
| Just my 2 cents, but I would let it pass. I would guess our dogs dream
for the same reasons we do. Sort of like a built in therapist. All but a very few of us are able to deal with our dreams. All my dogs have had very active dreaming to the point of flopping around a few times. Mine also will occasionally leave out a very long lonesome howl, and yet be sound asleep. My sons on the other hand have/had night terrors. That is also very scary, but we learned not to wake them, and neither have ever remembered these episodes the next day. I agree with the thought that maybe there has been and out of the ordinary routine or stress. If you can help the dog with that, or maybe extra walks to let the dog expend some more energy, it may pass on its own. Other than that, what we perceive as scary or sad may be something totally normal or entertaining to our dogs. Like Ron said, maybe it is dreaming about rabbits - or maybe herding SHEEP!! Like if you have ever dreamed of being able to fly - what fun! Don't worry though, it is probably totally normal. Shellie |
| Thank you for your suggestions and advice. I know for a fact they aren't dreams. Not the usual kick and run, or paw twitching.
She WAS abused before my mom adopted her ( and yes I did manage to kidnap her...lol ).... When she wakes up she looks terrified and goes to a corner and tries to hide behind the couch. She's had this nightmarish thing going on about 6 times in three weeks. At least HALF of these strange occurances wind up with her hiding or looking around like something is about to happen to her. She has an AMAZING life compared to what she had, and she has just started doing this. I hate to see that she looks like she's suffering. Chelsea is definitely bothered by it from her behavior after she wakes up. She doesn't stay where she was sleeping. Chelsea will get up and have this reaction. Poor baby.... I will definitely let her sleep through it. There has been no change in feeding, nothing stress related here (amazingly)...lol I was hoping to get another OES so she can have company. Just looking for the right kennel and the right time... She's set up to get a doggy message this upcoming week which I know she needs... lol She's going to come back to me like a wet noodle!! I would love to spend 5 minutes alone in a room with the people that abused her.... give them night terrors... 
Thank you again |
| Maybe there was some episode that triggered some memories from her previous owners. Could be something insignificant that might not mean anything to you but would set her off, a slamming door, heavy footsteps, hard rain or even a smell. Give it time, it may fix itself.
I know my dogs have all sorts of vivid dreams with the kicking and barking while they sleep. It only happens once in a while but it can wake us up from a dead sleep. The difference is that they don't seem to have any lasting effects from it after they wake up. I don't think you should do too much coddling while she is backed up or hiding. Coax her out of that area and go on with normal activity and reward her for being calm and relaxed. If you reassure her while she is freaked out and hiding it only reinforces that behavior and becomes a big unhealthy cycle. |
| Maybe she needs a crate to sleep in, or to be available to her, so she feels confined and protected? |
Poor Chelsea!  I agree that she should be allowed to sleep thru these dreams and it's great advice to not reinforce the behaviour of her trying to hide.
I also agree that giving her abusers nightmares is just!  |
Well, this thread is a big coinsedence....last night Panda had one..about 2:30 in the morning, I woke up to her whining, low barking and flipping from one side to the other...I got out of bed and just watched her...It lasted about 2 or 3 minutes...scared the heck out of me, but she then settled down, never waking up.....did you put a jinx on this thread??  |
| Oh my....
We adopted a cat eight years ago that had been on the street for some time. He still has some nights where he has "nightmares" and will be crying in his sleep. When he has them, I make sure a light is on near him and sit quietly beside him hoping that he will feel my presence and sleep easier (I don't wake him up). It seems to help him. If he woke up, he would just see me reading - so no reassurance would be needed. Fortunately the nightmares have decreased so that he now only gets them a couple of times a year....however for the first few months he had them several times a week! Good luck with Chelsea - hopefully her nightmares will decrease and you and she will be able to sleep through the night soon. Jennifer, Baxter, Cassiopia and Sharkey |
| About the crate issue... she spent half of her life in a 7 foot fenced in cage and was grossly neglected. We purchased a crate for her and put her favorite blankie in there. Needless to say she would bark constantly letting us know she was not comfortable.
We moved it into another room....same thing. We threw a toy in there and took the door off. We even put her favorite treat in there....Still barked. We also did the same thing at the national specialty. We crated her for 45 minutes, and came back and there was a letter on the door stating she was barking for 20 minutes non-stop and she had "barking issues." She also cut herself on the nose trying to get out. No more crates for Chelsea... That's the way I would prefer to go with her (with crate), but she refuses. I hope I didn't jinx the thread! 
I don't like bad karma... |
| Lennon and Sofa get nightmares from time to time. It's always linked to changes in our routine and stress. Keeping a safelight like it was mentioned before helps some and allowing them to feel more secure does wonders.
We hear growling at night sometimes and it's best to call them, not wake them up because they wake up scared and seems that, like us, they cannot distinguish the dream from the real workld for a few moments and you can get bitten because the dog is scared (I got snapped a couple of times because I was careless). Usually it's a thing that passes in a few days if you provide a secure and loving environment. Loving words and treat will do wonders in the middle of the night. Good Luck! |
| Since the last "night terror" we placed her into her own spot and she has her own nightlite and her favorite blankie and FAVORITE toy! So far everything is good.
Maybe she get's all stirred up when we go out. She loves going "buh bye in the car" and can't control herself. Perhaps this is the only thing I can think of that's out of the ordinary- Will keep trying the nightlight |
| Cool name for your Dog, (It's my name). I just let Bunkie sleep thru it unless its going on for a long time or she is howling. Then I call her till she wakes up and then let her on the bed to cuddle. |
could it be Post traumatic stress syndrome maybe?? when I read your first post, I thought it might be seizures or something, only because my uncle's dog ( a brittiney ) has had seizures most of her life (not to try to scare you or anything!  ) but now reading through it all, it doesnt seem like that, so I thought maybe ptss. I don't know if dogs actually get that or not, but if you said she was abused and the night mares affect her after she wakes up, then you never know. But it does seem like something that will work itself out! Perhaps that doggie massage will help! It would (and has) helped me!!  |
| Just a note on the crates. I have found that some of my sheepies were more comfortable in a crate if it was covered on the top and at least 3 sides. Was more like a den. Four of my 7 were crated in their own 6 x 6 kennels in the basement at night and during bad weather. I placed a large piece of cardboard in between each kennel, leaving just about a foot or so open at the rear of each side so they could see one another when they wanted, but closed off enough that they had their own "cubby hole" to sleep in without worring about so called intruders except on the front side. Gives them a feeling of being more secure. |
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