Dog Seizures While Sleeping?

Wezoin · March 2009

I'm not sure if these are actually seizures or not, but while sleeping (only at night, not during mid-day naps) my dog seems to twitch alot, in quick succession, and then stop. Everything from her legs to stomach and head twitch. Is this something to be concerned about?

She's a 1.5 year old Black Lab/Walker Coon Hound cross, if that matters.

squeefish · March 2009

She's probably fine. Dogs do this when dreaming (which might be why she only does it at night, since she's probably not sleeping deeply enough during the day to dream). My lab cross has been doing the same thing since he was a puppy, and he's almost thirteen now. I always find it rather cute to watch.

Wezoin · March 2009

Alright, thanks. I assumed as much but figured since I wasn't all too knowledgeable on dogs it might be worth asking. To be honest if it was just light twitching I wouldn't even have thought about it, but she likes to share my bed and often shakes it hard enough to feel if I'm not asleep yet.

Invisible · March 2009

When I let me dog sleep in my bed, she often starts to scratch the wall in her sleep. It's really weird.

But yeah, I've seen what you're talking about and it's nothing to worry about, but it can seem odd if you're not used to it.

tofu · March 2009

She's just dreaming.

Probably a lot of squirrels running around in her head.

Thylacine · March 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHXj3qgFs_k

Hahnsoo1 · March 2009

All the dogs I've ever known do this when they sleep. They are probably dreaming.

desperaterobots · March 2009

My dog used to do tiny little barks in his sleep too. His paws would act like they were running around. Sometimes he'd do a big bark and wake himself up. Heh. Awww.

Your dog is normal!

KeyScourge · March 2009

All dogs do that. He's probably just dreaming about chasing a squirrel or something. My dog used to do it. It was funny as hell to watch

GoodOmens · March 2009

My dog does this all the time, which my wife and I find bizarre because she never, ever barks or growls when she's awake. In the waking world she's a gigantic wuss, but in the realm of sleep she is Liza, Guardian of the World!

If you're concerned you can talk to a vet about it, because there might be something strange about how it's happening with your dog. But most likely he's just having doggy dreams.

Casual · March 2009

Absolutely nothing you should concern yourself about. Every dog I've ever owned has done this. Sometimes it's quite funny to watch them try to bark with their mouths shut.

As everyone here has said she's just chasing cars/rabbits/cats in her head.

Gaffero · March 2009

I had a dog that would shake every time he was in the sitting position; it looked like he was shivering, but he'd do it equally as much in July as he would in January. It had no bearing on his actual health though friends/visitors would always get alarmed about it.

Dogs tend to let you know when something is wrong. They're creatures of habit; if they're doing something unusual, then you might have cause to be worried. What you're describing is fairly common dog behavior.

Psychotic One · March 2009

Yeah sounds like dreaming to me and probably nothing to worry about, but if it really concerns you just ask at the next vet visit. My Chihuahua would sometimes have the spasim right before she would wake up with a paniced confused look, presumably a nightmare of some kind *shrug*.

DragonPup · March 2009

It's just the dog dreaming. Nothing to worry about, just something you should "awwwwww' at when she does it.

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