There is a lot of confusion about what to do when faced with dog nightmares. We have all seen a dog in a dream that moved as if it was running or playing. Usually move your legs and grunt, but seem peaceful or even funny. On the other hand, at other times they appear to be suffering. They shake harder and the moans almost turn into moans of pain. Two things can happen here. Either they are having a nightmare, or they convulsions. In both cases, waking them up is not a good idea, although it is worth differentiating what is happening to them so that you know when to take action and which of them is correct.
For the peace of mind of those who saw it characteristic tremor, the most normal thing is that these are nothing more than dog nightmares. Attacks occur much less frequently. The main difference between the two is that it is easy for a dog to wake up from a nightmare, but much more difficult to wake up from a seizure. Now, if we said that waking them up is not good in any way, how are we going to check what it is?
To answer this question, you must first understand how dogs sleep. It is not very different from human, but there are some significant differences.
The Case of Dog Nightmares
In the case of nightmares for dogs, it is not recommended to wake them for the same reason as people. All dreams, good or bad, happen during REM sleep. This stage is named after the acronym Rapid eye movement or, in Spanish, rapid eye movements. Dogs have also been observed to move their eyes rapidly under their eyelids. In general, it was found that brain waves Dogs’ sleep patterns are similar to those of humans, although with different durations for each phase.
REM is the deep sleep phase in which the brain remains activeBut at the same time turns off certain areas, such as those that control muscle movement. It is for this reason that sometimes, when we wake up in a dream, we cannot move. Now the dogs are moving. They even seem to be running and playing. If you look closely, this happens especially often with puppies and adult dogs, since they brain bridgewhat region is this connects the brain stem to the spinal cord, less developed. In the case of puppies – because he is not ready yet, and in the case of adult dogs – because with age he degrades.
The muscle switches for REM sleep are located in the pons, so in very young or very old dogs they do not function properly and may move more. In other cases, they also move, but the attacks typical of nightmares do not occur as often.
This is a very deep sleep phase if they wake up they might get scared. In fact, it is also often said that we never abruptly wake a person during a nightmare. The same thing happens with dog nightmares, but with the added risk that fear may cause them to bite us. After all, at this moment they are disoriented, they don’t know where they are.
Controversial neurogenic tremor
Some media reports indicate that these tremors are neither seizures nor nightmares for dogs. It is assumed that this is the so-called neurogenic tremor, which promotes the release stress and tension accumulated per day. Therefore, they are warned that it is not good to wake them up, as this will prevent them from completing this natural and necessary process.
There is no Scientific research this proves that this happens in dogs. At least for this article it was not found. Therefore, it is normal that these are either nightmares, which we have already seen, or convulsions.
What about cramps?
In some cases, this tremors may be caused by a seizure caused by some kind of disease, usually neurological. Seizures often occur during sleep, so we must be careful. The big difference with dog nightmares is that if we name them, It is very difficult for them to wake up.
Therefore, to distinguish a seizure from a nightmare, ideally this is what you need to do. For example, say his name from afar or throw a noisy object. In this case, it is normal that if it is a nightmare, they wake up. in a progressive way, without much shock. On the other hand, if it’s a seizure, this soft ringing usually won’t wake him up.
If we think it is a seizure, we should consult a veterinarian. Moreover, if another one occurs within 24 hours, the situation will become even more serious and urgent action will be required. In any case, it is important to insist that these are extremely rare cases. Usually these are just nightmares, and the reason we have to wake them up is nothing more than to prevent them from getting scared.
Source: Hiper Textual
