When Dogs Bark In Their Sleep Are They Having A Nightmare

Dog barking in sleep meaning dogs barking is equivalent to humans speaking.

When dogs bark in their sleep are they having a nightmare. Dogs can go into a distressed state and have nightmares in their sleep as well. In some cases the howling may be combined with barking or even growling. Larger breeds experience a dream every 90 minutes or so so they might not be as vocal. Advice from most vets is actually not to wake your dog if they are barking in their sleep.

Like people dogs go through a dream stage of the sleep cycle every time they go to sleep. It is completely normal and natural for dogs to bark in their sleep and it is not doing them any harm. During this time is when you are most likely to hear your dog barking moving their feet or yes howling. You can tell when your pet is slipping into that stage by watching their eyes.

The reason why dogs bark in their sleep is because they have dreams just like humans do. We see them run in their sleep their tails are wagging their paws are twitching and you might even hear them bark or yelp. Veterinarians don t classify these as nightmares or seizures but as an rem sleep disorder. Many dog owners have wondered what is on our little furry friends minds when they look like they are having a nightmare.

However you will probably hear smaller dogs barking at night because they tend to dream frequently during their sleep approximately every ten minutes. If they seem like they are in distress it may be that they are having a nightmare but your dog may need to just get through their nightmare just like you. Again just as humans dream so do dogs and just as humans have unpleasant dreams so do dogs. You might even find it fun to imagine what your canine friend is dreaming about.

As long as the dog does not exhibit signs of illness or severe physical distress there is no need to worry. Dreaming occurs in a stage of sleep known as rem which stands for rapid eye movement. Howling in the sleep often signifies that your dog is having an unpleasant dream. If these episodes occur only during sleep if you can usually wake the dog up with strong voice commands and if the dog is neurologically normal during waking hours then this is not a seizure disorder.