Is my dog having bad dreams?

Question

I sometimes lay down in my bed or im on my laptop, and my dog is asleep on the ground ( boy- shih tzu) and he starts barking likes hes about to get killed or something, he doesnt bark so loud that people can hear, and he doesnt bark to quiet, sometimes I have to wake him up because im so scared, he didnt do this when he was younger he just started doing this , hes also kinda whining, just a bit, what should i do?!?! I dont want this to scare him

Answer 1

Wow, I marvel at the human mind that seems to believe that every living creature in their field of vision was created for the sole purpose of this human to understand, make use of, and control.

Hey, your dog has a dog life. He/she dreams of chasing rabbits, nursing at Mama's teats, wrestling with litter-mates.

If you could hear yourself dream every now & then, you might scare yourself.

Let the dog have his  dreams. If he sound particularly distressed at any time, you might pick him up and comfort him- much like you would do for a baby who appears to be having a bad dream.

Be careful of 'rescuing' folks from their nightmares though.

Most of the time, these are proving grounds for life-skills such as overcoming fears, etc.

You cannot know what value your comfort has compared with that person or dog being able to live through a tough time.

My suggestion to you is to use every dream of your dog's as a signal to face your very own fears, along with the dog facing his.

I wish I had had such  companion along my way so far.

May this be a blessing given to you!

Answer 2

You can't really tell whether it's a bad dream or not. Usually when your dog dream that way, it must have been an exciting day for him. If he is treated badly, then there is a chance he is having a bad dream. Like human, his dream is a reflection of his past waking days. My dog is a good house watch dog, and when she is dreaming sometimes, she is moving the ways she does when she is awake.  The whining can means different thing - it could mean that he is asking for something or he could be dreaming of being with someone or another dog...

You don't have to do anything. Let sleeping dog lies - sort to speak.

Answer 3

Call a vet and ask them. Who knows, if he is having bad dreams, its nothing that will hurt him so its ok.

Answer 4

My cat has had nightmares before. I have no clue what they might be about, but she twitches and whines and then wakes up freaked out. It doesn't happen frequently though.