Some Dogs Dream While Asleep... Others Sleepwalk!
Many times my dog Rascal a Yorkie/Pomeranian mix would become restless while he was sleeping. Often yipping and twitching and occasionally even moving his little legs like he was trying to run.
My wife and I would laugh as we always thought he was dreaming of his youth when his favorite past time was chasing squirrels in our back yard.
...but try as he might they always out-witted him.
It's probably nothing more than a dream if you've ever seen a dog seemingly try to run in its sleep (as in the video below), but every now and then it could be something more serious.
In our case, Rascal was and had been sleeping comfortably in his little bed.
He never became coherent enough to try standing and he didn't stumble around or run into the wall. It was simple REM sleep just like humans and as soon as the dream ran it's course he would continue uninterrupted in his sleep.
Recently a video of Bizket the Sleep Walking Dog has become very popular on You Tube.
This rather large yellow lab starts trying to run while lying down, eventually jumps to his feet and plows headlong into a wall before settling down in a dazed condition.
Check it out:
A first reaction by most people is that the dog was dreaming and as can happen with humans in some extreme situations became mobile and wasn't fully aware or awake as it thrashed about.
However, a more disturbing possibility is that the dog was experiencing an epileptic seizure that wasn't being recognized as a serious health threat.
Our Experience With Canine Epilepsy
As dog lovers, my wife and I adopted a small teacup poodle many years ago that was suffering from canine epilepsy. The poor little thing would have seizures almost every day.
Our veterinarian gave us a prescription for a drug called Dilantin, which kept the condition under control for a couple years. Eventually the epilepsy became uncontrollable and we had to have the little dog put to sleep.
Could this be what's affecting Bizket the sleepwalking dog in the video above? Could it be what might be affecting your beloved pooch?
Watching a dog experiencing a Grand Maul Seizure without taking appropriate action to see that the dog receives medical attention is just plain cruel.
I can not say whether Bizkit was sleep walking or experiencing an Epileptic Seizure. If it was my dog and anything the least bit similar was taking place on a more then once in his lifetime basis I would immediately see that the animal gets a through examination.
Is Your Dog Sleepwalking or Seizing?
It is obvious that this is a hot button topic for many people. Here are links to some forums relating to the Bizkit sleep walking video and other similar situations.
There are a number of sleep related conditions that both dogs and humans can be suffering from. If your dog is doing anything extreme in his sleep or you suspect that something more may be involved please take your best friend to a Vet and have a complete examination done.
Be sure to give as accurate a description as possible, even a video tape can be helpful for diagnostic purposes. Not for entertainment on the internet.
Photo Credit: iHasAHotDog.com
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