Q: When my dog has a nightmare and seems to be crying – should I wake him up? What should I do?
A: While dogs are dreaming, their brainwaves look very similar to those of people who are dreaming. Dreaming allows us to process memories, commit new events to memory and to work through emotions. As dogs are social and emotional animals like we are, we can assume dogs dream for the same reasons we do.
If your dog is having a good dream you may see him twitching, kicking, moving his legs and making quiet noises. If he is growling, snarling, crying or appears to be stressed, you can assume that he is having a bad dream.
Waking up a dog that is having a nightmare could cause confusion and disorientation, possibly resulting in an unintentional bite or lunge, or he may even hurt himself by getting up too quickly. You cannot necessarily stop your dog from having a nightmare, but you can do a few things to help keep him more comfortable.
Call his name gently and quietly. This may help to wake him in a soothing and non-physical way and help bring his awareness back to the present. It will help ground him to the environment and reassure him that you are near.
Another option is to play soothing music or leave the TV on for some calming and grounding background noise.
If he is having bad dreams on a regular basis, try to establish what is causing them.
Alyson Kingsley-Hall, behaviourist
