I am a first time pet owner as an adult so I don’t know a lot but I want the best for my dog.
So my problem is that he breaths heavily when he sleeps and often he has these irregularities in his breathing and he twiches like he has nightmares.
Tonight he was sleeping in my bed while I was relaxing next to him and he started breathing fast and heavy and he was twitching a lot like he had some kind of a seizure. I woke him up and he was fine I hugged him, talked to him and pet him. Then he heard my brother eating and left to find him, so I think he is okay but I am scared that he has something or needs something.
Also we have him in this house about 4 months now. He usually sleeps in the living room (on the couch) alone but the last few weeks he is trying to sleep with as in our bedrooms (on our beds).
Any insights would be greatly appreciated!
Your dog is probably just dreaming.
Mine does it and she sometimes starts making small barks in her sleep and twitching her legs while she does so. I assume that she’s dreaming about a long fun chase.
Do keep an eye on it and reach out to a vet if you’re concerned, but it sounds pretty normal based on what you’ve described.
Every dog I’ve ever had (four now) has gently woofed in their sleep, twitched their legs, made little hooting or cooing noises, and all other manner of sleep talking. I even remember a couple times where dogs growled in their sleep. Dogs have pretty active minds when they’re awake, and so it’s no surprise that their dreams are lively too.
If your dog sounds like they are in distress, they might be having a bad dream. In that case you can gently wake them with a soft touch on the back and quietly saying their name. They usually will fall back to sleep pretty quickly. It would only become an issue if it happens with such frequency and intensity that they aren’t getting enough restful sleep over a couple of days.
I also agree. It sounds like he’s just dreaming. My dog used to sprint in his sleep when he was a puppy, which was funny to see. But he also would act exactly as you described.
Something like a seizure would likely be different. My other dog had a seizure once, but it was while he was awake. He slumped over suddenly and shook. He is/was okay, though. It was a weird one-off thing, and after a checkup at the vet, he’s been fine for years.
That’s normal. Your dog’s dreaming. Bonus points if they start barking, growling or yelping.
Probably just having a fun dream of hunting or playing. Make sure he’s getting enough walks and stimulation during the day. If you’re worried, take a video of the behavior then take it to your vet.
Anecdotally, my shiba has those kind of dreams when it’s been too rainy or snowy to take exhausting walks during the day. He usually gets at least 2 hours of walks outside and he gets a bit restless when we have to run around the block due to the weather.
That’s normal sounding to me and like others have said probably dreaming but if you think it’s an issue PLLLLLEEEEEEEAAAASE go see a vet
I had a beagle when I was little and his paws would shake once like the dog “wrist” area with a little under the breath woof
My current dogs don’t do that but sometimes I’ll get a a paw shake
A really funny story is one of my current dogs farted in her sleep and woke her self up, looked around, and fell back asleep somewhere else
Dog twitching movements in sleep are really common and usually normal, see below:
https://www.rover.com/uk/blog/do-dogs-dream/
Sometimes they do even more complex movements or bark. Sleep barks can sound pretty adorable. The twitches can also sometimes be more of a rippling across a muscle.
Here’s a couple examples from YouTube:
https://youtu.be/Ar3O4hfgmMY?si=-0K7Ahgar3dQCnam
https://youtu.be/C3SFXwdAqro?si=VK-E7ur5BxcQyFBM
When in doubt, could always film it and show your vet.
Just chiming in to agree with folks saying it’s likely active dreaming. @bownage and @viking have good advice for signs to be aware of to distinguish seizures - I’ll leave this here for you as a hopefully reassuring resource. It’s good to be aware of the signs, but I really hope you’ll be playing “guess the dream” instead because it’s a ton of fun and I genuinely believe it’s just active dreams.
As a general guideline, though, it’s safest for you and your dog if you call their name to wake them before any physical interventions.
it’s most likely dreaming but vets will never yell at you for bringing your pet in when you suspect something is wrong even if there is nothing wrong (heck that’s probably their desired outcome when everything is fine).
even just calling up your vet and letting them know what you think, they might even be able to reassure you on the phone or decide if it’s better to bring them in for a checkup.
Very likely he’s just dreaming. Dogs don’t get fully paralyzed like humans do when sleeping and they may twitch, breathe as if excited and even bark in their sleep. Mine do the same thing. Especially after seeing other dogs that day.
You could film it and show it to your vet to ask if it is normal. They probably wouldn’t charge you for just asking a question.
Twitching while sleeping is not a bad thing afaik. If I understand correctly it just means they’re trying to run/move in their dreams which likely corresponds to a fun dream! E.g. they’ll be running or playing in their dream. My dog used to do it and my cat does it too.
https://www.petmd.com/dog/general-health/why-do-dogs-twitch-their-sleep
It seems like you can tell dream twitching apart from seizures by seeing if their limbs go stiff or the twitching goes on for a long time.
Sounds perfectly normal, dogs do dream, and react physically to it. Heavy breathing, legs twitching, even some running motions, sometimes a snarl or bark (those sometimes wake them up), etc.
Unless he’s actually having a seizure (eyes rolling into the back of his skull, massively salivating/foaming), I don’t see a reason to worry.
