Is it dangerous to wake a dreaming dog?

Answer 1

First AnswerThere are many thoughts on this, but I'll point out a few reasons for and against waking a dreaming dog.

REM Sleep & Nightmares

First off, as you know, dreaming is a natural behavior. It allows an animal to relive, make sense of and remember many of the events they've experienced during their waking hours. Dogs, like humans, will enter a phase of R.E.M. sleep at certain points throughout their sleeping hours, when their dreams are most vivid. Again, as with humans, the younger the dog, the more frequent and the longer the R.E.M. phases they experience are. This makes sense, considering just how much new and important information a younger animal needs to process every day. Now, during the R.E.M. phase of sleep, your dog may whine, bark, growl and make jerking movements, and may even at times seem distressed. Most often, these R.E.M. periods are shortlived and your dog will settle down fairly soon without needing to be awakened.

However, dogs may also experience extended periods of R.E.M. sleep, during which they may make many seemingly distressed vocalisations and movements. It is at this point when you should consider waking your dog, as he may in fact be in the grip of a nightmare. Now, if your dog happens to be experiencing an upsetting dream, or nightmare, there is a chance that he will react out of character should you try to wake him. He may not recognise you and may growl, or even snap, if his dream was particularly frightening. While this is uncommon, it can occur. You only need to search the internet for videos of dreaming dogs to find examples of them waking suddenly from a dream and acting strangely and out of character. If you are concerned that your dog is having a nightmare, it is best not to touch him, lest he wake up suddenly and snap at you out of fear and confusion. It would be best to call his name gently and attempt to bring him back out of sleep as calmly and gently as possible, to avoid any unneccessary stress.

Seizures

There are other reasons as to why a dog may appear to be dreaming, when in fact, there is something entirely different taking place. It is possible for dogs to experience seizures while in the sleep state, which may be confused, by an unfamiliar owner, for vivid dreams. Many dogs who suffer from epilepsy (including my own) experience most of their seizures while in a calm, relaxed and possibly sleeping state. The differences between an actual dream and a seizure are generally unmistakeable, but you should make one important note - a sleeping dog can be woken from a dream, but he cannot be woken from a sleep seizure. It has been suggested that, for a dog with epilepsy, particularly vivid and stressful dreams can actually trigger seizures. This has happened to my own dog more than once. If you feel your dog is at risk of having a seizure in cases of severe stress, you should most definitely attempt to calmly wake your dog, before the dream becomes too much for him.

Conclusion

As I mentioned at the beginning, there are many reasons for and against waking a dreaming dog. In most cases, your dog will be fine if left alone to finish a dream. However, in some cases, it may be dangerous not to wake a dreaming dog, particularly one who is prone to stress induced seizures. You also need to bear in mind, that it might be more dangerous for you to wake a dreaming dog, as he may react violently out of simple confusion.

Second AnswerIt can be dangerous to wake a dreaming dog, as you don't know what he was dreaming and he may wake up confused or aggressive as he shifts from the dream to awareness. If you need to wake a sleeping dog, you should do so by calling his name or carefully touching him gently on the back legs with an outstretched arm so that your face and torso are away from his teeth - just in case.