An owner who found her dog fast asleep quickly became worried as his dreamy whimpers seemed to change and suggested a nightmare.
Duncan the Australian shepherd is seen fast asleep under his owner’s bed in a September 4 Instagram video posted by the owner, Nora, to the account @noraandduncan. She initially thought he was dreaming, letting out “his normal dream whimpers.”
Whimpering sounds are a common vocalization for sleeping dogs, the website Dogster says. Several reasons could be behind the sound: stress, lack of sleep, pain, illness or the dog’s feeding schedule.
But the sounds Duncan makes in the clip concerned Nora. She thought his happy and peaceful dreaming was turning into a nightmare. Before jumping in to save him from a nightmare, she listened, hoping he would snap out of it. But after a few more yelps, she said his name.
His eyes flew open, readjusting as he oriented himself. As he took a second to process that he was safe and sound with his owner, she continued to comfort him by saying his name and telling him everything was all right.
Once he felt comfortable again, he started to drift back to sleep. He knew whatever nightmare struck before wouldn’t come again, now that his owner was watching him sleep.
The Instagram video amassed over 1.1 million views, 37,600 likes and 48 comments as of Tuesday. A debate broke out in the comments section on whether to wake up a sleeping dog.
“Let your dogs sleep when they’re like this. Like humans dogs also experience REM sleep so it’s important we allow them to go through that for their mental and physical health,” wrote one viewer.
On the other side, a user said: “If I were having a bad dream, I’d want someone to wake me up too..so yeah, I do this to my baby as well whenever he is having a bad dream.”
Another added: “You did this so gently and soothing letting him know he’s ok.”
Newsweek reached out to @noraandduncan via Instagram for additional information.
Can Dogs Have Nightmares?
If you’ve ever noticed your dog twitching, quietly vocalizing or appearing to paddle his or her paws while asleep, the pet is likely in a deep REM sleep and dreaming. This shouldn’t be a concern—dreaming is common in dogs. However, some dogs might experience “true sleep disturbances,” an article on the website Petful says.
These disturbances could become extreme behaviors, such as growling, screaming out as if in pain or aggressive behavior. Many owners might naturally think dogs exhibiting these behaviors are having a nightmare or night terror, but veterinarians classify them as REM sleep disorders.
Witnessing this behavior can be frightening. Your first instinct might be to shake the dog until it wakes up, but that is not recommended because it could startle the pet and result in a bite. Instead, the first step is to try waking your dog up with the sound of your voice.
Continue observing your dog’s behavior and take videos of the sleep disorder. This will be helpful to show your vet when discussing the potential problem. And if the episodes become violent, consider crating your dog.
An Instagram video shows a dog asleep. The owner became worried he was having a nightmare and woke him up.
@noraandduncan/Instagram
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