Max Is Having Nightmares

[clairej810]

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Hi All

Max has started having nightmares (and in the day too), he wakes up screaming and shaking, nothing like normal dreams of chasing bunnies and running in his sleep.

He goes back to sleep okay and if he has another nightmare that I don't hear he comes to find me for a cuddle :huggles: (not great at 3am!) Last night he had 2. He is rescue and we've had him since May 05, he was covered in cigarette burns when we got him.

Nothing has changed in his diet or routine except he is getting slightly longer walks now. It's coming up to two years since he retired from racing but I'm not sure dogs can measure time like that.

Does anyone have any ideas about either what's causing it or how to stop it?

 

[beaker]

poor max

rather than wake him up if he is in the middle of a nightmare, talk to him in a soothing voice and tell him it's ok and he is a good boy etc, your voice will get through to his dream and you should see him relax and calm and he should be less anxious when he comes round,

by the sounds of it he is reliving some of his past experiences,my theory is that by infiltrating his dreams like this you are slowly changing the memory of an event to one where things may have started bad but suddenly you turned up and things got better :thumbsup: time will heal and his bad memories will fade though.

i'd also try some of the Bach flower remedies for nervous or anxiety problems

hope this helps :luck:

 

[wild whippies]

I've Pm'd you

Edited to add, I agree with Becka entirely she's got some good advice there and I think I'll try the rescue remedy on my dog too. :thumbsup:

 

[clairej810]

Think I might have found a trigger - Tiny!! Yesterday when I got them ready to go for a walk Tiny bit Max's ear and Max yelled , then last night he had the nightmares. I know that when Max was younger he had his ears pinched and there is some cartlidge damage. If you caren't careful touching his ears his starts screaming at you.

Any thoughts??

 

[Hilary & Hounds]

I'm guessing here, but it could be that he now feels really secure and safe in your home. You've only had him 7 months or so and "they" reckon that it takes at least 3 for a rescue dog to fully relax and come out of his shell. It might sound mad, but because yours is such a good home for him, he's feels safe enough to relive those awful times and learn to deal with them.

Tiny could well have been the trigger though! :- "

Personally I think the advice given above is excellent. Only time and loving patience on your part will really help him.

Poor Max. :huggles: Sounds like he had a really rough ride.

 

[clairej810]

Thanks for all the advice and kind comments. I have got some Findhorn essences (similar to Bach remedies) which I give to Tiny to help him sleep - he gets scared of the dark (strangely he ends up in my bed every night!! :- " ) so I think I'll try it on Max too - see if that helps. There's not enough room for both of them in my bed though! (w00t)

 

[OEH]

poor poor Max , all the advice sounds great- good luck :luck:

 

[~whitecross whippets~]

i recommend a dap diffuser and rescue remedy :thumbsup: good luck :luck:

 

[Tesa]

- he gets scared of the dark (strangely he ends up in my bed every night!! :- " ) so

Poor Max I would put a night light in for him.

:luck: :luck: :luck:

 

[wolfhound]

Hi Claire,

I agree with Olivepliers - now that he is feeling secure and safe enough, it is "all right" for the bad past to be experienced and dealt with. Having several dogs here who have had bad pasts, it is my experience that after about 3-4 months they begin to have bad dreams. They do not last for long. I do not know how good or bad an idea it is to suppress the dreams.

However, I believe they are sorting it all out when they have these dreams. They dream it, wake up shaking or crying, see what is around them, and eventually go back to sleep.

Then they dream it again, wake up shaking or crying again, see what is around them, and go back to sleep.

And so on. But I feel they are going through a learning process when this happens, and soon enough the bad dreams have always gotten less intense and less frequent.....

....and then they start wagging their tails in their sleep!!!

When the bed dreams stop, you will most likely see Max's confidence take a leap.

If you want to talk to him reassuringly during the dream, that's always good.

As for that Devil Dog Tiny providing the trigger: would we expect any less?

 

[clairej810]

Tiny would like to state that he is feeling much maligned! He says it couldn't possibly be him and it was only a little Tiny nip as he is a little Tiny dog!! (w00t)

Thanks for all the comments, they seem to be going away again now. The Findhorn essences seem to be helping. He had a nice chasing bunnies dream last night so I think he is feeling better. :thumbsup:

The Tinester (there is an Iggy called Zoomie or Zoomster and Tiny is copying him) says he is sleeping better too since his mummy put some lovely soft pillows on the floor! Brand new they were!! (w00t)

 

[Hilary & Hounds]

So pleased Max is feeling better. :wub: :wub: Tell Tiny that we still :wub: him and of-course we know that he's a perfect o - or is that :devil: ? :blink: :teehee:

 

[clairej810]

Ooh, where did you find the devil one??

Of course he is o , just sometimes he's not!! (w00t)

He is still The Tinester today - but next week it could be a whole other story! :teehee: :wacko:

 

[clairej810]

Just thought I'd update you!

Max is sleeping a lot better, most of the nightmares have stopped, just the odd one now. Most of his dreams seem to be the usual running and chasing bunnies kind now.

Thanks for all your help. :huggles: