Dogs owner loves there furry friend and worries about any obvious behavior their pet faces. Pet owners sometimes looked over their sleeping dogs and noticed that their pet is twitching when they sleep. So Why do dogs twitch when they sleep?
According to pet experts and vets, the behavior is very common, and no need to be alarmed about it.
However, In rare cases, an excessive twitching behavior can indicate an underlying disease.
In the article, we will let you know all the possible causes and reasons for dogs twitching when sleep. Keep reading
Why Do Dogs Twitch when they Sleep?
Not only dogs, but almost every animal has the behavior of twitching while they sleep. This phenomenon is also called the myoclonic twitches.
According to the Veterinarian and pet experts, there may be some possible reasons for the behavior, and some are just theories.
Below are the 7 possible reasons of Why Do Dogs Twitch when they Sleep?
1. Natural Behavior:
Twitching during sleep is a common behavior among pets. Pet experts and behaviorist consider this a natural behavior.
They suggest that puppies and infants often twitch in sleep because of the early development of the behaviors and to understand about there body parts.
2. Brain paralyzing during Sleep:
A theory proposed that during sleep, the brain of the dog paralyzes the large muscles for a short time, which can make them twitch.
3. Dreaming:
Why is my dog twitching? Twitch in sleep is also common in humans. Such twitches are believed to be associated with dreams.
Sometimes your pup dreams and something going in your pet heads, which make your dogs twitch or dog kicking back legs while sleeping.
4. Sign of health issues:
According to Some veterinarians, continuous dog twitch can indicate a health issue. If your dogs continue the excessive behavior, then your puppy might be suffering from the below health problems.
- Narcolepsy
- Tick paralysis
- Seizure activity
- Electrolyte imbalance
- Other sleeping disorders.
Contact your vet if your dogs develop the excessive behavior because there could be trouble.
Your veterinarian will diagnose by taking the physical and neurological examination to find the actual cause that as this a natural or of any health issues.
5. Muscles are not completely turned off:
The brainstem protrusion contains two small off switches. When these off switches are not fully developed or developed weak, then the muscles are not completely turned off
6. REM state of sleep:
In the REM state of sleep, dog eyes move around behind their closed eyelids. Which indicated the dream state.
In this state, the large muscles that tend the body to move around turn off and develop a twitch in dogs.
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FAQ:
What to Do if My Dog Is Twitching in His Sleep?
First of all, you don’t need to be panic because twitching in sleep is a normal behavior in dogs and almost every pet. However, excessive twitching can be a sign of any health issue.
So if your dogs continuously excessive twitch when sleep contact your veterinarian to find the actual cause.
What do dogs dream about when they twitch?
It’s true that one of the main causes of dogs twitch while sleep is that the dog is dreaming about something, but no one can say about the actual dog dream that causes the behavior.
Behaviorists and Animal experts theorize that dogs dream during the REM stage while sleeping, can develop twitching or moving.
Puppies can develop behavior when they have something in mind while sleeping.
How to tell if a dog is having a seizure while sleeping?
Seizure in dogs can be developed by many health issues. But if your dogs develop excessive twitching while sleep, then this could be a sign of dog twitching in sleep seizures.
Contact your veterinarian to find the actual cause.