I would post this to r/dogs but I’m shadowbanned there because I subbed to TD, conspiracy and some other Covid related subs that were quarantined. You frens are my outlet RN since I’m unemployed and I don’t know any dog experts.
Anyways, I adopted a female 6yo beagle in 2020. She came to IL from TN and had recently had a litter. She was trained. Knew how to sit for things but didn’t understand English commands. So my assumption is she was a backyard breeders dog who likely spoke Spanish to her as she gets very excited when Spanish is spoken around her. Sadly, she is still looking for her original master even to this day☹️ and hasn’t really bonded with us.
My question is this…every time she falls into REM sleep she has nightmares. She growls, her feet twitch and she yelps a lot. She’s clearly having a dream of something violent happening. It happens 3-4 times per day and it’s every time she has REM sleep. She never has interactions in our everyday life that cause her to growl or yelp so this seems odd for her to be reliving some experience so disturbing that she would growl and yelp in her dreams everyday 3-4x per day for the last 4 years? Or am I wrong? Do dogs just have regular dreams of them violently fighting all the time?
Dogs, and cats, aren't off-topic. They are as wise as a switched-on human and invaluable companions to keep us up spiritually. Good luck with a solution 🤗
Our dog Bodie had nightmares too. Scars on him were evidence. But he was a rescue so we had no details. He would scream in his sleep. Hurt our hearts. I will tell you what seemed to help: Calms Forte tablets. They are at Amazon. Just seemed more restful sleep. Your poor girl. God knows how crappy her life was before you. Have you thought about learning a few gentle spanish phrases to chat with her in, at bedtime? Or a young kids spanish movie for her to hear at bedtime. Kids section on Amazon prime, or you tube? Bless her heart. I'm glad you want to strive with her. Don't give up. Also don't get any vaccines for her okay
What you say makes sense. Why not learn some commands in Spanish, and when she gets used to your speaking Spanish, slowly switch to Spanish-English, then English-Spanish, then, just English. I mean say the command in one language and quickly in the other. She will get it pretty quickly, I think.
As for the sleeping: She was probably traumatized. When she is having a nightmare, be near her and call her name to wake her up and immediately show her some love. Keep doing that and eventually, put your hand on her when you do this, and I think she will begin to trust you and will relax. All things can be fixed with love.
Try CBD oil for dogs?
https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/cannabis-dog-can-help/
CBD oil works great for my puppers who is scared to death by loud noises, been using it for 4th and Newyear for a couple years now, calms her right down. Not thought about using it for sleep troubles though. Most dogs do have crazy sleep events like that, who knows whats going through their minds in Rem. Mine have every once in a while but, never every day or every time the sleep. Knowing your dog well enough to know it's usual reaction to things does help. Does the dog over react to stimuli when awake? Could be reliving trauma, could be dreaming of running freely in a field chasing a rabbit, could be playing with her puppies, who knows. I do agree with knockknock, try allowing her to listen to a low energy show that is in Spanish at night for a bit, see if that helps her. I would keep in a low energy one where no one is raising their voices though, incase them doing so may be a fear trigger. You seem connected, many humans do not bother to even try to understand how their dogs may be thinking, animals do not think and look at the world around them the same way humans do. They live in the here and now most of the time, make sure you yourself are not projecting your own guilt of knowing how horrid humans can be onto to her. Past is the past and most of the time, dogs will be just fine living in the here and now and not the past. The last two shelter dogs we brought into the home, as soon as introduced to the rest of the "pack" humans and other pets alike, there was no special treatment to the new pack member, they all expected to behave, have fun and get plenty of belly rubs. lol. Easier when you have other dogs in the home who accept the new one because the new one learns the rules of the pack from the other dogs more than from us silly humans.. well, xept my smallest Pomeranian, she chose to learn from our elder cat, she even still paws the ground every time she goes pee outside, like the cat did in its litterbox oO. Sorry about the book here, I am no expert, just have owned many animals over the years and have myself consulted "experts" or advice here and there. One other thing comes to mind, if you feel she is have a problem understanding language, maybe it will be easier for her to pick up non verbal directions. I have a def dog, she does great, responds to hand and body cues. If I look at her and lift my chin in a direction, she moves the way I pointed with a quick flick of my head. If she is outside and I want her to come in, all I have to do is walk around the corner and be looking at her and as soon as she sees me, I walk back inside, she knows I am "calling her to come in now". Many of the cues I give her, I learned from watching how the other dogs "talked to each other" using their body language.
I’m going to have to try this for storm season here. She absolutely hates thunderstorms and they are so violent where we live.
Check into the food you're feeding the dog. It can make a massive difference to their physical and emotional state (same with people). My wife's Grandmother had an incredibly aggressive dog who bit everyone- to the point that the Vet volunteered to put him down during well visits because he was such a menace. After the dog passed, we were gifted with the rest of his old wet food. And after feeding the food to our dog, our dog suddenly became incredibly aggressive. We threw out the food and he returned to normal quickly.
Ideally feed whole foods/mix of raw and cooked meats (not just super lean meat- fat and gristle too), vegetables, and some fermented/cooked grains like rice (when predatory animals eat prey, they eat the contents of the intestines first- they have a significantly more omnivorous diet than most people think). If you can't afford that, supplement the diet with table scraps of REAL FOOD ONLY! Nothing processed, nothing heavily spiced or heavily salted- it's how dogs ate for basically all of history before the 20th century. Beagles are chow hounds and prone to overeating if given too much food.
Beagles are one of the most ancient, stable, and healthy dog breeds. This particular one might have some PTSD, but they have also been bred for almost two millennia to be hunting dogs, and have very strong instincts. They need a good run quite often, and that is probably the best way to build a strong bond with the dog and promote good health. I had a beagle growing up, and I regularly strapped on rollerblades and had her pull me around the park for a workout.
Maybe use the spanish translator to tell her what a wonderful puppy she is. Tell her how safe she is and that she is going to be loved and taken care of and all of that good stuff. If you haven't tried it alread
I should have tried that when we first got her but now she knows English just fine, when she wants to 😂
☺️ Just thinking her native language might be more comforting.
Try playing Healing Frequency Music for your pup...God Bless you for adopting! 🙏🤍
https://youtu.be/g0JwEKezT-4?si=KBn3DWsWWOMllIGF
What a sad story my Fren. Glad that she's in a much better home now.
We have two large 100 Lb collies.
We've had the 11 year old dog since he was a puppy and he has dreams where he yelps and his feet twitch about once or twice a week. He's had a really easy life and comes in and out of the house as he pleases. Never been attacked or abused.
The other Collie is about 6 (we adopted him about a year ago) but we don't know much about his background. His dreams only have minor foot twitches but no sounds. He's very skittish in tight spaces, doesn't know how to climb stairs and panic eats everything like it's his last meal. If I bounce a tennis ball near him, the quick downward motion of my hand scares him and he scampers away.
I carried him (not easy at 100 lbs) upstairs to be with me the other day. He was totally panicked and was cowering with his head down as if he thought he was in trouble. I think he was abused at some point.
I tend to think it depends on the dog's personality. My scenario is opposite what you are assuming for what it's worth.
Good luck with your Beagle!
Here's mt 2 cents- try somethinf called a Thunder Shirt. It is a 'shirt' that can be fit super snuggly- like a baby wrap. It mimics the feeling of being snuggled by their mama dog. Something else that helped IMMENSELY in human-dog communication - a book by Turid Rugaas, ON TALKING TERMS WITH DOGS: CALMING SIGNALS Hubs is retired K9 Officer/Trainer and found this book amazingly helpful. I haved been owned by dogs my whole life, and found this book to open up an enormous new comms channel with all dogs- I really think it could help you learn to comunicate with new doggo-
We did the thundershirt. Unremarkable.
Maybe she sleeps next to something with high voltage. Like wall wiring, or a fridge (magnetic field). Or maybe there is a smart meter nearby. Or the wifi router. Can affect sleep.
Hey fren, I have had "working dogs" all my life, most "dream" a few times a day, I wouldn't be too concerned. Often people get the bonding element the wrong way around, greeting the dog as soon as they walk in the door at home, make a fuss before they leave, and generally use to many words for commands etc. As hard as it is try to ignore the dog a bit more, let him/her come too you rather than the other way around and often silence with words works best. Try writing down a list of basic commands, sit stay heel etc and don't allow anyone to add "good dog" etc after the dog has done want you said. I stress all my dogs have been for working, and it's a bit different than a domestic pet, although never have any of my dogs ever been hit, beaten or overly aggressive with. If you want to ask anything fire away.
We adopted a beagle with nearly the same history and symptoms. Her crying in her sleep has mostly subsided but still occurs randomly. It was clearly nightmares and she still sometimes assumes a defensive posture when suddenly approached. It is truly terrible what some people will do to animals.
Just dreaming/chasing rabbits. Completely normal.
And/or squirrels. My old golden used to do the same, and sometimes she would wake herself up by running too hard in her sleep. I work from home and she used to lay in my office with me. When she would wake up in the middle of a dream she would look at me with a confused look, look around the room, and just go back to sleep. Hilarious. And yes - she would let out "muted" barks. She (and my other dogs) would always chase and bark at the rabbits or squirrels. They regularly caught them as well. That's why I'm certain that's what dogs are doing in their dreams - they do it when awake as well.
Absolutely, my old girl Golden does the same thing. I love that dog.
Came here to say that. Have had dogs my entire life and they all dream goofy.
My dog sleep plays often. Sometimes she sleep growles. I adopted her at 3 mos. Doubtful she was ever abused. She’s just very social and loves playing at places like the dog park.
This isn’t playful. It is clearly a fight. Growls wimpering and then the feet twitching.
And to continually relive it for years after being in a calm environment. I look at he with new eyes after realizing she is reliving some trauma every day. I wish she would trust and bond with us but she holds us at arms length semi trusting us but never really giving in to the pack.
Not yours I'm sure but many many Beagles are getting rescued from either the labratory puppy funnel or from labs themselves. Hideous traumatizing histories. The Beagle Project is the group saving them.