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?
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.