Sleep is interesting to study. Sleeping habits, for instance, differ from one person to another. These also differ from humans to their pet dogs and even cats. Some people talk in their sleep.
Others sleep peacefully. It should not come as a surprise that animals do the same. If you have a pet dog at home, you might have witnessed your dog howling in sleep a few times already.
A dog howling in his sleep may be creepy. It, however, is normal for some of them to do this. It’s as normal as it is for some people to talk in their sleep.
We will look into and discuss, in this article, the reasons your dog howls in his sleep. We will examine some sleeping habits of pets that are similar to humans, too. Continue reading this article to find answers to why dogs howl in their sleep. Here, you will also learn what to do when they howl in their sleep.
Why Does My Dog Howl in His Sleep?
Like us humans, animals dream, too. It is because dogs dream that they howl in their sleep. There are some cases where they howl and bark in their sleep alternately. Aside from barking and howling in their sleep, dogs can growl while sleeping, too. The reason they do this could be because they may be having a bad dream.
Howling, in general, is how dogs communicate with one another. Wolves do the same. It’s normal for dogs and other canines to do this when they’re awake. In the same way, dogs bark and growl when they are threatened by something when they are awake. The howling, barking, and growling are all normal when dogs and other canines are awake.
It is, however, different when a dog barks, growls and howls in his sleep. It can mean different things for the dog doing this while asleep. One definitely, is that he could be having a horrible dream.
Expert Tip: Another reason your dog is barking, growling, and howling in his sleep is that he could have experienced some anxieties while awake and brought them with him on his way to sleep.
We have been there before. Nightmares visit us in our sleep when we’re stressed and anxious all day. It’s the same for dogs or canines in general. Even cats experience something similar and may growl in their sleep, too.
Reasons Why My Dog Howls While Asleep
People also have attached superstitions to dogs howling at night. Many movies associate the howling of dogs at night with the death of a loved one. Some people believe that a dog’s howl at night foreshadows a death among those they love.
History says, too, that the dogs’ howls foreshadow death. In the past, Egyptians believed that when dogs howl at night, the dogs are calling for Anubis to deliver the soul of someone among them who has just passed away.
Egyptians have the God Anubis. He is said to have the head of a dog. Other countries have superstitions about the howling of dogs at night like this in Ireland, Greece, and more.
The United States also has a similar belief to the Egyptians, the Irish, and the Greeks regarding dogs howling at night. It’s believed that when a dog howls twice at night, someone around you will pass away.
Other superstitions Americans have about dogs howling at night include the idea that a supernatural event will happen after their initial howling. It is up to you if you believe these things or not, of course.
Today, however, the howling of dogs can mean different things. As mentioned earlier, your dog’s howling in his sleep may be that your dog is having nightmares or bad dreams. Dogs’ howling in their sleep or doing a combination of howling, growling, and barking while sleeping may also mean they are tired of their activities for the day.
Lastly, your dog may be howling in his sleep because he was anxious or stressed all day.
There are many reasons why your dog is howling, growling, and barking in his sleep. In the next section after this, we will look into what to do when your dog’s habit of growling, howling, and barking in his sleep becomes frequent or chronic.
The chronic howling of dogs in their sleep may be a sign and symptom of your pet dog being ill.
What To Do When My Dog Howls While Asleep?
Dogs howling in their sleep often is normal. However, when your dog’s howling while asleep becomes frequent, it can be a concern to many dog owners. Here, we will look into a few things you can do when your dog howls in his sleep.
Keep in mind that dogs howling in their sleep is normal. If your dog howls while asleep on some nights, leave your dog alone. His howling may mean he is dealing with a bad dream while sleeping. Don’t wake your dog up.
If you wake your dog up from a nightmare or a bad dream, he can react violently to this and may even bite you. Leave your dog be if he howls in his sleep a few times at night. Only he can deal with his dreams or nightmares on his own. If his howling is too much that it wakes up your whole household, it’s time that you wake him up from his sleep.
Now, if your dog howls in his sleep almost every night, it may be time for you to take him to the veterinarian. The vet you consult him with may be able to find a way to fix his insistent howling at night while sleeping.
A dog howling in sleep can do so due to many different reasons. One main reason they do this is that they dream. If your dog howls while asleep on some nights, this is normal. Dogs are like humans, after all. Like us, they can dream and have nightmares at night.
They can get stressed and anxious all day that they dream at night. In their sleep, they can howl, growl, and bark. There’s no need for you to be alarmed when they do this at night.
