Dog displaying weird symptoms
 

Hello.

I have an older dog who had a few seizures last year, roughly 4, that were treated by a vet who did not think she developed epilepsy. The last seizure was in December and after treatment with fluids and medication, she seemed fine.

Then in the latter part of January something bizarre happened. She was in a very deep sleep and started to "run." She was moving her legs as if she were running really fast, her breathing became very, very labored, and then she started to snort. She stopped moving her legs, she did not go rigid, and she lifted her head. She did not focus on anything and she swayed her head side to side. I called her name several times but she did not seem to be awake or aware of where she was. She did not evacuate or defecate, her breathing calmed and after roughly 45 seconds she seemed to come out of it. She has done that ONLY at night and ONLY when she is seems to be in a very, very deep sleep. She can walk fine afterward and doesn't seem to suffer any ill effects. But I have no idea what it is. The vet also seems confused because they are not seizure symptoms but they sort of mimic seizures?

Has anyone experienced this with their dog? Is this a sleep disorder or a very specific type of seizure?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Tomi

My 4 yo dog will bark , cry and growl in his sleep and his little paws will move as if he is running . Your dog could had been dreaming or had a seizure while sleeping . How did you your act when he got up , was he able to walk OK ?

It sounds normal to me as both my dogs behave this way when they are in a deep sleep. I must admit it does startle me when they are almost galloping in their beds and howling. :shrug:

Our dogs are just talking in their sleep , I think it funny when Marty start to do this and I would love to know what he is dreaming off.

Dogs can be quite active while dreaming in their sleep but since your girl has already had 4 seizures I would keep your Vet informed. It might help your Vet if you could video if there is another episode. Hope she is ok.

I think I have read thaat paddling in their sleep can be a seizure, though many dogs will do this as a form of sleeping. I agree with LBs, that I would be very cautious.

Some standard rule outs with seizures would be to have a thyroid panel run, and also check for tick disease.