Have you seen this dog behavior?

[Maggie8K]

I’m sitting a senior dog who normally sleeps on his own. The other day, it was thundering and lightning and he was scared, so I carried him to the third floor (his legs can no longer get him up steeper steps), where my guest suite is. I had him sleep with me, to offer him comfort. He was clearly scared, because earlier in the day, he’d heard a clap of thunder and ran straight to me and then hopped onto my lap and then spent an hour+ wedged into a wing chair with me. I was happy to comfort him, though he’s normally not a cuddly dog.

Anyway, he was spending the night on my bed and every few minutes, all night long, well after the thunder and lightning had stopped, he’d jerk awake, often bark, as if he was reliving some kind of attack or such. It reminded me of someone with PTSD. I’d pet him and tell him that he was OK, he’d drift off and jerk awake and bark. This kept repeating.

And for context, this dog has been previously attacked by a German shepherd (hosts told me to avoid them when we walk). And my hosts said he used to sleep on their bed, but they’ve since kicked him out and he sleeps on various pet beds or in a bay window, on cushions. They said they did that, because he started growling at them when they tried to move him.

Have you seen such behavior in a dog? I was wondering whether it’s some form of PTSD, or maybe dementia. He’s 12, which is relatively old for his breed, AFAIK. Or might it be something else? I’ve never experienced this with a dog.

Note: When he sleeps on a pet bed or otherwise solo, he doesn’t exhibit any such symptoms — no twitching, sudden jerking or sudden barking. He just sleeps soundly. I know this, because I’ve been in the living room when he’s slept, for example. And when he was wedged into the wing chair with me for an hour+, during which he napped, he slept peacefully.

My hosts don’t expect me to sleep with him. I just feel sorry for him and wonder whether there’s help for him, so maybe he can sleep in their bed again if he’s “cured.”

[Highfive]

Vet might offer tranquilizers if storms are stressful.
Odd this behaviour started suddenly whilst a storm was raging.. it could have been a trigger.
we looked after a dog with dementia. He couldn’t decide if he wanted to be guarding on the terrace or in his bed in the living room. In the end we had the door ajar as it got tedious getting up all the time to let him in or out. He was very chilled otherwise. He was two years older than life expectancy for his breed. He was lovely ; no growling but would bark to go out! Didn’t have toilet accidents at all.

[Maggie8K]

Don’t know that he’s normally triggered by storms. When I mentioned to the host that the thunder scared him (this was during daylight, before he saw lightning), she said he was traumatized by July Fourth and the thunder might have tipped him over.

Fireworks from July? Seems kind of odd —it’s been so long since then.

[Fatamorgana]

That sounds really tough, poor darling guy! I’ve seen something similar with a German shepherd in my friend’s family. He had been attacked as a puppy and would have these episodes where he’d wake up suddenly, barking and disoriented, especially during storms or loud noises, fireworks etc..

The interrupted sleep patterns and jerking awake could definitely be linked to cognitive dysfunction syndrome or dementia. Senior dogs often struggle with disrupted sleep-wake cycles and increased nighttime anxiety, kind of like the “sundowning” effect you see in humans with dementia.

The growling when moved from the bed sounds like a protective reaction. It could be that he feels vulnerable when he’s half-asleep and instinctively tries to guard his space. I think that’s also pretty common in dogs who’ve been through trauma. They tend to be more defensive about their personal space when they feel insecure. We had this with a dog we cared for last summer. A bit scary tbh.

My friend’s shepherd really benefited from a weighted blanket designed for dogs. It mimics the calming effect of being held and helps regulate their nervous system. Definitely worth trying!

Also, a “Thundershirt” could help during storms or stressful situations. The gentle pressure has a calming effect on a lot of anxious dogs.

What I’ve seen from Todd Langston on Instagram (great guy!), who explains a lot of good things: Some dogs sleep better with soft background noise, especially if thunder or other sudden noises are part of the trigger. By the way, Todd also mentions weight vests a lot.

[Highfive]

Yes calming music during fireworks and thunderstorms. I bet there’s someone who has collected together the most appropriate pieces of music.. Theme tunes of
The Lady and the Tramp
Beethoven
101Dalmatians.
The Incredible Journey
Belle and Sebastian
Etc.
I went on one sit and the dog had a Netflix profile too!
No cat films there lol

[Happypets]

It sounds like he’s maybe unnerved by the storm.

@Maggie8K

And my hosts said he used to sleep on their bed, but they’ve since kicked him out and he sleeps on various pet beds or in a bay window, on cushions. They said they did that, because he started growling at them when they tried to move him.

Maybe not the best idea to let him sleep on your bed if this is something his pet parents have discouraged, or you could be setting him up for a fall when they return home and don’t want that for themselves.

@Maggie8K

Note: When he sleeps on a pet bed or otherwise solo, he doesn’t exhibit any such symptoms — no twitching, sudden jerking or sudden barking.

It might be an idea to position his own bed close to yours, just so he knows you’re there but doesn’t expect to resume his prized position on the bed. You can still reassure him with a soothing voice if he appears unsettled.

Good luck with it.

[Highfive]

Keeping a radio on in his sleeping quarters, if they aren’t near you, could help..
A toy with a beating heart can help pups too. Anxiety is so common now among the pets I see I’m almost expecting it now at every sit. Many home owners couch it in terms of he loves company and will follow you everywhere!

[DianeS]

It sounds like he has a touch of dementia, for which medication is available (when his parents get home, of course).
If you can get the Classic FM pets playlist, or their Calm channel, that might help him.

[Maggie8K]

@Happypets

Maybe not the best idea to let him sleep on your bed if this is something his pet parents have discouraged, or you could be setting him up for a fall when they return home and don’t want that for themselves.

Actually, his humans suggested it via text message and I had no problem with it, since he was scared:

“he has bad memories of the 4th of july…so that thunder probably did him in. Sounds as though he feels he’s found a safe harbor If it continues, you might have a bed companion.”

[Maggie8K]

An update: After the day with thunder, one night I found doggo trying to sleep on the landing under the steep stairs to my guest quarters (his legs no longer get him up those stairs, I was told). He normally sleeps on a dog bed on the ground floor, so I figured he was signaling that he wanted to stay close to me instead. Given that, I brought up a dog bed and carried him upstairs to sleep next to my bed. He slept well, without jerking awake or barking. And the next morning, he was happily wagging a lot before I carried him back downstairs.

He resumed sleeping downstairs yesterday. I suspect that even if he prefers to sleep close by, being unable to navigate the stairs is limiting if he wants to free feed or drink water over night.

If I repeat sit, I’ll ask to use the second floor guest suite instead, because doggo can make it up and down the broad stairs to that floor. This time, I stayed on the third floor, because my hosts’ travel companions spent the night on the second floor before they all flew out together.

Thanks to everyone for all of your suggestions. I’ll collect them and share with my hosts after their return, so maybe they can improve doggo’s quality of life. He spends a lot of time guarding by windows and can be easily triggered, which probably means he’s more stressed than necessary. Like yesterday, he was super triggered by seeing what looked like a German shepherd, one of which he’s previously been attacked by.