Guest Dragon Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 (edited) Dragon has always slept through the night just fine. He sleeps in his own bed in our room, and our other dog sleeps downstairs. This week he has done the weirdest thing twice. He wakes up in the middle of the night, shakes and repositions a couple times, then lets out a high pitched howl. Then he goes back to sleep for the rest of the night...totally fine. The first time it was like, whatever, but the second time, it really freaked me out. Other than that, he seems really normal. He's only just about 4 years old. He's been on Prozac for anxiety for like 3 months with no side effects, actually no effects at all, so we were gonna try to wean him off, but we haven't yet. We recently went on two back to back vacations without them, and this started right after that. I think that's all the information I can think of...any thoughts would be appreciated. Bad dream? Prozac? Anxiety? Illness? Muscle cramp? Anyone else had this happen? Edited November 20, 2012 by Dragon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest clodagh Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 I really don't have a clue but....he may be getting you back for leaving him too long!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest starbuck Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 I'm not sure if this is the same as you're describing, but every once in awhile Starbuck emits the most bloodcurdling howl in the middle of the night, seemingly for no reason (which is part of the reason why she doesn't sleep in our bedroom anymore). When we go down to check on her, she's fast asleep. She also "runs" in her sleep and yips. I think it's possible that Dragon is just having weird dreams, but you should probably keep an eye on it and see if the behavior increases in frequency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jaws4evr Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 My bet is he's dreaming... if he seems otherwise relaxed during the night. Our GH will yip and bark and "run" in her sleep, the louder barks will wake her up though and then she'll go on sleeping quietly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreytNut Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 If he's waking up with a bloodcurdling shriek it's probably a charley horse. If you've ever woken up with a terrible leg cramp you know what I mean. Our dogs can get those too. Argus used to wake up screaming from time to time. He would limp for a few minutes and then all was well. Scared us to death. Quote Kristen with Penguin (L the Penguin) Flying Penske x L Alysana Costarring The Fabulous Felines: Squeak, Merlin, Bailey & Mystic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dragon Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 Yeah, my first thought is charlie horse... it's not his normal woofing/running in his sleep. The weird thing is that he wakes up, walks around a little, shakes, and then shrieks/howls after he lies back down. Then he falls right to sleep. Hopefully, it doesn't happen again. Scared the heck out of me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PaulEmandStan Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 Ours does that without the howling (thank god) at 3am Every night without exception! I know because his collar jingles and he wakes me up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sambuca Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 My foster would occasionally give a blood curdling scream during the night and when you checked on him (within seconds) he'd look at you like nothing happened. He would do it during the day too. He was a bit dramatic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3greytjoys Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 (edited) A few side effects of Prozac (Fluoxetine) are muscle spasms with muscle pain, twitching muscles, full body trembling/shaking, and nightmares, along with many other side effects. Please let your vet know for dose evaluation. Please calendar all unusual behaviors as they occur to document Dragon's reaction history. I assume you're building dosage slowly over time. Was there any dose increase recently? It takes time for the dog's body to adjust to this drug. Back to back vacations likely heightened anxiety/stress which may take longer for Dragon to recover and feel safe/relaxed. Even if you don't see a huge change from Prozac, the drug is likely changing his system. Please be sure to alert a vet immediately if Dragon has seizures or aggression. These are severe side effects. **Important: Please do NOT mix this medication with ANY other drugs (either over the counter, or prescribed) without checking with a vet first. There is a washout period needed before giving many other types of medications. If you decide you'd like to reduce dosage or stop this medication, please contact your vet first. It sounds like you know this drug needs to be tapered down very slowly (not stopped cold turkey). Assuming Dragon was experiencing S.A., it's very important to continue small steps of alone training (without pushing his threshold) while still on medication. Otherwise, he will likely revert back to pre-medication behavior once off Prozac. Edited November 22, 2012 by 3greytjoys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dragon Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 A few side effects of Prozac (Fluoxetine) are muscle spasms with muscle pain, twitching muscles, full body trembling/shaking, and nightmares, along with many other side effects. Please let your vet know for dose evaluation. Please calendar all unusual behaviors as they occur to document Dragon's reaction history. I assume you're building dosage slowly over time. Was there any dose increase recently? It takes time for the dog's body to adjust to this drug. Back to back vacations likely heightened anxiety/stress which may take longer for Dragon to recover and feel safe/relaxed. Even if you don't see a huge change from Prozac, the drug is likely changing his system. Please be sure to alert a vet immediately if Dragon has seizures or aggression. These are severe side effects. **Important: Please do NOT mix this medication with ANY other drugs (either over the counter, or prescribed) without checking with a vet first. There is a washout period needed before giving many other types of medications. If you decide you'd like to reduce dosage or stop this medication, please contact your vet first. It sounds like you know this drug needs to be tapered down very slowly (not stopped cold turkey). Assuming Dragon was experiencing S.A., it's very important to continue small steps of alone training (without pushing his threshold) while still on medication. Otherwise, he will likely revert back to pre-medication behavior once off Prozac. Thanks so much. We've decided to wean him off. We tried it for leash aggression, but it seemed to have no effect. It was a very low dose, and I'm not really willing to up it. We're going to continue working with a behaviorist/trainer about his leash aggression issues, but we've already talked to the vet about a tapering-down schedule. This weird nighttime screaming only happened twice, but I figure if there's a chance it's a side effect of the Prozac, I'm just going to get rid of the Prozac, especially since it's not helping at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laur Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 No more watching Vampire diaries before he goes to bed ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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