Greyhound Waking Up Growling And Snapping

[Guest grytlover]

Hi There! I'm kinda new at this, as this is the first post I've done. I hope I've done it right. My 9 year old male, who is the sweetest, most gentle dog usually, has started having incidents of growling, snapping as he awakens from his sleep. I have read some older posts where others have had this problem with their greys as well. Has anyone ever had this diagnosed as a problem? When I talk to him in a calm voice and tell him its okay or to stop, he does. I have been told by a friend that this could be a possible petite mal seizure taking place. The vet said she thought he was "sleepwalking", but he never walks into anything and appears just fine afterwards. I would like to hear from anyone who is also going through or has gone through this with their dog(s). I have 2 greyhounds and other than this they are both doing okay.

 

Thanks!

[sarabz]

Please, please read "Thoughts of A Greyhound" by Kathleen Gilly to help you understand your boy a little.

http://www.greyhoundinfo.org/?page_id=341

 

I know others will chime in but it sounds like what you are describing is commonly called sleep startle, not a seizure. Retired racers are completely unused to being disturbed when sleeping so this is a common reflex.

 

You don't say how long you have had your boy, or your other greys. If this is a new behavior and he hasn't been with you going, it may be that he's now comfortable enough to sleep soundly

[GeorgeofNE]

It's safe to assume a 9 year old dog is not a recent retiree.

 

Although without knowing how long the poster has had this dog, he could have been doing this for a long time in a prior home.

 

Sounds like sleep startle to ME, or it's possible he could have a physical issue going on, if this is new behavior.

[Guest june]

It does sound like sleep startle to me too. I've not had that problem with any of my pups thank goodness.

 

I adopted a retiree at age 10 and our group has several 8 and 9 year olds that have not lived in homes so it is possible to be a newly adopted pup.

[CharlieRhea]

Charlie my Grey did that a lot early on. Sleep startle sounds right. You say your pup is fine when he is awake. No aggression with the other dogs or you when awake?

I do believe they (Greys) sleep deeply, perhaps more so than other breeds. Continue to talk to him calmly as you are doing until he is awake.

Charlie wasn't a racer but probably used to hunt. I always thought he was having a bad dream at the beginning but it is far less frequent now.

I've had him 2 yrs and he has happier things to dream about.

I doubt it is a seizure, i had a beautiful German Shepherd male who had seizures and was wobbly for about 15 minutes when he came out of it. Happy to say the last 14 months of his life he was seizure free.

[Samwise]

If this is a new behaviour (i.e., started recently after a year or more of him waking up normally), it doesn't seem like sleep startle, but I'm not an expert.

 

Have you noticed any other behavioural or lifestyle changes? Try to think of everything-- from a new food, to a change in his schedule, etc.

[Time4ANap]

Does this happen even if you are nowhere near him, or are you waking him up to eat, go out etc?

 

If you are waking him up, then sleep startle is a possibility. If he is waking up on his own and doing this, it sounds more like he could be coming out of a dream or deep sleep and is just slow to wake up. He is 9 after all, and probably sleeping a little more than he has previously. Since he is normal afterward, I wouldn't be too concerned as long as there is no danger to anyone - as in, everyone stays away from his bed while he's waking up. If you have small children, they need to be taught to stay away from his bed.

 

Do not reach down to pet him on his bed under any circumstances. Greys are notorious for sleeping with their eyes open, so he could very well snap, growl or bite if he would be sleeping and is touched. That would be the type of sleep startle that Rocket has, and he has bitten, simply because he was touched while sleeping and thought he had to defend himself. The poor boy was really upset afterward. We always announce ourselves if we have to approach his bed until we are sure he knows we are there. The rule here is that we only pet him while he's standing. That way, we are sure that he's completely awake.

 

If you think the issue is more medical than a startle situation, you might have some bloodwork, including thyroid tests done just to confirm or rule out any medical issue.